The Demon's Forbidden Passion

“What did I tell you?” Nikki laughed. “Rumor has it he’s a real ladies’ man, too.” She leaned in closer to get out of Danny’s earshot. “Word at the station is even though he’s a demon, he doesn’t act like one. Takes a different woman home every night.”

Tina didn’t know how to feel about that. Demons were renowned for their monogamy and their tendency to want to date within their own race. That’s why they tended to live in gated communities. But regardless of his heritage, a different woman every night? Half of her felt like rolling her eyes...but, judging by his looks, the other half of her felt like she wouldn’t mind becoming another notch in his bedpost.

“Know anything else about him?” Tina asked quietly.

“Not really. Only interacted with the guy once. I remember trying to convince him to go to the hospital last year when he got caught in a collapsed porch. Twisted his ankle pretty bad, but said he was fine. Wasn’t sure if it was just him being macho, but it didn’t feel like it. It seemed like he had something against hospitals. No matter what I said, I just couldn’t convince him.”

Tina shrugged. Everyone had their phobias, and she knew full well that plenty of people were scared of hospitals, but she couldn’t help wondering why such a strong, powerful man—especially a firefighter who stared down death every day—would be so averse as well. Her mind started to fill with all the ways that she could comfort him. Coax him the next time he needed to go. Maybe she’d volunteer to go to the scenes of fires more often....

“Hey!” Nikki exclaimed, interrupting her thoughts. For a split second, Tina worried that she had voiced her fantasies aloud. But instead she pointed to Danny’s gauze, which was as white as a piece of paper. “Would you look at that. Your bleeding completely stopped, kiddo. Nice job, Tina.”

“Ready to go?” she asked, turning to Danny.

But the boy didn’t hear her. His gaze was fixated on Tina as he regarded her with a mixture of awe and wonderment. “You fixed my boo-boo like my mommy does.”

“She sure did, honey,” Nikki said. “Now say good-night to Miss Tina while I go tell the ambulance driver it’s okay to take us to the hospital now.”

Danny’s gaze refused to leave Tina. “Okay...” he said softly. “You’re a lot like my mommy, Miss Tina. Except for your hair,” he blurted pointedly, as only a five-year-old could.

Nikki chuckled, shaking her head as she walked to the front of the vehicle.

Tina laughed. “Is mine messier than hers? I’m sure it is.”

“No, it’s the color,” he said solemnly. “Just the color.”

Tina twirled a chestnut strand in her fingers as Nikki returned to the back of the ambulance. She switched places with her as Tina stepped off onto the grass, which was now wet with dew.

“You’re not coming with us?” Danny demanded.

“No, sweetie. It’s time for me to go to bed. But I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. Bright and early.”

“Can you bring the fireman with you?” he asked hopefully.

Tina turned back to where Ethan was standing, but he was gone.

“I don’t think so, kiddo, but if I see him, I promise I’ll ask.”

“I just never got to say thank you for saving me and my parents, that’s all,” he said softly.

His kindness, after all of the events of the evening, touched her deeply. Whatever his parents were doing, they were doing it right. “Oh, honey,” Tina said. “It’s his job to save people. Even if you don’t get to say it to him, I’m sure he knows you’re grateful.”

“I know. But still ask him if you see him, okay?”

“Okay,” Tina answered.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Tina reached out and lightly ruffled Danny’s hair before saying good-night. Nikki gave a small wave before closing the doors toward her with a metal click.

Tina stood with her hands on her hips as she watched the ambulance pull away from the scene, lights flashing, but lacking the deep whine of the siren. She gave a quick phone call to Gus, letting him know that the last victim of the fire was on his way and that she’d see him in the morning for the early shift. After hanging up, Tina took a deep breath, the charred air tickling the back of her throat. When she turned around, she was nose to chest with Ethan.

Chapter Three

For the first time in his life, a fire had shaken him. But she had shaken him more. Lucky for her, Ethan thought, he always hungered after a fire.

It plagued him after every rescue, the demon part of him begging him to satisfy the demands of his birthright, balance all the good he had just done. And so every night he yielded to the plea from deep within him by finding a woman to satisfy and carefully leaving as soon as the deed was done. Tonight wouldn’t be any different. And this one? Her allure was too powerful to deny—he had to have her.

While almost three hours had passed since he’d rescued Danny and his parents from the house and delivered them to the ambulances, he was still trying to shake the feelings and memories that sprang to the forefront of his mind when he first saw the community after all this time. Unbeknownst to the boy, he was a painful reminder of what Ethan was, of the terrible events that had taken away both of his parents, and the fate their attacker reserved exclusively for him. The curse still pulsed through Ethan’s veins—and though no one could tell of his fate by just looking at him, his skin began to feel itchy, as if the curse was apparent on his face, just as noticeable as a birthmark.

And what a distraction she would be. He could tell immediately that this woman wasn’t like any of the others he pursued. She was more than just a pretty face. He had overheard the entire exchange between her and Danny and the kindness she showed toward one of his kind. She was sweet, she was calm and she was lovely. It was the only word he could think of to describe her. Standing there in her wrinkled scrubs and messy hair, she was ten times more attractive than any woman in a low-cut dress and stilettos. Something about her exuded power and competency. She was serious about her job and cared about others. It pulled the heartstrings of his lighter side. He watched her from afar until he couldn’t stand being away from her any longer, the force between them when they exchanged glances too magnetic.

But that was dangerous territory he was creeping into. That’s not why you want her, he reminded himself. Personality doesn’t matter. Just seduce her and be done with it. And now that he was up close to her, he could tell that wouldn’t be difficult. Her emerald-green eyes were as large and innocent as a doe’s, and the full, cherry-red pout of her lips just begged to be kissed. And not to mention the dangerous curves that he only got a hint of at the seams of her scrubs. He knew exactly what he was capable of doing with them... after all, practice did make perfect.