Toxic

thwart my attempts at seduction? Not that I would actually bed the man-he was no good to my kind dead. But still, I’d never met a human before that I couldn’t beguile. It didn’t bode well that my powers seemed to hit a brick wall when directed at him. What if he saw or heard something he shouldn’t? My power to shift memories needed to work or else he would end up another notch on my already eroded bedpost of death.

And that led to my other problem with Raphael, Rafe of the golden hair and blue eyes. Where did the urge to rip off all his clothes and have my wicked way with him come from? As a woman, I felt desire and arousal, just not very often. Like my hunger, I fed it on demand. Never before, though, had my erotic longings made me want to lose control, and for a human no less.

Unable to fall asleep, I went roaming the silent halls of the house. Dawn was broaching the horizon, not that I saw it. The automated shutters had already shrouded all the windows, blocking sunshine’s insidious attempt to roast me alive.

I decided to pay a visit to the makeshift lab I’d created. I entered the room, the blinking of lights from the softly whirring machines bright in the gloom. I drifted my hands over the bare work surfaces, not finding a shred of paper or Rafe’s prized notebook. Stumped, I wandered back into the hall, fatigue still out of reach.

I resumed my trek of the halls. I almost fooled myself into thinking I was on an aimless jaunt, an undirected stroll that led me right to the door housing my disturbing guest.

I paused outside the carved wooden panel, my sane inner voice telling me to go back to bed. I never listened to the voice of reason.

I opened the door without a whisper of sound. I eased into the dark room my eyes dilating like a cat’s to see. Silence reigned. Is he even here?

A vivid image of him in another bed-another woman’s bed-made me momentarily see red. An insane reaction to a man I’d just met and didn’t particularly like. Then I heard it; the soft inhalation and exhalation of someone breathing.

The tension I hadn’t even noticed tightening me, slid from my body. I glided over the carpet to the bed, the draperies on the canopy a veil between me and the slumbering doctor.

I pulled the diaphanous material aside and gazed down upon the serene sleeping features of Dr. Angelus. My tormentor in more ways than one, and someone my instincts screamed to kill. I knew my life stood on the threshold of something momentous, a second sense if you would that from here on in, everything would change, and somehow, he would play a part. Whether or not that role would end up a positive one, though, only time would tell.

In the meantime, I’d treat him as the enemy-someone not to be trusted and that needed close watching.

And speaking of watching, I couldn’t seem to turn away. I gazed down upon him, his fair skin with a hint of stubble. His full, sensual lips. His ruffled hair.

His breathing hitched and I held my own breath wondering if I’d made a sound to wake him and alert him to my presence. Do I want him to find me, here in his room?

His sleep cadence resumed and I deflated with a hint of disappointment. Get a grip, I told myself as on silent feet I made my way to his desk where his laptop sat, the dratted notebook at its side.

I knew I courted discovery if I booted up his computer, so I grabbed the notebook instead. I opened it onto gibberish. Well, not quite. The chicken scratchings inside were obviously writing, just not in a language I understood. And considering I spoke and wrote in five languages, the fact I didn’t recognize it seemed odd.

Just another mysterious facet to the doctor and one more reason to distrust him even as my intrigue grew. The rustle of fabric had me placing the notebook back and with shadows drawn around me, fleeing the scene of my crime.

I made a beeline to my room, shutting the heavy door behind and for good measure locking it.

I’d hoped to find some answers in my nocturnal wandering, instead I found myself even more confused than before. And struggling with emotions I thought long dead and jaded.

I had no interest in getting entangled or emotionally involved with anyone, especially not a human. But despite all the reasons and arguments against it, still I couldn’t erase Rafe’s presence from my mind, nor could I ignore the reaction of my body to him.

Maybe I was just overdue for some loving. I reached into my nightstand and pulled out my trusty rubber dildo. Long, thick and always hard, it had the added benefit of not talking and not dying when I was done.

I looked at it and sighed. I dumped my pretend phallus back in my nightstand drawer. I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm or energy for some self-pleasure, not when what I really wanted to feel was the true warmth of a living cock. I closed my eyes and couldn’t help picturing Rafe on top of me, unclothed of course. Having never seen him naked, I used my imagination.

In my fantasy, the human doctor had rippling muscles and thick forearms, all the better to hold him up to pound my soft flesh. My body trembled even as my mind imagined Rafe ducking his head to suck at a prominent nipple, my body arching in delight. In real life, my cleft quivered wetly.

Dammit

I rolled over to go to sleep, forcing my mind to dwell upon anything but the sexy Rafe. However, my body and mind still refused to cooperate. Instead, I realized how cold and lonely my bed seemed. How nice it would feel to have a body-a certain male body-spooned around me.

I punched my pillow sending feathers flying.

That’s it. Tomorrow, I start looking for a boyfriend-the nonhuman kind.

Chapter Four

I awoke frustrated in more ways than one. Tied to the house and the human doctor that I needed to remain available for, I couldn’t go out in the field and see firsthand what my reports from my staff were telling me. In a nutshell, what I gleaned was that things were going from bad to worse. The daemons that had already crossed over were becoming more brazen and brutal-to the humans at least. They’d stopped more or less hiding in the shadows, a drastic change to their game plan which seemed designed to bring attention to themselves. I wondered if their switch in tactic had to do with our trying to sway humans to our side.

Of course that kind of thinking meant I thought the daemons were more than beasts. Ha, I refused to give those hulking monsters that kind of status.

Disturbing reports aside, I had other tasks awaiting me. I needed to prepare myself for the doctor by ensuring my hungers were sated.

I feasted in the privacy of my room from a pair of blonds-eye candy that liked to do naughty things to each other while I watched and ate from them. Well fed, and self-pleasured, I figured I could handle the good doctor today without the same lapse of control I’d experienced the day before.

I hated it when fate, with a nasty sense of humor, came back to bitch slap me.

Rafe walked into the dining room where I was serenely drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. One whiff and all my preparation went out the window. Seeing him looking scrumptious with his serious expression I longed to corrupt was like getting sucker punched all over again-in the pussy. Forget dry panties, I soaked myself with his first casual smile and hello.

He seated himself across from me along with a plate of food. I mumbled a good morning and hid behind my paper. My flimsy barrier didn’t stop smell and sound though. I could hear the sounds of him chewing and swallowing. Catch the tantalizing scent of the soap he’d washed with intermixed with a musky aroma which was all his own. I fought the urge, but lost the battle with myself. I lowered the newspaper and gazed upon him hungrily. The jerk stared at his plate of food, oblivious to me. How does he do that? This whole ignoring me thing really grated on my nerves.

“What’s the plan for today?” I asked in a curt tone, determined to make him notice me.

He didn’t look up as he answered. “Well, there are more tests I’d like to run with the equipment upstairs, but I’d also like to see some of your abilities in person if you don’t mind.”

I knitted my brow. “You saw me eat. What else do you need to watch? I warn you right now, I’m not into people watching me have sex.”

I got the blush I’d angled for and I grinned at his discomfort. So sue me. I enjoyed getting a rise out of him,