Free Crystalfire by Kate Douglas Page B

was more than obvious he was back in that dark tent, staring at that really scary woman, and he repeated the fortune she’d told him with an odd, hollow note to his voice.
    “You will love but once. With that love, you will experience unimaginable joy and unendurable pain.”
    “Oh.” Willow pulled free of his embrace and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “That is sort of creepy, isn’t it?”
    “That’s what I thought.” He chuckled, but there really wasn’t any humor in the sound. “So, I’ve avoided women my entire life, terrified of falling in love and having to endure all that pain. See? I told you I was a coward.”
    He pulled her back into his arms and hugged her. “It wasn’t all that hard, not falling in love. Things are more rigid in Lemuria than they are here in Earth’s dimension. When our continent sank beneath the waves—around the time I grew old enough to realize men and women had such fascinating differences—everything changed. There were many deaths and much turmoil among our people, and since that time, there have always been fewer women than men. Our energy went to building our new home within the mountain. Not as many of our men found mates.”
    “But I bet if you had looked, you would not have had any trouble finding a woman for yourself.” He was so utterly beautiful, she couldn’t imagine any woman turning him down, but he was smiling, shaking his head in denial.
    “I really am a scholar, Willow. I’ll admit I’ve been curious about sex, but I wasn’t ever interested enough in any particular woman to want to work at an actual relationship. Plus, I had that fortune hanging over my head. I still do.”
    “Enough to keep you from stealing a kiss or two?”
    He chuckled, but this time she sensed he meant it. “Things really are different in Lemuria than on Earth. Our women know their worth and generally withhold themselves until marriage. The opportunities for casual sex don’t exist as much in our world. At least they haven’t in the past, though there are many changes coming. So far, though, it’s not been as open or free. Certainly not conducive to much experimenting.”
    Willow gnawed on her lower lip for a moment. Then she slipped out of his embrace once again. “We’re not in Lemuria anymore, Taron. And I’m not asking you to fall in love.”
    He took a deep breath that expanded his chest and let her know he’d been thinking along the same lines. “I know that, Willow.” He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the bed.
    She felt her heart rate begin to speed up. Her gaze followed Taron’s. Her body suddenly felt soft and pliable.
    Taron’s sword, strapped in the scabbard across his shoulders, flashed. Willow blushed. Did his sword know what they were thinking?
    Taron glanced ruefully at Willow. She slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the giggles. “It appears your sword knows, too,” she said. “But I think it has other ideas.”
    Taron’s soft chuckle totally ended the moment. “I think you’re right. Come.”
    He held out his hand. She wrapped her fingers in his. His grasp was firm and felt just right. Willow raised her chin and smiled at him.
    He smiled back, but he shot one last, longing look at the bed. Then he tugged her toward the door. “We can speak of this later. Right now, we need to eat something, and then we should plot our course of action against the demon king.”
    Kibble? Is it time for kibble?
    No, Bumper. It’s time for people food.

Chapter 5
    West of the town of Sedona, the stench of sulfur lay heavily in the air. Eddy Marks wiped the sweat out of her eyes, leaned back against the side of Dawson Buck’s big SUV, and flashed a tired grin at her lover. Dax was so ruggedly handsome he took her breath away. It was hard to imagine him as he’d once been—a creature of shimmering scales and sharp claws, curved horns and razor-sharp fangs.
    Once a demon, but a demon no more. He was the man she loved, the one she would love