Read Online Hammer Down: Children of the Undying: Book 2 by Moira Rogers - Free Book Online

crossed over his broad chest, and she found herself watching his hand where it rested on his arm.
    He was tense—who wouldn’t be at the moment?—but her attention shifted from his obvious unease as sudden desire struck her, slowing her brain and quickening her body.
    His hands were strong, but she’d already felt how gentle they could be. Careful, controlled. Would he fuck a woman the same way? Afraid to let go for fear of hurting her?
    No. He’d drive into her, grinding deep. Rough, hot. Intent on pleasure.
    Fuck.
    His voice was lower when he spoke again. Gravelly. “Devi?”
    She suppressed a shiver as her body betrayed her, head to toe. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, and her nipples hardened under the light, damp cotton of her shirt. When she shifted on the table, pressing her thighs together, she almost groaned. That slight movement proved her more than ready for him, wet and sensitive and aching.
    He was clear across the room, and if she rubbed her thighs together just a little more, she’d probably come.
    It was unacceptable. “What?”
    “That okay with you?”
    Don’t look, Devi… He was aroused, an impressive erection straining the front of his pants. “Your second-in-command. Got it.”
    His jaw clenched, like he’d caught her looking but wasn’t willing to admit it. “There is one thing you can do, if you’re willing. We could compensate you.”
    “What’s that?”
    “We need intel. Information on the area, the closest settlements. Haulers see things.”
    She thought of the maps carefully rolled into her duffel. Each was her own personal creation, meticulously marked with routes and locations, including some of her own stashes of goods and chips. “Yeah, we see things. We also have to be damn careful about what we share.”
    He nodded once, as if he’d expected the words. “Considering where you’re standing, it’s a virtue I can appreciate. No settlements would do business with you if you were going to tell their secrets.”
    “Exactly. I tell you something about Forestville today, next week we’re not welcome there.” And news got around, whether through the Global or because no one liked to talk as much as a hauler with a few drinks in him.
    “There’s only one place I need information about.” His gaze didn’t waver. “And I’m not planning to use it unless they come after us, if that makes a difference.”
    Nicollet. Devi shivered. “How can I be sure you’re not planning a preemptive attack on the city?”
    He didn’t blink. Didn’t hesitate. “Why would I want to? Their resources are overtaxed and I have enough people to feed as it is.”
    The answer had been drilled into her head as surely as every other human’s for as long as she could remember, and she gave it to him now, a weapon of truth—and a plea for him to deny it. “Because you’re monsters. Bloodthirsty monsters.”
    Her words struck home. He flinched, his eyes tightening, then resumed his blank expression as if the lapse hadn’t happened. “Sometimes,” he agreed blandly. “And we’re honest about it too, which is more than you can say for the bastards running most of the cities these days.”
    Surely he didn’t expect her to disagree. “Yes. If you swear you’ll only use the information for defense, I’ll help you.”
    The room had a small table with a couple of folding chairs that had clearly seen better days. Zel nudged one back with his foot and folded his body into it before pulling out a tablet. “I swear on all the lives in my care, I will not invade Nicollet.”
    “All right.” Devi knelt beside the bed and pulled out her duffel. “Most of my maps deal with other settlements, but I have some information on the city. You can talk to Juliet and Tanner too, if you need to know what sort of military forces and armament they have.”
    One of Zel’s eyebrows swept up. “They know that sort of thing?”
    “Some.” She shrugged. “People talk. The training is hard to hide, and so