Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Tayla Mancuso is an Aegi, a demon slayer. But her blood carries a deadly secret- she, herself, is half demon, something not even she knows. But when a fight with a demon lands her in Underground General Hospital, her secret becomes known to Eidolon, the Seminus Demon Doctor who worked on her and saved her life.

Despite knowing she's Aegi, Eidolon finds himself drawn to her, both personally and sexually. Even while she's still in the hospital, he finds himself making love to her, and wondering why she doesn't come. A Seminus demon is the epitome of sex, so what is wrong with her?

But Eidolon has a problem of his own. He's rapidly coming up on the S'genesis, a time of change for Seminus demons, when he will either take a mate or become something else, something that lives for sex and impregnating other female demons. Very few Seminus demons live to adulthood, and all are male. Other female demons impregnated by a Seminus tend to kill their offspring soon after birth. Out of 44 brothers born from his father to different mothers, only he and two others remain. But as Eidolon is the head doctor of UG, and he was the one who came up with the idea, he wants to mate rather than become someone or something else.

But when Tayla is thrown on his table, he doesn't want to kill her. Instead, he works to save her life, hoping to induce her to turn on her Aegi comrades, who would do him the favor of killing her if they ever found out what she is. However, he has a problem of his own. Someone is operating on demons, robbing them of parts of their bodies to sell them on the black market. He and the other demons believe that the Aegis is behind it, but why sell their parts rather than just killing the demons, period?

Tayla finds herself wanting Eidolon even as she knows she should kill him. But he attracts her as no one else does, and she can't stop wanting him, even as she hates him for making him want her. But something isn't right. Why would a demon save her life, and why are her Aegis comrades suddenly trying to kill her. She knows no Aegis would sell demon body parts for money... or would they? And why is she suddenly being targeted?

Reluctantly, she must work with Eidolon to find out the truth, and face the terrible secret that lives in her own body.... or die trying.

I really enjoyed this book, which took an incredible world, mated it with sensual writing and an interesting story, and never let up from the first page. The warring viewpoints of the demons, and the Aegis, who assumed that all demons are evil just because they are called "demons" was just amazing to read. While Tayla assumes she knows a lot about the demon world, and assumes all of them come from Hell, Eidolon has to set her straight.

While we don't really learn a lot about the demon world, what we do learn about it is spread over a wide variety of demons and demon types. For instance, Eidolon is a Seminus demon, just one of the many types of Incubi, or sex demons. His kind reproduce only males, while other Incubi can make both male and female demons. We also learn that after Satan fell, God granted him the power of creation, and Satan made demons, But like humans, who are born good and can turn evil, Demons are born evil and can turn good if they choose. Surprisingly, some demons reject tales of Satan, who they have never seen, the same way some humans reject tales of God. While the idea of demon atheists gave me a chuckle, it's also a really interesting idea.

The trouble for Tayla comes when she must start integrating the truth of the world of Demons with what she has believed about it for so long, and the trouble with the rest of the Aegis in her cell leaves her confused for the longest time. But I was very intrigued by the world, and I want to see and read more. I have a feeling that the next few books are mapped out already, with Eidolon's brothers, Wrath and Shade, and Tayla's sister Gem being the most obvious candidates. But I can't wait to read about them, and I'll be waiting to see what comes next with bated breath.