Seducing the Demon Huntress Read online

  She laughed huskily. “Welcome to my world.”

  “I held you in my arms and thought you were dead.” His arms closed around her, holding her almost painfully tight.

  Kerilyn realized this wasn’t about lust, at least not this moment. Her proud king needed comfort more than passion. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m safe,” she told him. “You saw to that. You saved my life, Arawn. I will never forget it.”

  “What would my world be like without you waiting for me every Halloween?” he replied, leaning down to kiss her.

  As empty as hers would be without seeing him at her gate every year.

  “You are not allowed to die again,” he ordered her, easing her black top up. “I forbid it.”

  Kerilyn helped him pull it over her head, chuckling at his words. “I’ll do my best,” she promised.

  He tossed the shirt away and looked down at her chest, covered only by her sports bra.

  “Beautiful,” he said, staring hungrily at her breasts.

  She blushed as she reached out for the laces on his clothing. Robes dropped to the ground around him, quickly followed by his black leather vest. Slowly easing his fitted black shirt up, she ran her hands along his bronzed skin. It felt so good to touch him skin to skin in reality.

  Arawn helped her grab the shirt and pulled it swiftly over his head. Staring at his nude chest, Kerilyn couldn’t help licking her lips.

  “Like what you see?” he teased.

  “Oh yeah,” she agreed, running her hands over his skin. “But I want to see more.”

  He kissed her hotly. “Me too,” he growled against her mouth.

  Arawn pushed down the black skirt of her witch costume and she obligingly kicked it out of the way. She gasped softly against his mouth when his fingers found the clasp of her pants.

  “It takes so much longer this way,” she teased. “If we were in the dream land I’d snap my fingers and have you naked.”

  “Anticipation,” he replied. “We don’t need to rush.”

  “Says you.”

  Arawn rewarded her with a quick kiss as he undid her pants and pushed them down. He dropped to his knees, pulling the material with him. A king of the Netherworld knelt at her feet, carefully easing one foot then the other free from the material. It seemed too impossible to be believed. Kerilyn gripped his shoulders to help her keep her balance. When her pants had been tossed away, he looked up at her with his strange glowing eyes.

  Kerilyn smiled at him encouragingly. Heat flared through her at the sight of Arawn on his knees before her.

  His eyes still on hers, he slid his hands slowly up her bare legs. Kerilyn bit her lip as his fingers teased her skin. She had to grip the bedpost to steady her knees when his thumb brushed the inside of her thigh.

  “You are more beautiful than I ever dreamed,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the taut skin of her stomach.

  Kerilyn ran her fingers lightly through his dark hair. Releasing the post, she cupped his face and tilted his gaze up to hers.

  “You weren’t the only one waiting for this,” she whispered.

  The soft smile he gave her melted her heart. Slowly he rose to his feet, his hands gliding over her hips. Kerilyn’s heart raced as he pulled her close. He left a trail of hot kisses down her throat before drawing his tongue over her thundering pulse.

  “I want to savor every second I have with you.”

  She closed her eyes, agreeing wholeheartedly with his words. Never had she felt as complete as she did in his arms. Kerilyn prayed the sunrise would never come and tear him away from her.

  “I’m much more naked than you are,” she said breathlessly. “It isn’t fair.”

  “Can’t have that.” With deft fingers he unlaced his breeches. Kerilyn watched avidly as he stripped them away.

  Her mouth went dry at the sight of him and her already shaky legs sent her tumbling onto the mattress.

  Arawn stood before her completely naked, a slight smile on his lips. Kerilyn ran her eyes over every inch of him, especially the pulsing erection before her. Arawn was a big man in all ways. She licked her lips as she thought of all the things they could do together.

  “If you keep staring at me that way, Keri, this will be over before it even starts,” he told her.

  “Sorry,” she said, unable to look away.

  Arawn laughed painfully. Reaching out, he pulled her up into his arms.

  Kerilyn stared up at him and tried not to think about the hard cock pressing into her stomach.

  “I’m much more naked than you are,” Arawn teased, using her own words.

  Kerilyn grinned in response. “Can’t have that,” she said.

  Arawn ran his fingers lightly up her spine to her bra. Kerilyn caught her breath as he stripped it from her body. She kept her eyes on his face and knew the minute he looked down to see what his hands had uncovered.

  His sharp inhalation was deeply gratifying.

  “Now who can’t look away?” Kerilyn asked, raising her arms to stretch languidly.

  Growling low, Arawn tossed her backward onto the bed. Kerilyn laughed as he wrestled her remaining underwear off and threw it over his shoulder.

  Surprisingly, she felt no hesitation lying naked under him. The heat in his gaze told her plainly how beautiful he found her.

  When he rose up on an elbow to stare down at her, Kerilyn let her eyes fill with the happiness she felt. Having him in her bed was different than it had been in their dream. Then, it had been about lust. But this, there was something more to it this time. This wasn’t just about the physical pleasure they’d give each other. She loved the way he touched her, but even more, she loved the way they fit together perfectly. She loved seeing the tenderness in his eyes despite the raging desire gripping them. He treated her as if she was truly important to him. This wasn’t just sex. Not anymore.

  Kerilyn wondered how she’d be able to survive when he disappeared with the dawn.

  Don’t think about it, she commanded, pulling his lips back to hers. Enjoy the time we have right now. There was no use worrying about the painful future, which she couldn’t change.

  As Arawn’s fingers slipped between her thighs, however, she lost the ability to think about anything at all.

  “Arawn,” she gasped as one finger stroked along her slit.

  “So wet,” he purred. He moved down until he could draw his tongue against the hard bud of her nipple. Kerilyn bit her lip to stop her cry of pleasure.

  She moaned as he stroked her, his touch tauntingly light. Kerilyn’s hips moved on their own, rocking against his clever fingers.

  “Easy,” he whispered.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” she told him. “I need more.”

  “More?” She heard the smile in his voice. “Never let it be said I left a woman wanting.”

  One long finger thrust into her as he bit lightly at her sensitive nipple. Kerilyn nearly shot off the bed. She arched under him, her mouth open in a wordless cry.

  He drove his finger into her slowly, taunting her with his restraint.

  “Gods, what are you doing to me?” she moaned, twisting under him.

  “So responsive.” He leaned up and caught her lips with his. Kerilyn kissed him frantically, trying to convey her growing desperation.

  When his thumb circled her clit, she gasped against his lips. Tearing her mouth from his she commanded, “More, Arawn. No more playing. I can’t take it.”

  He grinned at her, the lights in his eyes flickering as his own control weakened. “What man can resist such a tempting offer?” With a last languid touch, he withdrew his hand from her.

  Kerilyn almost protested the loss until he shifted between her thighs. She gladly opened her legs wider to accommodate him and bit her lips when she felt the head of his cock press against her sex.

  “Ready?” he asked huskily.

  She laughed helplessly at the question.

  Taking that as an affirmation, Arawn gripped her hips and thrust into
her.

  Kerilyn gasped as his hot length filled her. It’d been a while since her last lover and she was tight. But the moment of discomfort quickly passed as Arawn settled deeply within her.

  “You’re so hot,” he said, trying to hold still for her.

  Kerilyn shifted experimentally under him and was rewarded with his sharp hiss. A slow smile curved her lips as she saw the strain on his face. He wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

  “I’m alright,” she told him. “Better than alright.” She gripped him with her inner muscles, wringing another groan from her lover.

  Arawn withdrew before thrusting back into her. Kerilyn arched off the bed, gasping in pleasure.

  She raised her hips to meet his thrusts, moving with him with pounding need. All she knew was the delicious waves of pleasure he sent rolling through her. Her fingers twisted in the sheets as she writhed beneath him.

  He thrust into her with sure, fiery strokes. The spirit lord may have started out in control but Kerilyn felt the growing wildness in him. He entered her more forcefully, as much a slave to their passion as she was. She clutched him to her, capturing his lips with her own.

  Indescribable pleasure rode her as she rocked her hips to match his strokes. Never, not with any other lover, had she felt this way. As their bodies twined together, she realized this was what she’d been waiting a lifetime for. Arawn was everything she craved.

  “Arawn,” she cried, digging her nails into his back as she felt the pleasure build within her.

  “Let go, love,” he gasped, thrusting into her with mindless frenzy.

  Throwing back her head, Kerilyn screamed as her orgasm crashed over her.

  Every cell in her body exploded, carrying her away in blinding pleasure. She couldn’t think beyond this moment. Arawn drove into her frantically before stiffening. He gave a loud shout of release but Kerilyn barely heard him. Wave after endless wave of shattering pleasure consumed her. Nothing else mattered except the sensations riding her body.

  As she slowly came back to the room, her body twitched in memory of the orgasm. Kerilyn felt wonderfully languid. It was absolutely inconceivable to think she’d ever move again.

  She rolled her head to the side and saw Arawn resting beside her. He looked just as sated as she felt.

  Glancing at her, he gifted her with an incredibly tender smile.

  How will I ever let him go? she wondered even as she smiled back.

  Chapter Seven

  Kerilyn stared at the alarm clock on her nightstand, watching the minutes tick by. The most incredible man in the world nestled against her back, his strong arm wrapped around her waist. The thought that she had less than an hour to touch him was absolutely unimaginable.

  Arawn ran his lips across her shoulder blades and she smiled in bittersweet pleasure.

  “You’re sad,” he whispered against her skin.

  Kerilyn rolled over in his arms to face him. “Yeah,” she agreed.

  He watched her with sharp black eyes. “Regrets so soon?”

  “No,” she denied hotly. “That’s not what I meant.”

  Reaching out, Arawn gently traced her features, running his fingertips over her brow. “Then what is it?” he asked. “What puts such sadness into your eyes if it is not regret for taking the lord of spirits to your bed?”

  “I could never regret the time I spend with you,” she told him, splaying her hand over his chest. “I’ve been hopelessly drawn to you since I was a silly teenager debating whether or not you’d really skewer me if I opened the gate.”

  “The answer,” he breathed, kissing her lightly, “was no.”

  “You could have told me.”

  “You wouldn’t have believed me. Your family fed you too many stories about my evilness for you to ever trust your life into my keeping.” Smiling mockingly, he added, “At least, not without a very good reason.”

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  Arawn tilted her face up to meet his eyes. “I’ve waited nine years for you to open the gate. I’d wait many years more to have you in my arms.”

  Kerilyn studied his face in the near darkness. He was still too beautiful to be real. “Why?” she asked softly. “Why did you wait for me?”

  Arawn drew back in surprise. “What?”

  “Was it just for the sex? And don’t get me wrong, it was great sex, but is that why you wanted me to open the gate?”

  He pushed himself up, looking down at her with unreadable eyes. “What do you want me to say, Keri?”

  She wanted him to say he loved her, she realized with a sick feeling. Sleeping with him had pushed her over the edge. What had started out as teenage infatuation had grown into real love and tonight had only made it more clear. He was it for her. She could go her whole life and never feel as complete as she did when she was next to him.

  But it was surely different for him. He was a freaking king. He had a whole realm to rule and doubtless had hundreds of spirit women flinging themselves at him. Women who could share his bed for months instead of hours.

  She closed her eyes at the realization. There was no reason for him to love her. It was beyond foolish to even wish it. She would take what he’d given her and cherish it. No need to ruin such a beautiful memory by trying to make it into something it wasn’t.

  “Never mind,” she said, trying to appear unaffected.

  Kerilyn pushed from the bed and grabbed her silk robe, throwing it around herself. “It’s almost dawn,” she said, her back to him. “Want something to eat or do you have more work to finish today before you go back?”

  “Kerilyn.”

  She stiffened at the sound of her name. Why did he have to say it with that mix of tenderness and annoyance?

  “Yes?” she asked, taking more time to tie the robe than was necessary.

  “Look at me.”

  Slowly she turned to see the spirit lord lounging in her bed. He’d pushed himself up and the sheet had fallen to drape dangerously low on his hips. She swallowed hard as her body grew hot once more.

  “Was this just sex to you?” he asked her.

  She watched him silently, unwilling to make herself vulnerable.

  He smiled slightly, looking down. “We are such a perfect pair,” he told her with grim amusement.

  Before she could ask what he meant, Arawn rose from the bed and strode toward her, completely unconcerned with his nakedness.

  “Arawn,” Kerilyn protested half-heartedly.

  “You drive me crazy,” he said when he reached her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. “You are so afraid to make yourself vulnerable. So terrified of trust.” She opened her mouth but he shushed her. “And I am the same,” he confessed, laying a finger over her lips to keep her quiet. “Maybe if I had told you you’d never be in danger from me, you would have opened the gate sooner. But if I’d given you such promises and you still didn’t believe me, it would have hurt. It would have left me exposed to you.” He ran his finger lightly over her lips, tracing their softness. “Much like the way you’ll be left exposed if you tell me you love me and I don’t reciprocate.”

  Kerilyn gasped against his finger. “You don’t know that,” she protested.

  “No?”

  “It’d be stupid to love you,” she replied. “A one-night-a-year boyfriend? No thank you. I’m not that desperate.” She looked away, knowing if all he offered was twelve hours a year she’d be hard pressed not to take it.

  “What if we had more than one night?” he asked.

  “What?”

  Arawn slowly eased her robe open to expose her side and the black handprint lying there. “This has changed the rules,” he told her, pressing his hand over the mark. It was a perfect match and she shivered at the touch.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “You are now part spirit. Which means,” he told her, meeting her eyes, “that you can slip between realms on Halloween just as I can.”

  “What?”

  �
�You could come to the Netherworld if you chose.”

  Cold water doused over her. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

  “Unfortunately, you’d be bound by the same rules as spirits are. You couldn’t come back until next Halloween, if you wanted to return.” He ran his lips over hers lightly. “Maybe you wouldn’t want to come back.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she gasped.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m a hunter,” she said, pushing away from him. “I kill spirits—I don’t live with them.”

  Anger flashed in his eyes but she watched him push it back. “Everything has changed,” he told her. “You have changed. What is left for you here?”

  She recoiled, the pain of losing Sarah still too fresh. “Not fair,” she whispered.

  Arawn sighed, running a hand through his braids. “Forgive me, Keri. I know this has caught you by surprise. I should not push.”

  Hell yes, she was surprised. How was she supposed to respond to his offer? It was ludicrous to think she could go to the Netherworld. “There are other hunters in the city who need me,” she said. “I have a duty, a responsibility. I can’t just run off with you knowing I won’t be able to come back if I’m needed.”

  “Hunters always survive. They will mourn your loss but they will be able to compensate for it. You know that.”

  The way the hunter community had compensated for every time one of her family members had died.

  She turned away, unable to believe the most perfect moment of her life had been shattered so quickly. Go with him or lose him? It was an impossible choice. What life would she have in his world? She was a hunter. His people would hate her. All her life she’d fought against the denizens of that realm. If she went there, it would be a betrayal of everything she’d been taught.

  But she’d have Arawn.

  A sob caught in her throat. The thought of having Arawn in her arms every night, of waking up next to him every day tempted her more than she’d ever thought possible. She wanted to be with him, just not in the realm of her nightmares.

  “I can’t,” she whispered.