Holidays Are Hell Esther Egg Hunt Read Online Free

kind and get into it.”
    After a moment’s hesitation, she started to run.
    Luc held onto the demon until he saw the second one heading for Esther, and then he shoved the writhing thing away and leapt into the air, tackling the second monster just as it reached deadly claws toward Esther.
    She cried out as its claws raked down her arm but Luc rammed it into a tree and held on while it screamed in pain. It was smaller than the first demon, a thatch of blonde hair on its head telling him it was a female. Luc resisted the urge to show pity and tightened his grip. The demon snapped at his face, trying to wrest its arms free so it could claw him. But he held on.
    As the female sagged into unconsciousness from the pain of his fire, Luc released her and took off running. He headed in the direction Esther had gone, moving quickly and keeping to the tree line so nobody would see him.
    Finally, Luc spotted a concrete culvert and dove inside. He sat down on the rough concrete and leaned his arms against his knees. Resting his head on his arms, he tried to catch his breath.
    “Luc?”
    He didn’t look up. “It’s okay. They won’t be able to find us here.”
    “Um, Luc?”
    “We’ll stay here until they leave, then we need to find a truck to carry us.”
    Esther took a step closer. “Okay. Um, aren’t you gonna be cold?”
    He looked down and then up at her amused expression. “Yeah, that’s a problem with flaming up. It kind of burns my clothes away. Sorry.”
    Her full, burgundy lips curved in a grin. “Oh, no need to apologize. Really.”
    * * *
    Esther laid her head back against the hard concrete. The drone of the big trucks on the highway drowned out all other sounds, and the vibrations were making her sleepy. But she wasn’t ready to give in to the lure of sleep just yet. She had way too much savoring to do first.
    She was nurturing a picture of Luc running naked toward her through the shadows, his long, muscular frame easily eating up the distance. She’d tried to focus on how his muscular calves and well-toned thighs flexed as he dug in and ran. She really meant to notice how his broad chest and buff abs tightened when he leaped over holes and pushed off large rocks. But really all she kept seeing was the delightfully impressive package bouncing happily as he sprinted.
    He was everything she’d thought he’d be and more. And all she wanted to do was throw him down and have her way with him.
    Esther snuck a sideways look at Luc. He was wearing clothing he’d “borrowed” from one of the trucks at the truck stop and had all that yumminess covered in ugly flannel and overlarge denim. But she remembered. It was burned deliciously into her retinas. When he glanced at her and smiled, Esther dragged her mind from the gutter. “What are you looking for?”
    Luc shrugged, his gaze locked onto the sky above them. “Just making sure the demons didn’t follow us.”
    “I thought you said they couldn’t see us inside a circle.”
    He sat back, draping his arms over his knees as he studiously avoided her gaze. “They can’t. I’m just being overly cautious.”
    She saw that he was rubbing his arm again, and lines of pain had formed between his brows. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?” Esther didn’t remember seeing any wounds on his arm when he was naked. Hell, who was she trying to kid? She hadn’t been looking at his arm. He could have lost both arms and his head, and she might not have even noticed.
    “It’s nothing. When we stop I’ll take some salt.”
    Esther frowned. “Salt?”
    Luc yanked the sleeve of his flannel shirt back and showed her the steady flame riding the skin over his tattoo. “They’re giving me a constant burn instead of a flash flame. It hurts more, and it’s harder to ignore.”
    “That’s bullshit! This isn’t your fault.” Esther jumped to her feet in angry indignation and cracked her head on the concrete cylinder. “Ow! Shit.” Rubbing the back of her head, she