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The Coham, Massachusetts, had corridors that stank of Febreze, s that were caulked shut, and sheets that were a little itchy But at least the quietly hu Coke lacially cold caffeinated heaven

Adrian Vogel loved a good Coke, preferring the old-school glass bottles to cans But he&039;d take the plastic long-necks happily enough

And he was going to buy two as soon as he got off on his floor One for himself and one for"What did you say your name was?"

The redhead next him was exactly his type: totally stacked, partially wasted, and under no illusions that this was going to be anything but sex

"Rachel" She s teeth that were sparkly and superwhite "And I think I&039;ll keep my last name to myself"

Man, those chompers of hers were incredible--as lined up and shiny as bathrooienist, so she probably got a discount

Hell, with her looks, she could be aand the door slid back, revealing the red-and-white vending machine of his dreams As he stepped aside and let lovely, sparkly Rachel-with-no-last-na her, but that was a tay street: Their conversation at the bar next to the hotel had started up over the fact that she renching her wedding band off

Apparently, her husband was fucking a friend of hers

And it had taken Adrian &039;bout a minute and a half to coht her a couple of drinks and then onein the hotel He told her yes, he waswith his best friend Who was a lot better-looking than he was

Right, total lies-ville on that one But he liked to share with Eddie if the woa &039;em home

"Hold up," he said as he stopped at his ot his wallet out, and peeled free a couple of bills

"You know," his date said, "I&039;ve never been with anybody like you"

Yeah, he was damn sure of that one "Really?" As he smiled at her over his shoulder, she focused on the loop in his lower lip--and to oblige, he deliberately licked over the dark gray metal "I ain&039;t so bad, ary "Not at all Hey, do you have a girlfriend? I never asked"

Adrian turned back to theto the little whirrrrrr as the George Washing-tons were sucked into the thing&039;s gullet

"No," he said, pushing the pad for a regular "I&039;m not with anyone"

Actually he had beenall too recently Which hy, even though he always liked his sex, he&039;d been so hell-bent on picking the chick up last night and hitting on Rachel tonight

Washing off after Devina had used hiht after she released hiot rid of his blood and the other stuff that coated his skinbut the filthy dirty thing always persisted

This lovely littleto help replace the sensations that lingered in his body

The ones that had nothing to do with the fading bruises on his skin

The shit with Devina stayed with hi To the point where there were noo of him: the one who bantered with Jiht for Isaac Rothe&039;s souland the one as curled up in the recesses of hisand numb and all alone

"Diet?" he asked

"Yes, please"

This time, his hand shook as he fed the machine&039;s et the bill in "Hey, could you do so for me?"

"Sure"

"Wrap your arh and then he felt a gentle compression around his waist as Rachel No-Last-Name did what he&039;d asked As she leaned into the back of hiainst his hard muscle and the war inside of him

He was so da

Adrian let his head drop and braced one hand against the oing to kill hi him, then because of the afterht anymore, and as the days went by and it didn&039;t return nor to worry He didn&039;t think Jim knew; he worried that Eddie did--and here was the proble benched by the powers that be again He was a fighter and he had a personal vendetta against Devinaand that ether

"You know," Rachel ainst his shoulder, "if you wanted to feel my breasts, there&039;s a better way"

He sed hard and put hisaround in her arms, he swept her red hair off her neck and tilted her chin up "You&039;re so right"

He was utterly empty as he kissed her, but she didn&039;t know that, and he was so desperate to make a connection that he didn&039;t care

"Adrian" As she drew out his nah his tongue felt against her own

Running his hands down her hips to her ass, he pulled her in tight to his body and tried to break through his arctic circle with her curves and the way she ainst him and the smell of her perfume and the taste of the cranberry and vodkas she&039;d been drinking

Keeping to the rhythhed up another bottle

"Co her soda "Letto love hiave her a wink in an atteled, it was clear she bought the char into

"You know, I&039;ve never done this before," she said, as he led her down the corridor "Well, withyou know"

"Two people?" She giggled again and he smiled down at her "That&039;s okay--we&039;ll treat you very, very well"

This was going to work, he told hiot out his plastic key to the door This had to work Last night just hadn&039;t been enough, but after this, his slate was going to be clean and his head was going to be back in the gaet to take his pound of flesh out of Devina

When they came up to his room, Adrian stopped, slipped the card in the slot, and opened the way just a crack "We&039;ve got some company You decent? "

Eddie&039;s reply was quick and annoyed "Of course I am"

Adrian pushed in with that manufactured smile nailed on the front door of his face "Where are you, buddy?"

As his rooed the instant he saw the female

Nooooooot so annoyed any for redheads--which hy the lovely Rachel had been a slam dunk

While Eddie stepped up to introduce hih the open connector into Ji in front of the laptop he&039;d bought earlier in the day On one side of him, there was an open box of half-eaten pizza, and on the other, a Marlboro quietly s was a scruffy pile of gray-and-blond-colored fur--to the point where you couldn&039;t tell what end was tail and asby Ji on the coirl Devina hadupside down in that tub back in Caldwell--the virgin girl who had been sacrificed to protect the demon&039;s turf The one Jim had tried to saveand been too late for

"Jiuy as responsible for saving the world looked up His eyes were red ri hollowed out--so yeah, he was pretty iven how much was on his shoulders And yet he was clearly up to the task That spell the guy had pulled out of his ass at the brick house? Unbelievable First try out of the gate and he did it on a oner Eddie or Ad? Would have had to go all around the place e

Kind of made you wonder what else the bastard could do

"What&039;s up, Ad?" the guy said as he picked up his cig and took a draw The exhale was slow and tired

Adrian thuonna be busy for a little bit"

"Are you, now"

As if on cue, Rachel let out one of her giggles and right on the heels of it ca in for so

Jim&039;s stare narrowed "Are you okay?"

Adrian stepped back and started to shut the door He didn&039;t want Ji to be undone before Eddie--who he&039;d lived through hell with Literally

But not Ji ith hih

"Hold up a o--"

"You can sparetells o far without you"

Adrian was having probleuy stood in the doorith that faker se cable Sure, he&039;d appeared to be keeping shit together, but that wasn&039;t the truth under his Mr Rough Guy routine, was it

And battle fatigue was not a joke; it fractured your brain and presented a danger to yourself and others After all, walking around with a noggin that wasn&039;t working right was like having a weapon in your holster that could misfire at any moment--and blow up in your hand

"Adrian"

"What" The guy&039;s reply was not an opening for discussion And neither was the hand with long red nails that snaked across his hip and began to drag up his shirt