Free The Hunter by Theresa Meyers Page B

runnel of water made the rock slippery. The demon grabbed hold of his arm, heedlessly bumping her hand against the gun in his low-slung hip holster.
    His gaze snapped to hers, his skin tightening. That had been awful close to her rubbing the precise part of him that was most interested in the demon. “Careful there, darlin’. You might set it off.”
    The sound of rushing water grew louder, filling the chamber. Colt’s chest tightened reflexively, a giant invisible fist squeezing all the air out of his lungs.
    “Sounds like a river or waterfall.” Her tone was a mixture of curiosity laced with boredom.
    Yeah, he heard it. And he prayed it was neither. “Winn didn’t mention any waterfall or river. In fact, he didn’t mention any kind of water at all.”
    She pressed in against him, her breasts warm and soft against his back. A pleasant buzzing started at the base of his skull growing louder and filling his ears, drowning out the sound of the moving water that terrified him, making him think about how he’d like to sample just one more kiss from Miss Arliss before he sent her back to wherever she’d come from. He inhaled the cinnamon rose fragrance of her. So different. So much better than sulfur.
    “Perhaps we took a wrong turn.”
    His vision snapped back into focus. The sound of the water grew louder as they continued walking down the slope.
    They rounded the bend to find the tunnel through the rock led to a natural underground cavern more than fifty feet tall. The light from the coil illuminator was too weak to reach to the vault of the cavern, but it did well in picking out the giant stalagmites jutting up from the floor like a ridge of teeth and stalactites that dripped down in giant stone canines from the ceiling. At the far end of the cavern a wall of water cascaded from thirty feet above, flooding their path.
    “Looks like we’re going to have to go through the waterfall to keep going.” Her tone was so blithe it pissed him off.
    Beads of sweat popped out on his skin. Just the sound of the running water had him in a lather. The thought of having to drench himself for who knew how long under thousands of gallons of water pelting down on him, obliterating his air, left his stomach queasier than a greenhorn after an all-night party on white lightning.
    He gripped the map in his hands, making the paper snap taut. “We’re going to have to find another way around.”

Chapter 7
    Miss Arliss swiveled, looking around the cavern. “Unless you know a clever trick to walking through the rock, I suggest you plan on walking through the water.”
    He deliberately ignored her. “Maybe you were right. Maybe we took a wrong turn.” He turned to go in the opposite direction of the waterfall, back up the slippery, steep path.
    He damn well knew they had to go through that waterfall, and he’d rather be whipped on his bare back than do it. Colt stopped dead still as her hands feathered in a light, skimming touch up along his arm. “You don’t have to do this alone. I’m right here with you.” The silken, sultry quality to her voice made his mind fill with thoughts of tangled sheets and sweet female warmth. More than that, it lulled him into wondering what it would be like to be with Miss Arliss if she were human.
    She led him by the hand into the mist coming off the waterfall. It roared as it fell, far more feral than any supernatural beast he’d ever encountered. Every sensation he’d experienced underneath the surface of that water trough when he was fourteen came back with a vengeance. The burning in his lungs, the clammy, cold sluicing over his skin, reaching in and numbing him to the core. It wasn’t something he could control, dammit. His breathing became shallower, faster as his heart rate sped up and his lungs started to shrink in his chest. Her grip on his hand tightened.
    He pulled back. “You don’t understand.”
    The demon didn’t hesitate. She stood up on tiptoe, her soft curves pressing