Demon Possession by Kiersten Fay Page A

night.
    His shirt.
    Sniffing the pastry first,Analia nibbled a corner. Her eyes lit up when the flavor hit her and she sank her teeth in, closing her eyes she slowly chewed, obviously savoring the taste. Sebastian watched her with fascination. He had never seen someone eat with such euphoria.
    Stil a bit riled, and curious of everything about her, he grated. “Why do you act as though you’ve never had a pasty? Or seen a child? Or witnessed the stars?”
    Instantly she stopped chewing and swal owed hard, eyes looking everywhere but at him as though the answer were somewhere in the room. She was calculating, choosing her words. She didn’t want him to know where she came from. Does the answer have something to do with that?
    “There were never any children … where I was.” She paused, “Or pastries.”
    “Or windows?” He laughed without amusement. “The only places my ship has visited in the past few months are space cities or other ships. So it’s an easy assumption that you come from space. You have to have seen the stars.”

    Another moment of silence, then in a smal voice she replied, “Ihaveseen the stars before.” Again she shifted her eyes and he realized she wasn’t going to elaborate.
    It irked him that he wanted to know more. Dropping the clothing in her lap he said, “We leave in five minutes whether you are dressed or not.” At that she jumped from the couch and dashed into the bathroom, to change into the clothes that Sebastian was dreading seeing her in. He sat on the couch to wait, feeling for every lump in the old cushions.
    Just as he feared, when she emerged, his body responded, this time worse than before. However,this time he was able to control himself, but just barely.
    He shifted his features to the arrogant disposition he used when dealing with his mercenary clients—gruff males who have kil ed ruthlessly and without remorse. If he could handle bloodthirsty kil ers, surely he could handle this wee creature.
    The too short skirt was black with sheer purple ruffles. It caressed her thighs, and swished slightly as she moved, the deep purple V-neck tank was too tight and curved around her breasts and flat stomach. Her blond curls spil ed over her bare shoulders. His mouth watered at the sight. The chit was blushing, as though she knew what this was doing to him.
    “Wel how does it fit?” He was hoping she would say she hated the clothes, so he could give her a reprieve for the day, until he could find more suitable clothing. But she gave him a sweetly shy smile, making here look even more irresistible.
    “I love them. I’ve never worn anything so …” she fought for words. “They’re wonderful. Thank you.”
    Damn. Now he couldn’t take them away.
    “I wil take real y great care of them for when I give them back.”
    For some reason that bothered him, they were hers to keep if the clothes made her happy. Sonya wouldn’t mind and he’d pay her back anyway. Before he could say anything of the kind she reached for the rest of her pastry, bending slightly at the hips as she ate to keep from messing the clothes, giving him a perfect view of her plump cleavage. The innocent action affected him again and he had to shift his pants to sit more comfortably. Again she chewed with that same euphoric expression, making him obsess once more over al the things he didn’t know about her. She swal owed and licked her soft lips leaving them glossy and begging for his. Did she know she was driving him mad?
    Sebastian was on the verge of losing it again. He stood and turned away from her. “Fol ow me then, I’l show you the around the ship.”

    Analia practical y bounced with giddiness as Sebastian showed her around the ship. There were so many things to see. Bril iant colors decorated the wal s, unlike the gray, gray, and more gray that made up The Hel Ship. People smiled as they passed. Children played in the hal s. This was a place teaming with so much vibrancy and liveliness she could