Page 7 of My Bounty Hunter is a Demon (Demons for Hire)

7

DORIAN

I woke slowly, awareness returning in languid stages. For a blissful moment, I forgot the burdens hanging over my head: the missing children, the threat of Laris. All I knew was that my bed was warm and the scent of vanilla and jasmine, Aspen's scent, still clung to the sheets. But as I reached out, seeking her soft skin, I found only empty space. My heart jolted.

I pushed myself up, sheets pooling around my waist, and scanned the room. Early morning light spilled through the gauzy curtains. The events of last night came flooding back. Our confessions, our lovemaking, the way Aspen had melted into my arms like she'd finally found home. The memory sent warmth spiraling through my chest, but a needle of worry tempered it. Had I scared her off already?

I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and padded out of the room, following the tug in my soul that drew me to Aspen. I found her in the kitchen, her petite frame wrapped in one of my t-shirts, the hem brushing the tops of her thighs. Desire flickered low in my belly at the sight. She stood at the window overlooking the creek that snaked through my backyard, lost in thought as she cradled a mug of coffee.

Peace radiated from her, and for the first time, I let myself imagine what it would be like to always find her like this, soft and rumpled with sleep.

I must have made some small sound because she turned, a smile blooming on her lips as her gaze landed on me. I was helpless to resist her draw. I crossed to her in a few long strides and pulled her against me, mindful of the steaming mug in her hands. I lowered my head to brush my lips over hers.

"Good morning, beautiful," I murmured. "When I woke up, and you were gone, I thought maybe you'd run off on me."

Her laughter shivered through me. "Not a chance. You're stuck with me now."

She sat her mug on a nearby table so she could loop her arms around my neck, fingers toying with the fine hairs at my nape. "I'm keeping you, Dorian Harper."

A well of emotion rose in my throat. I tightened my hold on her. "Good."

I bent to seal my mouth over hers, the kiss deep and searching. The kiss ignited a hunger I would never fully sate. I gripped the backs of her thighs and lifted her, reveling in the way she instinctively wrapped her legs around my waist.

"Back to bed with you," I growled playfully against her lips. Aspen's husky laugh entwined with my own as I carried her out of the kitchen.

We'd only made it halfway across the living room when the front door burst open, the chaotic energy of my sisters spilling into the space. I sighed, halting, and let Aspen slide down my body. The friction was delicious torture.

"Seriously?" I griped as four pairs of eyes landed on. "You could at least knock first."

My eldest sister, Geri, just arched a brow, unrepentant. "Not when we're on a schedule," she shot back.

Behind her, my other sisters filed in - Layla, Kiera, and Mac. They carried bags and boxes that filled the room with the aroma of fresh bread and frying bacon.

"We brought breakfast," Layla announced.

Beside me, Aspen perked up, her nose twitching adorably. I bit back a smile. Her demon metabolism meant she was always starving.

"I'm Aspen, by the way," she offered, her voice warm with good humor as she untwined herself from me. She held out a hand to my sisters. "It's great to meet you all."

My sisters passed an approving glance between them. A full conversation without words.

"Oh trust us, the pleasure is ours," Layla said, grasping Aspen's hand.

My sisters made quick work of setting out a feast on my kitchen table. There were fluffy eggs, crisp bacon, buttery croissants, and fresh fruit. I'd learned never to underestimate the magic they could work in a kitchen. I watched, content, as Aspen jumped in to help, laughing and chattering with my sisters like she'd always been a part of the family. An overwhelming sensation seized me, so acute it nearly buckled my knees. It felt right, like a piece of myself I'd never known was missing had suddenly clicked into place.

I shook off the feeling as we all settled around the table, diving into the food with gusto. For a few blissful minutes, there was no talk of the missing children or the dark magic rising in the city. There was only the warm cacophony of family, of shared stories and raucous laughter and good-natured ribbing.

But like all good things, it couldn't last forever. As the plates emptied, Geri set down her fork with a definitive clink, her expression sharpening into the focused intensity I knew only too well.

"So, about this case," she started, her gaze bouncing between me and Aspen. "We need to be read in. If you two are going after Laris, we're going to be your backup."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Aspen laid a hand on my arm, her touch soothing. "We'd appreciate that," she said, meeting Geri's eyes. "This is bigger than just us."

As the morning stretched on, Aspen and I laid out all the details about the missing kids, the dark magic rituals, and Laris' role at the center of it all. Aspen filled my sisters on her past with Laris. My sisters listened with grim intensity, their expressions hardening with every revelation. By the time we finished, the air practically crackled with their collective outrage.

"We'll set up a command center at my place," Geri said decisively. "You two follow this lead with the compass. The second you need us, we'll be there."

A rush of affection and gratitude surged through me. I reached for Aspen's hand under the table, twining our fingers together. And now, with Aspen, my family felt complete in a way I'd never dreamed.

We lingered a while longer, solidifying plans as we picked at the remnants of breakfast. But the lightness of the morning had evaporated, replaced by a steely resolve. We had work to do.

As my sisters filed out with promises to check in soon, I pulled Aspen into the circle of my arms, resting my chin on the top of her head. Her warmth seeped into me, shoring up my determination, my sense of purpose.

"You ready for this?" I asked quietly.

She tipped her head back to meet my gaze, her eyes blazing with resolve. "With you by my side? I'm ready for anything."

I bent to capture her lips in a searing kiss, fast and fierce. Then, hand in hand, we turned to face whatever challenges lay ahead together.

The compass led us west into the gritty industrial district in Nashville that huddled like a forgotten secret on the outskirts of town. Abandoned warehouses and derelict factories loomed around us, rusted and forlorn beneath the flat gray sky. The air tasted of neglect, of moldering dreams and broken promises. I felt Aspen's restless energy beside me as we closed in on Laris' location.

At last, the compass needle quivered and stilled, pointing decidedly at one of the larger warehouses. Rust stained its corrugated metal walls, and its windows were dark and lifeless. Several were broken like kids had thrown rocks at them. A shiver of unease trickled down my spine. This place felt wrong, tainted. The kind of place where dark things lurked and darker deeds were done.

I shot Aspen a glance and saw my own grim determination mirrored in the set of her jaw. With a shared nod, we slipped from the shadows of a crumbling brick wall and ghosted toward the warehouse.

We hadn't taken more than a few steps before movement flickered in my periphery. I tensed, my hand drifting toward the hilt of my blade. Beside me, Aspen let out a nearly sub-vocal growl - a primal demon sound that set my teeth on edge.

"Guards," she breathed. "I count three."

I swept my gaze over the scene and spotted figures prowling the perimeter of the warehouse. "Laris never goes anywhere without his enforcers," I murmured. Cold certainty settled in my gut. "He's here."

Aspen's smile was a slash of deadly anticipation. "Then let's not keep him waiting."

In a blur of speed, we launched ourselves at the guards. Aspen reached hers first, her body a weapon as she twisted around him, clamping onto his neck in a merciless chokehold. I surged toward the other two, magic thrumming through my veins.

We moved like a perfectly choreographed dance. Every lunge, every strike sang with lethal precision. The guards were well-trained, but they were no match for us, a reaper and a demon fighting in seamless tandem.

In a matter of minutes, it was over. The guards lay crumpled at our feet, unconscious or groaning. I hardly spared them a glance, my attention fixing on the rusted metal door that stood between us and Laris.

"Shall we?" I said, rolling my shoulders to loosen the battle-ready tension.

Aspen flashed me a fierce grin. "After you."

Together, we shoved through the door, its hinges shrieking in protest. Inside the warehouse was a gaping maw of shadow and grit. The air hung heavy with the tang of dark magic, oily and cloying. It coated my tongue, my lungs, my pores. I had to fight the urge to gag.

Aspen pressed close to my side, her heat a bracing counterpoint to the chill of the warehouse. "Can you feel that?" she whispered, her words a feathering of breath against my ear.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. The magic here was old, potent. It seeped from the very walls, the cracked concrete beneath our feet. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to flee this place that reeked of blood and suffering.

We had a mission. Steeling myself, I pushed deeper into the gloom with Aspen beside me. Our footfalls were a muted whisper, nearly drowned by the thudding of my own heart. Ahead, a faint light flickered, painting the rusted machinery and debris in slashes of sickly green.

As we drew closer, the flickering resolved itself into an eerie glow emanating from beneath a large steel door. Two more guards flanked the door, their postures rigid with coiled menace.

Aspen and I exchanged a glance, then, as one, we moved.

I lunged for the guard on the left, lashing out with a crackling surge of magic. He stumbled back, his cry choked off as my power enveloped him. Aspen engaged the other guard, her movements a deadly blur of grace and savagery.

The tight quarters made for brutal close combat. The clang of metal on metal, the meaty thud of fists on flesh, echoed through the warehouse. Sweat trickled down my back, my breath coming harsh and fast. But beneath the strain sang a fierce, wild thrill of fighting beside my mate, our bodies and powers in perfect sync.

In a matter of minutes, both guards were down. I dragged in a ragged breath, my knuckles stinging, my magic buzzing beneath my skin like a living thing. Aspen flashed me a quick, feral grin, her gold eyes blazing in the gloom.

We shoved through the steel door. The room beyond made me recoil, bile rising in my throat. It was a cavernous space, oppressively dark save for a circle of guttering candles. Their sickly light illuminated a throne of twisted metal, and upon that throne lounged a figure that made my blood run cold.

Laris.

He sprawled on his makeshift throne, all cruel languor and mocking ease. The candlelight cast his angular features, painting him in shades of cruelty and shadow. His black eyes glittered like chips of obsidian as they fixed on us.

"Damian," he purred, his voice a silken abomination. "Or should I say, Dorian Harper?"

I went rigid, a chill icing down my spine. Beside me, Aspen let out a low, menacing growl.

Laris smiled, a slow curving of lips that held no warmth. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You lasted longer than most infiltrators." His gaze flicked to Aspen, raking over her with a kind of lewd appraisal that made my hands clench into fists. "And you brought a pet demon. How cute. It is nice to see you again, Aspen."

Aspen snarled, the sound reverberating through the dank air. She started forward, violence in every line of her body, but I caught her arm. We couldn't afford to let Laris bait us.

"Enough games," I bit out, my words cold and clipped. "Where are the children you took?"

Laris' laughter was a serrated thing, scraping along my nerves. "You come into my house, attack my people, and then make demands? I thought necromancers had better manners."

I wasn’t full necro. More like a quarter necro, three-fourths witch.

"If you've hurt those kids..." Aspen's power pulsed, a throb of barely leashed fury.

"Hurt them?" Laris' smile sharpened, turned vicious. "Oh, I've done more than hurt them, little demon. But you're already too late."

My pulse stuttered, dread a leaden weight in my gut. "What do you mean?"

Laris uncurled from his throne with the sinuous grace of a cobra. "The ritual has already begun." His voice was a dark croon, gloating. "Their power, their potential...it's mine now."

Horror and revulsion rose to choke me. The missing children, all that raw magical talent...Laris had been stealing it, corrupting it for his own twisted ends. And we'd played right into his hands. So that was how he survived when Bryce Drach and his team burn down Laris’ last cult ten years ago.

"You'll pay for this." Aspen's words were a guttural rasp, more demon than human. "We'll stop you."

Laris' laughter was an obscene thing, scraping along my nerves. "You'll have to catch me first."

He flicked his wrist, and a wave of raw, oily power slammed into us. It flung me back, the breath whooshing from my lungs as I hit the concrete. Through the stars bursting across my vision, I saw Aspen stagger, fighting to stay upright.

By the time we recovered, Laris was gone, only the fading echo of his mocking laughter remaining.

I pushed to my feet, my entire body one throbbing ache. Aspen reached for me, and I folded her into my arms, taking a moment just to breathe her in. The scent of her, jasmine and vanilla beneath the grit of battle, steadied me.

"We'll find him," I vowed, the words rasping in my raw throat. "We'll find those kids. We'll make this right."

Aspen's arms tightened around me, her slender frame vibrating with tension and barely leashed fury. When she spoke, her voice was pure steel.

"Damn right we will. And when we do, Laris will wish he never laid a finger on those children."

I pressed a hard kiss to her mouth, then stepped back. The set of my shoulders, the clench of my jaw. Everything in me hardened with grim resolve. Laris had just made the worst mistake of his misbegotten existence.

He'd thought he could break us, could shatter our hope with his twisted games. But all he'd done was strengthen our resolve, our determination to see this through no matter the cost.

Laris' time was up. And Aspen and I? We were coming for him. Heaven help anyone who stood in our way.