Page 20 of Legacy of Temptation

Taking a deep breath, she bounced to her feet, and in a single, fluid motion, cartwheeled, catching Logan in the jaw with her foot. Oops. She’d meant to hit his shoulder, but she didn’t feel too bad, not when he recovered with a sweep of his arm that knocked her backward several feet. He lunged, and she spun, but he avoided her kick this time. In a short, ruthless jab upward, he caught her shin as she rotated, and she landed awkwardly.

Her knee screamed in pain, but it only made her more determined. She didn’t enjoy hand-to-hand combat, but once she was in it, she was in it to win, dammit. Her competitive streak ran deep, encouraged by her parents to the point of ruthlessness, especially when it came to her job. They’d raised her to be a shark in an ocean full of other sharks—and worse.

Her colleagues cheered for her, boosting her confidence. As Logan came at her again, she dodged and jabbed at his midsection. He wheeled away, diluting her blow into just a whisper of her knuckles against his rib cage.

His sexy little grin said he was toying with her. On some level, she’d known that, but he didn’t need to make it so obvious. It was time to employ her super move.

Casually, she moved closer to her stang, keeping her back to the wall and her front to Logan, who tracked her like a predator, his gaze locked on hers, his every step silent and lithe. He reminded her of a wolf, chin down, eyes up, a low growl coming from deep inside his chest. Or maybe she was just imagining the growl because it seemed like something natural. Like,of course this guy would growl. It would be deep and resonant as he prowled up his partner’s body…

Shit. She stepped back and shook her head. Looked like doubt demons were the least of her worries with this guy. The lust demons were way worse.

He moved in like a lightning strike, one arm hooking her so she slammed into him, her spine hitting the hard wall of his chest. His fingers encircled one wrist and held it like a steel band at her side. She smiled. Carlos winked at her. He’d taught her how to get out of this hold.

As hard as she could, she jammed her elbow backward, and her head upward. Jarring pain vibrated through her as her skull cracked into Logan’s chin and her elbow met the substantial resistance of his abs. Still, he grunted and loosened his grip. She took advantage, letting her legs go noodle and using her dead weight to wrench free. She dove for the stang and popped to her feet at the end of a roll.

Then, she went for it.

She met him at the center of the mat. He swung, and she swept low with one arm as she slapped down on the mat with the other. A twist of her legs and—

Shit!

He should have gone down like he had before. But he caught her calf, spun her, and suddenly she was in his arms again, her stang in his hand. He made a dramatic sweep across her abdomen, slicing through her blouse, and then he tossed her and the stang aside.

“I told you that trick will only work once. You try that move with someone who knows it, and instead of a ruined shirt, you’ll be cleaning your bowels off the floor.” He gave her an amused smile and a slight nod. “Don’t take it to heart, though. You did manage to surprise me. Nice. Sorry about the shirt.”

His gaze flicked to the gaping hole in the material. Instinctively, she closed the gap, hiding the glyph that protected her against the nightmare demon and was the reason she didn’t wear bikini swimsuits. He jerked his gaze away and looked at her colleagues as she made an effort to pick her pride off the mat.

“Who’s next?”

Clutching her ruined shirt and nursing her bruised ego, she plopped down at the edge of the mat and watched as Logan tore through her colleagues like claws through wet tissue paper. Carlos appeared to give him a run for his money, but she had a feeling Logan hadn’t given a hundred percent. Or even fifty percent.

By the time Shanea showed up to take over the tour, Eva’s coworkers had gained a new respect for DART. Or, at least, for Logan.

Shanea came toward them, her black flats clicking softly on the floor. “Logan, Kynan said you’re needed on an assignment. He wants to see you ASAP.”

Logan, who hadn’t broken a sweat after fighting every one of them, gave them all a see-ya wave. But she swore his gaze lingered on her longer than any of the others. Suddenly, she was breathless again. She gave him a flustered wave and watched as he met Shanea halfway across the room and high-fived her.

“He’s a demon,” Sig declared as the door shut behind Logan. “For sure, he’s a demon.”

“Yeah,” Keeley breathed, her hungry gaze still locked on the doorway Logan had disappeared through. “A sex demon. A go-all-night demon between the sheets.”

Eva wasn’t sure about that, but there was one thing shewassure of.

Logan was dangerous.

Dangerous in ways that made every female instinct scream to run away.

Or let herself be caught.

Chapter Five

The stench of blood, bowels, and death hung thick in the old building’s dank basement. Several floors above, business people toiled away in the ten-story Boston office building, oblivious to the fact that two demonic spirits were on the loose.

Maybe a human one, as well, but Logan couldn’t say for sure. His ability to sense the presence of an entity’s soul was limited to demons.

“Mace?” Logan stepped over the greasy stain that was all that remained of one of the two demons an Aegis Guardian had killed before he bled to death. The guy’s body was propped against the wall near the stairs—most of it, anyway. Logan had found his left arm twenty feet away. “Man, are you sensing them?”

“Of course, I’m fucking sensing them.” Mace eased from around a fat support column, a salt-encrusted blade meant to dissipate a spirit or decapitate a corporeal form in one gloved hand and a salt shotgun in the other. “But I can’t tell you where they are or what species. Why are you even asking me that? You can actuallyseespirits.”

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