Bonnie Vanak - Demon Wolf

“Not bad.”

He focused all his energy and summoned a large ball of energy, which danced in his open palm. Bouncing it like a baseball, he sent it drifting upward, and it exploded in a much larger shower of sparks. Blood drained from her face, but she stood her ground.

“Yours is bigger than mine.”

Dale’s mouth quirked at the joke.

“You’re a Mage—what kind?” she asked.

“Primary Elemental.”

“Very powerful. But your aura is pulsing with dark energy. You need deep cleansing.” She studied her hands. “Speaking of cleansing, may I wash up? I took a bit of a spill back there.”

Mistrust flickered inside him, but he stood and nodded. She was such a tiny sprite, what harm could she do? Still, he took her hand and turned it over, his hand practically swallowing hers. Dale felt no darkness or negativity flaring from her, only a deeper, sexual spark igniting between them. Curious, he circled the scrape on her palm.

“You hurt yourself,” he murmured. “Come inside, and I’ll find antiseptic.”

He picked up the air pump and can, put them back in the garage and let her into the house through the laundry room. Dale fished out a brown bottle of peroxide and bandages from a white cabinet. Keira winced slightly as he ran warm water over her hand, then treated it with peroxide.

“You’re very good with your hands, but wow, the dark energy I feel from you, it’s not you. Not normally you.”

Dale glanced at her as he finished bandaging her hand.

“I use psi therapy, light and massage techniques to eradicate negative energy. High-frequency healing energy, using the natural elements. Harmonic meditation to calm the mind and soothe the spirit.”

“Natural elements?”

“The power of the sun, wind, earth, even fire.”

“I don’t believe in any of that ‘woo-woo’ stuff.” He replaced the bottle of peroxide.

“Of course. Because even though you’re a Mage, you’re very much a military man who believes in what he can see. You’re a natural leader, a colonel or a captain. No, not army, not with the navy base so close.” Keira wiggled her bandaged fingers. “Thanks.”

His gaze narrowed. “Lieutenant commander. How did you know?”

“Simple deduction. The flag out front, this is a military neighborhood, although a paranormal one, and...”

Silently, she pointed to the uniforms hanging on the door, still covered with dry-cleaning plastic. “I’m really quite psychic. I have ESPN.”

As she winked at him, Dale cracked a reluctant smile.

“Seriously, I can tell you need cleansing. You’ve been in contact with some pretty nasty demons.”

His smile dropped. He gestured to the mounds of dirty laundry piled high in the overflowing hamper. “That’s the cleansing I need. My housekeeper quit.”

Sally had quit with the excuse to move closer to her grandchildren. They both knew the truth. Dale’s nightly screams had fractured her nerves.

She traced a pattern in the air. “There’s thick tendrils of blackness in your aura, blackness pulsing with the other colors.”

“What other colors?” He didn’t believe in Luminaires, but he knew about auras.

“Deep red, indicating you’re a strong-willed and realistic person and a bright, vibrant red that says you’re a powerful and extremely competitive individual.”

“Bright, vibrant red also means someone who’s very sexual,” he said, enjoying the hint of pink spreading across her cheeks.

“Yes, that, too. And you have other colors as well, but they’re so obscured by the blackness, I can’t tell them apart. You’ve come into contact with great evil, evil that touched you deeply.”

This was too close for his comfort zone. He folded his arms across his chest.

“Hire me and I’ll give you a big discount. Only three thousand dollars in cash.”

“That’s all?” he asked drily.

Keira shrugged. “Work is slow right now.”

“And what do I get from you for three thousand dollars?” He pushed close to her, getting in her face, crowding her. “And for how long do I get it?”

His brazen, suggestive words brought an attractive flush to her face. To her credit, Keira refused to back off or drop her gaze. “You get me, for however long you need me. A week. Or a month, or more, if you desire. I need a place to stay while I’m in the area.”

Dale caught a faint whiff of an enticing scent that wound around his body and yanked hard. Oh, yeah...he desired. His body tightened, blood running hot and thick.

Their gazes met, connected. Something long dead inside him stirred to life. He reached out and with calloused fingers, touched her cheek.

Keira’s eyes widened and darkened. Her lush mouth trembled.

Just as suddenly the connection broke. Dale stepped back.

“And why are you in the area?”

“I travel a lot across country. Never been to Virginia before. I like the beach.”

She looked innocent. Guileless.

“What exactly are we talking about? What methods?”

“I combine aromatherapy massage and meditation with crystals to restore harmonic energy and fight evil. Light therapy, massage and reflexology.” At his questioning look, she added, “I work with your feet on certain pressure points.”

“Interesting,” he murmured. He liked the idea of the massages. Maybe this could prove to be worth his time. How long had it been since a woman had grabbed his interest?

“I’ll need you to sign a contract, of course. To protect us both,” she said. Her gaze whipped around the house, so fast he could almost see her mind recalculating like a GPS. It was fascinating and disturbing, because he knew she was pushing him hard to go where he didn’t want to venture.

Hiring Keira would get Keegan off his back. Keegan already voiced his approval of her. She was better than a navy shrink and ten times safer than a damn mind-melder. And much sexier. The surge of sexual interest flared again.

But he’d be damned if he let her try any of her woo-woo techniques. She could clean the house instead, cook his meals.

“I need a live-in housekeeper. You’d have your own room downstairs by the kitchen and I’ll pay you the three thousand and you stay for the month. Come back tomorrow at oh-five-hundred with your contract before I leave for the base.”

A tentative smile. “You sure?”

The hesitant words contrasted sharply with her earlier confidence. She almost sounded like a child hopeful for acceptance. Dale’s curiosity was piqued.

He gave a rueful glance at his feet. “I’m not into all that New Age crap, but my feet could use some pampering.”

“It’s not massage. It’s a technique to free the energy.”

“You’re not going to nibble at my toes? Damn.”

Her mouth wobbled in a tentative smile. Dale chuckled, the sound rusty and grating. Hell, had it been that long since he laughed? “I’m teasing you. I’m not into having my toes nibbled.”

At her widening smile, he added, “There are exceptions, if the mouth happens to be wide, and lush...and a tad crooked.”

The most intriguing blush ignited her cheeks. Keira put her hands to her reddened cheeks as that lovely, wide and crooked mouth parted. “Oh-five-hundred sharp. I’ll be here. I’ll even treat you to coffee.”

She leaped down the steps, marched to her motorbike and with a kick start it coughed to life, and she took off into the night.

For a few moments Dale stood in the doorway, staring after her, feeling something tighten in his chest.

He shut the door and called his neighbor to see if Keira’s story was true. After talking a few minutes, he hung up and then dialed Keegan’s number. “Spill it. Tell me what you saw in her mind.”

“Dale, it’s late....”