Half-Soul
by Katherine Rhodes
The Blurb
Hell called to his soul, but his soul resisted.
Or that’s what Asher Terhune believed.
Born from the demonic seduction of his human mother, his birth destroyed her marriage. They were left with only a Guardian and Watcher to protect them from his demon heritage. Born with a half-soul, Asher quickly learned to use the Seven Deadly Sins to fill the hole inside himself.
His favorite sin was Lust.
Women had no chance of a second night with Asher, once he was done with them. And he had no intention of changing his ways. Until the sweet, calm, caring Sarah Illfrig rocked his world, and refused his bed.
Asher found her refusal unacceptable and took on the challenge of seducing her. Sarah pushed him away even as the desire she felt for him was pulling her in.
But Sarah harbored her own secrets, and when the Guardian and the Watcher found out, it became imperative to keep Sarah and Asher apart.
**CONTENT WARNING: Contains adult language, m/m/f, and sexual situations and is intended for adult audiences only. 18+ Only**
The Excerpt
“It was only those demons at the end that were any kind of problem,” Sarah said. “They kind of put a damper on the whole vibe. Is Vassago really going to be able to make a claim on his insurance? I didn’t know they had a demon clause.”
Asher laughed. “Are you okay with all of this? A week ago you were just Sarah, the girl whose sickness no one could figure out.”
She paused. “You know, as strange as this is going to sound, yes. I’m okay with it. It explains so much about everything that’s gone on in my life and with my health. I’m oddly comforted by the fact I’m not normal and no doctor will be able to cure this. I did everything right, but this is beyond what regular medicine can do. And I’m okay with that.” She smiled sheepishly. “Especially if it means I get to be close to you.”
Asher returned the smile. “Does this mean I’m off your shit list?”
“Mostly,” Sarah answered.
“Mostly?”
Sarah keyed the door to the building open. “Mostly. We’ll see if I wake up with a job tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to fire you,” Asher said. “That used to happen after we slept together.”
Sarah looked at him. “Like I said, we’ll see if I wake up with a job in the morning.”
Asher got it. He rushed in through the door behind her and spun her against the wall, carefully. “I’m really that far off your shit list?”
“You’ve done everything right, Asher,” she said. “You stuck to every boundary I set up. You’ve been nothing but a gentleman. The only thing you were forward about was finding me yesterday evening and asking me to help you with the emptiness. That’s not really an infraction in my opinion. After tonight, that whole protecting everyone that you and Gad and Vassago did, you’re mostly off my ‘do not fly’ list.”
He leaned a hand on the wall and pushed a little closer. “And what do I have to do to get completely off your ‘do not fly’ list?”
“Two things.” She smiled. “That I wake up still employed tomorrow and how many times you can make me come.”
Asher couldn’t formulate an answer. He gave up and dropped his head to hers, pressing his lips across hers. His first taste of her was one of sugar and strawberries and the scent of fresh ocean air rose up around them. Her lips were soft and careful, and there was still a hint of fear in them. That she was willing to welcome him up even with that fear spoke volumes for her courage. But he had no intention of letting her go, in any sense of that. Tomorrow morning he would confess his darkest sins to her, but for the moment, he wanted to savor her taste and feel her body.
He pulled away from the careful, hesitant kiss and brushed a few stray strands out of her face. “Show me upstairs. Or I’ll start working on condition two right now.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up, and a small smile appeared on her face. “That’s not really incentive.”
“It is if I get you naked right here.”
She pulled her lip between her teeth. That expression had never worked on Asher until just now, when the lust it conveyed and the potential for sexual promise went straight through him and made his dick jump. Asher leaned into Sarah’s ear. “You have a naughty streak, don’t you?”
“You’ll have to find out.” She ducked under his arm and headed for the elevator.
The doors opened for them and Asher ducked in just behind her. She had already pressed the button for her floor and he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and pull her against him. She gasped lightly when she felt his length against her lower back, then turned and caught his eyes. “Did I do that?”
“You,” he breathed into her ear. “I have done everything in my power to keep myself in check around you.”
“And what a fine façade you put up,” she answered.
Asher nibbled on her ear. “If we weren’t going only seven floors, we’d have to stop this elevator.” He realized his hands were in the perfect spot, and slid them up just a little to wrap his hands around her firm, pert breasts. He plumped them lightly, and Sarah let out a breath.
“Your hands feel wonderful.”
“I can assure you that your breasts feel just as good.”
He brought his hands back down off of her just as the car slid to a stop. He might threaten to rip her clothes off and take her in the elevator, but he wasn’t really that much of a bastard. She was too much perfection for him to really consider it.
The first time, anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment