Goddess in the Middle by Stephanie Julian Read Free Book Online Page A

for the demon, catching onto one of its legs with his teeth and holding on, even as the demon kicked and flailed.
    A scream ripped from the demon’s throat as Rom grabbed the sword from her hand and maneuvered it until he got the point stuck into the demon’s side. Skewered, it thrashed as Rom forced the blade farther into its body.
    With a grunt, Rom shoved the demon onto its back, keeping one hand firmly on its throat and the sword buried in its side.
    Amity heard only the sound of her own breathing echoing in her ears as the demon weakened from blood loss until finally it lay still on the ground.
    With a hard sigh, Rom rose to his feet.
    As Rom stood over the creature, she turned toward the wolf, lying on its side and panting heavily. Though her healing skills worked best on humans, she could extend them to all living things.
    Pushing to her feet, she stood for a second, just to make sure she wasn’t going to keel over. She crossed the distance to the wolf, who lay on the ground watching Rom with glazed eyes.
    “Will you let me examine you?” She kept her voice low, not wanting to startle him. “You’re bleeding pretty badly. I can heal your wounds enough for you to shift, if you’d like.”
    The wolf spared her a quick glance then huffed, shaking his head as he turned back to Rom.
    Amity followed his gaze, just in time to see Rom lift the sword and swing it down. With a gasp, she closed her eyes just in time.
    She couldn’t see what Rom had done. But she heard the sound of the blade as it cut through flesh.
    Shaking with the aftereffects of fear and swallowing against the bile rising in her stomach, she drew in a deep breath.
    “It had to be done, Lady. And it was our right to kill the demon.”
    The air shifted around her and she opened her eyes to the sight of Rom’s broad chest directly in front of her. A tight, dark T-shirt stretched across the expanse, the fabric ripped in places.
    Tilting her head back, she looked into his eyes.
    She’d thought him handsome before. Tonight, he looked fearsome. His short, dark hair stood up in tufts, and dark scruff covered his jaws and chin, so very different from last night’s clean-shaven businessman. So masculine. She had the almost uncontrollable urge to cup that jaw in her hands and let his whiskers rasp against her skin. Between her breasts. On the insides of her thighs.
    Her blood heated just looking at him. Even after the terror of the past few minutes, she couldn’t help but look at him and want to have that hard body pressed against hers on the soft sheets of a huge bed.
    The sword made a heavy thump as it fell out of Rom’s hand and dropped to the ground next to him. He would’ve followed it down if she hadn’t grabbed him around the waist and held him up.
    “Damn, I think I better sit down.” His voice sounded slurred and husky. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
    “I’m stronger than I look.” And she was, though he must weigh almost a hundred pounds more than she did.
    Glancing around, she spotted a park bench not too far from them and began to guide him to it.
    The wolf whined, causing both of them to stop and turn back.
    “We’re not going far, Remy,” she said. “Just to the bench.”
    It took forever to get Rom to the bench. Closing her eyes, she ran her hands over his body, from his head to his shoulders and chest, down his stomach to his thighs and shins.
    “You’re bleeding internally. I need to stop it now or you’ll die, Rom.”
    The tear in his femoral artery wasn’t big but he was already starting to show signs of blood loss. Praying she had power to heal him after such a long day and the damage inflicted by the demon, she smiled at Rom, infusing it with as much confidence as she could.
    “I want you to lie still, Rom. Close your eyes now. And let me work.”
    As her power worked through touch, she let her hands settle onto his thigh.
    Tinia’s teat, this wound was deep. The demon had cut into the muscle, all the way to the