Part 14 (1/2)

'Not yet.'

But suddenly it was right there in front of them, appearing out of nowhere. Derek dropped his rifle as the demon lunged for him, its clawed hands and dripping fangs reaching out, trying to bite, to scratch, to insert its paralyzing toxin.

Human-looking in every way except for its hideous fangs and claws, it was just like the one she'd seen the night before. Nearly bald, with pale blue eyes, but emanating pure evil as its twisted, grimacing face glared at Derek.

Derek grabbed its wrists and held it back, struggling to keep it at bay.

Shocked for a second, Gina gaped at it, her mind scrambling for what to do.

Shoot it, dumba.s.s!

Then instinct roared to life and she grabbed the handgun out of the holster at her hip, taking careful aim as the demon and Derek struggled in a fierce dance. She didn't want to hit Derek in case they moved suddenly, but she knew Derek didn't have much time. The muscles of Derek's arms bulged with the effort it took to keep the demon from sinking its fangs into his arm.

She fired a shot, striking the demon in the throat. It let go of Derek and reached for its neck, blood pouring over its hands.

Derek pushed back, panting and fighting for breath as he leaned over and braced his hands on his knees. Gina rushed over to him.

'Are you all right?'

'Yeah,' he said, nodding. 'Thanks.'

She looked at the demon, horrified to see its flesh melting off its bones, a strangled, bubbly cry tearing through the night as first its flesh disappeared, then muscle, then organs disintegrated, until nothing was left but skeletal remains that dropped to the ground.

'You have some seriously kick-a.s.s weapons, Derek.'

'Yeah.' He stood, inhaled, exhaled, and turned to her. 'You did good. Thanks for thinking so clearly. You saved my life.'

Beaming, she nodded. 'You're welcome.'

'Lou, we've hit all three here. Any other activity?' he commed.

'Other teams completed. Nothing else going on. Head back.'

'Got it. Out.' He turned to Gina. 'We're done here. Let's go.'

That was it? She was primed, exhilarated and pumped up with adrenaline. She wanted to kill more demons. Why weren't there more demons? What did he mean they were done?

h.e.l.l, she was just getting started. What was she going to do the rest of the night?

Chapter Twelve.

T he debriefing went well, Derek thought. All in all, they'd killed twelve demons tonight. Not too bad. But the best part was all of the hunters had come back alive and unscathed. he debriefing went well, Derek thought. All in all, they'd killed twelve demons tonight. Not too bad. But the best part was all of the hunters had come back alive and unscathed.

And pretty d.a.m.n pumped up, from the looks of all of them.

If they had champagne lying around the new hunters would probably be spraying it over each other right now. Grins abounded, backs were slapped, war stories were told.

Derek and the other hunters just sat back and watched, amused. h.e.l.l, they'd all been there before, that first night of hunting. Kill a few demons, then think you could take on the whole world.

He'd let the new guys have tonight to celebrate and feel invincible. Tomorrow he'd hit them with the debriefing, remind them this wasn't as easy as it looked. In their business, hunters died. Unfortunately, all too frequently.

But they had done well and that was good. They needed more competent hunters. If this new team worked out, he'd be happy.

'I couldn't believe Derek chased down that demon,' Gina said as they traded stories back and forth. 'My calves were killing me trying to keep up. I almost lost him a few times.'

'Dayum, Derek,' Linc said, elbowing him in the ribs. 'Since when did you become a speed runner?'

Derek shrugged. 'h.e.l.l, I don't know. Maybe I had a slow demon tonight.'

'Interesting,' Lou said.

Derek rolled his eyes. 'It wasn't that big a deal. I wasn't that fast.'

'h.e.l.l you weren't,' Gina argued. 'I've never seen anyone run like that.'

Derek tried to blow it off, but even he had to admit he was surprised by his own speed tonight. And his reflexes. And being able to sense the demons before Lou commed him. Maybe Lou was right and he'd been doing this so long he was just getting really good at it.

And maybe he believed in faeries and unicorns, too.

Fortunately, the conversation died down after awhile and everyone headed off to the bungalows to get some sleep, the first rays of dawn signaling safety.

But for some reason, despite the grueling night, he was still too keyed up. He tried a gla.s.s of whiskey, and still ended up pacing back and forth in his room.

He took a shower, but the only thing that did was dredge up memories of the last time he'd walked out wearing only a towel and found Gina leaning against his doorway. And that mental visual did nothing to calm his jittery senses.

'd.a.m.n,' he whispered, stepping out of the bathroom and dragging his hand through his still damp hair. What he saw when he entered his bedroom made him wonder if he'd been hurled back in time.

Just like the other night, she leaned against his doorway. Only this time, the door was closed, and she wasn't wearing a p.i.s.sed-off expression. Her eyes were smoky blue, her lips parted, high color spread across her cheeks. She must have just showered, too, because her hair was damp. Soft curls framed her face, the rest of her hair spilling over her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She wore a little sundress again. This time all black, silky, hugging every single one of her curves. His mouth watered and his towel started its own version of the tent dance. No way in h.e.l.l was he going to be able to hide how felt about finding her here.

Then again, he got the idea she hadn't come to his room to discuss demon-killing strategy.

'I can't sleep,' she said, resting her head against the wall.

'A little keyed up?' he asked, approaching.

'Yeah.' She licked her lips and his mind went in a million directions. Like exactly where he'd like her to put her mouth. He could already imagine her sliding down the wall, grabbing his towel on the way, and taking his throbbing shaft between her sweet, full lips as soon as she hit her knees, her warm tongue sweeping around his hot flesh.

Yeah, there went the towel, but he didn't stop to pick it up.

Her gaze went south and lingered for a few seconds. She drew in a shuddering sigh, then dragged her focus back to his face, her eyes gla.s.sy and dark. 'I can't sleep.'

He planted his hands against the wall on either side of her head. 'You said that already.'

'I did?'

'Yeah.'