Chapter One
“Don’t even think about it,” Tamsyn growled at her side.
Mikayla glanced at her sister. These days the scowl on Tamsyn’s beautiful face seemed ever present. It seemed neither one of her sisters approved of Mikayla’s fascination and Tamsyn made no bones about her displeasure.
“Not your call, Tam,” she said, taking a sip of the beer before her.
A sigh sounded from her other side. “Like that’s going to work,” her second eldest sibling said. “You know how protective Tamsyn can be.”
“I’m a big girl, Wyn. I can take care of myself.”
“Against him?” she asked, jutting her thumb over her shoulder at the object of Mikayla’s scrutiny. “You know how demons are.”
“Not exactly the cuddly types,” Tamsyn added.
Mikayla lifted her drink to her lips, ignoring her elder sisters’ concern. Over the rim of her glass she gazed at the cause of their discontent.
Ciar leaned against the bar, watching the crowd before him with dispassionate silver eyes. An untouched beer sat beside him. Mikayla had always wondered why he came here. He rarely spoke to anyone and though he ordered a pint every time, she’d never seen him take a single sip. Even in a venue that catered to the less than human, patrons were wary about approaching one of his kind. Not that they didn’t have good cause. The species had a habit of being unpredictable at the best of times.
But the danger didn’t stop Ciar from being noticed, even if only from afar. Towering over Mikayla’s own six-foot frame, he presented an intimidating figure. Long black hair was pulled back and tied at his nape with a black ribbon so nothing softened the hard planes of his face. Clad in all black, Ciar obviously had a body made for war. Demons tended to be a violent race—he wouldn’t have survived if he wasn’t a strong warrior. Despite the bar being a conflict-free zone, Ciar did nothing to hide the dagger strapped to his hip. Not that anyone would be stupid enough to mess with him. After all, people who crossed demons ended up disappearing. For good.
“Kay,” Tamsyn hissed. “We’re going to ban you from coming to the Black Cat if you don’t stop staring at him.”
Sighing, Mikayla vowed to leave her sisters at home the next time she wanted a night out.
Wyn tapped her fingers rhythmically on the countertop. “You two are totally harshing my buzz. It’s Halloween, ladies. As in drink until someone looks good and make some mistakes you’ll enjoy regretting in the morning. Tamsyn, stop mothering and have a shot. Mikayla, leave Ciar alone so we can dance the night away instead of picking up the pieces of your dismembered body.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have come out tonight,” Tamsyn mused.
“On Halloween?” Mikayla asked, her patience thinning. “Wyn’s right. What kind of witches would we be if we stayed in on a night like this?”
Tamsyn arched a brow. “The kind who like to keep their baby sisters away from big bad demons who might eat them.”
Mikayla growled in annoyance. “In the six months he’s been here have you ever seen Ciar hurt anyone?”
“Just because we haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened,” Tamsyn pointed out.
“Not to gang up on you, little sis, but you’ve flirted with the man for months with nothing to show for it. And you know what his people are like. They screw anything that moves,” Wyn added.
Mikayla flinched at the reminder that she couldn’t even tempt a lustful demon. In truth, she didn’t know what Ciar’s problem was. While she might not be as curvy as Wyn or as petite and cute as Tamsyn, she wasn’t unattractive. Tall and slender, she didn’t match her sisters, but none of her other lovers had ever complained.
Granted, her curly brown hair was a little plain, but she’d always thought her clear green eyes more than made up for it. There was no reason for Ciar to rebuff her every time they talked. It wasn’t like she was asking for forever. She’d settle for a single night with the magnetic man.
She knew she should move on. After all, it wasn’t like he was the first man to turn her down. But despite her best efforts, there was no shaking him from her mind. It wasn’t like her to chase someone who didn’t want to be caught but every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the first time they’d met. There had been lust in his eyes then. Lust that had seared her with its heat. Never before had she felt as alive as she had when he’d looked at her with desire.
And she wanted to feel that way again. Just once more.
As she watched him, Ciar shifted and glanced her way. For a second, his gaze locked with hers. A tremor ran through her.