C2’s review of Sin Undone (Demonica Series, Book 5) by Larissa Ione
Paranormal Romance published by Grand Central 24 Aug 10

What happens when I succubus, who happens to be an assassin and capable of starting plagues, hooks up with a vampire/werewolf hybrid? Mayhem! Violence! Explosions! Battles! And some hot loves scenes, too. In the latest entry of her Demonica series, Larissa Ione pulls out all the stops.

Sin is the only female ever produced by a Seminus demon mating with a human, but somehow, when her twin brother was conceived, she was too. She and Lore didn’t even realize what they were until they were young adults.  The transition was difficult for both of them and led Sin into life as an assassin.  Now she is in charge of a den of assassins – not the safest of positions since, any time she leaves the den, the other assassins try to kill her so they can be in charge of the den.

Since she is a succubus, Sin requires sex on a regular basis…without it, she could die.  Painfully.  During a visit to Underground General – the demon hospital her brothers built – she hooked up with Conall, a dhampire (part vampire, part werewolf) and also, unbeknownst to her, set off a plague within the werewolf community.  That is Sin’s secret gift – she can infect creatures with diseases, if she wants.  And sometimes she can do it accidentally, apparently.

After her brother Eidolon becomes aware of the epidemic, he gets Sin back to UGH, in hopes that she can help stop the disease before it spreads further.  While at the hospital, she meets up with Con again, and the attraction is still there on both sides.  But Con is angry with her for causing the disease to start with and isn’t happy with her attitude about it either.

Sin’s relationship with her new-found half brothers is strained, to say the least – she and Lore didn’t know the brothers existed until Lore was hired to kill them. Still, she agrees to work with them to try to find a way to stop the epidemic from spreading.

Con doesn’t have time for an epidemic and he doesn’t have time for a relationship – he has promised his clan he will take his proper place with them. And that place does not include room for a woman of his own.

So the race is on – Sin must find a way to stop the epidemic while keeping herself alive, in spite of the many creatures out to kill her. And fight the connection with Con at the same time, since they both know they have no future together. Also, what’s up with the mysterious guys on horseback? Are they trying to kill Sin too? Or are they trying to save her?

Since this book bridges Ms. Ione’s Demonica series with her new Lords of Deliverance series, there is a lot of world building/expanding. Consequently, the romance between Sin and Con takes a backseat a good bit of the time. There is a LOT going on and getting all lovey-dovey would be silly. The progression of their relationship seems natural, given the circumstances they are dealing with. And whets the reader’s appetite for the new series too.

Does this book stand alone? No. I say you should read Lore’s book, at the very least, but the whole series is excellent, so why not read them all? I think Shade is still my favorite.

Grade: B-

Summary:
HER TOUCH IS DEADLY
As the only female Seminus demon ever born, master assassin Sinead Donnelly is used to being treated like an outcast. She spent decades enslaved, and now vows she’ll die before she’ll relinquish her freedom again. Then Sin’s innate ability to kill her enemies goes awry: She creates a lethal new werewolf virus that sparks a firestorm of panic and violence.

HIS HUNGER CAN’T BE DENIED
Half-werewolf, half-vampire Conall Dearghul is charged with bringing in Sin to face punishment for the plague. And she’s no stranger: He’s bound to her by blood, and the one sexual encounter they shared has left him hungering for her raw sensuality. Worse, Sin is the underworld’s most wanted and Con soon learns he’s the only one who can help her . . . and that saving her life might mean sacrificing his own.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series (let us pause and enjoy the pretties):

Shannon C.’s review of Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2) by Larissa Ione
Paranormal romance released by Forever 3 Mar 09

It says something about the compellingness (is that even a word?) of an author’s series when it doesn’t take me six months between reading books. I didn’t wait long at all between reading Pleasure Unbound and starting in on Desire Unchained. And I have to say that this is an awesome paranormal series, and if Larissa Ione keeps it up, she will land on my very short list of auto-buy authors.

Yet again, we are treated to the three brothers who run Underworld General Hospital. This time, the focus is on Shade. When he is captured and chained, he is startled to find his ex-lover, Runa, sharing a cell. Turns out they’ve been nabbed by the ghouls who keep stealing organs from supernatural creatures, and Runa, far from being the clingy, needy woman Shade remembers, is strong, has new abilities, and isn’t so happy with Shade for breaking her heart.

Yet again, I was drawn into the world Ms. Ione has created. Ms. Ione’s style is reminiscent of J.R. Ward, only tighter. I believe the world she’s created and I like the fact that, yet again, we are given an anti-hero in the form of Shade, who isn’t always the nicest guy. Runa is a good match for him, and while she’s not nearly as strong a character as Shade, I was afraid she’d be a clingy weakling and was grateful she wasn’t.

The plot is tight, and resolves nicely, with enough of the major arc left hanging to make readers eager for the third book in the series. The secondary romance begun in the first book is even continued and I’m really hoping it gets resolved in the third book. What’s more, the romance is strong, with the leads having great chemistry and hot scenes together.

I do have a quibble though, which rather significantly detracts from the grade. I wish Ms. Ione hadn’t come so close to pushing the envelope only to back down at the last minute. Case in point: Shade has a dungeon. He has a need to be dominant, but he doesn’t like this fact about himself. He hates that Runa eventually wants him to engage in BDSM play with her, and he ends up feeling like he can’t do that with someone as pure as Runa. Blech. If a book is going to have BDSM themes, then it by god should have BDSM themes. It shouldn’t pussyfoot around them in an attempt to be edgy. Because the fact that Shade thought being a dom was something horrible made me lose lots of respect for him.

Overall, I liked this addition to the series. Ms. Ione is a talented writer, and I enjoy visiting the paranormal world she’s created. I just hope next time she’ll either push the envelope all the way or leave it alone.

Grade: B

Summary:
.
Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .
.
Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.
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A Seminus Demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever.
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As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts-or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.
.
Read an excerpt

Shannon C.’s review of Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione
Paranormal romance released by Forever 20 June 08

Originally, I had been planning to review the first three novels in the Demonica series as a Duckies do Series post because RL, she keeps me busy. But recent discussions of the books on Twitter, and the fact that Fictionwise recently sold the book for $0.82 made me rethink that decision. If you didn’t take advantage of the offer of this book via Fictionwise, you are missing out on one of the most un-put-downable romances that’s come out recently! 

The Demonica series centers around Underworld General, a hospital run by three sexy demon brothers, Eidolon, Shade and Wraith. When Tayla, a human hunter, is brought to the hospital after sustaining serious injuries, the rest of the staff would rather kill her, because she belongs to the Aegis, a group of trained warriors that regularly kills demons whether they deserve it or not. But Eidolon intervenes and treats Tayla anyway, and the two of them find themselves unable to fight a fierce attraction.

I was actually quite surprised by just how much I loved this book. A number of aspects of the story felt really cheesy. The names come to mind, for one thing. While not as bad as Zsadist or Rhage, I did find Wraith and Shade to be two of the cheesiest names I’ve encountered in romancelandia. I also felt some of the world-building was a bit clunky, with names of creatures dropped in as if for no other apparent reason than that the author wanted to use all the stuff she’d worked out whether it was necessary or not. And then, well, there’s the whole “Either I need to find a mate or I’m going to become a crazy fucking machine!” which, as far as conflicts go, made me snort.

But such is Ms. Ione’s storytelling ability that these things didn’t actually bother me when I was reading the book. Her writing is vivid and detailed, and her characters are extremely well-done. I loved meeting them, and it was incredibly fun watching Eidolon and Tayla fight their attraction.

I also really appreciated that in this world there is good and bad in everyone, from the demons to the Aegis. I could see what drew Tayla about the Aegis, but I could also see why they were feared. I really appreciated the shades of gray, because that’s how life is, and I’ve gotten impatient with light and fluffy paranormals of late.

The action was intense, and the book was hard to put down. I kept fearing for all my favorite secondary characters, certain that Ms. Ione would kill them off, and as I said, I found Tayla and Eidolon’s romance compelling. I tore through this book, and even a few weeks later, scenes stick out in my mind.

I highly recommend this book. If you can put up with a bit of cheesiness, it’s well worth your time.

Grade: B+

Summary:
.
In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life…
.
She’s a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure—but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.
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Two lovers will dare to risk all.
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Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his desire to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable—and let Tayla possess him, body and soul…
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

This just in…

Amie Stuart is planning a big bash to celebrate the release of her next book, Hittin’ It, next month on the 24th.  So head on over to her blog to get in on the fun!

~ Beginning February 1 she’ll be giving away books every day for 14 days. Yep, you heard right. Two weeks! And she says she has a ton of’em, so you don’t want to miss this!

~ Books from Amie’s backlist and from such authors as Carolyn Jewel, Larissa Ione, Raine Weaver, Denise McDonald, Steph Tyler, and Eliza Gayle, among others, will be up for grabs.

~ The Grand Prize is a $50 gift card to either Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com — winner’s choice — and Amie’s signed backlist, including a copy of Sex…on Holiday.

~ Rules and fine print will be posted on Amie’s blog this week.  Mark your calendars so you won’t forget!

Consider yourself flashed.

Are you tired of reading 2008 wrap-up lists yet?? Too bad! Read on, suckers gentle readers.

My top 10 books I read in 2008 (in no particular order): 

	Heart Fate (Celta’s HeartMates, Book 7) by Robin D. Owens Fantasy romance released by Berkley Trade Sep 2008 A series that just keeps getting better and better!
	Flat-out Sexy by Erin McCarthy Contemporary romance released by Berkley Sensation Nov 2008 Sweet, sexy, fun read! The internet buzz sucked me in and I’m glad. )
	Innocent In Death by J.D. Robb Futuristic romantic suspense released by Berkley Aug 2007I purposely keep myself behind in this series but I’m catching up – oh noes! I must pace myself better.
	Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione Paranormal romance released by Forever Jun 2008 An excellent start to a new series! With a looonnngggg wait between books one and two. However, books two and three will be out back-to-back. Yay!
	Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair Sci-Fi romance released by Bantam Oct 2005  Sully! Does anything else need to be said? I didn’t think so.
	Grimspace by Ann Aguirre Sci-fi romance released by Ace Feb 2008
	A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley Historical romance released by Signet Apr 2008 I love the Mallorens and this was one secret I was glad to see revealed.
	At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker Historical romance released by Avon May 2008An excellent Avon debut! Ms. Parker’s website says she is working on the sequel.
	Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James Contemporary romance released by Berkley Oct 2008 More online buzz I couldn’t ignore and another excellent debut.
	With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland Fantasy time-travel romance released by Jove May 2008One of my very favorite authors! She doesn’t get the attention she deserves, says me.

A side note – I have got to change my rating system, dang it all. I suppose I’ll go back to numbers. I always have too many books with the same rating and then I can’t sort them properly.

Honorable Mention:

	Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Mysteries – yup, I read them all in 08…I can haz moar, plzkthx?
	J.L. Langley’s Englor Series – just so fab!

This just in…

Author Jo Leigh lost the love of her life to cancer on June 13. Their story is the stuff romance novels are made of.

~ They met in 1976, had a happy but tumultuous relationship and eventually broke up. They made contact again in 2002 and married in 2005. Read more here.

~ Authors Alison Kent, HelenKay Dimon, Larissa Ione, Stephanie Tyler are helping Jo pay for medical expenses by holding fundraising auctions and all the help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

~ If you have items to donate – books or book baskets/collections, critiques, ARCs of upcoming releases, mentoring opportunities, web or promotional material design work, etc., please email the item description to the following email address: forjoleigh@gmail.com.

~ Jo has written for Harlequin Blaze, Temptation, Intrigue, Special Projects, Silhouette Intimate Moments and Meteor Kismet. She also shares her knowledge and experise by teaching writing classes.

Consider yourself, unfortunately, flashed.

PLEASURE UNBOUND (Book 1 in The Demonica Series) by Larissa Ione releases late June.  Read on for the blurb and an excerpt.  Another yummy paranormal series is on the way!

Book info:

     Someone is killing demons–someone other than the Aegis demon slayers, anyway. Now Eidolon, a doctor at Underworld General as well as a demon whose instincts to mate are growing stronger, must pair up with a sexy Aegis Guardian named Tayla Mancuso to learn the truth behind the killings. But Tayla has her own agenda. Her assignment is to find a way to destroy Underworld General. When she falls for Eidolon, who has shown her erotic pleasures she’d never dreamed of, she must face the horrors of her past and choose between becoming one of the very creatures she’s hunted–or death.

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

Darkness fell like a guillotine blade, severing Tayla and her partner from the daylight. Somewhere nearby, a dog barked, and gunfire erupted, probably another gang drive-by, but Tay and Janet weren’t cops, and they didn’t care. Hell, even the cops wouldn’t give rat’s ass. This part of New York City was a third world country at war, and the cops had long ago gone U.N. and withdrawn from the battle.

Standing next to the sewer access, Tay fingered her jacket pocket where she kept her stang, an S-shaped, dual-ended blade, each coated with a different metal. The gold side made short work of demons like the Cruentus they were hunting, and she wanted the weapon at the ready.

“Looks clear,” Tay said, and Janet lifted the heavy grating.

With a final glance into the night, they hurried down the ladder into tunnels ripe with the acrid stench of decay and waste. There were no lights, but the darkness posed no problem, not for any Aegis Guardian.

Out of habit — habit in the face of danger — Janet played with her necklace, a crucifix marked on the back with an etching of the Aegis Shield. Tayla wiggled her pinky ring out of the same habit, but the protective talisman wouldn’t help her in this instance; her night vision had always been exceptional even without magic.

She crouched at the base of the ladder, touched her fingers to a dark smear on the tunnel’s brick wall. “Blood,” she whispered. “It’s here.”

The sound of blades clearing their leather wrist housings echoed through the narrow passageway. Tayla held her spiked blade in one hand and her stang in the other as they followed the trail of blood. She ignored the squishing noises beneath her feet, ignored the rats and the sound of moisture dripping down the walls. Her focus narrowed to take in only the sights, sounds, and smells that would lead her to her target. Her eyesight sharpened, her ears tamped down her internal noises and picked up the most delicate sounds, like those of the cockroaches skittering behind the walls.

Down here, she was the predator.

Tay lived for this. Lived for the high, the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her veins during the hunt.

Lived for this because hatred was all that kept her heart beating.

Shadows shifted inside a tunnel ahead, and the hairs on the back of Tay’s neck prickled. In front of her, Janet sank into a crouch. Tay flattened herself against the brick and eased next to the opening.

Heart pounding, she wheeled into the tunnel arch.

Three red eyes met hers. Two rows of sharp teeth flashed. The demon’s high-pitched screech blasted through her brain, and son of a bitch, the thing wasn’t a Cruentus.

“Croucher demon,” she shouted back to her partner, who cursed and surged next to her.

“What, you can’t find a house to terrorize, you ugly piece of shit?” In one smooth motion, Janet drew an air claw from her belt pouch and launched it.

The demon shrieked, clutched the throwing star buried deep in one eye, hatred burning in the remaining two. Tay worked her stang into a spin that would sever the Croucher’s head, but motion in her peripheral vision brought her around. Janet tumbled awkwardly through the air and landed in a crumpled heap. In the space where she’d stood, the Cruentus demon growled deep in its skeletal chest.

“Not. Nice.” Tay hurled her spiked blade backward even as she lunged forward with the stang. She didn’t need to look to know the spike had buried itself in the Croucher’s throat.

One down, one to go.

The gold razor edge of her stang found its target and sliced a thin line across the Cruentus’s stomach. The thing stumbled back, one hand covering its belly as if it expected its guts to fall out. She spun, struck it in the pelvis with a roundhouse kick.

The creature slammed into an access ladder. Tay moved in, stang whirling. The Cruentus’s claws lashed out, catching Janet in the shoulder.

“Ow! Bastard.” Janet brought her favorite weapon, a hatchet, from beneath her jacket. The demon sidestepped her attack, and the blade landed only a glancing blow to its shin.

“Hey asshole!” Tay charged, but she drew short with a cry. Her right leg tingled, the muscles turned to water. Her hand went numb, and her stang clattered to the ground just before her body landed in the slime.

Not again. Not now!

“Tayla!” Janet screamed as the demon’s thorny fingers closed around her throat.

Gnashing her teeth, Tay dragged herself toward the demon, which was shaking her partner like a terrier with a rat.

“Hey!” Tayla’s fingers closed around a jagged chunk of brick. “You disgusting sonofabitch, look at me.”

She hurled the brick with her good arm, and a sharp edge crunched into the back of its head. Black fluid spurted from the wound. Snarling, it released Janet and turned, its eyes little more than orange balls of rage.

“Whore,” it rasped. “Filthy human whore. I’ll feast on your organs, suck them out through your cunt while you scream.” It slipped its narrow tongue between its fangs and slurped obscenely at the air.

“Men,” she muttered, stretching for the stang she’d dropped. “Doesn’t matter what species, you always make everything about sex.”

Baring its teeth in a smile that wrinkled its blunt, hairless snout, it picked up Janet’s hatchet. “Not sex. Death.”

It swung. The sound, the dull thud of a blade sinking into flesh tore through Tayla like a werewolf’s claws. Janet’s head, nearly separated from her body by her own hatchet, lolled to one side, caught against her shoulder only by a strip of sinewy muscle and skin. Surprise flashed in Janet’s blue eyes, and then the cloudy mist of death settled in them.

“Janet! No!”

“No!”

Tayla’s eyes flew open. Terror swept through her in a series of quakes. Sweat dripped down her forehead and into her hair as she took in the hospital equipment, the darkened, cool room. She was safe.

No, not safe. After the Cruentus killed Janet, it had attacked her, landed her in some sort of facility run by demons. She’d been patched up. Bathed. And oh, God.

She’d had sex with a demon.

Tayla swallowed bile and tried to keep her stomach from heaving. She needed to shower. And douche. Maybe sterilize her skin by burning it off.

Not that she could do any of those things, seeing how she was chained to a bed and could have been for days as far as she knew.

She made a fist, wiggled her toes. At least function had returned. But for how long? The episodes had been occurring more frequently, had gotten Janet killed and had nearly done the same for Tayla.

Next time, she might not be so lucky.

“Good evening.” A petite blonde woman in godawful fuchsia scrubs stood next to the bed. How she got there without Tayla hearing, she had no clue. “You look better than you did when you came in, what with all the blood and bite marks and Cruentus bits splattered all over. And you really should rethink the red leather. It clashes with your hair.”

“The red hides the blood stains, and who the hell are you? The fashion police?” Her voice sounded scratchy, unused.

The air-headed twit shook her head like Tay had been serious. “Nurse Allen. I brought food, but you can’t eat until Dr. Eidolon removes the restraints.” She smiled, revealing shiny fangs. “Obviously, the restraints are necessary, seeing how your kind are merciless murderers and all.”

Tayla stared. “Pot, meet kettle.”

“Thanks, Nancy. I’ve got it. Go home. We’ll see you tomorrow.” The masculine voice shivered through Tayla like a forbidden pleasure. Vodka for the alcoholic. Cheesecake for the dieter. Orgasm for the monk. “Hello, Tayla.”

“Hey, Dr. Evil.” She didn’t look. What if she’d dreamed up his good looks? What if he had horns, hooves, and porcupine quills?

Nancy’s bubbly laughter followed her out the door, and what kind of vampire chatted and giggled like a brain-dead cheerleader? Didn’t really matter, though. The vamp would die in a rain of embers and ashes just like any other bloodsucking fiend. Tay just wished the remains weren’t so greasy. Washing that crap out of clothes was a bitch.

But then, such was the life of a member of The Aegis, the unsung protectors of the world. The secret guardians of humanity. The slayers of demons and things that went bump in the night.

And all the other bullshit that was supposed to make Tay feel warm and fuzzy, but that only reminded her how she had nothing better to do with her life than hang out in monster-infested alleys that smelled like rancid piss.

After all, it was hard to find a legitimate job when you had an arrest warrant for murder hanging over your head.

Then again, even if she had a perfect record and a freakin’ doctorate to her name, nothing would change. She’d still spend her nights patrolling the New York City underground she knew more intimately than anyone should, searching for evil filth to squash.

Evil filth like the doctor whose footsteps grew louder as he approached. She closed her eyes, still unable face him. It wasn’t until she felt the head of the bed jack up that she dared to peek.

Chills shivered over her skin. Dressed in green scrubs, he was just as she’d remembered, all muscle and angular features and brown eyes that flashed with intelligence and confidence. That wicked tattoo on his right arm shimmered, its sharp, curved lines blurring when she looked too closely.

She’d fought demons for eight of her twenty-four years, but never had she encountered one whose devastatingly powerful presence filled her with a sense of awe. It was as though he was pure sexual energy contained in a wrapper of smooth, bronze skin, and damn, it wasn’t fair that a demon should be so cover-model handsome.

Too bad she’d have to ruin his looks with the bruising end of her right hook.

“I’m going to release your wrist restraints so you can eat. Don’t try to fight me. The hospital is under the protection of an antiviolence spell.”

Sure. She waited until he’d freed her hands. Then she smiled. And took a swing at his jaw.

Pain nearly sheared off the top of her skull. She fell back, clutching her head with both hands.

“I warned you.”

“My ass,” she groaned. “You wanted me to try something.”

“Maybe a little.”

When the pain dimmed, she narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s why I’m still alive, isn’t it? The spell. You probably want to kill me but can’t.”

He shrugged and marked something on her chart. “I also want to be inside you again, so I wouldn’t read too much into my instincts.”

She nearly choked on her own saliva. “I could have done without the reminder.”

Did he mean what he’d said? About being inside her? Not that it was a possibility, because clearly, she had to kill him at the first available opportunity.

“Oh,” he said, his voice rumbling through parts that had no business being rumbled, “you remembered all on your own.” He set aside the clipboard and put his long, slender fingers to the pulse in her wrist. “You didn’t come, but you wanted to. And I wanted to make you come. Wanted to feel you spasm around me.”

His eyes darkened as he took in her face, her throat, her breasts beneath the hospital gown. “I can still smell what we did. Smell your desire.” He pressed more firmly against the skin of her wrist, where her pulse throbbed harder with every word. “I can feel your desire.”

So could she, in the ache between her legs, the sweet pinch of puckered nipples, the rush of moisture that funneled through her sex.

“I wonder,” he purred, “how your desire would taste.”

Good God. The effect he had on her, the way he made her crave things she’d never wanted…it shouldn’t be happening. Not only was the man an enemy, but the lust itself…it shouldn’t be there at all. Sex had always been a weapon, a tool, the only form of currency that never ran out. Sex with a man was certainly not recreational. The times she’d tried to make it so had ended in anger, frustration, and emptiness. She faked orgasms like everyone else faked laughter at dumb jokes.

“Stop touching me,” she said a little too breathlessly, “or the only thing you’ll be tasting is my fist.” An idle threat, given the stupid spell, but threatening him made her feel better.

To her relief, he released her and stepped back, his arousal straining the front of his scrubs. Averting her gaze, she reached for the ankle restraints, but he shook his head.

“Leave them. Your hands are free so you can eat, but you aren’t at liberty to walk around.”

“Okay, Hellboy,” she said. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?”

“A nurse will assist you.” His voice pitched low with dark amusement. “Unless you’d rather I helped.”

“Thanks, I’ll pass.” She dragged her fingers through her tangled hair and cast a longing gaze at the food the vamp nurse had brought. “Do I get to eat, or what?”

He handed her the tray, and even though her stomach growled at the sight of what appeared to be an egg salad sandwich, she hesitated. “What kind of eggs are in this?”

“Could be anything. Rusalka. Harpy. Bone devil.”

She had a feeling he was messing with her, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t take a bite. Not until she asked the vital questions that had been bugging her since she woke up.

“So, uh, where am I, exactly? And what do you plan on doing with me?”

“You’re at Underworld General Hospital. As you can probably guess, we specialize in non-human medical care. Our location is secret, so don’t ask.”

“UGH? Your hospital is called, ‘ugh?’ Oh, that’s precious.” Doc Humorless gave her a flat stare, and she sighed. “How did I get here?”

“Ambulance. We have our own.”

“Of course you do.” She wished she could remember even the smallest detail of the trip here, but her mind was a black hole. “What about the Cruentus? Is it dead?”

“He’ll be released tonight.”

Rage burned like acid in her belly. “It killed my friend.”

“Your colleagues have killed many of mine,” he shot back.

She ground her teeth and forced herself to take control of her emotions. Truthfully, she’d never considered Janet a friend — she’d learned long ago to avoid attachments to people who risked death on a daily basis, but if he wanted to talk about loss, she could go toe to toe — or hoof, paw, whatever he had — with him. But right now, she had to play smart. And smart meant intel. She just hoped Guardians had already found Janet’s body. The thought of an Aegis warrior rotting in a sewer made the acid in her gut bubble.

“So where do you get training for something like this? Because I’m thinking a lot of you wouldn’t blend real well in anatomy class.”

His pager went off, but he ignored it. “Anyone who is human or can pass as human trains in human medical schools. I’m a medical doctor with a degree from Harvard, for example. We train all others ourselves.”

He brushed his fingers over the medical symbol on the pocket of his shirt as though making sure what he’d said was true. At least, she thought it was a medical symbol. The familiar winged staff encircled by two serpents had been replaced by a sinister-looking dagger. The vipers wrapped around the blade looked ready to strike. And the feathered wings had been replaced by batlike, tribal wings in a pattern similar to those on his arm. She frowned, because she’d seen it before…

His necklace. His pendant matched the design on his scrubs.

“It’s a modified caduceus,” he said, and she tore her gaze away from the design because now the image of the silver blade caressing her skin while he’d been inside her was burned into her brain. “My youngest brother designed it. We couldn’t very well use a human medical symbol.”

“I still don’t understand how demons can get into medical school. Don’t you have to have good college grades, or hey, here’s a novel idea — proof that you’re human?”

“Not everyone who looks human is, Tayla. Friends in high places can arrange anything. Including getting demons who didn’t grow up in human society into med school.”

The idea that demons had come together to do something so organized and not blatantly evil blew her mind. Almost enough to make her forget that he hadn’t answered her second question. Almost.

“And? What about me? You just going to keep me tied to the bed as your personal sex toy?”

“I should point out that you begged me for sex. Not the other way around.”

There he went with the unnecessary reminders again.

“And what? You couldn’t resist the injured, weakened human having a sexy dream?”

Something in his gaze went all smoldering and hot, and her body answered with an inappropriate return of heat. “Call it a peculiarity of my species. I couldn’t resist your scent. You had a need. I responded.”

“But you didn’t fulfill it.” A cruel blow, meant to injure since she had no other way to do so, but he merely frowned, looking troubled.

“Could have something to do with your biology. I could run tests…try again…”

“No!” She wondered if his apparently keen sense of smell would pick up the odor of her failing deodorant. She knew why she hadn’t climaxed, but she wasn’t about to share. “Just answer my question. What are you going to do with me?”

He finally glanced at his pager and then back at her. “Some of my colleagues want to take you elsewhere and torture you until you talk.” The way he said it, all calm and matter-of-fact, frightened her more than the actual words did. “I’d rather they didn’t do that. I worked too hard to save you.”

Tay poked at her mystery egg sandwich, knowing she wouldn’t eat now. “Yeah, I can see how torturing and killing me after all your efforts would be a bummer.”

“Then give me something, slayer.”

“And what? You’ll let me waltz out the front doors?”

“I’ll make sure no one tortures you.”

“If you think I’m going to say one word about The Aegis, you’re on crack.” She looked down at her hand. “Where’s my ring?”

“Consider it a partial payment on your hospital bill.”

“You…you bastard,” she sputtered. “That ring has sentimental value.”

Upon joining The Aegis, every Guardian chose a piece of jewelry — rings, watches, necklaces, anything personal — to have imbued with magical enhancements, and her ring had belonged to her mother.

“Much of what The Aegis took from me had sentimental value.”

Great. Just great. If the enemy learned how the sorcery attached to her ring worked and what gifts it bestowed upon the human wearer, demons could find a way to neutralize the Aegis magic.

Clenching her fists, she cursed the antiviolence spell. “I’m not telling you anything.”

“Tell me about your parents.”

She blinked, caught off guard by the change of subject. “Why?”

“If you won’t give me anything about The Aegis, tell me something about yourself. What can it hurt?”

Surely it was a trick, but she didn’t see the harm in discussing people who no longer existed. “I never knew my dad. My mom died when I was sixteen.”

“Did you ever see your father? Pictures, maybe?”

“What the hell kind of question is that? And not that it’s any of your business, but no. My mom never even gave me a name.”

Tayla doubted her mom had known the guy’s name. Tay had been born addicted to heroin, so her old man could have been one of any number of losers her mom screwed while doped up.

Hellboy looked thoughtful, as if what she’d said had been fascinating. He must not have a life beyond patching up other evil demons and boinking human patients.

“How did your mom die?”

Memories she’d battled for years twisted and rolled like a living thing inside her head. She didn’t bother to tamp down the rage. The bitterness tasted too good, and she needed the reminder of why she hated this man. “She was killed,” Tay said. “By a demon.”

Larissa dedicates her book, Snowbound, to her husband for a very special reason. One lucky person will find out because you’ve just won a copy!

Please email your selection and contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Larissa. PLEASEPLEASE put “Larissa Ione Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Contemporary and paranormal romance author Larissa Ione shares with the Valenduckie what it’s like to be married to a bunch of hard bodies.  Larissa is half of the writing team that is Sydney Croft (Stephanie Tyler is the other half) and has Book 2 of the ACRO series, Unleashing the Storm, coming out at the end of this month from Bantam Dell.

Married to the Military

I didn’t know much when I was a kid, but from the time I was very small, there were three things about which I was very sure:

1. I would write – whether or not I would get published was the question.
2. I would always think my brother was an idiot.
3. I would marry a military man.

Well, I’m a writer, I still think my brother is an idiot, and I married not one, but TWO military men (not at the same time.)

My first marriage was a disaster, ending after a year. But my second marriage…well, we’ll celebrate our thirteenth anniversary this year. And being the deeply romantic couple we are, we got married on a holiday. A very, very romantic holiday.

Wanna guess which one?

Yes, that’s right. Halloween.

But that doesn’t mean that my husband, Mr. Military-I’m-A-Crack-Shot-Wanna-See-My-Pistol-Baby, isn’t romantic and doesn’t know how to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple especially sticks out in my mind, because in all honesty, Bryan is much more romantic than I am. Yes, the big, tough, alpha military guy is more romantic than the romance author. Go figure.

Bryan knows how much my animals mean to me, so on Valentine’s Day, he came home from work with a dozen roses, plus two single long-stemmed roses. First thing he said? “Roses for all my girls.”

“All my girls,” were me, my cat, Geordie, and my dog, Sela. Yes, Bryan is a total dork. A sweet, lovable dork. He gave me the dozen roses, and then gave Geordie and Sela each a rose. They, of course, ate them. Geordie has always enjoyed eating flowers, and Sela just liked to tear them apart.

So the pets got to spend time destroying their Valentine’s presents, and I got a dozen gorgeous roses that I had to put on top of the fridge to keep the cat from getting them later. But the real gift I got that day was the knowledge that my husband loved me — and my pets — enough to think about them, too. Because for me, not liking animals is a deal-breaker in a mate. So for all his faults, his biggest plus is that he not only loves animals (especially cats,) but he respects my love for them too.

So there it is, my best Valentine’s Day ever. Technically, it was just roses and dinner, but I got so much more.

What about you? Is there a Valentine’s Day in your past that sticks out in your mind? Is there a favorite gift in your past? Is there anything you prefer to give or receive on Valentine’s Day – chocolate, flowers, jewelry, gift certificates?

Comment, and you could win a copy of Snowbound, a book I dedicated to my husband for a very special reason…

Larissa Ione