Heart of a Hunter Read online

  The warehouse was outfitted for maximum training, equipped with weights and everything else necessary for a growing girl whose job it was to hunt demons. Including this punching bag I hate. She gave it a sharp jab with one gloved fist and then a sharp kick, irritated that she couldn’t seem to match Tagas’ strength, which he had demonstrated for her earlier in the morning. True, he’s an angel, but I’ve got to be stronger and faster than this.

  His hand moved with lightning speed, blocking her next punch of the bag. “Enough of this. You’re wearing out and losing focus. Let’s move on to something I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”

  “Chocolate-covered caramel drops and Jerry Springer on tv?” Her voice held a bit of longing. That sounded great after two hours of throwing punches. She took off the gloves, tossing them to the cement floor. Her curls were pulled back into a slipping ponytail, and she brushed the errant strands away from her sweaty face.

  Tagas returned from the corner of the room, carrying a large crossbow and a handful of arrows. All thoughts of chocolate and trash tv vanished, and her eyes widened. “Yes!”

  He motioned for her, and she moved in place next to him, about twenty yards from the large target board. He put his foot in the stirrup of the crossbow, reached down and pulled back the string. Deliberately taking aim, he shot the first arrow and hit the bullseye. He repeated the motion twice more, both arrows hitting dead on target with a dull thud. He looked at her expectantly. Elle shook her head.

  “Tagas, I can’t do that. I’ve played with these things before with my dad years ago, but…I don’t think…”

  The angel gave her a warm smile and placed the crossbow in her hands, adjusting her arms and legs into the proper position. “Young Elle, you’re not an angel, true, but you’re almost superhuman in ability and strength. Ignore your doubts and just do it. It will all come naturally to you in time.”

  Her first two arrows thudded into the wall next to the target board. She realized that she had expected to do much worse and began to feel bold. She lined up the target again and nearly hit the bullseye with her third arrow. Grinning, she high fived Tagas, dropped the crossbow, and did a little happy dance. “I was close! Sooo close. Awesome!”

  Tagas walked over to one of the two tetherball poles. He grabbed the yellow ball on the chain and drew his arm back. The ball’s chain wrapped around the pole, the movement a blur, until the ball lodged at the top of the pole, the chain embedded into the pole. Tiny wisps of smoke rose from the deflated ball. “Soon, you’ll not only hit dead center with every arrow, but you’ll do what I just did with that ball.”

  Elle’s mouth formed a perfect little “o” in speechless amazement.

  ****

  “You aren’t going to get a wink of sleep tonight. This is your third cappuccino.”

  Elle and her best friend of two years, another social misfit named K.D., sat across from each other at the small wood table in their local coffee shop, the Daily Grind, which like most of the businesses, was located in the better part of the city. It was a small place with wood furniture, cream walls, and tasteful accents on each table, with no cookie-cutter booths. The owners were going for a more homey, comfortable ambience. As usual, K.D. had her short blond hair covered with a well-broken-in knit beanie and wore an infectious grin.

  Elle smiled and waved a careless hand. “School’s back in and this is October, the month to indulge in pumpkin spice cappuccinos. I need all the caffeine I can get to wade through all that homework.”

  K.D. snorted. “You got that right. I need the caffeine to stay awake in our second period history class. Booo-ring.” The two clinked mugs in agreement.

  Elle listened with half an ear as her friend began to relay all the problems with public high schools in Los Angeles County. She trained with Tagas five days weekly after school and was enjoying Friday, which signaled the end of her hectic work week. Being a fledgling demon-hunter-in-training slash high school senior was not without its troubles. Sure, it sounded kick ass, but even as she had progressed into a pretty decent fighter, every remaining failure knocked her self-confidence a bit. Can I actually do this without taking a dagger to the throat or having my head knocked off by something stronger than me?

  Her musings were interrupted by K.D. tapping her hand. She nodded toward the opening door of the coffee house. “There’s your babe, Ellie.” She gave Elle a knowing grin.

  Elle looked up to lock eyes with one of the finest guys she had ever known or, she was sure, would ever know. Brandon McGovern was a teenage god, a tall, fair-skinned, dark-haired senior who turned female heads every day of his life. He approached them with a broad smile, his jeans fitting his powerful legs like a rock star’s leather pants. Elle smiled back, nervously casting a glance down at her blue top and blue jeans.

  He snagged a chair from an empty table and sat down next to Elle. “Hey, ladies. Missed you at last class period today. But…oh wait…coffee is always more important than a class lecture.” He winked at Elle.

  Elle’s heart soared in an instant, and she smiled at him. “I was fading by fifth period, so here we are. Did we miss anything important?”

  Brandon shook his head. “Not a damn thing.”

  K.D. grabbed her tiny crocheted purse and sprang from her chair. “I’m needed elsewhere right about now, so I’m going to take off. You two entertain each other, okay?” She gave Elle a crafty smile and mouthed, “You got this,” at her above Brandon’s head. She gave them both a wave and headed away from the table and out the front door.

  “So, Elle, are we going to talk about date number two? Or was our first date so unimpressive that you’re pretty much writing me off?”

  Elle blinked a few times in astonishment. “Why would you think that? I haven’t given you the freeze off, have I?”

  “We used to talk a lot during the summer then…well, you just kind of vanished.” Brandon lowered his eyes for a moment. “Yeah, I kind of took it as a ‘screw off, jerk.’ After our first date, we never went out again.”

  Elle smiled shyly and took his hand in hers for a moment. “Things in my life just got kind of…um, crazy but I never, ever, wanted you to screw off. I would love a second date with you, Brandon.”

  He grinned, his dark brown eyes shining. She felt her legs begin to tremble just a bit. Good lord, she had imagined this moment so many times. He pointed at her empty cup. “I’m going to get us some drinks. Pumpkin spice is still your favorite, right?” She nodded. He stood, looking down at her. “We’ll talk more about this second date while we’re here.”

  Elle could feel her lips twisting in a dopey grin and tried to fix her face. Nope, the grin kept coming back, and suddenly she didn’t even give a damn as she watched Brandon at the front counter. She recalled their first kiss, his gentle but skilled mouth coaxing sensations from her body that she hadn’t experienced before, even though he wasn’t her first kiss. He didn’t automatically go for a handful of boob, as the few others hand, respectfully stopping short at a few caresses of her generous breasts encased in a lacy black bra and crocheted summer top.

  Her breasts tingled. She would happily kill three demons to have his lips on hers again.

  ****

  Pyro stood in the alley behind the coffee house, watching the demon approach. She had altered her appearance, now striding confidently toward him in her snug jeans with waves of long red hair and a body any mortal man or even demon would kill to possess. But she was his alone—his to fondle, his to command.

  The demon stopped in front of him, hands on her hips. She bowed her head in respect. “My dark lord,” she murmured, keeping her eyes on him. They shone with a wicked glint.

  Pyro felt himself immediately harden, but easing that particular need had to wait. “Cascadia.” He nodded. “You have been out of touch with me for many weeks. I was becoming concerned.” His expression darkened. “Do I have a reason to be concerned?”

  Cascadia shook her head. “No reason at all.” Her voice was flat with barely concealed annoy
ance. “I have become so much a part of your young demon hunter’s life that there’s no way anything happens that I don’t know about. No information about her snakes past me. I have the perfect guise as the transient best friend with a dead family and no ties. She expects me to come and go as I choose, and that means no questions from her and the rest of them.” Her tone relayed her utter disgust. “Why would any female, human or demon, want to make something as revolting as children? Whining, puking, demanding, worthless bags of flesh.”

  “Then, we should both be glad motherhood was never an option for you, my dear.” Pyro’s voice was mock soothing, and he watched in amusement as her eyes flashed angrily. “Her meetings with the bastard angel, Tagas, are still frequent, so I can only assume that he is training her. He has the whole warehouse fortified with his power, and I can only get so close. I imagine that she’s about five times stronger now and just as deadly to almost any demon.”

  Cascadia cocked her eyebrow. “All the more satisfying a kill when I take her down. Tagas is untouchable, but his protégée is human and, therefore, not immortal.”

  “You already have a plan for her eventual death in place?”

  Cascadia’s smile was nothing pretty, full of dark twisted promises of excruciating pain for those who stood in her way. As much as Pyro wanted to ascend in Hell’s evil hierarchy, she wanted it twice as much. My ambitious hell-bitch. To her he said smoothly, “Do not fail me in this matter. Remember, my failure is your failure with severe consequences.”

  The flame-haired demon nodded, turning to leave the alley. Pyro’s hand snaked out, catching her waist and drawing her into him. His body was burning with sexual need, and he placed her hand on his crotch with a smirk. “I require servicing before you go about your busy day.” He knew that, most of the time, she hated him and his sexual demands thoroughly but didn’t dare tell him no.

  Cascadia leaned into his body with a venomous glare. Her fingers closed around his erection, kneading and stroking him through his black pants. In the next moment, she slid his zipper down.

  ****

  Elle finished lacing the second black boot on her foot and stood in front of the small shoe mirror. She smiled in satisfaction. Perfect fit, perfect look. The knee high black boots were crafted in supple leather, with a four-inch stiletto heel. When she first laid eyes on them in the window of the mall shoe store, she knew they had to be hers.

  Tagas had earlier handed her a small wad of hundred dollar bills, with instructions to purchase a large set of durable hunting clothes. Smiling at her wide surprised eyes, he peeled off another two bills and handed them to her. “The extra is for your upcoming eighteenth birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday, young Elle. Enjoy yourself,” he had told her.

  She unlaced the boots, slipping them off and placing them back into the box. She headed to the sales counter with it under her arm. And this is how to hunt demons in style…

  ****

  “Brandon, can I please take this scarf off my face? I can’t see anything.”

  Elle let Brandon lead her with a gentle guiding hand on her back. She couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of her from beneath the blindfold. This was the night of her birthday, and he had planned a secret celebration for them. She already felt more special on this birthday than she had since she was a little girl, before her family life had soured. Now, all she got from her parents was a brief acknowledgement with an obligatory gift and hurried embrace. She and Brandon had been steadily and exclusively dating since their wonderful second date, which ended with the passionate kiss she had been aching for. She supposed that she could now consider him her boyfriend. Her first real boyfriend.

  She had bought a little black dress and matching heels, leaving her hair in a riot of rich brown curls after she dressed and painstakingly applied makeup. She knew she looked good and she felt pretty, confident because Brandon had given her a long admiring glance up and down for a moment, kissing her before helping her into the passenger side of his black Charger.

  She felt his lips brush across her cheek now as he removed the blindfold. She blinked a few times and looked around. They were in an upscale hotel room with cream carpet, lit with a few thick candles that gave off a heavenly scent. The dark wood décor screamed expensive, and her eyes moved to the big table beyond the large bed. She smiled that he had thought of everything, noting the small pink cake box, bowl of strawberries and cream, and the bottle of champagne chilling in a silver bucket. She turned to see him smiling back at her.

  “Happy birthday, Elle. I’m happy you like this whole setup. I really wanted this to be special for you.”

  “It’s freakin’ perfect.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him soundly. “Thank you so much. See? This is why I love you.”

  After making themselves comfortable, they indulged in cake and strawberries while sipping the champagne. They shared plenty of laughs and hot kisses. As the night wore on, Elle’s heart tapped out a nervous rhythm in anticipation of what lay ahead in the big plush bed. She and Brandon had agreed earlier not to jump headlong into the whole sex part, just to take things slow and see where things led. Well, I can’t stay a virgin forever…This felt right to her, and she stood to pull him into her arms, embracing him with tiny kisses planted on his neck.

  Brandon looked down at her. “You should know that if we do this, it will mean everything to me. This is not my first time, but it’s yours and I want you to feel good in every way. I love you, Elle. I should’ve told you before now, but I wanted to be sure before I said those words.” He kissed her deeply, his tongue stroking hers. His lips moved to her neck, and she let out a breathless sigh. “Are you sure you want to do this? I want more than just sex from you, so don’t even worry about that.”

  She nodded, wearing a delighted smile as she looked down. “If I wasn’t sure I wanted this before, I am now. People talk all the time about screwing and make it sound…I don’t know…dirty. I’m not experienced, but I do believe it’s different when you make love with someone you care about. I want to make love, Brandon.” She raised her eyes to meet his warm brown gaze. “Can we do that?”

  In answer, he swept her up into his strong arms, carrying her like a princess over to the bed. Laying her down gently, he kneeled and slipped each small black shoe from her feet, kissing her calves and the backs of her knees softly. His fingertips blazed a hot trail over the length of her sculpted legs, stopping at the edge of her black lace panties. He suddenly stood, stripping down to bare before undressing her in that same slow, precise way.

  Elle was so much on fire from his caresses when he stretched out beside her on the bed and continued to stroke her from neck to navel, adding his tongue and soft lips as he executed a perfect gentle assault. She felt more than pretty. She arched her back when his mouth found the tip of her breast as his hand slipped beneath her panties, teasing her hot core. She felt like the hottest woman in the world.

  Brandon broke her in gently when the time came, and after long sensuous moments of preparing her, he slid inside her slowly. She felt a hot flash of pain and clutched his broad shoulders, gritting her teeth as she adjusted to the fullness. After a bit, the pain began to subside. She nodded an okay and moved her hips to accommodate more of him, letting him know she was into it as much as he was. He began a slow, steady movement with his hips, and she gasped in unexpected pleasure.

  He didn’t rush to the finish line, instead thrusting gently until she felt the same rush of passion that he did before increasing the pace ever so slightly. He grabbed her hips in his hands as he moved, showing her how to handle her first climax as she began to writhe in pleasure. He whispered love and encouraging words in her ear, letting her know that it was all right to let loose with what she felt. She flew over the edge first, crying out with her head spinning as blood rushed through her ears. He moved faster for a few long moments before he climaxed, his body shaking with the force of it. He kissed her softly before rolling off her, pulling her into an embrace as she rested on his
chest.

  “You just gave me the best gift, Elle. I’ll always be your first lover.” He took her delicate hand in his bigger one, clutching tightly. Her full lips curved in a smile as he held her.

  ****

  Elle and K.D. sat across from each other at a small table in the Daily Grind, sipping iced coffees as the rain pelted the windows. The school day was done, and they had trekked to the bus stop across the street from the high school, boarding the bus just as the afternoon shower began.

  “So, there’s a sure-to-be-raging Christmas party at this guy’s house in Pasadena tomorrow night. Plenty of hard liquor, hard guys, and no parents in town. He’s that rich senior from Pasadena High School who loves to say he has erectile dysfunction and needs your help to get him up. Remember I told you about him?”

  K.D. looked at Elle expectantly and she nodded, feeling slightly guilty that her thoughts were somewhere else. Brandon hadn’t done what she had feared—leaving her alone and pregnant after getting what all guys wanted. He told her that he would be a permanent fixture in her life and, so far, was better than his word. He was affectionate, honest with her, and loyal. She wanted so badly to let him in on her secret life as a demon hunter in training, but Tagas made it clear, under no circumstance, was she ever to reveal her calling. She understood the danger to herself and those in her life but, at times, was so tempted to unburden herself. At the start, killing demons in human guise and sending them back to Hell had sounded like a really fun time, but she had grown to understand the weight placed on her shoulders.

  K.D. adjusted the crocheted beanie to cover her short blonde wisps escaping and nudged her. Elle fixed her face to look deeply involved in the conversation. “I’ll go if I can convince Brandon to go with us. You know he’s really not into liquor ragers anymore. I would feel weird with him not there. I can’t promise you I’ll go.”