Night of the Tiger(67)

This fragile creature, this human woman, had come to mean so much to him in such a short time. Roric was part animal and didn’t even try to fight his primal instincts, which were screaming that she was his. His mate. His woman. His.

If only they’d met six or seven thousand years ago, he could have shared her lifetime with her. But it was too late. Their time together was measured in hours.

He strode toward her, unable to keep away any longer. She placed her mug on the counter, her eyes widening as he kept on coming. She took a step back and was brought up solid against the counter. Stopping in front of her, he placed his hands on either side of her, caging her between his arms.

He knew he should say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice what could never be. Instead, he leaned down and touched his lips against hers. They were soft and warm and inviting, parting immediately for him.

With no more than that tiny touch, his body was on fire, burning for her. He wanted to strip her bare, scoop her into his arms and take her to bed until they were both sated. Roric figured that would take at least a week, if not longer.

Every muscle in his arms and chest tensed as he pushed away from her without deepening the caress. Her taste was on his lips—bitter coffee and warm, willing woman. Her eyes were glazed with passion and she swayed toward him.

“Now that he knows we will fight, he’ll be sending stronger, smarter demons to defeat us. If we do not give in to his demands, he will not let us live.”

Aimee shook herself and licked her lips. Roric swallowed back a groan and moved away from temptation. “But there’s a time limit, right?”

Ignoring how sexy and delectable Aimee looked, he picked up the scroll from the table. “Yes. The Lady used the last of her powers to save us, even if it was to lock us into a curse. Hades has twenty-four hours to sway us to his side. After that time, our immortal souls are safe from him. He cannot harm us. Ever. If he tries, whatever power he sends against us will ricochet back on him. That is why it is so dangerous to him if one of us manages to survive. He may be a god, but there are some things not even he can change.”

“What will happen to you then?” Aimee wrapped her arms around herself, as though she were cold. He wanted to warm her but didn’t dare. His thoughts were scattered enough as it was.

“I will continue to try to discover a way to free my fellow warriors and find out the truth about the ones already set free. One or more of them may be alive, maybe imprisoned in Hell. I don’t trust Hades to tell the truth about that. He’d want to divide and conquer us. Once that is done, I will search for a way to rescue the Lady.”

She nodded as if he’d confirmed what she already knew. “Then we need a plan if we hope to survive.” She glanced at the clock hanging on her kitchen wall. “Until about ten o’clock tonight.”

He shook his head. “Midnight. The clock started ticking at midnight.”

“Figures the time would be dramatic, the witching hour. Couldn’t just be plain ten o’clock?” she muttered. “That would mean we’d have two less hours we needed to evade Hades. So what do we do? We can’t run. We can’t hide. Can we?”

Roric wished he could stash Aimee somewhere safe until this was over, but that was impossible. Hades’ minions would find her. “I want to visit the carnival.”

Aimee released her arms slowly, letting them fall back to her sides. She looked at him as if she thought he’d gone mad. Her words confirmed that. “Have you lost your mind?” Her cheeks flushed as her anger grew. “That place is run by demons, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Her tart tongue almost made him smile. “I haven’t forgotten. But my friends are still there. If I can find a way to free them, it will help even the odds.”

“I thought only a chosen woman could free a specific warrior.”

Roric inclined his head. “That is one way we know for certain. Perhaps there is another.”

Aimee began to pace back and forth across the kitchen. “Okay, if we’re going to do this we need to be smart about it. We can park a ways down the road and circle around through the woods.” She nodded to herself. “I can show you the tent where I think the carousel is. Maybe we can sneak in without anyone seeing us.”

It was more likely the demons would be lying in wait. But he didn’t tell her that, didn’t want her more frightened than she already was.

“If we get that far, it will probably be a trap,” she added. He knew she could see the surprise on his face because she snorted. “What? Did you think I was stupid just because I don’t have a penis?”