Page 54 of The Mating Fire
What was he hiding?
Harper decided now was a perfect time to find out.
She, who had never let a mystery go unsolved, needed to know what Jared hid. Sure, she wanted to respect his privacy, but after that dream, she needed to see him in person, reassure herself he wasn’t as terrifying as the creature in her dream who wanted her dead.
And why did he abandon her at midnight and said he would be there at sunrise to greet her? He said he hadn’t worked his sexual magick in years.
Deep inside, she sensed he would not harm her. All his intentions so far seemed noble. Even if he was sardonic and distant at times, she felt like she could trust him. He wanted her to learn how to use her magick, and if he intended harm, why, he could merely destroy her long before she even learned to toss a bolt of energy.
The demons he mentioned who could melt her from the inside out with fire scared her far more than Jared. Yet she wondered what he was hiding.
Maybe Jared would reveal the real reason he kept her here. If he truly was an incubus, why her? He could have all thewomen he desired. Wave a magick wand, or his magick cock, she thought with a smile, and they’d fall at his feet. Or into his bed.
I’m no prize. So why me? Because I can shoot fire out of my fingertips?
Yet she sensed the reason was far more meaningful and deeper. Despite his flaws, Jared possessed immense powers of his own and didn’t seem the type of man to covet others’ magick.
That and the fact Sonia seemed to adore him. The little girl was far smarter than her years and yet she was still a vulnerable child.
A kid who liked to play with poisonous spiders.
Shivering, Harper crept through the castle, down the corridor with its carpeting that muffled footsteps.
After about a half hour, she finally found the north wing and steps leading up to the turret.
The turret Jared warned her to avoid after midnight.
Stone steps, seemingly ancient, wound up and up, like lighthouse steps. She padded up there, gripping the worn wooden railing for support.
Up and up she climbed, driven by something other than mere longing to discover a secret. A compulsion drove her, an inner need she couldn’t define nor understand.
At last she reached the landing, a small circular room with three large openings cut into the stone walls, overlooking the surrounding mountains. Harper hugged herself as she walked over to one, peering down.
This fortress was built to withstand many enemies from the ground. But those in the air, such as dragons…
She nearly laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth. Goodness, all this was beginning to make more sense than the volcanoes she’d studied. Magick worlds where dragons belched fire and little girls conjured spiders and applauded blue fire destroying innocent chairs.
Demons that wanted her dead.
An imposing wooden door blocked off the rest of the turret. Harper drew in a breath. She sensed this was Jared’s room.
His private domain.
Science was her forte and catered to her natural curiosity. Jared intrigued her. What kind of creature was he turning into a night?
Downstairs a grandfather clock chimed midnight. Midnight, the hour when she was supposed to be sleeping. But like a child itching to spy upon the chimney at Christmas for a glimpse of Santa Claus, she could not sleep.
Nor resist the temptation to see Jared.
The thick oak door was cracked open an inch. Harper crept closer.
She pushed the door open a little further to peer inside.
The room was larger than hers – adorned with heavy masculine furniture and gold and black draperies. A large four-poster bed that looked ancient dominated the room. Jared was not in it.
Before a crackling fire in the hearth were two straight back wood chairs with intricate carvings, including a crouching demonic figure atop each. Jared sat in one chair, his back to her, gazing into the fire. But it wasn’t Jared, the handsome man with the mocking smile and the sensual air.
Fur covered this creature’s arm, thick brown fur. The hand gripping the carved armrest had long claws. A long forked tail protruded from behind the chair.
