Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(6)

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?