Hammer Down: Children of the Undying: Book 2 (35 page)

“I know.” Her friend looked better, though the bruises from her ordeal—as well as the brutal fight that followed—would take time to heal. “It makes me feel like an ass.”

Juliet threw back her head and laughed. “You shouldn’t. It’s human nature. And not so human,” she added more soberly. “It’s still hard to believe, all that stuff the AI told you and Cache.”

“Yes.” Everything most of them had been taught since birth, raised to believe and revere as truth… It was half the story, at best. The real nature of their world, of
themselves
, was something vastly different.

Devi watched as two small children took their first hesitant steps away from their mothers and smiled. “I think it would be harder for me to handle if it changed anything about my immediate future. I’d already decided to stay here, and this…”

“Makes you more like Zel?” Juliet supplied. “I get it, I do.”

Her situation was far different. “What about you? Part angel, and all that?”

The tiny blonde shrugged. “It’s not news, not really. I mean, not about the angel aspect, obviously, but my grandmother was a summoner. She lived and breathed it, Dev. Thought there had to be a way for all of us to live together. But I didn’t know that—that I—” She shuddered.

Devi slid an arm around her and pulled her close. They watched the crowd thicken until even quiet whispers and murmurs created a din that rose up into the night. “What about your halfblood, Jai?”

She blushed. “He isn’t
mine
, not like that. He did me a favor, one that could have gotten him killed. But he’s not mine.”

Zel had said that, even though Jai had broken the bond as soon after the battle as he could, the traces of that magic could linger for months. “I’m not making light of it, Juliet. He saved your life.”

“Yes.” She breathed the word on a shaky sigh, then laughed. “What about
your
halfblood? And if you try to deny him, I’m telling.”

“Not a chance.”

Something wistful flickered across Juliet’s face, but it was gone in an instant. “Are you really going to settle down for him?”

“Oddly, no. It’s hard to explain.” She’d spent her life on the road and, in a lot of ways, it would be easy to stick to what she knew. But she wouldn’t be free, just running scared, from Zel and from her own heart. Her escape would become her prison. “I don’t feel like moving anymore.”

“I think they call that
home
.”

Devi shook her head. “It was never about the road for me, not the way it is with Tanner. It’s always been about the people I had when I was out there—my dad and Pop, and then you guys.”

“So you’re not losing much.”

Not if she’d be able to see her friends and have Zel too. “No, not at all.”

Juliet’s hand curled around hers and squeezed tight. “I’m glad for you.”

“Me too.” Across the courtyard, Jai stood in a circle of his friends, deep in conversation. But his gaze strayed to Juliet, intense and contemplative. “What about you?” Devi asked. “Will you stay?”

“I thought about going, but where? Back to Paseo Boricua?” She snorted. “I’d rather stay here and deliver babies. This place needs me more.”

“You could travel with Tanner.”

“I might, but even he’s planning on making Rochester his home base.”

It made sense. There were plenty of commodities to trade, and Tanner could avoid having city inspectors breathing down his neck. “Then I’ll see you both plenty, even if you take on long hauls.”

“Speak of the devil, and he appears.” Juliet lifted her free hand in greeting as Tanner walked up to the table. “Where have you been hiding yourself?”

“Finding drinks.” He held up two mugs. “The halfbloods make interesting beer.”

Devi accepted one of the drinks. “Just like old times, celebrating a successful run with questionable libations.”

Tanner waved the other mug at Juliet. “C’mon, girl. Afraid you can’t hold halfblood liquor?”

“Well, is it liquor or beer?” Juliet demanded, snatching the mug. “I want to know before I chug it all to try and deal with your loathsome presence.”

“Beer. Might make me prettier, though.”

“Is that even possible?”

Devi slid off the table. “You two should dance or make out or
something
. I’m going to mingle.”

Behind her, Tanner’s laughter spilled into the night. “Hear that, Ruiz? Boss says we should make out.”

“Not your boss anymore,” she called without turning. Now, she could concentrate on being a friend.

She spotted Sora in the crowd and waved, but the woman quickly caught her and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Devi.”

She could have meant a hundred different things, but there was only one that mattered. “I’ll make him happy.”

“You already do.” Sora pulled back and smiled, framing Devi’s face with her hands. “You make him whole. It’s all any mother could wish for.”

Devi opened her mouth to speak, but a gruff voice beside her interrupted her. Dakota stood there, a wildflower in his hand.

“I hate to intrude on a moment like this…” He fidgeted with the delicate yellow blossom. “Will you dance with me, Miss Sora?”

In the uncertain light, it almost looked like Zel’s mother blushed. “It’d be my pleasure, Dakota.”

Devi shoved her hands in her pockets and watched them go. Dakota had said no one in Rochester was waiting for him to return safely from the Templars’ test.

Perhaps he’d thought it high time to change that.

A hand slid around her hip, and warm breath stirred her hair. “Is that
Dakota
flirting with my mother?”

The sound of Zel’s voice eased something inside her, a need she barely noticed until it either deepened into an ache, or he filled it with soft words and touches. “Young love, I think. He’s a good man. Not nice or easy, but good.”

“I suppose you know him better than most now. He’s always kept to himself.” Zel caught her hand in his and spun her around. “You owe me a dance, or a moonlit walk. Your choice.”

It didn’t matter, as long as she was in his arms. “You’re the one who hasn’t gotten to do this very much. What do
you
want?”

“You, gorgeous. Just you.”

She’d spent her life on the road, but she’d never come home before. Not until now.

She lifted his hand and brushed a kiss over the back of it. “Then dance with me.”

About the Author

How do you make a Moira Rogers? Take a former forensic science and nursing student obsessed with paranormal romance and add a computer programmer with a passion for gritty urban fantasy. To learn more about this romance-writing, crime-fighting duo, visit their webpage at
www.moirarogers.com
, or drop them an email at
[email protected]
. (Disclaimer: crime-fighting abilities may appear only in the aforementioned fevered imaginations.)

Look for these titles by Moira Rogers

Now Available:

Red Rock Pass

Cry Sanctuary

Sanctuary Lost

Sanctuary’s Price

Sanctuary Unbound

Southern Arcana

Crux

Crossroads

Deadlock

Cipher

Building Sanctuary

A Safe Harbor

Undertow

…and the Beast

Sabine

Kisri

Wilder’s Mate

Demon Bait

Coming Soon:

Hunter’s Prey

Archer’s Lady

Impulse

Enigma

His mark could bind her forever—or finally set her free.

Demon Bait

© 2011 Moira Rogers

Children of the Undying, Book 1

Fifty years after a demon apocalypse devastated the world, summoners still bear the bulk of the blame. Marci lives in secret, hiding the gifts that could cost her a secure spot in one of humanity’s underground cities, and access to their virtual world. After all, her chances of avoiding the genetic-testing lotto are better than her chances of surviving topside.

The bastard son of a terrifying incubus, lust heats Gabe’s blood and sex fuels his magic. Innate charm and charisma help him navigate the cultural gap between the outcast town he calls home and the human settlements he infiltrates for trade. His latest mission nets him an unexpected asset—a summoner strong enough to soothe his darkest needs.

Trust a half demon, especially one who uses a lockdown to trap them together? Not in this lifetime. Yet Marci can’t resist Gabe’s offer to see her safely to a selective outcast settlement where she can live without fear. The journey alone is as dangerous as the way Gabe makes her heart race, but it could be her one hope of a real life.

If only she could be sure Gabe’s telling her the whole truth…

Warning: Contains a virtual world where humans flee to escape the demon-infested earth, a dangerously seductive half demon with sex magic to burn and a network-hacking summoner brave enough to make herself vulnerable to him.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Demon Bait:

His senses were more alive, his own voice like gravel in his ears. “What do you know about binding?”

Her lips parted, and her gaze locked with his. “I know I’d be powerless. Completely at someone’s mercy. Is that what happens in Rochester?”

Flushed cheeks, glazed eyes, short little breaths… She was nervous
and
aroused, and his pants were too fucking tight. “It’s always what happens. A literal deal with the devil. The mark keeps you safe from every other demon.”

Her brows drew together, though the desire pulsing through the room didn’t abate. “I don’t like not having a choice.”

“Who said you don’t have a choice?” It took everything in him not to reach across the table and touch her. “You give your partner the power. They don’t take it.”

“You can’t tell me no one would hassle an unbound summoner.”

“They wouldn’t do it twice.”

That broke the spell—mostly. “So the alternative is to get someone killed for trying to convince me? No, thanks.”

He felt his eyebrows trying to climb again. “If all they were doing was trying to convince you, they wouldn’t get killed. We’re not savages. Halfbloods would try to get to know you, and try to prove their worth. It’s courtship, not a hassle. But if it became known that you weren’t interested, they wouldn’t hassle you, because it’s against the rules.”

“Okay.” She leaned toward him, her eyes alight with challenge. “I’m not interested. Now is it against the rules for you to put the whammy on me? ’Cause that’s what you were doing a minute ago, right?”

It took effort not to back down and apologize. “Yeah. If you come back to Rochester with me, you can get my ass in serious trouble. Good enough reason, huh?”

She met his volley with silence, then shook her head. “You’re a tricky one.”

“Sometimes.” Gabe let himself smile as he leaned back in his chair. “I slipped. It happens when we’ve gone too long without taking care of business, but that doesn’t let us off the hook for it. Halfbloods are expected to behave themselves or get help.”

“Taking care of business.” Marci pushed away her mug. “Do you mean sex in reality, sex in the network, or plain old self-supplied orgasms?”

Somewhere, the gods—or demons—were laughing at him. “Honey, if jerking off solved that little problem, I’d have spent the last two hours with my hand around my dick.”

She blushed—hard—but didn’t look away. “And virtual sex?”

“Only makes the itch worse.” The urge to tease her rode him hard, but the need to make her understand the truth was even more important. “It’s not just about sex, though. If you’d been trained, you could wrap me around your little finger.”

Her tension didn’t ease, but the corner of her mouth kicked up. “Now
that’s
a mental picture.” Her amusement faded, and she gave him a thoughtful look. “I’m willing to try it, you know. On the off-chance that it works.”

His mouth went dry.

The demon purred.

“It’s—” He had to clear his throat and shift positions in his chair in a hopeless attempt to ease the uncomfortable pressure of arousal. “I wouldn’t know how to explain it. They fold magic around us somehow. Like a blanket.”

“I have—I don’t know how to explain it, either,” she said helplessly. “But I think I know how. It’s a…a sort of gathering. A force. I can feel it a little already.”

He’d been gone from Rochester for more than a week. Eight days without sex or soothing contact of any kind, and he didn’t know which need was going to swallow him first. “It feels different to everyone. For me it’s…sharp edges and water.”

Marci rose and rounded the table with determination, stopping to stand behind him. After a single long moment, she laid her hands on his shoulders. When she spoke, her breath stirred his hair. “Do you have to let me in?”

He was going to blow. Come in his pants like a teenager who’d hacked his way into an adult sector and discovered naked women. Just the touch of her hands set his pulse to pounding, half of the struggle tied up in how hard it was not to let her feel it. Trust was so fragile…

Too fragile for anything but honesty. “If I do, I can’t promise you won’t feel everything I’m holding back.”

Her breath hitched. “I thought you said this didn’t have to be about sex.”

“It’s not,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “Soothing the itch isn’t about sex, but the original condition sure as hell is. You might feel it before it goes away.”

Her breath caught again, her hands shook—and he realized she was laughing. “You mean I’m going to feel like a voyeur?” She stroked her thumb over his shoulder.

“You’ll feel—”

The words choked off as magic pounded into him. Not slow or subtle, but an uncontrolled, glorious wave. She wasn’t a babbling brook, smoothing away edges over time. Marci was the ocean, powerful and wild, smashing rocks into sand.

He shuddered and closed his eyes, tasting her aura as it spun around him in dizzy circles. She was smart, but he’d known that. Cunning too—again, no surprise. She’d hidden herself amongst humans, had blended in until no one suspected she wasn’t one of them. And beneath that…