But if the emotion developed naturally, without his guard up, he had a chance. A real chance. He could fall in love without his stubborn nature getting the better of him. If he knew the truth, he might never be free from the spell.
Pain spiraled through her chest. She couldn’t tell him what he needed to know and he’d see it as one more betrayal on the steadily growing list.
“Tell me,” he said, his voice soft. “Whatever is going on, we can figure it out together.”
If only that were so, she thought. But she’d gotten him into this mess and she’d get him out, regardless of the cost to her.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, she pushed him back.
Ciar looked at her with puzzled eyes as his hands fell from her body.
“Mikayla?”
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I’m not going to tell you why she’s here,” she announced. “I can’t.”
For a moment he said nothing. Once her words penetrated, however, his expressive eyes shuttered. “Can’t?” he said. “Or won’t?”
“Both. We need Alina here but if I tell you why, it will ruin everything.”
Anger sparked in his eyes. “You dredged up my past. You brought a woman I never wanted to see again into your home. Tell me why.”
“No.”
“What game are you playing this time, Mikayla?”
She flinched at the ice in his voice but refused to back down. “If I asked you to trust me,” she countered, “would you?”
A hiss escaped him before he spun around to pace the length of her room. “Demons don’t trust.”
“I’m your lover.”
“You’re a witch.”
And there it was. The death knell to her budding hopes. Ciar would never forgive the one fact abut herself she couldn’t, wouldn’t, change. Not even for him.
“It will always come back to that, won’t it?” she asked.
“You cursed me.”
“And now I’m trying to right that wrong, with or without your permission.” She strode over to him and grabbed his arm, stilling his pacing. “This is me,” she told him. “I am a witch, one with power I can’t always control. And yes, I make mistakes with it and no doubt will do so again. But I am also a woman who was in your arms last night. I’m a person who would go to any lengths for the people I care about and I—” She stopped before the damning words could escape.
“And you what?” he demanded. “Care for me?”
For a second she wanted to retreat. Wanted to drop his accusing gaze and flee, but Mikayla would never run from this man. He needed to see who she really was beneath the magic and the lies. “Yes,” she confessed. “I care about you.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.”
She flinched as he brushed off her confession. “There are only so many times I can apologize, Ciar. I will be eternally sorry for what I’ve done to you but I can’t tell you what you want to know.”
He moved with liquid speed, grabbing her arms and pulling her close.
“You owe me this.”
“I do,” she agreed. “But my decision remains unchanged.”
He bared his teeth in a gesture so inhuman it startled her.
“Damn you,” he growled. “Damn you for doing this to us.”
Mikayla cupped his face between her hands, her heart tearing at the pain in his voice. “Trust me,” she whispered. “Look past this and trust the woman who spent the night in bed with you.”
Something flickered in his eyes before they grew cold once more. “No.”
She hadn’t truly expected any other response, but it hadn’t stopped her from hoping. “I failed you,” she told him softly. “This curse I laid…it’s unforgivable. But believe me now when I say I will do my best to protect you against any who would harm you. Including me.”
His hands tightened on her arms. “I don’t need your protection. I need your answers.”
In reply she leaned closer and pressed a last, gentle kiss to his lips. If Alina did her job well, it would be the last kiss they ever shared.
Without another word she extracted herself from his arms and strode for the door. She’d almost made it when his words stopped her.
“Demons don’t like to be toyed with,” he said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. “I will give you three days to fix this, Mikayla, before I take matters into my own hands.”
“I’m not your enemy,” she said, looking back at him.
“Then stop acting like one.”
How she wished she could. She longed to give him the answers he demanded but it would be the weak, cowardly way out.