A treacherous heat raced through his body.
He told himself it was a predictable reaction.
She was stunning, even if she was a leech.
Tall and athletically slender, she was a mixture of races that combined into an exotic beauty.
Glossy black hair that spoke of the Far East was contained in a tight braid that hung down her back. The Asian influence was echoed in the shape of her eyes, although they were a dark shade of blue that revealed a European heritage. Her skin was as pale as alabaster and so perfectly smooth that he ached to brush his fingers over it.
From head to toe. And back again.
Add in the black spandex that clung to her slender curves and the sawed-off shotgun that he’d been smart enough to take off her long before they’d stepped through the portal, and she was a custom-made fantasy.
Hunter.
Lethal beauty.
Yep, there wasn’t a man alive (or maybe even dead) who wouldn’t give his right nut to get between those long slender legs.
But Ariyal hadn’t been able to completely forget that shocking awareness that had jolted to life during his brief incarceration at the hands of this female.
Hell, her merest touch had made him go up in flames.
And it pissed him off.
Unlike most of his brethren, he didn’t allow his passions to rule his life.
He ruled his passions.
A grim reminder that didn’t do a damned thing to stop the heat that scorched through his blood as her indigo gaze skimmed over his lean body, which he’d left bare except for a loose pair of dojo pants.
Bloody hell.
His gut tightened and his cock hardened. From a mere glance.
What the hell would happen if he spread her across the nearby bed and ...
The vampire stiffened, no doubt sensing his explosive desire. Then, with a visible effort, she narrowed those magnificent eyes and wrapped herself in a frigid composure.
“You.” The word was coated in ice.
“ Me.”
She stood proudly, acting as if she didn’t notice she was currently chained to the wall.
“Why did you kidnap me?”
He shrugged, not about to admit the truth.
He didn’t have a goddamned clue why he’d grabbed hold of her as he escaped through the portal that had brought them from the frozen caves of Siberia to this hidden island. He only knew his reaction to the female was dark and primal and dangerously possessive.
“You held me captive,” he instead drawled. “Fair is fair.”
“As if a Sylvermyst would know the meaning of fair.”
His smile held no apology. “Haven’t you heard the old saying that ‘all’s fair in love and war’?” He allowed his gaze to lower to the enticing curve of her breasts, lust jolting through him at her revealing shiver. “We could no doubt add a few more activities to the list.”
“Release me.”
“What’s wrong, poppet? Are you afraid I intend to have my evil way with you?” He deliberately paused. “Or hopeful?”
“You at least got the evil part right.”
He stepped close enough to be teased by her seductive musk that was at such odds with her image of a cold, ruthless hunter.
But then, everything about this female was ... complex.
Contrary.
“You know, there’s no reason for the two of us to be enemies.”
“Nothing beyond the fact that I was hired by the Oracles to capture you.” Her smile was frigid. “Oh yeah, and your psycho attempts to kill two helpless children.”
“Helpless?” Frustration flared through him. “Those abominations are the vessels of the Dark Lord and if Tearloch manages to use the child to resurrect the master then you can blame yourself for unleashing hell.”
She ignored his warning. Just as she’d ignored it in the Siberian cave when he’d done his best to put an end to the danger.
He’d been prepared to do what was necessary, but because of the damned vampires, one of the babies had been stolen by his clan brother Tearloch, along with the mage. Now he had to pray he could track them down before they could resurrect the Dark Lord and rip open the veils that held back the hordes of hell.
“I’m not being paid to save the world. I’m being paid to hand your ass over to the Commission.”
Ariyal frowned at the unwelcome reminder.
The Commission was a collection of Oracles who were the big cheeses of the demon world. It was always bad news when they decided you were worthy of their notice.
Especially if they were willing to pay the exorbitant fee to hire a vampire Hunter to collect him.
“Why?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. It’s just a job.”
He leaned forward until they were nose to nose. “It feels a lot more personal than just a job.”
For a breathless moment raw hunger flared through her eyes, making his body clench with anticipation. Oh, hell yes. Then, just as swiftly, the glimpse of emotion was gone.
“Get over yourself.”
“I’d rather be over you.”
“Back. Off.”
Ariyal shivered at the sharp chill that suddenly blasted through the air.
Dammit. One minute the woman had him drowning in lust and the next she could give a fire pixie frostbite.
“Fine.” He stepped back, his smile tight with annoyance. “I hope you’re comfortable, poppet. You’re here to stay.”
Her wary glance skimmed around the room that was ornately decorated in shades of gold and ivory.
“Where is here?”
“Avalon.”
She hissed in shock. “Impossible.”
“Such a dangerous word.”
“The mists are impenetrable.” Her cold arrogance remained, but there was a hint of wariness in her eyes. “Unless they were destroyed by the death of Morgana le Fey?”
His lips twisted in a humorless smile. “They survived, but I didn’t waste centuries as the bitch’s sex slave just looking beautiful. I discovered a secret exit centuries ago.”
She studied him in silence and Ariyal hid a sudden grimace. A Hunter had any number of skills. They were reputedly stronger and faster than the average vampire, as well as able to shroud themselves so deeply in shadows that they were all but invisible.
More impressive, they were walking, talking lie detectors. Supposedly no demon could deceive them.
Like he needed that kind of headache.
Christ. He should have left her in Siberia.
“If you knew how to escape the island, then why didn’t you?” she demanded.
“Because I couldn’t rescue my brothers without alerting the guards.”
“So you stayed?”
He frowned, puzzled by her curiosity. “I wasn’t leaving them behind. Does that surprise you?”
An unreadable emotion rippled over her beautiful face before it was swiftly wiped away.
“Sylvermysts aren’t renowned for their generous hearts or noble natures. As Tearloch proved.”
Ariyal couldn’t argue.
Sylvermyst had a long, well-earned reputation for their cruel natures and hunger for violence, but he’d be damned if he allowed a cold-hearted leech to judge him.
Not after everything he’d sacrificed to save his people.
“Tearloch’s frightened and ... confused,” he admitted. “Once I track him down I’ll convince him of the error of his ways.”
“You mean, he’ll do as you want or you’ll kill him?”
“Ah, you understand me so well, poppet.”
“I understand that you’re a bastard who is out to save your own worthless skin,” she charged.
“Good. Then I don’t have to convince you that I will happily leave you here to rot unless you agree to do exactly as I say.”
A frigid smile curved her lips. “Don’t be a moron. If I disappear the Anasso will send out a dozen warriors to search for me.”
“He can send out a hundred if he wants. They’ll never be able to sense you behind the mists.” His gaze lingered on her lush, full lips, easily imagining the pleasure they could bring a man. With a growl, he took an instinctive step closer, ignoring the danger. “Face it, poppet, they already assume you’re dead.”
“Then they’ll hunt you down and execute you. There’s nowhere you can go they won’t find you.”
He grasped her chin, staring down at the eyes that had lost their ice to flash with indigo fire. His gut twisted with need.
“I spent centuries in the harem of Morgana le Fey. Leeches don’t scare me.”
“What does scare you?”
“This ...”
Ignoring the fangs that could rip out his throat with one swipe, not to mention the claws that could dig through solid concrete, Ariyal leaned forward and claimed her mouth in a kiss of pure possession.
Mine ...
Chapter 2
Jaelyn was never taken by surprise.
Never.
She was a Hunter. A vigilant, razor-sharp warrior with such superior skills that she’d been taken by the Addonexus (the vampire equivalent of black ops) mere weeks after she’d been turned.
And even with her natural skills, she’d still been trained for years before being allowed to leave the secret compound.
Tracking, weapons, martial arts, psychological warfare, and the latest tech (including being able to hack into a military-grade computer system) had been drilled into her with brutal efficiency over the past fifty years.
But this damned Sylvermyst had kept her flat-footed and constantly one step behind him.
She wanted to believe it was some mystic fey crap.
After all, a vampire’s one vulnerability was magic, and since it was believed that the Sylvermyst had been banished along with their master, the Dark Lord, she’d never been taught what sort of nefarious tricks Ariyal might be hiding behind his too-pretty face.
It would explain how he’d managed to escape from an iron-lined cell after she’d captured him. And how he could catch her off guard to yank her through a portal and bring her to this godforsaken island.
And how he could claim her lips in a kiss that shut down her brain, as well as most of her higher motor skills.
His mouth was deliciously warm, demanding a response, and for a crazed moment she allowed the blinding pleasure to sear through her, the tips of her toes curling in her boots. It was only when she was actually swaying toward the hard temptation of his body that she was wrenched out of the strange spell.
Oh ... shit.
This wasn’t a spell.
It was good, old-fashioned lust that had sizzled between them since that first, jolting touch. Or perhaps it had been from the moment she’d caught his rich, earthy scent that was a combination of herbs and pure male power.
Not that the when or how mattered.
She might not have been trained to deal with dark fey magic, but she’d sure the hell been drilled in controlling her baser instincts.
Nothing like being skinned alive a few times to teach a young vampire to keep her mind on business.
With a low hiss, she jerked her head to the side, her fangs snapping toward his throat.
Ariyal cursed as he leaped backward, his stunning bronze eyes widening as he realized how easily she could have ripped open his flesh.
“ Damn.”
“Find someone else to play with, fairy,” she warned, eying him with a proud defiance despite the fact she was currently chained to the stupid wall. And oh yeah, that she had nearly melted into a puddle of need beneath his kiss. “I bite.”
“Sylvermyst,” he corrected, his gaze lingering on her swollen lips. “And I bite back.”
The thought of his perfect white teeth clamping onto her neck sent a dangerous thrill down her spine. Freaking fey. She clenched her hands at her sides, allowing her nails to slice into her palm. Pain was the swiftest means to regain command of her body.
“What do you intend to do with me?”
He smiled with wicked amusement at the ice edging her words.
“That depends on you.”
She narrowed her gaze. “You think I’ll barter for my freedom?”
He reached to run a slender finger down the curve of her neck.
“We’re about to discover, aren’t we?”
“Stop that,” she growled, baring her fangs.
“You don’t like to be touched?”
“I like it just fine.” She flicked a dismissive gaze over his indecently beautiful face. “Just not by you.”
“Lie,” he breathed, gently mocking her own ability to read the deceptions of others.
Her lips thinned. “Tell me what you want from me.” “What I want?” The bronze eyes darkened with raw desire. “I want that hard, sculpted body spread naked on my bed so I can taste every perfect inch.”
Her nails dug deeper, the blood running down her palm. “Never.”
“Fine.” His low voice brushed over her sensitive skin like a caress. “Then I’ll be naked and you can use those lovely lips to wrap around my ...”
“Is your bargain that I trade sex for my release?” she sharply interrupted.
His gaze briefly shifted down to the small curve of her breasts outlined by the tight spandex.
“Oh, I intend to give you release.” His gaze lifted to meet her frigid stare. “But you’ll have to earn your freedom.”
She snorted. “Do males of all species possess a juvenile need to use sexual innuendoes rather than rational conversation when they’re in the company of women?”
“Those weren’t innuendoes, poppet,” he drawled. “They were a promise.”
She forced herself to meet his taunting gaze with a cold indifference that she could only wish was genuine. Dammit, she was a Hunter, not a wilting virgin who was terrified of a man’s touch. Even if it did make her shiver with need.
Her duty was to use whatever method necessary to get free and complete her mission.
Period.
“I asked a specific question. Will you allow me to leave if I give you sex?”
He stilled, caught off guard by her blunt demand. “And if I say yes?”
“It’s against the rules. But ...”
“What rules?”
“Hunters aren’t permitted to be intimate with their prey.”
“Sensible, I suppose.” He folded his arms over his broad chest, acting like he was more curious than excited by her proposal. Rude, conceited fairy. “What if I weren’t your prey?”
“Intimacy is generally discouraged.”
His unnerving gaze searched her icy expression, as if sensing the dark, punishing memories that fluttered at the edge of her mind.
“Discouraged?”
“Sex is an unnecessary distraction at best and a lethal mistake at worse.”
He tilted his head to the side at her practiced words, the light from the candles glowing with a rich shade of chestnut in the loose strands of his hair. Jaelyn clenched her teeth, struck by a sharp need to run her fingers through the satin length.
His lip curled into a slow, wicked smile. “I can scent your hunger.”
“Of course you can. It’s been days since I fed.” Her arctic dismissal salved her pride, but it did nothing to disguise her body’s annoying response. “Although, I’m more likely to die of boredom than starvation if you don’t release me soon. Are we going to bargain or not?”
Ariyal chuckled, not deceived for a moment. Bastard.
“We are.”
“For sex?”
He shook his head, his gaze taking a slow, intimate survey of her rigid body.
“When I claim you as my lover, Jaelyn, you won’t be able to hide behind the pretense that it’s to fulfill some damned bargain.”
His silky warning slid through her like warm honey, melting another layer of her icy defenses. Ah, it would be so easy to close her eyes and imagine his slender fingers skimming over her naked skin, his muscled body pressing her into the nearby mattress as his mouth sought those erogenous spots she tried to pretend didn’t exist.
Worse, she couldn’t deny the realization that she was disappointed. . .
disappointed
... that he didn’t intend to trade the use of her body in exchange for her freedom.
Lord, she needed to get away from this man.
The sooner the better.
“Then what do you want?”
His gaze returned to clash with her icy glare. “Your skills as a Hunter.”
“As a Hunter?”
He shrugged. “To be more specific, as a tracker.”
She wasn’t insulted.
What did she care if he was more interested in her warrior training than her female charms?
To be actually wanted as a woman ...
That was madness.
Insanity.
Yeah. That’s what it was.
“You want me to find Tearloch?” she demanded between clenched teeth.
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of prince?” she mocked.
A startling hint of pain briefly flared in the bronzed eyes.
“I am.”
“Then shouldn’t you have the skills to hunt down one of your own minions?”
With a restless shrug, Ariyal turned to pace across the mosaic tiled floor, his fluid grace a reminder that beneath his taunting manner was a lethal predator. One of the very few who could match her for strength and cunning.
He reached the priceless tapestry that covered the far wall, his gaze momentarily resting on the stitched vision of Morgana le Fey mounted on a horse as she led an army of fey into some long-forgotten war, before he turned to stab her with a frown.
“It wouldn’t be a problem if it was just Tearloch I had to worry about,” he muttered. “Unfortunately he’s the least of my problems.”
Jaelyn recalled the moments in the frozen cave before Ariyal’s tribesman had made his unexpected appearance.
At the time, Laylah (a Jinn mongrel) had been busy killing Marika (the psychotic vampire who intended to become mother or perhaps it had been a creepy queen consort to the Dark Lord once he was reborn), while Marika’s pet mage, Sergei, had been removing the stasis spell that had been wrapped around the child Laylah had discovered hidden between dimensions. His efforts had revealed that there wasn’t one babe, but two. A boy and girl.
It was no big surprise that in the middle of the confusion Tearloch would manage to capture the mage who had been clutching the female child and disappear with him through a portal before he could be stopped.
“You mean his companion?” she asked with a curl of her lip. She hated mages. Nasty vermin. “Vampires are incapable of sensing magic. If Sergei is hiding your tribesman I would be worse than useless in trying to track him.”
Ariyal waved a dismissive hand. “If they’re still together I know precisely where to find Sergei. I was with Marika long enough to become familiar with her devoted mage. He’s nothing if not predictable.”
Annoyance pricked her heart at the reminder that Ariyal had once offered his loyalty to the beautiful vampire who was infamous for her insatiable lust.
Had he offered anything beyond his loyalty?
And why the hell did it matter?
“Then what do you need from me?” she snapped.
“I’m a Sylvermyst.”
“Yeah, I got the memo.”
His brow arched at her foul temper. “Did the memo also include the fact that I’m not the most popular demon on the block?”
“I figured that out all on my own.” She bared her fangs. “Did you want me to kill you and put you out of your misery?”
He prowled back toward her, halting just out of reach.
Clever fairy.
“Actually, poppet, I want you to keep me alive.”
Ariyal watched as Jaelyn narrowed her eyes in genuine confusion.
“You said nothing could find us here,” she reminded him, her eyes closing as she no doubt used her Hunter senses to search through the vast, broken palace and across the large island. She muttered a curse, wrenching open her eyes, and Ariyal easily guessed that the swirling mists were screwing with her powers. They were a genuine pain in the ass. “Is there an enemy on the island?”
He sucked in a deep breath, his body instantly hardening at the biting scent of female power. A shudder raced through him. What was it about this female?
She had the tongue of a viper, the temper of a pregnant harpy, and worst of all, she was a damned leech.
But there was no denying that she set him on fire.
“No, we’re completely alone,” he said, reluctantly shoving aside the vivid fantasies that threatened to derail his plans for the day. “But as much as I might like to stay here and play, I have to find Tearloch before he can resurrect the Dark Lord. Once I leave the mists I’m going to be the target of every damned demon who wants to mount my head on their trophy wall.”
“I’m a Hunter, not a magician,” she mocked. “I can’t perform miracles.”
He heaved a sigh. Hell, he should have bargained for the sex.
“There’s only a handful of demons who would dare to try and challenge me, and most I can defeat even if I’m outnumbered.”
She made a sound of disgust. “Arrogant.”
“No, it’s the simple truth.” He met her gaze squarely. “And I’m willing to admit that I’m not invulnerable. I won’t allow pride to stop me from bartering for someone to guard my back while I’m busy stopping the apocalypse.”
“What makes you think I won’t plant a knife in your back instead of protecting it?”