His smile grew wider. “I think you did.”
Kerilyn shivered, wishing she could deny his words. The sight of him shouldn’t cause her heart to leap or her blood to heat. It shouldn’t make her think of the wicked things he did to her in her dreams or how she longed to run her fingers over his flesh. Her attraction to this man was so very wrong. Especially now, with everything she’d had taken from her this past year. Beautiful or not, he was her enemy and that was one truth she couldn’t afford to ever forget.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she told him, her hands curling into fists. “This is the one night a year you are free from the Netherworld. Go elsewhere.”
Arawn, like his spirit subjects, was only free to cross the veil between the worlds on Halloween. The demons straddled the line between living and dead and were free to come and go throughout the year. The spirits, on the other hand, were very dead. They only had one night when they were free to roam the lands of the living. And for years, Arawn had always spent his one night with her.
Why? She’d never yielded enough to ask and he’d never given her his reasons. She had no idea what had possessed him to spend his nights with a fanciful young woman, giving her a taste of danger without ever putting her in real peril. Not until the Halloween after her twentieth birthday had he ever looked at her with desire. But that night, his gaze had scorched her. Even now she shivered to think of it. That had been the first night he’d asked her to open the gate and let him in.
Her answer had been automatic. No way in hell was she opening her gate. But Arawn was not one to be deterred. Every year he appeared before her asking the same question and every year she gave him the same answer. She would never admit aloud to the secret part of her longing to give in to his demands. Just once she wanted to touch him skin to skin.
An impossible wish.
“Where else shall I go,” he asked now, “when this is the only place I wish to be?”
She laughed bitterly, knowing his words for the cruel lie they were. Despite the games they played, she knew his lusts wouldn’t outweigh his desire for her head on a platter. Her entire line had spent their lives trying to take his. As much as she might crave his touch, she knew the price she’d pay for a single kiss. All her life she’d been fed stories of this man’s viciousness and she’d seen enough evidence of it firsthand to give credence to the tales. She knew he ruled his realm with an iron fist and his brother had systematically picked off her family. It was ridiculous to believe she was anything more to him than a challenge.
“Lord of Lies,” she mocked, “go play with your subjects.”
Arawn crossed his arms over his chest, unperturbed by her words. “Must you be cruel to me, Keri?”
“Yes.”
“So stubborn.” He sighed. “We could have such fun, you and I.”
“If I opened the gate.”
“Yes,” he breathed, his eyes glowing in the dim light. “If you opened the gate.”
“Don’t you ever get tired of asking? Every year you say that to me.”
“I live in hope. One day, my Kerilyn, you will invite me in.”
“I’m not yours,” she snapped. “And I will never open the gate.”
Arawn shook his head at her. “If only you knew how much you cost us both.”
“You bore me,” she said. “Go away, Arawn.”
He smiled slightly at her words. “Never,” he promised her in a harsh whisper.
Kerilyn swallowed hard, wishing he was a little less tempting. Maybe then she could have resisted racing to him every year. She knew damn well her actions were foolish, dangerous, but she was woman enough to admit this beautiful man drew her. Surely anyone in her position would secretly enjoy the attention he lavished on her, the teasing and witty repartee they’d perfected over the years.
“All I have is one night,” he murmured. “Just a few hours at my disposal to convince you we belong together.”
“We don’t,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.
“Why?”
“Because I’m a hunter.”
Arawn spread his hands out in acceptance. “Yes, you hunt my brother’s men. And I am your family’s nightmare. I don’t deny the barriers, Keri.”
“But you ask me to ignore them.” She laughed at his words. “I know what would happen if I stepped into your arms, Arawn. I’ve known since I first met you.”
He drifted closer to the gate, his eyes on her. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Kerilyn studied him under the street lamp’s flickering light. “I know I’m little more than a game to you. Do us both a favor and leave me in peace.”
Arawn’s eyes flickered to the dark house behind her before scanning the yard around them. “If you want to be left alone, surely all you need to do is wait. After all, one of your cursed family always shows up at the worst possible time, determined to banish me. Given their absence, what am I to think, Keri, except that you wish my company this night?”
Kerilyn stiffened. Clenching her hands, she refused to let him see how he’d hurt her. “Low blow, Arawn.”
Instantly he was alert. “How so?”
She lifted her chin, gathering her defenses. “As if you didn’t know.”
“Keri, tell me what has happened.”
She stared at him fiercely.
The spirit lord studied her face for a long moment before surprise finally lit his eyes. “Dead?” he murmured.
“Don’t act shocked.”
His expression became unreadable. “You are alone.”
“And you care?”
Arawn stepped forward, gripping the white fence as he leaned toward her, careful to avoid crossing the line of jack-o’-lanterns. “More than you know,” he answered, his gaze never leaving hers.
Kerilyn laughed at his words. “A new trick,” she mused. “Will you now try to seduce me into opening the gates? I know very well you would never care about a human, let alone a hunter.”
“The only things you know of me are the foolish tales your family fed you.”
“My family always told me the truth.”
“As they knew it, perhaps. But what you know and what is true are not necessary the same thing.”
“Splitting hairs.”
“Have I ever hurt you, Keri?” he demanded.
“No,” she admitted, “but only because I’ve never given you the chance. I didn’t forget, Lord, whose minions killed my sisters.”
Shadows darkened his gaze. “I didn’t know you then.”
“Would it have changed their fate if you had?”
He remained silent. As enigmatic as ever.
Kerilyn dragged a hand through her short hair. “You and your brother have stripped me of all my family. I’ve seen their bodies one after another, shredded until I can barely identify them. You did that to me. You and your kind. I’ve seen firsthand the cruelty you are capable of. So tell me again, Arawn, to put my faith in you.”
He broke away from her accusing gaze and she smiled bitterly, winning at least one round in their endless sparring.
“Go away,” she said, almost gently. “I’ll see you next year.” She turned her back to him, meaning to take refuge inside.
“Stop,” he commanded, his voice thundering around them.
The candles in the jack-o’-lanterns flared bright before flickering wildly in response to his power. She glanced at them in alarm. If the row of jack-o’-lanterns went out she was dead.
“Aren’t you tired, Keri?” he asked in a softer voice. “You’ve had to fight all your life. They took away your choices before you even knew you had ones to make. But you are free now.”
“Free?” she cried, spinning back to him. “Free of the only people in the world who understood me? Who loved me?”
“They put a knife in your hand when you were merely a child. Kerilyn, they never understood you,” he said. “And others would love you if you gave them the chance.”
Agony slashed through her. She desperately wished hi
s words were true. Burying her pain, she forced herself to saunter back to the gate. Being very careful not to trip the laser sensors, she tilted her head to the side with a coy smile. “Others?” she asked softly. “Who, Arawn? You?”
He merely watched her with inscrutable eyes.
“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? Especial
ly 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.
Seducing the Demon Huntress Page 2
