Seducing the Demon Huntress (3 page)

“I know what would happen if I opened this gate,” she told him. “You’d snap my neck like a twig.”

“You don’t know that,” he denied.

“Don’t I? You are very careful, Lord, to make me no promises.”

“Only because I know you’d never believe them.”

She shook her head. “Your brother rules the demons and I kill them. You have a very good reason to want me dead.”

“You don’t harm my spirits. Why is it, Keri, that others of your kind make no distinction between the two and yet you do?”

She looked away from his too knowing eyes. “It seems unsporting to hunt beings who only get one night of freedom a year. As long as they don’t harm anyone, I’m content to let them go.”

“Is that the only reason?”

And because I know they are yours and don’t want to give you a reason to stop appearing at my door
, she thought to herself. “Yes,” she answered aloud. “That is the only reason.”

“I have no love for many of my brother’s decisions,” Arawn told her. “His wars are not mine.”

She glanced at him, trying to see honesty in his eyes that might back up his words. “Until he asks you to fight beside him.”

“Perhaps I will receive a better offer.” His eyes were hot as they watched her.

Kerilyn stilled at the look. It was one that clearly said this was a man capable of thinking up all manner of wicked fantasies. Ones she’d be only too happy to participate in. Heat flooded her system, pooling low in her abdomen. She wanted to look away but there was no tearing her gaze from his. Not when he eyed her like a tasty treat he intended to savor.

Before, he had teased her, baited her, but never made his intentions so blatant. He might have played at seduction with his perfect words and heated glances but she’d always known it was harmless. Just another tool in his endless supply to mess with her head. She’d figured she was his pet project. Getting her to open the gate had become a challenge he was determined to win.

But now, watched by scorching eyes vowing sinful pleasures, she wondered if maybe it was more. Perhaps he did truly want her. The heady thought kicked her racing heart into overdrive even though she knew it didn’t change anything. At best she’d be a conquest. The grand tale the Lord of Spirits told his peers about his hunter bedmate.

She watched him, wondering how long it would be before his love play turned to a game far more lethal. An hour? Two? Too short a time for the price she’d have to pay.

But for the chance to touch him, to press her lips against his chest and run her fingers down his hard body...

Kerilyn shivered. “Truth or lie, Lord?” she whispered before she could stop herself.

His hands clenched at his sides. “You are not a child any longer. Whether you admit it or not, you know exactly what I am about. I have not appeared on your doorstep for nine years merely for the fun of it.”

She licked her lips, noting the way his eyes followed the movement. Her head spun. Arawn never gave away this much information. He never looked at her with serious, heated eyes. This year was not like any that had come before it.

“We can’t.” The denial was breathy and weak. She flinched at the longing in her own voice.

“We can,” he replied. “Let me in and I will show you pleasures beyond anything your human men inspire.”

It wouldn’t be hard
, she thought with a mental snort. Her lovers had been few and far between. Mortal boyfriends tended to race in the other direction when they learned exactly what she did for a living.

“It’s a cruel game you play this Halloween,” she said, trying to steer the conversation back toward waters she knew. Images of Arawn in her bed were making it hard to concentrate on why she should never take him up on his offer.

“I don’t play games with you,” he replied. “I never have.”

She stepped forward until her hands brushed the gate. Despite the invisible line between them, she had never been so close to Arawn. Close enough to touch...or kiss.

“Maybe you want me,” she whispered. “Or you see how I want you and are using your knowledge to the best advantage.”

His eyes darkened in anger.

“It doesn’t matter,” she told him before he started another argument. “Real or lie, it doesn’t matter. I won’t ever open this gate and you know that. What I’ve lost this year—” She stopped, unable to finish the sentence. Clearing her throat, she lifted her chin and continued. “I’ll never let you in, not even if you come calling for the rest of my no doubt short life. I may not have many choices left, but I won’t give you a chance to kill me.”

She turned to go, knowing there was nothing left to say.

“Trust me.”

The words were said so softly she almost missed them. They hung in the air, freezing her in place. Not once had he ever spoken them before. Since they’d met, she’d always known trust was not for them. Enemies did not trust, not even if their company was secretly enjoyed.

Slowly she turned back toward him, feeling more vulnerable than she ever had before in his presence.

Did he feel it too? she wondered. The way those words changed everything?

For once his dark eyes were not unfathomable. Instead he let her see the honesty of his words. A man stood before her, not a powerful lord. A man who was asking a would-be lover to take a chance.

“I’m worth the risk,” he promised.

She had fought all her life, but this one battle terrified her more than any other. Unlike her other lovers, Arawn had the power to break her heart into a thousand pieces. He could hurt her so much more than physically. And would, no doubt. In what world would a lord of the Netherworld ever be with a hunter in any way that was real?

“No,” she whispered, feeling something rip inside of her.

His gaze shuttered, and he drew back into himself. Silence reigned for a long moment.

She wanted to run but forced herself to stand still and face his disappointment. She owed him that much, at least.

“Your ties to this world are gone,” he said, his voice harsher than she’d ever heard. “Knowing that, I will not hold back tonight.”

She narrowed her eyes, fury curling through her at his high-handed threat. Her rejection had definitely wounded his pride. “Bring it,” she retorted. “Use every one of your considerable skills. I’ll still be on this side of the gate when morning comes. Alone.”

Her unflappable enemy looked truly angry for the first time in her memory. Tight fists hung by his sides and his jaw was clenched so hard it had to hurt. Perhaps no woman had turned him down before. She rather liked the thought.

“You will be mine, Kerilyn,” he growled. “I promise you.”

Her rage rose to match his. She hated the surety in his voice. As if she were merely his puppet to play with. Didn’t he realize after all this time she was much more than that?

“I’ll never be yours, Arawn,” she snapped. “Not while there is still breath in my body. If you know what’s good for you, you will stay the hell out of my way.”

Reaching into her pockets, she grabbed handfuls of salt and hurled them at the spirit lord before he could protect himself.

His cry ripped through the night as the salt hit him and tore him apart. Arawn burst into a thousand tiny pieces before her eyes. She knew the disintegration was only temporary, more of an annoyance to him than a true wound, but it gave her long enough to run into the house and shut the door firmly behind her.

She fell back against the wood, her mind whirling with all she’d learned. Kerilyn had no doubt Arawn would be back. The night was still young, after all.

She dragged a hand through her short hair. How was she supposed to resist him? Especially this year, when he offered her everything she’d ever wanted at a price far too high to pay.

Chapter Two

Flames writhed before her eyes. Despite the warmth the fire created, she couldn’t banish the chill permeating her bones. Kerilyn fought a battle within herself. Stay inside and remain safe, or venture back to Arawn and feel more alive than she had in months.

Trust me.

The words rang loud and clear in her mind. Words he had never spoken before. Every year she’d snuck out to meet him at the gate. A foolish young girl unable to break free of the tempting attention he’d lavished on her. She’d had so few choices back then. Being born a Whitney had written her fate in stone. But the one thing she’d had, the one thing she could choose of her own will, was him. The battle between desire and logic had faltered every year and she never regretted her weakness. Some nights all they had were a few stolen moments, other times they’d had the leisure of full conversations. As she’d grown from child to woman, those conversations had changed. Become more flirtatious and forbidden. But not once, not one single time, had he ever asked her to trust him.

Not until tonight.

She dropped her head to her knees, laughing at her own idiocy. She’d been half in love with Arawn since she was a teenager and there was no getting around that. The dashing, beautiful king had used his one night of freedom to come calling on her for nine years. It was a heady feeling to be the object of such obsession.

And now to think he wanted her as much as she wanted him? Such a dangerous thought. One which made her wonder if she’d been wrong. What would happen if she opened the gate? She didn’t know if she had the courage to find out.

“Damn you,” she whispered. Even when absent he filled her mind with visions of battles and embraces.

A breeze raised the hairs on her arms, teasing gently along her skin. Kerilyn’s head jerked up in shock. The house was closed up tight. There was nothing to create such a breeze.

The silent wind carried the scent of rich spice and she knew only one person with the intoxicating smell.

“Arawn,” she growled, swinging to her feet. Her dagger was in her palm in an instant, her body ready to fight. Surely he hadn’t managed to get inside. The alarms would have sounded if he had. A quick glance out the window assured her the lanterns were still lit. Her house was safe. At least, in theory it was.

But somehow the spirit lord was close.

Shh
. The whispered sound slid through her mind as real as if he had spoken into her ear.

Kerilyn pressed a palm to her forehead, more thoroughly shaken by the unfamiliar feeling than she liked to admit. “What are you doing?” she demanded, tightening her grip on the dagger.

Fighting dirty.

Fear filled her and she did her best to battle it. She scanned the room, looking for any clues he was actually here and not a phantom in her mind. Nothing seemed amiss.

The scent of spice grew stronger and she readied for an attack.

Sleep
, the whispered voice commanded.

“Like hell I will,” she snapped. But no sooner had the words left her mouth before her eyes felt heavy.

“No,” she moaned, sinking to her knees. Kerilyn dug her nails into her palms hard enough to break the skin. The sharp pain pushed back the exhaustion for one brief moment.

Magic, she realized in the small moment of clarity. Arawn was using magic against her, a tactic he had never needed before.

On hands and knees she tried to crawl to the sofa and the old grimoire resting on the cushions. It was a magical text passed down throughout her family’s generations. Surely there would be a counter spell in it. There had to be some way to protect her mind. If he could make her sleep, could he make her do something even worse?

Like open the gate?

Blackness edged her vision as she reached for the text. Her arm felt heavy. Every part of her body yearned to curl up and give in to the desire to sleep.

Rest your eyes.
The suggestion slithered through her head.
Only for a moment.

Her fingertips brushed against the old leather binding of the book before the swirl of spice grew so thick it blocked out all else. With a last desperate breath, she collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

Blackness greeted her when she opened her eyes.

“Bastard,” she shouted, hands balled into fists. “This is cheating.”

A chuckle filled the darkness, warm and triumphant. “Tonight is not a night for pulling my punches.”

She twisted in the gloom, trying to see anything. Panic clawed at her but she did her best to push it back. The frightening lord could never know how he spooked her.

“I protected my home,” she declared. “There’s no way you got in.”

“True.” His voice echoed around her. It was impossible to pinpoint his location. “However, this time we are not meeting on your terms but mine.”

“What do you mean?”

A hot breath burned the sensitive skin of her ear. Whirling, Kerilyn struck out but her fist met only air. His infuriating chuckle drifted around her.

“On All Hallow’s Eve the veil between worlds is thin.”

“I know that,” she said.

“It is the time when it is easiest to make contact with your world. Especially in your subconscious.”

She stiffened.

“You might have protected your house, my Keri, but you didn’t protect your dreams.”

Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her up against a firm chest.

“No,” she gasped, trying to fight him off.

His lips pressed against the bare skin of her nape, freezing her in place. “You won’t trust me,” he whispered against her skin. “And I can’t convince you with barriers between us. What harm is there, Keri, in a dream?”

“If you had this power, why didn’t you use it before?” she demanded, trying to ignore the hands sliding over her hips.

“I’m sure one of your family members would have noticed you unconscious on the living room floor and woken you. Besides, I thought it unfair. I wanted you to welcome me on your own terms. As the years drift by, however, I am less and less inclined to be noble.” Lips ran up her throat, pausing at the sensitive skin behind her ear. “It’s only a dream,” he whispered heatedly. “Can’t you give me that much?”

“Nothing is simple with you,” she tried. “Everything means more than you let on.”

“You’re wrong.” His teeth caught her earlobe gently. “This is just a man who desperately wants the woman in his arms. Nothing is simpler.”