Demon Retribution (Shadow Quest Book 3) (19 page)

He took a breath. When he turned back
around, his face looked composed, but she sensed an underlying
turmoil. “Of course.”

“
Did you just go all
edgy?”

He gave her a crooked smile, but did not
respond. She had her answer. “You didn’t need to turn away, you
know.”

“
It tends to upset people,
or so I’ve noticed.”

“
But you’re one of those
trained, in control demons, right?”

“
I am.”

“
Well, now that I know more
about it, it won’t scare me again.”

His features brightened
triumphantly. “Ha! So you
were
frightened?”

“
No!” she rescinded. He
just grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes. “Shouldn’t we get
back to the big, bad tree stump?”

Head tilting to the sky, he said, “I think I
should make sure you’re fed first.”

She followed his line of sight and caught
the position of the sun. It was already midday. He offered his hand
to help her up, and she took it without thinking.

In the cabin, Zoey lounged on the couch with
a book, while music played in the background. As soon as they
entered she asked, “How did it go?”

Kyra scrunched up her face.

“
That good,
huh?”

“
She did very well,” Cale
replied. “Nothing exploded in my face, so I’d call that a positive
training session.”

“
Nothing happened at all,”
Kyra grumbled.

Cale shook his head. “Not true. You’ve
uncovered a memory that caused a shift in your emotions. That’s a
good step in understanding yourself, and later, using the strength
of that shift without the emotional connection.”

“
Ooh, how very Zen.” Zoey
slapped her hands together in a prayer pose and then dipped her
head.

Kyra snorted. “Zo, I think you just did half
Namaste, half I Dream of Jeannie.”

Zoey then crossed her arms in front of her
torso and joked, “As you wish, master.”

Kyra hiked her thumb at Cale. “He’s the
master, not me.”

Cale replied, “I may be in control, but I’ve
mastered nothing.” He’d said it in such a casual and even tone that
both girls broke out in a fit of laughter, which grew worse when he
stared at them like they were nuts.

Lunch was quick, and they spent the second
half of the evening working on Kyra’s magic.

Cale never once showed that he was growing
impatient with her, even while she became frustrated with herself.
She thought that at one point, when the light was just about to
fade, that she had managed a tiny burst of energy, but it could
have easily been the wind. After that, they decided to call it a
night.

He helped her to her feet, but kept hold of
her hand a little longer than was necessary. As she took in his
expression, her breath caught. He looked as if he might kiss her
again.

A blaze of heat drove through her, spurred
by her rushing blood, yet she shivered, frozen in place while
looking up at him. She waited to see what he would do.

Blue eyes bore into hers, swirling with an
emotion she couldn’t describe. Then his gaze dipped to her lips.
Her tongue involuntarily darted out to wet them, but he only
continued to stare, searching her face as if seeking the solution
to some hidden puzzle. When a bit of confusion crept over him, she
tilted her head quizzically.

Finally, he pulled away from her without an
explanation.

She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or
relieved. As she started making her way to the house, she thought
that disappointment was tipping the scale.

The next few days passed with much of Kyra’s
time spent in the small clearing with Cale, while she mentally
fast-forwarded through her history. She was careful not to let any
of the memories overtake her again and began to look back with an
unattached, observant mind.

With the recalling of each episode, she felt
she made some progress, if only a little, but that was better than
nothing.

Cale never betrayed any desires—if he even
had any—of wanting to kiss her again, and eventually they delved
into a lax teacher-student role.

Occasionally, when she started to get
flustered, she would stop and ask him about the Edge, mostly
curious about how he’d learned to control it. The majority of his
answers were vague, but indicated that he had clocked a lot more
time on the Edge than most others would have ever wished to, though
he refused to go into further detail.

This morning resembled any other. Cale
leaned against a tree, offering scraps of advice every now and
again, and being extraordinarily patient. She’d been concentrating
for hours. Again, the wind played tricks on her, stirring at just
the right moment and getting her hopes up. She now glared at the
tree stump as if it were the bane of her existence. A dark part of
her craved its absolute destruction with a seething hatred. She
pictured it shredded, in flames, nothing left but jagged, singed
toothpicks.

At the thought, a sick satisfaction coated
her, filling her with malevolence and forcing her lips to spread
into a vicious grin as the creature inside her stirred, rumbling
with bloodlust.

A dull sound licked the inner walls of her
brain. A handsome voice called her name in a gentle, nonthreatening
manner. It was enough to break through the creepy veil that had
overrun her mind.

She let out a harsh breath that felt too hot
and pushed the magic back into place. Her skin tingled as a warm
fever dissipated over her skin and a light sheen of sweat sucked up
the cool morning air, helping to extinguish the last of the
heat.

Sighing, she looked up at Cale, expecting
disappointment. He crouched on his haunches in front of her
looking…happy.

“
Why are you smiling? I
could have blown this place to smithereens.”

“
But you didn’t, did
you?”

She cocked her head and replied, amazed,
“No. I didn’t. I stopped it when I heard you.”

“
Tell me what was going
through your head.”

With a quick summarization, she relayed the
direction her mind had taken. “It seemed to have run away with me
pretty quickly.”

“
That’s great.”

“
Great? I have a gift that
is born of fear and hatred. That’s awful. I’m like Darth
Vader.”

“
Who?”

“
He’s this guy who goes to
the dark side…Doesn’t really matter.” She waved her hand. “The
point is, what I felt just now…felt a little bit evil.”

He gave her a sly look. “Should I be afraid
of you then?”

“
Says the big, scary
demon.”

He sat down next to her, and though more
than a few inches away, she felt his body heat. His masculine scent
soon followed, and she inhaled it with as much discretion as she
could muster. He had a very earthy smell, which was odd, him being
from another planet and all.

Oblivious to her musings, he said, “It could
be that you’ve conditioned yourself to associate your magic with
things like hate, desperation, and death—since you’ve otherwise
managed to bury it.”

She took a moment to contemplate that. He
had a point.

Still, a part of her feared the strange,
rapacious…thing living inside her. That’s the crux of it, she
thought. Her magic felt apart from her. Like some unwanted
growth.

A monster, neither obedient nor tame.

Cale carried on. “And I say it’s great
because you managed to invoke your gift without any real outside
threat to you, and then intentionally dialed it back.”

“
Hmm.” She smiled sideways
at him, taking in his positive outlook. “You’re a pretty good
teacher.”

“
Yeah, I know.”

“
And there goes the ego.”
She laughed.

He gave her a lopsided smile filled with
ease, and they fell into a comfortable silence. She listened to the
sound of the wind rustling through the gold, red, and yellow
leaves, feeling her body return to normal.

It wasn’t long before her mind began to
drift back to the playful demon beside her. An odd awareness came
over her, fueled by his close proximity. And suddenly she had to
fight back the memories of how warm and soft his lips were, how
carnal his touch felt.

She’d been trying to deny it, but the last
few days were a kind of erotic torture for her. Everything from his
enticing musk, to his deep masculine laugh, to watching him walk
around in just a pair of jeans drove her hormones bonkers.

In the midst of lunch today, she’d nearly
climaxed while watching him simply suck a bit of sauce from his
fingers. And when those clear blue eyes had shot to hers in a way
that made her imagine he could read her thoughts, she’d flushed and
escaped to her room until she could rein in her lust.

Now it was running amok again.

She assessed him from the corner of her eye.
The simple black tee hid the defined muscular planes of his chest,
a powerful set of shoulders, and a six-pack that was utterly
lick-worthy.

She shuddered and tried to clear her
head.

She was about to suggest they get back to
work when he spoke in a rough tone. “Woman, you are killing
me.”

“
What?”

“
You think I cannot sense
the need coursing through you. It’s driving me mad.”

“
I…What do you mean you can
sense my need?” she asked, although she had a pretty good idea what
he meant. The dragons were keen to the slightest of bodily changes.
Demons must be as well. Her stomach clenched as she realized how
aroused she had become.

“
Do you not realize how
hard it is to keep my hands off you,” he said, frustration seeping
into his words, “when you strut around me, tempting me with
everything you have, yet hardly looking my way?”

Tempting him?

Part of her had assumed her rejection had
turned him off completely, and that he no longer wanted her that
way. Had he merely been giving her distance? Waiting for her to
initiate? “I didn’t know.”

“
Aye, I gathered.” He ran
his hands through his light hair and rested his elbows on bent
knees.

“
You should have said
something before. I’m not used to making the first
move.”

His head shot up in surprise, and she bit
back a grin. She took advantage of his stunned expression and moved
to straddle his lap. His legs cooperated, adjusting for her. Strong
hands clasped her waist, and she felt him add pressure as if to
hold her in place. His expression turned ravenous while he studied
her with a mix of amusement and confusion.

She leaned in, and their lips met. Soft,
smooth, unrelenting. Just as she remembered. A sigh escaped her,
and she settled closer, wrapping her arms around his neck.

The kiss was slow at first—sensual—just a
brushing of their mouths, a quick nip, and a bit of teasing. Then
his tongue swiped out, and she eagerly met it with hers. Desire
curled within as her fingers trailed along his scalp. Strands of
silky hair tickled the crevasses of her fingers. She realized she
could become addicted to that act alone. He groaned as if in
agreement.

The urgency increased when his knees came up
behind her, trapping her hard against his torso. His hands traveled
over her jean clad thighs, making their way around to grasp her
backside. She moaned and moved her hips. When a hungry sound
rumbled out of him, she did it again.

He tugged desperately at the hem of her
shirt, pulling it up and off her. In that expert way, his lips
moved over her jawline and down her neck. She undulated her hips
again, feeling his stiff erection at her core.

Utilizing his bent legs as a brace, she
leaned back and let her head loll as he trailed a hot path down her
throat to her chest, licking and kissing the tops of her breasts
while his hands continued to explore the rest of her exposed
flesh.

Heat gathered between her legs, and she let
out another soft needy moan, grinding against his lap. A guttural
sound left him, and suddenly her back met the leafy ground, her
legs cradling his strong frame. He claimed her lips hard, demanding
rather than asking for entry, and their tongues danced a primal
ballet.

Passion swirled in her head. Her heart
pounded, forcing her to gasp for air. She reached for the zipper of
his pants and found a belt in the way. Frantic, she tugged at
it.

A small beeping sound intruded her thoughts.
Overcome with desire, she resigned to ignore it, but it repeated in
a loud, high-pitched rhythm, pounding at her like a hammer.