Free Demon Seed by Jianne Carlo Page A

the question left her mouth, she understood what he meant, and though heat coursed over her face, happiness sang through her veins. “I could have your baby. What a boon that would be.”
    She turned around, and her smile died at the thunderous expression on his face. “You are angry again. It is selfish of me to want to have part of you to keep after you leave.”
    “I’m not angry. I promise.” He kissed the back of her hand. “You’re barely twenty. You haven’t even begun to live. The last thing you need is the burden of a baby. I have no excuse, but it won’t happen again. And know this, Jacinta: if it turns out that you are pregnant, I’ll be there for you.”
    “You are a good man. And I will not call you Demon. Tell me your name.” Love threatened to burst through her skin and the words from her mouth. Her eyes prickled, but she willed the tears away.
    “It’s better that you don’t know, kitten.” His thumb brushed her lip. “Once we’re safe, then I’ll tell you.”
    Why wouldn’t he trust her with his given name? She tried to hide her hurt by making a joke. “I am dreadfully close to being weepy again. A handful of M&M’s should cure my tears.”
    His belly laugh proved contagious, and she chortled with him. “Honey, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that to get around me.”
    Jacinta pouted.
    Demon reignited the burners. “Do your job. Watch the bacon.”
    “I shall call you babe. That’s what lovers call each other, no?” Jacinta used a fork to flip a bacon strip.
    “Oh, I don’t know. I’m partial to Oh Exalted One.” Demon pinched her cheek. “Or Your Majesty.”
    “You are pulling my thighs.” She couldn’t stop grinning. Never had she felt so at ease with another human being.
    “Legs, kitten. Pulling your legs.” He shook his head.
    “English can be so illogical. I make very few mistakes in Latin and Gaelic. Even German is not so hard, but English…and the slang. I felt silly saying chill and my bad. But the day girls use all the ‘cool’ terms, and I wanted to as well.” She placed the cooked strips on a paper-towel-lined plate. “I didn’t want to be different.”
    “Do you worry about fitting in?” When she went to sit in the other chair, Demon tugged her into his lap.
    Warmth crept up her throat, and she ducked her chin. “Always. I didn’t belong in the cloister. I didn’t belong at the day school. I didn’t belong with Emilio. I should like to ask you something—babe.”
    “I like you calling me babe. Ask away.”
    “Do you think Consuelo spoke the truth? That Emilio is my half brother?” She couldn’t swallow, her throat too scratchy, the answer too important.
    His gaze never faltered. “Yes.”
    She covered her face. “I have always dreamed that one day my mother or father would come to claim me. That I had many, many brothers and sisters. A grandmother. Aunts and uncles. But I would rather be alone in this world than have to share the same blood as Emilio’s.”
    “Don’t.” He pried her hands loose. “I learned the hard way that you can’t choose your family. An accident of birth related Emilio to you. Look at me, Jacinta. Ah, kitten, don’t cry.”
    Even biting her cheeks till they ached wouldn’t stop the tears. “What he wanted to do to me—even thinking of it makes my heart hurt. Why? Why would a brother hurt a sister?”
    “Some people are born evil. Emilio’s one of those. You aren’t tainted in any way by being related to him. Are you listening to me?” His palms warmed her cheeks.
    She nodded.
    He swiped away the moistness from her face. “Let’s make a pact. We’ll be each other’s family.”
    “No.” She straightened. “I want to be your lover.”
    “Friends and lovers, then. Deal?”
    “Deal.” She offered her hand.
    “Lovers seal a deal with a kiss.”
    Jacinta smiled, for the twinkle had returned to his eyes and they reflected the deep green leaves of the sea grape trees on the beach. “I like