located both, but the few seconds it took made her realize she couldn't call her cousin. Mika was in Tahiti on a belated honeymoon; by the time she and Conor got back to Crimson City, Kimi would be long dead. And demons who had human blood couldn't be summoned, either. Kimi needed someone here now who was strong enough to protect her.
Nic.
It didn't matter if he were in Orcus, San Francisco, or Timbuktu, a summoning would bring him instantly to her side. All she had to do was make it to her apartment safely, find her grimoire, and call forward the demon named Nicodemus.
Chapter Two
Nic sat at a scarred wooden table in the corner of the diner and waited for his change. Although he was restless, edgy, he was in no hurry to leave the air-conditioned building and face the oppressive West Texas night.
The place was nearly empty; he could have lingered without difficulty and he would have except his waitress had made it clear she'd like to take him home with her. It irritated him beyond measure that he wasn't interested. Darla was an alluring, curvaceous redhead, and he should have flirted in return, not discouraged her. Sex had always been easy for demons: If there was a mutual desire, they sated it; it was no different than drinking water when thirsty or eating when hungry. Things, though, had changed for him, and Nic knew exactly who was to blame: Kimi Noguchi.
Though the time he'd spent with her could be measured in minutes—a handful of meetings and several short conversations over a two month period—the bonds had begun to form. For him. They weren't fully developed, not yet, but they were strong enough that he was averse to having sex with other women.
Not that he'd been celibate these many months away from California, but his encounters had been few and far between, happening only when his need for physical release was greater than he could deny. The corners of his lips quirked up. If he did the bonding rite with Kimi, there would be no others at all. Perhaps, though, mating with those women had been for the best. He'd been very careful with each of them, and his confidence in his ability to maintain control had increased.
Nic sighed, tapped his fingers against the table and thought about the day he'd realized he couldn't have Kimi—not in the near future. It had been yet another Noguchi family party, and he'd been standing in the corner, his eyes never leaving her. His half-sister, though, had seen the way he'd been watching, and had dragged him out of the room. What she'd said still worried him.
"Stay the hell away from her, Nicodemus," Mika growled the instant the door closed behind them.
"You know what there is between Kimi and me," he countered. Demons read energy; Mika should discern it readily.
"I know," his half-sister replied, "but she's too young. Kimi won't turn twenty for another month yet. You need to give her time to grow up, to finish college, to mature."
"But—"
"No buts." Mika made a slashing gesture as if she needed to stop the arguments with more than words. "It's not just her age. You could hurt her."
His temper flared, no doubt making his eyes glow red. He'd never hurt Kimi, and Mika should know that. He started to stalk past her, to leave the room, but she grabbed his arm.
"Not intentionally," she said quickly, emphatically. "I know you'd never knowingly harm her, but you're a demon and she's human."
This was Nic's first time out of Orcus, and he knew there was much he didn't understand about humanity. "How?" he asked, hoping that Mika was wrong, but fearing that she wasn't. She was half-human and understood this world in a way he did not.
"Demons are stronger than humans—much stronger—and we're not necessarily gentle when we have sex. We bite, we claw and we like hard thrusting—our females as well as our males. But if you mated with a human the way you do with another demon, you'd severely injure her."
Nic stood there, stunned. Were humans so very fragile?
Mika
Nic.
It didn't matter if he were in Orcus, San Francisco, or Timbuktu, a summoning would bring him instantly to her side. All she had to do was make it to her apartment safely, find her grimoire, and call forward the demon named Nicodemus.
Chapter Two
Nic sat at a scarred wooden table in the corner of the diner and waited for his change. Although he was restless, edgy, he was in no hurry to leave the air-conditioned building and face the oppressive West Texas night.
The place was nearly empty; he could have lingered without difficulty and he would have except his waitress had made it clear she'd like to take him home with her. It irritated him beyond measure that he wasn't interested. Darla was an alluring, curvaceous redhead, and he should have flirted in return, not discouraged her. Sex had always been easy for demons: If there was a mutual desire, they sated it; it was no different than drinking water when thirsty or eating when hungry. Things, though, had changed for him, and Nic knew exactly who was to blame: Kimi Noguchi.
Though the time he'd spent with her could be measured in minutes—a handful of meetings and several short conversations over a two month period—the bonds had begun to form. For him. They weren't fully developed, not yet, but they were strong enough that he was averse to having sex with other women.
Not that he'd been celibate these many months away from California, but his encounters had been few and far between, happening only when his need for physical release was greater than he could deny. The corners of his lips quirked up. If he did the bonding rite with Kimi, there would be no others at all. Perhaps, though, mating with those women had been for the best. He'd been very careful with each of them, and his confidence in his ability to maintain control had increased.
Nic sighed, tapped his fingers against the table and thought about the day he'd realized he couldn't have Kimi—not in the near future. It had been yet another Noguchi family party, and he'd been standing in the corner, his eyes never leaving her. His half-sister, though, had seen the way he'd been watching, and had dragged him out of the room. What she'd said still worried him.
"Stay the hell away from her, Nicodemus," Mika growled the instant the door closed behind them.
"You know what there is between Kimi and me," he countered. Demons read energy; Mika should discern it readily.
"I know," his half-sister replied, "but she's too young. Kimi won't turn twenty for another month yet. You need to give her time to grow up, to finish college, to mature."
"But—"
"No buts." Mika made a slashing gesture as if she needed to stop the arguments with more than words. "It's not just her age. You could hurt her."
His temper flared, no doubt making his eyes glow red. He'd never hurt Kimi, and Mika should know that. He started to stalk past her, to leave the room, but she grabbed his arm.
"Not intentionally," she said quickly, emphatically. "I know you'd never knowingly harm her, but you're a demon and she's human."
This was Nic's first time out of Orcus, and he knew there was much he didn't understand about humanity. "How?" he asked, hoping that Mika was wrong, but fearing that she wasn't. She was half-human and understood this world in a way he did not.
"Demons are stronger than humans—much stronger—and we're not necessarily gentle when we have sex. We bite, we claw and we like hard thrusting—our females as well as our males. But if you mated with a human the way you do with another demon, you'd severely injure her."
Nic stood there, stunned. Were humans so very fragile?
Mika
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