Page 45 of Legacy of Temptation

“She’s dangerous, Eva.” He stepped onto the center of the mat and gestured for her to join him. “Really dangerous. That’s why what happened last night can’t happen again. She’ll do whatever she can to hurt me. No one around me is safe.”

His tone sent a chill up her spine as she moved closer, just beyond his reach. “She’s a demon, isn’t she?”

“Did you really think I’d throw a human woman against the wall?”

“Of course, not.” Well, now she felt like an idiot. “I mean, I hoped not. Is she the jealous type?”

He snorted. “I’m pretty sure sheinventedjealousy. Literally.” He gestured for Eva to come closer, but she stood her ground. If he was going to give her a beatdown, he would have to work for it. “Look, I don’t want to talk about her. But I do want to give you a fighting chance against her, or someone like her.”

“Again, why do you care? You don’t even know—”

Suddenly, he was against her, his chest to hers, in a move so fast she’d only seen a blur. Her heart pounded violently against her breastbone, and her breath jammed in her throat as she looked up at him, his handsome face mere inches from hers.

“I’ve seen a lot of pain and death in my life, Eva. It’s in my job description. But that doesn’t mean I like it. Believe it or not, our goal here is to save humanity. Not watch it be destroyed by evil.”

“I do believe it,” she said breathlessly. “I believe you want to help people, but why me? Why me, specifically? Mason and Benji aren’t exactly the best fighters in The Aegis either, but I don’t see them here.”

“They’re assholes.” Blunt, but accurate.

“They can be.”

His voice dipped low, as dark and silky as the luxurious Belgian chocolate hot cocoa she’d had for breakfast. “And I don’t want to fuck them.”

She drew in a hot, harsh breath at the honest, raw jolt of his words. “But you just said we can’t be together because that demon is a danger to me.”

“Yeah, well, my head and my dick are in two different places.” He shoved a frustrated hand through his hair and stepped back. “And if all goes well, the demon won’t be a problem for long. In the meantime, you need to stay out of her crosshairs and work on defending yourself. So, let’s get to work.”

Chapter Eleven

Two sweaty, achy hours later, Eva was as exhausted as she’d ever been. Logan was a good teacher. Instinctive, patient, and encouraging, he’d focused on defensive moves more than offensive since, in his words, “most demons will have the upper hand against you.” Insulting, but true. She had neither the speed nor the strength required of a warrior. Although, he’d sworn that she could, in time and with effort, develop both of those things to a much larger degree.

She just wasn’t sure she wanted to put her focus there. She wasn’t a total couch potato; she jogged two miles five days a week and did yoga every other day. But The Aegis hadn’t hired her to be a fighter.

However, she had to admit that if Logan was the one teaching the classes, she might be more tempted to hone her battle skills.

Grateful to be off her watery legs, she sank onto a bench and chugged half a bottle of water. He didn’t even look winded.

“You did great,” he told her as he removed the cap from his own water bottle. “You’re getting the hang of the elbow strikes and scrot-hooks.”

She had to laugh at the scrot-hook. Using a knuckle to jab behind a demon’s junk was brilliant. Who knew so many of the most common demons had hyper-sensitive spots in fairly easy-to-reach places? Was Carlos aware? If so, he hadn’t taught her that in any of their training sessions.

“Scrot-hooks can be debilitating, but you gotta watch out for the spray.” Logan took a swig of his water.

“Let’s hope I never have to watch out for that.” She shuddered. “Getting drenched in demon funk is not something I want to experience. Ever.”

“It’s not fun.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then set the bottle on the bench. “Depending on the species, the stench can cling to you for days, no matter how much you shower.”

“Speaking of a shower, that sounds like heaven right now.” She revised her thought. “A shower and a nap.”

“Did you not sleep well last night?”

“Bad dreams.”

“Because of the nightmare demon?”

She fumbled her bottle and caught it just before it spilled all over her legs. “Excuse me?”

“I saw the protection glyph.”

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