In the Witching Hour Read online

  "You!" Meghan’s voice hissed out, suspicion lighting her eyes.

  At least she hadn’t called him by his demon name, although he longed to hear her caress his name on her lips. "Yes, me." Before she could react otherwise, he scooped her into his arms and orbed them to his mother’s family home in England.

  Meghan blinked up at him a dazed expression pooling in her eyes. "Wh-what just happened?" Then her head turned and panic flared in her irises. "Where are we?"

  "In a safe place." He hoped. He didn’t think the priest knew of his half-human heritage or his ancestral home.

  She seemed to become aware that he still held her next to his heart, and perhaps the depth of longing and love in his gaze. "Take me back! Put me down!"

  Contrary to the end. With a sigh, he put her down, immediately missing her warmth. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave her an indulgent smile. "If I put you down I can’t take you back."

  Her brow arched and she tapped her toe. Fire flashed in her amazing eyes. "Stop talking in riddles. Why’d you kidnap me? What do you want with me?"

  The beast clamored to stop her incessant questions with mind-numbing kisses and haul her off to his bed to ravish her. But he clung to his humanity by a thread. "I’m protecting you. I told you I love you. We’re soul mates."

  "Protecting me from whom? What?"

  * * * *

  Meg didn’t believe a word of this mumbo-jumbo soul-mate talk, no matter how romantic. She didn’t want to feel a pull to the incredibly, sexy man--demon. She wanted to go home and wake up from this nightmare. Suddenly, her beloved Halloween seemed too realistic.

  What was this protect nonsense? "The only one I see threatening me is you." She cased out the room full of heavy dark woods, antique tapestries, and monstrous ferns that must be at least fifty years old! Although the manor looked like it belonged in another century, it didn’t look demonic or creepy.

  Jason’s expression turned grim. "I promise you can trust me."

  Uh. Yeah, right. "I should trust a self-professed demon?" She fingered a fern and its spiny leaves pricked her finger, drawing a drop of blood. Grimacing, she raised her injury to her mouth and sucked on it.

  "I’m half-human."

  "Oh, right. I remember." Like that made it okay?

  Her curiosity got the better of her. "Just who are you protecting me from?"

  Jason fidgeted, his gaze darkening intensely on her. "Balberith, the priest. He’s not what he seems."

  Her mind worked furiously. "If you’re on the level and I’m not hallucinating then you left my cousin at the mercy of that creep? Take me to her now...."

  Her captor shook his head, the set of his mouth mutinous. "It’s not safe."

  Meg snapped and pummeled the man’s chest. "Save … my … cousin … now. Understand?"

  The demon’s eyes narrowed to a mere slit and his nostrils flared. He grabbed her wrists, his grip frighteningly strong and more than a little scary. "Don’t ever attack me. You could unleash.... " Seething, he bit off his breathless words.

  "Unleash what?" She peered at him closely. "The demon?"

  Jason’s eyes flashed a brilliant, glowing red and his face contorted. "Yes, the beast. I keep tight reign on him, but when I’m threatened...."

  Great! Adrenaline rushes morphed him into the incredible demon. "Please rescue my cousin. She’s like a sister … my best friend."

  "It’s risky. Balberith will be waiting for me."

  Meg rolled her eyes. "You’re a demon aren’t you?"

  The demon in question bristled. "Half."

  "Well, then, are you a man? Or a sniveling coward?" She’d say whatever it took to save her cousin--and herself.

  The glowing eyes came back. Ah … most definitely demon.

  "Stay put." Jason’s voice was practically a growl. Menace rolled off him, sending frissons of excitement through her traitorous body.

  Meg nodded docilely and forced her body to relax so he wouldn’t see her ready to take flight. "Hurry! You can’t let anything happen to her. If you are my soul mate, as you claim, surely you wouldn’t want me grieving over my beloved cousin."

  "I’ll be right back," he said in a controlled, clipped tone as he orbed.

  Finally!

  Meg released a pent up sigh. He could blink back in any second so she couldn’t afford the luxury of hesitation. She dashed out of the room, seeking an exit in the maze of rooms.

  Had she called this a manor? It was practically a castle! It didn’t look like any house she’d ever seen in Cincinnati, so where was she?

  Trapped in a freakin’ nightmare, that’s where.

  Feverish, desperate, she searched on and finally found a door that led onto the grounds. Yanking it wide with force fueled by a surge of adrenaline, she escaped and paused, shocked.

  Gone were the lush, forested hills of her hometown. Barren, a vast bog stretched before her, shrouded in a mist so soupy she couldn’t spot the sun. Creepy chills skipped along her spine and she rubbed her bare arms with her clammy palms.

  "Meghan Lenihan? I see you’re all alone. You look lost my dear." A too-charming slimy voice slid over her reminding her of a snake oil charmer.

  Her heart beating a suffocating tattoo, she peered into the fog. An eerie, undulating face separated itself from the mire. "Boo!"

  Meg’s heart jumped into her throat and she stumbled backward and fell. "Wh-who are you?"

  The face dissolved on the mists and a solid form appeared. "Balberith, an old friend of Incubus." As he neared her, he seemed to stretch to the sky as his grin grew proportionately sinister.

  Meg scuttled backward in a lame attempt at escape. What kind of bizarre world had she been dropped into? Demon dimension? Eternal Halloween? "Stay away from me. Jason’s going to be back any moment."

  The monster snarled, his face mottling into a sickly Frankenstein flesh tone. "Incubus isn’t the white knight you think he is. The human-spawn hides many secrets--even about you. Especially about you."

  She held no delusions about the half demon. All she could go by was his actions and so far he’d kidnapped her and brought her to this haunted realm. But he hadn’t harmed her otherwise and he seemed gentle enough. More so than this sneering lunatic.

  Wishing she’d stayed put in the house, she yelled out, "Jason!"

  Jason appeared suddenly between her and the threatening menace, bristling with indignation. "You wouldn’t be about to harm my lady, would you?"

  His lady.... Electric chills warred with dread inside her. Of course she didn’t want to be his lady, his soul mate … She scrambled to her feet and dusted herself off, wondering what the beings would do next, eyeing them warily.

  Jason’s face twisted into his demonic form, red and black striped, his chin elongating to a point, his hair spiking up, and jagged fangs protruded from his mouth. His fingernails became talons and tufts of black hair sprang from the back of his hands.

  Fascinated, Meg couldn’t tear her gaze from the frightful creature. No wonder he referred to himself as a beast.

  He hurled a fireball at the intruder, who evaporated in the fog.

  Meg’s heart almost exploded as she sprinted to the spot the being had last stood. "You killed him," she accused.

  Jason regarded the spot dispassionately and then scowled. "No. He orbed out. He’ll be back."

  Meg didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared. She was a little of both.

  Jason reeled on her, steam coming off his body and he closed the gap between them and grasped her shoulders. In a guttural growl he said, "I told you to stay inside and wait. You could have been killed … or worse."

  Meg forbade herself to show fear or the unsolicited thrills his touch evoked and thrust her chin out defiantly and snorted. "I don’t take orders from people who hold me against my will."

  Jason’s glowing gaze burned into her, down to her soul. "I’m protecting you."

  Same old song.

  "Where’s Lucy?"

  "Safe in the manor, a
nxious to see you."

  "Take me to her."

  Jason’s brow arched high as his face returned to normal. He grabbed her to him and orbed.

  Meghan’s insides lurched as if she was being spun about in a centrifuge. Dizzy, her thoughts were jumbled. But worse, his touch set off emergency alarms even as the manor materialized around her.

  Lucy lay alarmingly prone on a huge four-poster bed, still fully clothed. Just when Meg opened her mouth to ask if she was alive, her cousin rolled to her side, drawing her legs up into the fetal position.

  "I’m a man of my word," Jason murmured in Meg’s ear, his hot breath tickling her tender flesh.

  She squirmed as it warmed her body. "Now you can take us both home."

  Red flames shot up in Jason’s eyes and he clasped her to him again and orbed to a different bedroom, one littered with a man’s personal effects. "We belong together. I’ve searched centuries for you and I won’t lose you now."

  Before she could move, he crushed her to him, plundering her mouth with mind-numbing kisses. The hard ridge of his desire strained against her through his heavy jeans, making her gasp.

  Intoxicating desire flooding her, she writhed against him. Quivering with a rush of lust she molded her tingling breasts to him. Her arms looped around his neck, and she tangled her fingers in the silky damp hair curling over his nape.

  His powerful mastery thrilled her against her will. This one was a barbarian, all male who would claim what he wanted--and he wanted her. "You are a beast," she purred, as her feminine juices flowed.

  God but she was in heat for him and powerless to stop his complete and total possession of her.

  Physical surrender was imminent. No way could she deny him what he demanded and she craved more than life. She yearned for his blazing kisses and his primitive possession. Stripped down to her elemental soul, no coyness, no prudishness remained. Her baser carnal instincts raged, eclipsing any shreds of civilization.

  Longing to taste every inch of him, to feel his swift, sure thrusts, she ground her hips against his raging erection.

  What kind of beast was caged in his pants roaring to escape? She couldn’t wait to find out.

  Parting her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue, she smiled seductively up at him. Brazenly she unsnapped his jeans and tugged them and his underwear down his lithe thighs.

  Mouth watering. She stared open-mouthed at the most luscious cock she’d ever seen. "Breathtaking." She again ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. Slowly, ravenous with hunger, she licked her way down his well-muscled length, pressing her lips to his well-defined triceps and abs, delighting in her power over him every time he shuddered.

  His blood pulsed through his hard cock and it flexed against her straining breasts. Longing to feel its velvety warmth, its oozing sap, she shrugged out of her tight T-shirt and unsnapped her bra, letting it drop to the floor at her knees.

  Feeling so utterly, wonderfully decadent, she rubbed her naked breasts against his silky shaft, its sticky seed clinging to her erotically. She touched the tip of one nipple over the head of his cock, then let it spring between the deep cleft of her breasts. Feeling devilish, she trapped the feverish rod between her breasts, gazed up at him through her lashes.

  Jason groaned and undulated his hips, sliding his thick shaft against her breasts. "Still a siren."

  His glowing eyes excited her almost as much as his incredible cock. He still held too tight a rein on the beast. She longed to be ravaged, to know his total possession, to feel his awesome power. "Let the beast come out to play."

  Jason’s eyes glowed brighter. His fever burned into her. "You may not like him."

  "Let me be the judge." Intense longing to give herself to wild, abandoned love assailed her. All limits were off. No rules existed. Just mutual, decadent pleasure. "Introduce me to the demon. Ravage me."

  Before he could respond, she lifted his heavy shaft to her mouth and slid her lips over it, taking him as deeply into her mouth as she could.

  "Witch." Jason’s features twisted and dual horns sprouted from his head. "Be careful what you wish." Ominous warning vibrated in his deeply husky voice thrilling her.

  She kneaded his heavy balls, eliciting more groans of delight. She thrilled that she held a demon in the palm of her hand--literally.

  With a primitive growl, the beast flipped and mounted her in a seamless, fluid motion. He drove into her with breathtaking force that even her dreams had not prepared her for.

  Screaming in ecstasy, she raked the beast’s back with her nails, hanging on for the ride as he bucked inside her. Despite the rough, primitive ride, tender warmth suffused her and she tingled deliciously. Twinges of memory returned, teasing her, of earlier times when her hair flowed long about her waist, wrapping about them as they tangled in the divine lover’s quarrel. But whether it was snippets of dreams or reality, she couldn’t be sure. All she knew is that she never wanted this wonder to end.

  The beast growled ferociously and nibbled her ear. "You’re mine and I’m not letting you go this time."

  She fingered his horns eliciting moans of pure pleasure. His assertions both thrilled and frightened her. How could she fall for such a beast?

  Jason’s hands explored her body, elevating her already skyrocketing blood pressure. Against her lips, he murmured, "I’ve missed you so very much. My heart belongs to you."

  Conversely, his profession gave her pause and she pulled back a few inches. "I don’t believe in reincarnation, ghosts or goblins."

  "Or demons?" Bitterness crept into Jason’s voice.

  She searched her soul and achingly found she did believe in demons. What other choice did he give her? Human faces didn’t twist into other shapes. They didn’t orb. Their eyes didn’t dance with red flame. Steam didn’t rise from their flesh. If not a demon, what was he? Certainly not human. Not wholly human at any rate. "Actually I believe that you are a demon."

  That should have made Jason happy as he’d been trying to convince her of this, but he scowled.

  "Half-demon." His feverish fingertips caressed her jaw, sending shivers down her spine.

  Closing her eyes against the rush of ecstasy, she rubbed her face against his palm. "Demons don’t die, do they?"

  He leaned his forehead against hers. "No. That’s not true. We can be vanquished--killed."

  A horrible thought struck her. "Was I a demon?" Demon of what? Had she been able to orb? Sprouted horns? Had she vanquished others?

  They weren’t called "demons" because they blessed people.

  Jason sifted his fingers through her hair, hypnotizing her with his magical touch. "No. But you’ve been mine through the ages." He tilted her head back so that she was forced to gaze into his incredible eyes. "And I’ve been yours."

  Hers.

  "But that means … I keep dying. I grow old while you’re forever young." How could a hottie like him feel a deep, abiding love for an elderly woman?

  Jason’s glance slid away from hers almost guiltily. "You’ve--uh--never grown old."

  That meant … "I died young?" Each and every lifetime? Saddened, she broke away from him, trying to make sense of her destiny. "Why?"

  Jason swallowed hard and grasped her shoulders, pulling her back into his arms, cradling her against his erratic heart. "Our enemies are strong and vicious. They fear the strength of our progeny."

  Shock waves attacked her and she reeled. "We had children?" Well of course people in love had children....

  Sorrow flickered in his eyes. "None were ever born."

  She held her stomach and stared down at it with dawning horror. "They murdered me and our child, didn’t they?" What cruel fate. She didn’t want that destiny for herself much less her child. This cycle couldn’t be allowed to continue. Soul mates or not, their child was more important. It seemed the only way to protect him was not to conceive. Far better than to subject him to a painful death.

  How bizarre to wrap her mind about such an ephemeral concept. How convo
luted.

  What had she just done, letting the half-demon sweep her away in a frenzy of lust? It could already be too late....

  "We can’t just sit around waiting to be slaughtered!" Meg paced the floor. Did a room get decorated by itself? Did a Halloween costume pull itself together? No! They had to be proactive.

  Jason lounged on the settee, one leg crossed over the other knee. Gazing at her with narrowed eyes, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What do you suggest?"

  He seemed so calm, so normal--it boggled her mind to equate him with the beast. Yet he was every bit as sexy, as dangerous in this mode. But more aggravating! At least the demon had a one-track mind that was easier to understand.

  Stopping in front of him, she fisted her hands on her hips. "We go after them and stop them before they can kill us."

  "No! Too dangerous." Jason’s eyes glowed red as he leapt lithely to his feet. "You don’t understand what you’re dealing with, their powers."

  She bit back an exasperated sigh, feeling like a caged animal, ready to attack. "So we just wait around here like sitting ducks? For how long? Forever?"

  Eternal prison.

  True hell.

  Jason laid heavy hands on her shoulders and gazed deeply into her eyes. "They vanquish their enemies with fireballs. They pop out of nowhere, without warning."

  Shuddering with the creeps, she glanced about at the long dark shadows. "Is this a safe sanctuary? Can they get in here?" Even if they couldn’t she couldn’t live her life trapped here.

  "They can come here but most won’t dare."

  "Most? But not all?" Obviously one had dared.

  "No, not all."

  "Is anywhere safe?" She felt as if she had a bull’s eye painted on her head. Or was that on her heart? Either way, she seemed to be the target in this bizarre game.

  "Some places are safer than others."

  "Like here?" She pirouetted around, taking in the gloomy, depressing manor. "I have a life. I can’t stay here forever. We have to fight back."

  * * * *

  Jason was on his own deadline. If they weren’t united by midnight of All Hallow’s Eve, he’d be sucked back into demon prison for another century. Then he could miss Meg’s next reincarnation. He could miss her for centuries.