Demon Bound

so heavily.
    He had wings, and they’d finally grown out to his ass.
    Fucking pathetic, that.
    He had a constant desire to kiss Alice awake. But even if it wasn’t normal for Guardians, sleep was usually good. So he let her go on.
    He had a toothpick in his mouth that he’d chewed down to pulp, so he vanished it into his hammerspace—where he had six pistols, two automatic rifles, eight swords, one dagger, three cross-bows, twelve pounds of plastic explosives, and the four rocket launchers that Lilith wouldn’t know he’d requisitioned until he turned in his next expense report.
    He had an ass-chewing in his future. Maybe a literal one, if Sir Pup did it. But he had no regrets—he’d known he would end up in Hell, sooner or later.
    He had a couple of hellhound puppies on his trail about a mile behind him, and he had an eye out for the mommy.
    He had a hell of a lot of questions for Michael.
    He had a Gift that he couldn’t allow to go haywire anymore. And he had no idea how to control it.
    He had a woman sleeping against him who was in danger of being trapped in a frozen, screaming wasteland, and he had a deep ache that settled in his chest whenever he thought of it. And whether she knew it or not, he had the burden of her bargain on his shoulders now, too. He had the dread and terror that came with it.
    And he had every intention of freeing her, no matter what he had to do to accomplish it.
    He had hope she’d change her mind about her bargain meaning that she couldn’t let herself care about him or become involved with him—and that her talk of rubbing against him hadn’t just been the sickness. Every hour, he had several hundred sexual scenarios run through his head, and only half involved her bloomers.
    He had Alice in his arms, but he didn’t have her—and she had over a hundred years’ practice keeping anyone from getting too close.
    And that, he thought, was the item that topped a list made in Hell.

CHAPTER 13
    Alice didn’t want to open her eyes. They were still in Hell; she could feel it on her skin, hot and arid, and against her mind, as if the dark psychic stain in the Pit permeated the entire realm. She could feel it in her parched lungs—though the stench wasn’t as terrible. Either she’d become accustomed to it, or the odor had lessened as they’d traveled farther from Lucifer’s territories.
    But there was no point in hiding. She sensed the tension in Jake’s arms, the subtle change in his gait. He’d realized that she’d woken.
    Her hair fell away from her cheek as she lifted her head. What a mess she was. Jake stopped, but she didn’t look at him—didn’t want to see if he was looking—when he set her down.
    The sand was hot beneath her bare feet. Her skin flushed, and she quickly called in her boots and stockings, her drawers and dress. Almost instantly, she replaced the armor with them, and turned her back while she fastened and arranged everything.
    “I didn’t peek,” Jake said in a low voice.
    She believed him—and felt doubly wretched. When scales had covered her demonic body, she hadn’t given a thought to being exposed. It shouldn’t have been different, yet it was. And though she had much to thank Jake for since they’d come to this realm, she’d have resented him if he had looked.
    Now she was grateful that resentment would not be an issue.
    “Thank you.” Without glancing up, she began to braid her hair. Her fingers caught in the tangles. She tugged, pulled—then forced herself to stop and simply wind two sections back from her face and pin them.
    “Of course, now that you’re not unconscious, I’ll probably try. I’m hoping for a nice gust of wind to blow your skirt up.”
    “How unfortunate for you that there is not even a breeze,” she said, giving in to a smile. It faded when she caught sight of the two hellhound puppies in the distance. A scan of the horizon revealed nothing else but sand and rock—not even Lucifer’s tower was visible.
    They must have jumped much farther than she’d thought. “Where is the mother?” she asked.
    “I dunno.” Jake pointed to a distant, tall pile of jagged stones. His footprints led away from them. “A while back, I passed that rock—I’m calling that south, by the way—and heard the puppies. They started following me, but I haven’t seen any sign of her. I’m not sure if they care for their young anyway.” His gaze moved over her face. “How are you, goddess?”
    Her shoulder was sore, but