Free The Dark-Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon

hungry. So thirsty.
    It wasn’t until he found himself clawing at the rind that he became aware of his actions.
    Julian froze as he stared at his hand covered with the melon’s juices, his fingers curled against the side like the claw of some beast.
    “Roll over, Julian, and face me. Now, be a good boy, and do what I tell you to. Touch me here. Mmm … yes, that’s it. Good boy, good boy. Please me well, and I’ll bring you some food in a little while.
    Julian flinched at the unbidden memory from his last incarnation. No wonder he acted like an animal; he’d been treated like one for so long, he barely remembered being human.
    At least Grace hadn’t chained him to her bed.
    Yet, anyway.
    Disgusted, he glanced around the room, grateful Grace hadn’t seen his lapse of self-control.
    His breathing ragged, he grabbed the melon half and pitched it into the trash receptacle he had seen Grace use the night before. Then he moved to the sink to wash the sticky sweetness from his hands.
    As soon as the cold water touched his skin, he sighed in pleasure. Water. Pure and cold. It was what he missed most during his confinements. What he craved hour after hour as his parched throat burned and ached.
    He let the coldness slide over his skin before he captured it in his cupped hand, leaned down and drank the water from his palm, sucked it from his fingers. It was so soothing as it invaded his mouth and slid down his burning throat, slaking his thirst. He wanted nothing more than to be able to climb into the sink and feel the water slide all over his entire body.
    To …
    He heard a knock on the door followed by rushing footsteps on the stairs. Turning off the water, Julian reached for the dry cloth next to the sink and wiped off his hands and face.
    As he returned to the other half of the melon, he recognized Selena’s voice. “Where is he?”
    Julian shook his head at her friend’s enthusiasm. Now that was what he’d expected from Grace.
    The two women entered the kitchen. He looked up from the melon and met brown eyes as wide as a Spartan shield.
    “Holy green guacamole!” Selena gasped.
    Grace folded her arms over her chest, her eyes twinkling in a cross between anger and amusement. “Julian, meet Selena.”
    “Holy green guacamole!” her friend repeated.
    “Selena?” Grace waved her hand in front of Selena’s face. Still Selena didn’t blink.
    “Holy gre—”
    “Would you stop?” Grace chided.
    Selena dropped the clothes in her hands straight to the floor and moved around the kitchen until she could see his entire body. Her gaze started at the top of his head and went all the way down to his bare feet.
    Julian barely suppressed his ire over her actions. “Would you like to examine my teeth next, or would you rather I drop my pants for your inspection?” he asked with more malice than he’d intended. She was, after all, technically on his side.
    If only she’d close her mouth and quit looking at him that way. He’d never been able to stand such unnatural attention.
    Selena hesitantly reached out her hand to touch his arm.
    “Boo,” he snapped, making her jump a foot into the air.
    Grace laughed.
    Selena frowned and glared at both of them. “All right, you two. Are you through making fun of me?”
    “You deserved it.” Grace picked up a piece of melon that he’d just sliced and placed it into her mouth. “Not to mention that you get to take him with you today.”
    “What?” Julian and Selena asked in unison.
    She swallowed her bite. “Well, I can’t very well take him to work with me, can I?”
    Selena smiled wickedly. “I bet Lisa and your female clients would love it.”
    “And so would the guy I have coming in at eight. However, it wouldn’t be productive.”
    “Can’t you cancel?” Selena asked.
    Julian concurred. He had absolutely no desire to go anywhere public. The only part of his curse that he found even remotely tolerable was the fact that most of his summoners kept him hidden in