Free The Demon Creed (A Demon Outlaws Novel) (Entangled Edge) by Paula Altenburg

the other side of the window, although it was obvious that Bear never sat there. It had been shoved against the wall so that the matching chair was pinned behind it. A pen and ledger lay on the outer edge of the desktop, not the inside.
    Three filing cabinets overflowed with papers crammed so tight inside the drawers that they could no longer fully close.
    She surveyed the room with growing dismay. It was clear that she had considerable work ahead of her, when a foolish part of her had expected to ride out this same day, on the assassin’s heels.
    …
    Hours later, with the angle of the sun shining through the window indicating it was at least midday, she heard steps outside the closed door, then a soft knock and her name.
    “Nieve?”
    She sat on the round, braided rug in the middle of the floor, suddenly conscious of the frenetic chaos she had created, and the papers strewn haphazardly in every direction around her. She went very still, praying that if she did not answer, he might go away.
    Instead, the door inched open. He peered around it, first at her, then at the mass of papers she could not hope to hide, before pushing it farther. The bottom of the door caught on some of the sheaves, dragging them across the rug and crumpling their edges, and she stifled a sharp cry of dismay because she’d not yet had a chance to examine them.
    He stooped and gathered them, smoothing them against his muscular thigh with the palm of one hand while he continued to regard her with a thoughtful frown.
    “I found a few weapons and some ammunition in Bear’s storage room that you should find easy enough to use,” he said. “I’ve also got a small handgun that I thought I might leave behind. Do you know how to use a gun?”
    She’d never had any reason to learn. It was not something she’d had to know growing up, and certainly not anything Bear would want to teach her. Bullets were expensive and difficult to obtain. He would not have wasted them.
    “Of course,” she lied. “Most women do.”
    “No,” he said. “Most women do not.” His mouth twitched into a faint almost-smile. The creases it created at the corners of his lips surprised her because they suggested he smiled often, or at least he had at one time. He held out the papers and she took them, adding them to the unread pile on the floor beside her. “Why don’t you come with me for a few moments and I’ll give you a quick lesson in the yard? Just to ease my conscience about leaving you here alone?” he added, before she could object. He looked at the papers. A dark eyebrow lifted. “Unless you’d like me to help you find whatever it is you’re looking for in here?”
    She could think of nothing she wanted less. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
    “But I will worry. You can either convince me you know how to fire a gun, or you can let me give you a quick lesson. I’m not leaving until I’ve seen evidence that you can protect yourself.”
    She did not want his concern. Neither did she care to be in the close proximity to him that such a lesson would require. She did not trust him, or the troubled warmth in his eyes no doubt meant to lull her into a false sense of security, because inside, and from past experience, she knew she should be screaming.
    Yet she did not dare let him see how afraid of him she was. Demons fed on fear. Standing strong against him was her best defense. She would show him that she could, indeed, protect herself.
    For Ash, she would do what she had to.
    “Very well.” As she stood she kept her head down, pre-tending not to see the hand he extended to help her. She would not let him touch her again.
    His hand dropped to his side. He stepped out of the doorway, giving her plenty of room to walk past him.
    …
    Creed did not care to contemplate her aversion for him. He did not want to know anything about her anymore, other than that she would be safe.
    Because what he did know was that his demon half was far too