by Opal Carew
“That would be correct.” He winked. “Our little town is made up of the post office, my gas station, a motel and two bars. Not exactly a hot spot,” he laughed.
Smiling, Kai glanced back outside at the man on the motorcycle as Clive started to tell her about his favorite item on the menu. But she barely heard him because she was too busy staring at the guy climbing off the motorcycle. She knew Clive was talking but he sounded far away, as if the world around her had detached from her somehow.
Wearing mirrored aviators, the man stood and swung his leg over what had to be a Harley Davidson. Mesmerized, she watched as he gassed up his bike. He had to be at least six foot four, with a broad well-muscled back that was covered by a white t-shirt, leaving his perfectly sculpted and tanned arms in plain sight. Faded ,blue jeans skimmed over his legs and dusty, black motorcycle boots kicked up dirt as he put the gas pump back in its place.
It wasn’t his strikingly handsome profile that had Kai feeling dizzy and displaced. Kai’s heart raced and the ring on her finger felt hot against her skin as she squinted. She blinked because she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing—or more to the point—what she wasn’t seeing.
This man, whoever he was, had no aura.
Beware the Dark Ones.
As the words whispered through her mind, the man stilled and turned around slowly until he faced the storefront. Even though he was wearing those mirrored sunglasses, Kai sensed he was looking directly at her.
Sweat broke out over her flesh and her body shook, as she watched him stalk across the parking lot toward the door of the smoky shop. Maybe she was wrong and it was a trick of the light or the sun got in her eyes, blinding her and preventing her from seeing his glow.
He had to have an aura. There was no such thing as the Dark Ones.
As he got closer with each step, it became glaringly clear that he was without light. Kai backed up slowly and clutched the strap of the bag draped across her chest as fear and confusion swamped her. It suddenly felt as though it was a thousand degrees and as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. The long sundress she wore seemed to stick to her like a second skin as she started to sweat from head to toe.
The stranger opened the door and the tiny bell above announced his entrance. Kai backed into a rack of chips and froze as she stared at the man through wide frightened eyes.
The door swung shut behind him as he removed his sunglasses and looked at her with the most piercing, pale blue eyes she’d ever seen. Jet-black hair and dark eyebrows framed that intense gaze as he stared at Kai with something akin to awe.
“Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch,” he breathed. A wide smile cracked the handsome stranger’s face as his eyes drifted over her. “Looks like I drew the lucky card after all.”
“Kai?” Clive, his voice edged with worry, stood from his stool and leaned over the counter. “Are you okay, girl?”
Kai gaped at the stranger and fought to catch her breath. She wasn’t mistaken. It wasn’t the sun playing tricks on her and as the reality of the situation settled over her, everything started to spin.
“Kai?” The man’s voice, deep and seductive, washed over her. “Well, then I am one lucky devil.”
“Y-you’re a Dark One,” she murmured. The last word escaped her lips, Kai wavered on her feet and the world went black.
***
Asmodeus had been so completely taken off guard that he almost didn’t catch the beautiful blonde as she fainted but, lucky for her, he snapped out of it just in time to grab her before she hit the dirty floor. He scooped her limp body up against his chest effortlessly and the old man waved him toward the back of the store.
“Heat must’ve gotten to her,” the old guy muttered. “Bring her here. I got a cot in the back room, you can set her down.”
Asmodeus followed the man through the door and into a small room. Kai moaned softly as he set her down on the cot.
“I’ll get a cool cloth for her head.” He pointed at Asmodeus. “Just stay right there with Kai but don’t try nothin’ funny.”
Asmodeus nodded, but his attention was fixed firmly on the ring on her right hand—it was the Ring of Solomon. Though it had been almost three millennia since he’d set eyes on it, there was no mistaking it.
Lucifer had been correct. Asmodeus had felt the presence of the ring before he saw it. It was a familiar pull in his gut, drawing him, almost willing him closer.
He sat on the edge of the cot next to Kai and placed her hands on her belly, careful to avoid touching the ring. Asmodeus glanced over his shoulder, looking for the old man but he was still puttering around out in the shop, looking for a cold cloth, no doubt. Asmodeus turned back and glanced at the paper in her hands. He removed it gently and saw it was a flyer advertising a local haul away service.
Kai moaned softly. There was no denying that she was a beautiful specimen of a woman. Long strands of pale, blond hair framed an oval-shaped face with high cheekbones, wide set eyes and pink, perfectly shaped lips. Her skin had the glow of summer and her body had soft looking curves in all the right places.
Kai Kelly was born to make men weak.
Lucifer may have taken most of their powers and made all of the Brotherhood mortal, but Asmodeus had seen Kai’s energy field the moment he laid eyes on her. She exuded a soft white light that resembled moonlight through the mists and, once he spotted it, there was no mistaking what she was. A regular human, like the old man, didn’t exude light like that—at least not one that Asmodeus could see.
Kai Kelly had blood of the Fae running through her veins.
Based on the fact that she was wearing the ring, he had to assume she didn’t have any idea that she was part of a Fae bloodline. The Fae Clans—even the ones that were comprised of human-Fae hybrids—were fully aware of the Ring of Solomon and knew all too well of the power it held. If Kai had been vested in one of the Fae clans, then she would never have put on the ring and essentially sound the alarm in Hell. No. If she were connected with other Fae, then he and the rest of the Brotherhood would be at the mercy of a flock of fairies.
Asmodeus frowned. A fairy. Shit. Of all the supernatural creatures that walked the earth, he found the Fae the most difficult to deal with. Their magic was known to be some of the most powerful, even more than the witches and warlocks. Asmodeus had only tangled with one Fae in his time and that guy had been one mean son of a bitch.
“Damn,” Asmodeus said under his breath.
Kai moaned again and twitched as though she were having a bad dream. A lock of hair fell across her forehead and without thinking Asmodeus brushed the strands of gold aside. He didn’t want anything to obscure his view of her gorgeous, innocent face. The pads of his fingers brushed over silken flesh and his body tightened immediately in response as a smile played at his lips.
Kai Kelly might be part fairy, he thought as he withdrew his hand, but she was all woman. His gaze flicked down to the ring on her delicate hand as he rose from the cot. Whatever magic she possessed was of little consequence when it came to matters of the flesh and desire. In that moment, Asmodeus knew exactly how he would get the ring. He would seduce it out from under her and be back in Hell before the week was out.
“Here’s a cold cloth,” the old man said, as he shuffled in through the door and pushed past Asmodeus. He sat on the edge of the cot next to Kai and placed it on her forehead. “I got a call in to the doc but he ain’t answerin’ his damn phone. I keep tellin’ him he needs a landline but he’s only got one of them cellular phones and the signals around here are for shit.”
Kai groaned and her hand went to her head as she started to wake up.
“She’ll be okay,” Asmodeus said with his gaze fixed firmly on the ring. “Like you said, it was probably just the heat.”
“How’d you know her name?” The old guy eyed Asmodeus warily over his shoulder. “She’s only been in town ’bout a week and I ain’t never seen you around here. So how do you know her, anyway?”
“I—hea
rd you call her by her name,” Asmodeus said with a shrug.
“What happened?” Kai’s voice wavered as she pushed herself up onto her elbows and removed the cloth from her head. “Clive, how did—”
She stopped speaking as soon as she spotted Asmodeus. Her dark, chocolate brown eyes widened as their gazes locked and Kai’s body stilled. “You,” she breathed.
“This young man caught you before you hit the floor,” Clive said. He scooted aside as Kai swung her legs over the edge of the cot and sat up. “Don’t move too fast, now. You must have had a touch of heat stroke.”
“Right,” Kai said as she continued to stare at Asmodeus warily. “That must be what it was.”
Her eyes, the richest shade of brown Asmodeus had ever seen, skittered over him like she was searching for something. He remained motionless as she continued her inspection, and he found himself in an unusual position. It wasn’t often that Asmodeus felt as though he were the one under the microscope.
“I suppose I should thank you,” Kai said to Asmodeus as she handed the washcloth to the old man. “Mister... ?”
Asmodeus paused for a moment. He couldn’t give her his real name, so he settled on the name he used whenever he took his vacations on earth.
“Miles,” he said with a wide grin. “Aaron Miles.”
“Aaron?” Kai said through a short laugh as she rose to her feet with Clive protectively at her side. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It is very nice to meet you,” he murmured.
“Well, thank you, Mr. Miles.” Kai adjusted the satchel she had slung across her body and glanced at him briefly before giving Clive a sweet smile. “Clive, I’m sorry to have caused such a ruckus. I guess I’m not used to the heat out here.”
“Don’t even give it a second thought,” he said with a wave of a wrinkled hand. “You think our summers are tough? Wait until you live through your first winter.” His smile faded and he adjusted his hat again. “I gotta tell ya, I don’t feel right about you drivin’ off without the doc havin’ a look at ya.”
“I’m fine, Clive.” Kai patted him on the arm and glanced briefly at Asmodeus. “Between the heat and needing a bite to eat, I just got a little woozy.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh man, I’m going to be late.”
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Asmodeus asked, as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “You looked like you’d seen a ghost,” he said as he gazed at her intently.
“I’m fine,” Kai said sharply, as she shot him a narrow-eyed look.
Asmodeus may have caught her mid-faint and kept her from falling on the floor, but he could tell that she didn’t trust him. Fae, human or whatever, this woman could sense that Asmodeus was not exactly human and that put him at a disadvantage. Damn. Perhaps seducing Kai Kelly wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.
“Okay.” Asmodeus threw his hands up in defeat. “Whatever you say, lady.”
“I’m sorry,” Kai added quickly. “I didn’t mean to be so abrupt. I guess I’m just cranky from heat and lack of food.”
“Right.” Asmodeus nodded as he pulled the wallet out of his back pocket, complete with fake ID and money. “I’ll go on record as saying this has been one of my more memorable stops.” He removed some cash. “Here’s twenty bucks for the gas I pumped earlier.”
“Don’t be silly,” Clive waved him off as he coughed into his bandana. “This one’s on me.”
“Thank you.” Asmodeus slipped the wallet into his back pocket and locked eyes with Kai. “Then I guess I’ll be on my way. Ma’am,” he said with a nod and turned on his heels.
“Wait,” Kai said. Asmodeus paused in the doorway but didn’t turn around. ”The least I could do is buy you a dinner.” A smile curved his lips and he turned slowly to face her. To his surprise, she had closed the distance and was standing directly behind him. ”So, how about it?”
Kai clutched the strap of her leather satchel and squared her shoulders in a challenging stance. The ring briefly captured Asmodeus’ gaze, before flicking back to those deep, brown eyes.
“Let me buy you a beer and a burger over at Angels and Outlaws to make up for fainting and for acting like an ingrate. I’m meeting a friend there for dinner in a few minutes and I insist you join us.”
“Angels and Outlaws?” Asmodeus murmured. “Sounds like my kind of place,”
“Great.” Kai nodded. Asmodeus stepped aside and gestured to the doorway. “After you.”
As he started his motorcycle and followed Kai’s car down the dusty main road of Bliss, Asmodeus couldn’t help but smile. He had not only found the ring but a beautiful woman was wearing it, which would make the task of obtaining the ring far more satisfying. Asmodeus had never bedded a fairy before and there was nothing he enjoyed more than new experiences.
Chapter Three
Kai sat in the booth and tried to concentrate on the laminated menu in her hands instead of on the man sitting across from her, but it was an effort in futility. She’d read the contents of the menu about a dozen times, but had not retained a thing.
She glanced at the clock. Seven fifteen and no sign of Ben yet. That was just as well because she still hadn’t figured out how to gracefully explain why she had invited another man along on their date.
Kai peered at her new friend over the edge of the menu. Mr. Aaron Miles had no light. Nothing. Nada. Zip. He was a Dark One—and yet wasn’t. At least he wasn’t what she expected. Based on her mother’s stories, she was expecting a drooling, fanged, hunched over ball of evil. Not a super-hot hunk that catches fainting women in gas stations.
Aaron caught her looking at him again and smirked. Kai’s face heated with embarrassment just as the waitress came back to their table with the beers they had ordered.
“Two ice-cold Coronas with lime,” she said as she slid the bottles onto the scarred, wood table. The waitress, probably in her mid-forties, gave Aaron a big smile and tapped her chin with the end of her pen as she inched closer to his side of the table. “Have you decided what you’d like to eat? A hulking fella like you would probably love our Big Devil Burger.”
“That sounds right up my alley,” he said with a wink. “Thank you, Matilda. I believe I’ll take your professional advice and have that to go, if you don’t mind.”
“How’d you know my name?” Matilda giggled, as she jotted his order down.
“Name tag,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper.
Kai watched the exchange with genuine awe. The woman was seriously ready to drop her panties, not that Kai could blame her, but the odd part was that Aaron seemed totally unfazed by it. Was he arrogant or genuinely unaware of the effect he was having on poor Matilda? He flicked his pale blue eyes to hers and winked.
Arrogant. It figures.
Kai rolled her eyes and put her menu down on the table top as she glanced past him toward the door of the bar looking for any sign of Ben.
“Oh my,” Matilda said as one hand flew to her ample cleavage. “You are a charmer, aren’t you? Most folks that come into this place don’t bother to learn my name.”
“Kai?” His voice brought her out of her thoughts. “Do you know what you want?”
The waitress huffed and gave Kai an exasperated look. She was thoroughly annoyed to have to take her attention off Aaron or have his attention taken from her.
“Oh, yes.” Kai blinked and shook her head. “Sorry, I should probably wait for my friend to get here. He should be here any minute.”
“Well, that’s fine by me,” Matilda said as she tucked the pen behind her ear. “Y’all just give me a holler when you’re ready.” She turned her attention to Asmodeus. “You want me to put your order in now or do you want to wait?”
“I think I’ll hold off until Kai’s date gets here. After all, I have to see what kind of man entices my new friend, here.” He leaned back in the booth and draped one arm along the back of it as he took a sip of his beer.
“You got it, doll.” Matilda sauntered off tow
ard the bar.
Kai didn’t miss the seductive sway of her hips or the fact that Aaron’s gaze was fixed firmly on the waitress’ ass.
“Charming,” Kai sighed as she picked up her beer. “Well, I can clearly see what entices you.”
“What?” He asked innocently. “I’m only looking.”
“Forget it,” Kai said with a laugh as she sipped her beer. “Boys will be boys. So, what do you do aside from ogle waitresses and catch fainting women in gas stations? What’s your story, Mr. Miles?”
“Not much to tell,” he said with the shrug of one shoulder. “I guess you could say I’m on sabbatical.”
“Oh really?” Kai rubbed at the condensation on the beer bottle with her thumb. She was, in spite of her better judgment, thoroughly intrigued by the handsome enigma in front of her. “What exactly are you taking a break from?”
“Guess,” he said playfully. Aaron leaned both elbows on the table and leveled a challenging look in her direction. “I dare you.”
Kai’s stomach fluttered as those intense, light blue eyes locked firmly with hers. Her gaze flickered over his stubble-covered chin and along his tanned, muscular arms, until she came to his large, masculine hands. Long, strong fingers were curled around the glass bottle and in a flash she pictured them curled around her arms... pulling her closer...
She cleared her throat and sat back in the booth, as her body warmed at the thought of his hands wandering over her body. Kai sipped her beer, attempting to cool the sudden and unexpected flare of desire. What in the hell was wrong with her?
Given everything her mother had told her about the Dark Ones, Kai should be running in the other direction—instead, she invited him to dinner. She was inexplicably and undeniably drawn to the stunningly, beautiful man in front of her. Mr. Aaron Miles was danger and desire all rolled into one, but above all he was unique... and forbidden.