Demon Fire (The Angel Fire Book 3) by Marie Johnston (best authors to read .txt) 📗

An hour ticked by with nothing. They lobbed hobbies back and forth. Good ideas, but not feasible for the middle of winter in Montana. Spelunking. Coffee roasting. Fantasy football.

She laughed. “I’d have to learn a little about football first. It’s the oblong ball, right? Not the round ball?”

“Soccer?” He chuckled. “I don’t want to stereotype, but what about knitting or art or something?”

Her eyes twinkled. “Right, because I have boobs, I must like those.”

A swath of heat ripped through him. He was wearing far too many layers, but he’d need them all to hide his erection if she kept mentioning her breasts. Her winter coat hid them nicely. “I can try to knit with you.”

“I need something to do without a huge start-up kit. Maybe sketching? I don’t think I’ve drawn anything since I was a kid and even then I only drew daggers.” But then she rolled her lips in like she’d said something wrong.

“You’re a fantasy nerd? Is that it?” he joked.

“Busted. A lot of females—uh, girls I grew up with did needlepoint. Though I never had the patience. I’d rather stab someone with the needle.”

He grinned. “We’ll stay away from knitting needles, then. Video games? My son was getting into them.” His smile almost faded, but talking about Adam didn’t hurt as much as it used to. “Minecraft was all his mother would let him play.”

“I’ve heard of it, but it’s not exactly a cheap hobby.”

“True.” Except he’d buy her anything she asked. He filed the information away. “Bird-watching? I can buy a deck of cards.”

She laughed. “Sure. Let’s start with bird-watching and cards. Those are cheap enough.”

They shared a grin and it hit him. He was having fun. For the first time in years, he was having a good time. He didn’t need to fish to eat. He was doing it because he wanted to do it with her.

No one would accuse him of rushing into another relationship. He’d cut himself off from most people for years, but it’d been his choice. Saving Sierra had been a necessity, but letting her stay was a choice. She’d shown him that he was ready to reenter society. But all he wanted to do was stay in the mountains with her.

Boone had stripped out of his snow pants at the pickup and commented that Sierra should do the same in order to accompany him inside the department store. For a bird-watching book and a deck of cards. Most likely, he wanted her along in case another activity caught her eye.

What she wanted to do was hide in the pickup and people-watch. More like demon watch. What else could she see? Anywhere she went would have demonic interference. They were a part of the balance in the world—trying to tip the scales in their favor, of course.

What if Green Valley had a higher concentration? Would she leave? She should. But she didn’t want to.

The fresh scars on her back were tender, but she could move without risking opening the wounds. Money and identification were a major issue. Leaving Boone’s cabin was the best way to take care of that, but she wasn’t ready yet. Would she ever be ready to leave the quiet haven that was his one-room home?

He might want his bed back though.

She was being selfish. Which was why she’d stripped off her snow pants and piled them into the back seat with Boone’s.

She followed him into the department store. She’d been in much larger ones, buildings so big they’d swallow the whole town of Green Valley. But this one was sizable in its own way. And full of shoppers.

Boone grabbed a cart from the corral and plowed through. She shoved her hands in her coat pockets in an attempt to look casual as she let her gaze drift from person to person. No demons. Her tension eased.

Boone paused at the women’s clothing section. Her bras were getting tight; she should get more. Home cooking was packing on more pounds than she’d expected after living off of greasy fast food while deep into missions. Her stellar metabolism had probably gotten cut off with her healing abilities.

“Do you mind if I grab a couple of . . .” She nodded toward the lingerie section.

“I’ll go to the game section and look for cards.” Boone spun off, obviously not wanting to hang around the ladies underclothes section longer than necessary.

Sierra found the last style she’d bought. Basic. White. Cheap. She found the next size up from what she had on and grabbed a couple. Add it to her tab.

Spinning around, she gasped. A woman had stopped behind her and was perusing the discount underwear bins. A symaster peered out from behind her eyes. He hadn’t spotted Sierra yet, but the woman blocked her path.

Dammit. She’d have to sneak around it. It’d be too odd if she ducked under the bra display and rolled out the other side.

The symaster was murmuring, his mouth moving over the woman’s. He wasn’t strong enough to command her, but he was influencing her. The woman’s expression was torn. She clutched a three-dollar pair of panties in her fist. The demon spoke, words only the human could hear. Her hand drifted closer to the purse at her side.

The demon wanted her to steal the underwear.

Don’t do it. Sierra glanced around. A store employee was walking down the main path between the aisles. Exactly what the demon wanted, for the woman to get caught stealing. It’d eat at her sense of self and the demon would keep doing it until she was beaten down enough for a full archmaster possession.

The underwear was almost in the purse. The employee was almost even with them.

“Excuse me,” Sierra said. She kept her eyes off the underwear and smiled sheepishly. “Can I get around you?”

The woman blinked, her eyes regaining focus. “Oh. I’m sorry.” She pulled her hand out of her purse and hurriedly tossed the underwear into the bin.

“Good sale?” Sierra had enough underwear, but she couldn’t