Free The Demon Within by Stacey Brutger Page A

him know. A surprising dart of remorse tightened his lips.
    Liquid dripped from his brow. When he reached up, a bead of blood coated his fingers. He smeared the evidence with his thumb, stunned since neither demons nor angels bleed.
    Another damn test. It had to be. One he would not fail. He had a feeling all the changes this time around were her fault.
    Ruman focused on his opponent, determined to disarm her without further injury to either of them. The questions were a distraction he didn’t need if he wanted them both to survive.
    He examined her in the moonlight, searching for weakness, but quickly became lost in the study of her. Layers of hair escaped from her braid, softening her face. Her chest moved with each short gasp, but it was her eyes that drew him. Deep and green as the outdoors, they were alive with emotions he could almost taste. And he wanted a taste to fill the centuries of nothingness.
    A leg shot out, almost a blur, her boot heel landing inches from his thigh. Distracted by his unruly thoughts, he scarcely had time to block and grab her ankle. She jerked back, but he held tight. Now that he knew his attacker, he refused to ruin his chance at redemption.
    He couldn’t start over again.
    He couldn’t take the years of solitude.
    “Cease.” His voice had once commanded thousands of souls. The compulsion should have been sufficient to control any human.
    Instead of obeying, her eyes narrowed.
    How could he not even control a woman?
    Instead of defeat or even rational reaction, she jumped and swung her other leg around, connecting with his shoulder hard enough to knock him from his crouch.
    Refusing to release his hold on her, they landed together in a jumble of arms and legs. His temple cracked against the base of the fireplace, sending shock waves through his system. Black dots danced before his eyes. Pain made his stomach clench against the urge to heave.
    He couldn’t fail. Not now, not here, and not in front of her. Blinking to clear his gaze, he saw her blade descend in a quick arc toward his neck. Ruman arched his back, unbalancing her from her seated position straddling his hips.
    She tumbled and landed on her ass with a grunt. Though winded and slow, she was on her feet in a matter of seconds, crouched, ready for battle with those blasted knives clutched in both fists.
    Taking advantage of her slight hesitation, Ruman lashed out. A hard chop of his hand to her forearm sent one knife clattering across the room. The other sliced at him. The area she hit stung. All that saved him from a nasty wound was his leather jacket.
    The few emotions his kind dealt with were never so wildly uncontrolled. The longer he stayed in close proximity to this woman, the faster his protective barriers fell. If he didn’t nip this in the bud, he’d lose this chance for redemption.
    A chill like cold fingers curled itself around his back and crept across his chest. His stomach bottomed out at the unpleasant sensation at the thought of going back into that statue.
    Like hell.
    In a move too fast for a human to track, he launched himself at her. Even so, the blasted woman managed to leap partially out of range. His arms ended looped around her hips.
    As they sailed through the air, he twisted to land on top this time.
    Even then it was a stretch.
    Her quick, agile body almost slipped out of his grip. It was only by the grace of angels that he’d managed to hold her.
    He blocked the knife she twisted his way. His fingers encircled her wrists, her bones so delicate his fingers overlapped. The wickedly sharp blade stopped inches from his heart.
    Increasing the pressure, he waited for the metal to drop. The chit winced, but she refused to release the weapon. Her hand should be numb. People were so fragile, any more pressure and he’d risked permanently damaging her.
    Unbelievably, her legs shifted as she tried to twist from beneath him. Flat on her back, pinned to the floor, she still fought.
    Admiration and something