Demon Huntress

Images of shu lan, her body pliant yet strong beneath his, flashed in his head until he was ready to howl in frustration—frustration that wasn't entirely physical. The fact that he couldn't bring her to climax gnawed at everything that made him an incubus.Muttering under his breath, he told the triage nurse to page Ren fu, and then he settled himself in his office with an IV of his blood set at full bore.

Ren fu arrived ten minutes later in his office. She looked as if she'd just rolled out of bed two minutes ago, her bloodshot eyes framed by dark circles."Where's Shu lan?"Ming jie felt a possessive rumble rattle his c.h.e.s.t at her tone. "I told you she's mine. I won't let you hurt her.

""She might already be hurt. I went to her apartment—.    She's at my place. She's safe.

Oh, thank heaven.

Heaven had nothing to do with it," he said wryly. "And why are you so relieved?

"The bastards called," Ren fu said, closing the door. '"And?""

They won't wait any longer. They said they need me right away.""What changed?""The person they were using can't do the procedures. Apparently, whoever it was was injured in an explosion."Ming jie's stomach bottomed out. The organ-harvesting operation could be based anywhere in the world—or underworld—and the individual performing the surgical work could live and work anywhere as well. But Ming jie didn't believe in coincidences."The hospital explosion.""

That's what I'm thinking. How many were injured?

Three killed. Seven injured. Two seriously." He shoved his hands through his hair, ignoring the tug of the IV line. "Of the seven, four are well enough to work.""So that means one of the three is the cutter."

Rage bubbled up in Ming jie at the thought that one of his trusted staff could have been involved in something so heinous. Traitorous.

Something pricked his memory. Mo, the male he'd treated a few days ago. He'd been aggressive, rude .. . until panic set in when Ming jie asked him about his surgical incision. At the time, it had seemed odd, but now, knowing that someone inside the hospital had been involved . . .And something hui yin had said bothered him, as well. She'd fingered The berus, but what if she'd said something else? She'd been whispering. Her voice had gurgled, been mushy.The three injured staff members . . . Fang zhelan, xiao bai, li li.

Oh, damn."It's li li .""The human nurse?" He nodded. "hui yin said something to me before she died. berus. But it could have been li li . Or li li's . . . something. And li li was present when a patient of mine went into a death panic. He must have recognized her.

""This might mean The berus isn't involved. They wouldn't blow up the person they need to perform the surgeries, right?"

Ren fu's voice went as cold as he'd ever heard it, her eyes went black, and for the first time, he saw the demon in her human-shaped wrapper. "I want my parents back. We need to talk to li li.""She's in a coma." He pinned Ren fu with a hard stare. "But I'll make sure I'm here the moment she comes out of it."

Shu lan might have blown up the hospital, but now, it seemed, she'd done him a favor.

*************

Shu lan woke to the delicious smell of something spicy and Italian. Assuming that a dangerous demon wouldn't have broken into the apartment to cook, she showered in Ming jie's luxurious bathroom—white marble with a shower stall the size of her apartment's bedroom—and when she got out, a plush robe lay on the bed.Smiling at his thoughtfulness, she donned it and padded to the kitchen, where he was stirring some sort of cream sauce on the stove."Hey," she said. "You look good for a guy who nearly died last night.

Is that what Chen told you? Actually, he said you weren't easy to kill."He poured some spiral noodles into a colander. "I'm not." He shot her a wink. "But don't think I'll tell you how to do it."That stung. It shouldn't. She understood—she wouldn't tell someone trained to kill her how to go about doing it. But it still hurt.She climbed onto a bar stool and sat at the island as he scooped pasta and sauce onto two plates. It smelled awesome and looked even better. "You keep surprising me," she murmured, as he slid the plate in front of her."Because I can cook? I'm a hundred years old. You learn a few things in that much time.""I guess I'm just surprised that you're so . . . domestic."Grinning, he pulled up a stool next to her. "I do my own laundry, too.""I'll bet you have a maid, though."His grin turned sheepish. "Maybe. Now eat. Doctor's orders."

Smiling, she picked up her fork. One bite, and she was lost to ecstasy. The pasta melted in her mouth, and the cheese sauce exploded with complex flavors that warmed her from the inside.

How long had it been since she'd eaten real food? The berus didn't pay well, mainly because funding came from largely private sources and, according to Ting, a few government agencies that siphoned off money where they could. But with so many cells around the world, most of the money went toward supporting the group rather than the individual. Which was why most Hunter lived at headquarters, where they were sheltered and fed as much boxed macaroni and cheese and canned ravioli as they could eat.

She finished her plate before Ming jie was halfway through his, and that was when she noticed the reason he'd stopped eating. His eyes, focused on the gaping openings in the robe that bared the swells of her b.r.e.a.s.ts and one t.h.i.g.h, glowed gold. She became aware of the cool air that c.a.r.e.s.sed her exposed skin, and of the burning stare that negated it. The promise of untamed s.e.x radiated from him, the hunger in his eyes having nothing to do with the food on their plates.

"God, Hellboy, what are we doing?"

Abruptly, his eyes flashed back to their normal color. He closed them with a sigh. "I don't know."

She could still feel the heat of his gaze lingering on her skin like an e.r.o.t.i.c sunburn. "I wish . . ." What?

That she were a kid again? Being abused by druggies her mom brought home? That she were a teen?

Living in foster homes and the streets? That this was a month ago, when she was alone with nothing but hate to keep her alive?

Because truth was, she'd never been happy. Until now.

"What do you wish, Shu lan?" Ming jie was looking at her, his gaze warm and soft.

"Nothing."

He took her hands, pulled her so that her stool slid across the tile and she was practically in his l.a.p. "Tell me."

"I just wish . . . I wish I had something of my own. I have nothing to my name. I've had very little of value in my entire life. All I have is The berus and my word, and now I don't even have The berus anymore."

He dug into his jeans' pocket and withdrew a small silver band. "You have this."

"My mom's ring," she whispered. She slipped it onto her finger, the familiar weight comforting and welcome, and she could hardly breathe for the emotion that clogged her throat.

Next thing she knew, she was in his arms and he was kissing her neck and telling her she was beautiful and s.e.xy and that he would give her anything she wanted.

She wanted to cry. No one, no human, had ever said those things to her, had ever made her feel beautiful and s.e.xy.

"This is crazy," she m.o.a.n.e.d, as his hands slipped inside her robe and cupped her b.r.e.a.s.ts.

"And?" He nipped her shoulder, where the collar had slipped down. She wanted him to bite harder, but he licked the spot, soothing it, wringing shivers of p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e from her.

"Just saying," she sighed, because when he touched her, all other worries and cares flew out his highrise window.

She shifted to give him better access, her hip brushing against the bulge behind his jeans' zipper, and he hissed against her skin. "I need to be inside you. I want to take you until we both pass out."

"Oh, God, yes . . ."

He moved so quickly she didn't have time to blink, and then the robe was gone and she was n.a.k.e.d on his l.a.p. Grasping the zipper tab on his jeans, she tugged, releasing his straining erection. It filled her hand, hot and heavy as she wrapped her fingers around the thick length. He was so hard she could feel his pulse slamming into her palm. Her thumb flicked over a drop of liquid at the tip, and he closed his eyes and g.r.o.a.n.e.d as she spread the moisture around the smooth cap.