Free Midnight's Master by Cynthia Eden Page A

right, he’d also catch a kil er. “I get enough.” That was all he’d say, for now.
    His eyes lingered on her mouth. She had a great mouth. He loved her bottom lip. Niol wanted to kiss her. To taste the lips so close to his.
    And he was more than used to doing exactly as he wanted.
    So he took her mouth.
    A deep, long kiss. Lips and tongue. Craving. Hunger.
    Her lips were warm and soft, and her response—fuck.
    She kissed him with fury. With wild need.
    Nothing tentative about her.
    His cock, already semiaroused, swelled against the front of his jeans.
    He wanted her naked. The bed was close. He could take her into the bedroom. Strip her, and make the fantasy he’d been suggesting into a reality.
    It would be so easy.
    Holly pushed against him, her nails biting into his chest.
    Maybe not.
    His head raised. He could still taste her sweetness on his tongue.
    “What is it that you want from me, Niol?”
    Everything.

    “I want to stop the killer, same as you.” He forced his hands to free her and he stepped back. He’d been careful not to jar her. He didn’t want to hurt her.
    She must have felt his cock straining against her when they’d kissed. The woman knew she’d gotten him turned on and ready.
    But he’d pulled back.
    For now. “So what’s it gonna be, love? Do you want to hunt with me?”
    “Yes.” Instant. “But we do this together, you got me, demon? No more secrets, no more lies. Together.”
    He wasn’t going to make any promises. His life was all about secrets and lies.
    “Then welcome to the wild side, Holly.” She’d better get ready for one rough ride.

Chapter 5
    B reaking and entering generally wasn’t Holly’s idea of a good time. Sure, when she’d been eighteen, she’d once had a boyfriend who’d been fresh out of juvie and he’d taught her some lock tricks, but she hadn’t exactly planned on spending her grown-up nights breaking the law.
    But it wasn’t like she had much choice right then.
    “Tell me again,” Niol said softly, “just what the hell we’re doing here.”
    Here was on the steps of a small brick house on the outskirts of Atlanta. A house Holly had visited once before, with Carl Bronx.
    “Carl’s parents owned this place.” Her gaze swept the street. “They moved a few years back, left it to him. He had a place downtown, but he liked to stay here sometimes.”
    She’d thought of the house on Sycamore right before her evening news broadcast and realized that while the police had undoubtedly already searched Carl’s studio apartment, they might not have had a chance to get into this place.
    Or maybe they didn’t even know about it yet.
    Holly drew in a deep breath. She felt better, her muscles not as stiff and sore. Already, many of her bruises and scratches had healed. Her wrist didn’t even hurt anymore. She was feeling pretty damn good.
    Lucky for her, she’d always been a fast healer.
    She’d slept most of the day away. Slept, and had nightmares about Sam. Yet every time she’d woken, a cry on her lips, the heavy weight of sleep had pulled her back into the dark world of blood and fear.
    She couldn’t escape the dead, not even in her sleep.

    After her broadcast, she’d called Niol and told him that she needed his help. Because if she was about to go snooping into a dead man’s house, wel , with the crazy shit happening in this town, she wanted backup.
    And what better backup could she get than her al -powerful demon?
    He’d picked her up, followed her directions, and now stood with her on the stone steps of the house. Holly flipped up the welcome mat, hoping to find a spare key.
    “Love, if you want inside, all you have to do is ask…” Soft.
    She shivered. From the cold, had to be. The night air carried a definite chill.
    Sure, it was the cold. And not because the guy’s voice was sexy.
    Her hands rose to her hips. “I’m asking, demon.”
    He glanced at the door. Narrowed his eyes. She felt that strange thickness in the air again.