A Midsummer Night's Demon (9 page)

He battled to keep himself focused, keep his mind sharp. Every time he did something, it reminded him of her. He got in his boat to go to shore—he remembered bringing her to his island that first night. He looked at pictures of the crime scene at work—it reminded him of the park where he lost her. He got in his car to come home after a long day—it still smelled like her after all this time.

He took a deep breath, relishing the scent of jasmine and chamomile that lingered in his home. She was everywhere, he could not escape her. And heaven help him, but he’d started to want an escape.

It killed him to think about what he was missing. He had found heaven in her arms and hell without her. He could not go on like this forever.

If she didn’t come around soon, he would have to go to her one last time to erase all memories of their time together from her mind. Goddammit, he didn’t want to do that, but he would. Keeping vampires a secret meant their survival. No demon could know about them, especially one who hated them as Lyn did.

He threw his plate across the room. It shattered, sending ceramic bits mixed with uneaten toast crumbing to the floor.

****

Lyn sat at the kitchen table alone, eating her dinner. Looking at the omelet on her plate transported her back to the day Ky had made one for her. They had been so happy.
She
had been so happy.

He had attempted to see her, called her numerous times, and she denied him each time, refusing to allow him to talk to her. For weeks after the incident in the park, her fear kept her from returning his calls. She wanted to have her normal, sane life back. Now she found herself wondering what sane was.

Was it sane to believe every vampire to be the personification of evil? Not all demons acted the same, so why should she assume all vampires did?

Ky didn’t seem evil. Deadly, yes. She’d seen that with her own eyes. But she didn’t think of him as evil. And she’d spent a lot of time thinking about him, replaying their time together in her mind.

He had been nothing but good to her, treating her with tenderness, and taking care of her injuries. He could have taken advantage of her while she stayed in his home, but he had not. Instead he’d been a perfect gentleman.

There had been depth to their passion that went beyond anything she had ever experienced before. She wanted him in a way she’d never wanted any other man. Had Ky somehow influenced her into wanting him, like the vampires in the movies did?

She didn’t think so. If he’d been controlling her mind, he would have continued doing so after she refused to see him. He had been very persistent in his pursuit of her since that night in the park.

Every few days she arrived home to find a message on her machine requesting she allow him to explain. Had he been controlling her mind, he could have forced her to contact him or let him inside any of the times he’d knocked on her door.

Life seemed so empty without him. Every time she heard his voice she struggled not to call. Well, not at first. The first few weeks after the incident, she had been angry and upset. Ky had made an easy target for her pique at the time and that wasn’t fair.

In the past couple of weeks, she’d come to realize the fault lay with her attacker. He deserved her anger, her hatred. She now blamed Raziel for what happened to her, not Ky.

Lyn looked across the table at the empty chair. It taunted her, reminding her of her loneliness. She’d given up the one man in her life she thought she could love. A tear of regret rolled down her cheek at the loss. The loss of her normal world. The loss of passion.

The loss of him.

****

Two months later

Lyn rolled over in her bed, and kicked the covers from her body. She turned her head to look at the clock. Three in the morning and all was not well.

Ky had stopped calling. It hurt worse than she could have imagined. She had not realized how much she loved the sound of his voice. In a strange way, his messages seemed as if she were coming home to him. Hearing his voice, knowing he still wanted to see her had kept her heart light.

Weeks had passed since his last message. He must have given up on her ever calling back, and she could not blame him. For over six weeks, she’d ignored his pursuit. He probably thought she hated him.

Funny, but it was herself she hated. She chastised herself for not realizing sooner how much she cared about him. It took his complete absence from her life to realize she needed him. She didn’t want to live without him. Without hearing his voice. Without knowing he cared.

Daelyn realized she loved him. And the time had come to admit it, to both herself and him.

Her hand went to her throat, her fingers traced the faint scar. Could she live with him being a vampire? Did she feel safe with him?

YES,
her mind screamed.

She had never been surer of anything in her entire life. It had taken time, but she now realized Ky, the man, and Ky, the vampire, were one in the same. He had never hurt her, just the opposite, in fact. He’d been kind and tender. He had stirred a fiery passion within her that melted her bones. He was everything she wanted in a man.

Handsome, sweet, and he put her needs before his own. The way Ky looked at her, as if she was the only woman in the world, touched her heart. He opened doors for her, and saw to her comfort. She could spend the rest of her life loving a guy like Ky.

The rest of my life.
She looked at the ceiling of her bedroom.
I wonder how we could be together.

Demons lived a long time, often more than two centuries. If the movies could be believed, then Ky would live a very long time. Being mated to a vampire wouldn’t be so bad if her mate came with a long life, superhuman strength and speed. While not keen about the drinking blood part, she decided she could handle it, if it meant several lifetimes with a man like Ky.

And for all she knew vampires didn’t drink blood. In their time together, she never saw Ky consume anything that looked like blood. Since she had not given him a chance to explain about himself, she couldn’t be sure blood drinking came with the territory.

Daelyn needed to talk to Ky. She had questions and was finally ready to discover the answers. She realized they were meant to be together. Fate determined them mates, and she could only hope it was not too late to find happiness again in his strong arms. After all, he’d
promised
to take her to the Litha Festival and that celebration happened to be today. If nothing else, maybe she could use his promise to make him see her.

Lyn reached for the phone next to her bed.

****

Ky rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension that pooled there in a painful ache of clenching muscles. Finding no relief, he blew out a heavy sigh, and brought his hand around to rub the night’s growth of beard. He stood in the wake of hopelessness. Lost in desperation, his insides cried out for him to end his suffering. He had found hope in Lyn. Hope for his future, that it might be full of joy and love.

Now he knew better.

It had been more than week since he’d last called her. Ten days? Thirteen? He couldn’t be sure, since time had lost all meaning. His life had fallen apart around him. Ky had no reason to get out of bed without the hope of talking to her. Utterly alone now, he realized the future held no hope for them.

He’d waited two months for her to come around. Two long, miserable months, during which he’d suffered in innumerable ways at the loss of her. She’d obviously given up on their love and moved on without him. The realization ripped his heart from his chest, just as he had done to her attacker. However, unlike Raziel, death did not take away the pain. Each day had become a struggle to exist, for without Lyn, his life seemed incomplete, unlivable.

He hated each day, took his anger and frustration out on those around him, until his boss forced him to take some time off. That only made things worse. Now he found himself alone each night in his home, surrounded by her scent, by the memories they’d made in this house. They haunted him like a malevolent poltergeist, closing in on him until he could not breathe.

His chest tightened, each breath became a struggle. His muscles knotted under his shirt as tension settled in. He knew what he needed to do and could not deceive himself any longer. Happiness with Lyn would not happen. And if they couldn’t be together, he could not allow Lyn to remember him. He would have to erase the memories of him from her mind. His gut twisted at the thought.

This was it, once he erased himself from her mind, there would be no hope for them to ever be together. He would just be another stranger on the street. The pain in his chest grew, his breaths shortened.

Putting it off any longer would only prolong the agony of making the fateful decision. He would go to her tonight, slip into her apartment while she slept. Her mind would be open, easy to manipulate in her sleep. He could make their time together seem like a dream.

It certainly seemed like a dream to him. A beautiful dream that had somehow transformed into a horrible nightmare.

He forced his feet to move forward one slow step at a time. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, he reached for the knob of his front door. With a twist of his hand, he resigned himself to the fact his future had changed forever—for the worse.

Chapter Nine

The wind whipped Lyn’s hair, stinging her face as the boat sped across the river. Each bounce on the turbulent water brought her closer to Ky. Dampness from the gray, overcast sky hung heavy in the air, mixing with the spray from the river to coat her bronze skin. Some would think this a miserable night—rainy, humid. And had she not been headed toward the love of her life, she might agree. But in a few moments she would be in Ky’s arms, telling him she could accept him for who he was. And for that, she would endure any torment. At least it had stopped raining in time for her to make it to the island before sunrise.

“It’s just up ahead,” she yelled over her shoulder to her friend.

Bret Sinclair, her fellow co-worker and demon, turned toward her. “You know, Lyn. We’ve been friends for years. I love ya, and would do anything for you, but I still don’t know why you couldn’t just call.” Bret slowed the boat.

“I planned to.” She watched Ky’s island grow as they approached. “I had the phone in my hand, but I couldn’t say this over the phone. I need to tell him in person.”

“You are the only person I’d be out here in the middle of the night for.” Bret cut the engine, and eased the boat close to the shore. “I sure hope this ‘him’ is worth all this.”

Lyn gave him a large toothy grin. “He is,” she assured her friend, giving him a brief hug. “Thanks so much, Bret.”

“You sure you don’t want me to stick around?”

“No. I’ll be fine. I’m in good hands.”

Her belly flipped in anticipation of being in Ky’s strong arms. Excitement bubbled like champagne in her blood, and she could not wait to see Ky, hear his voice. When Bret handed her out of the boat, Lyn looked in the direction of Ky’s home. It beckoned her, for her future lay within its walls.

“Lyn.” The sound of her friend’s voice made her turn around. “Last chance. Are you sure you want me to go?”

She waved. “Bye, Bret. Be safe going back home. And thanks again.”

Bret started the engine with a tug and shook his head. “Good luck with Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome, babe.”

****

The sound of a boat engine stilled Ky’s hand on the doorknob. Most people did not venture out on the water this early in the morning. He used his preternatural hearing to listen. The boat headed away from his island. How had he missed its arrival?

The corners of his mouth pulled down in a deep frown. He must have been so distracted by his thoughts of Lyn that he wasn’t paying attention—very dangerous. In his line of work distraction had a way of getting you killed. Yet another reason he should go to Lyn tonight and erase her memories. At least then he might finally be able to move on.

He opened the door, and stepped out into the porch to breath in the crisp air, savoring the myriad scents on the night air. The smell of pines, oaks, and palms mixed with chamomile and jasmine tickled his nose. His eyes closed, his nostrils flared as he inhaled the delicious scent into his lungs. The scent permeated his body, wrapping around him to cocoon him in its warmth.
Lyn! She’s here!

Ky opened his eyes to scan the surrounding trees, stepping from the porch. He sent his awareness out to find the one who could complete him. His steps quickened to a blurring speed, the urgency to see her drove him around his house.

****

With the moon hidden behind the thick rain clouds and no light from Ky’s home, Lyn progressed through the scrub brush at an agonizingly slow pace. She placed her feet cautiously, trying not to stumble on the thick roots that hid in the darkness and the understory of the scrub palms. She pushed through the rough fronds. They pulled at her jeans, scratched her bare arms. She should have thought to put on a light jacket before she came or better yet grab a flashlight, but the desire to see Ky had driven everything else from her mind.

She yearned to see him, to touch him. Once she’d made up her mind to accept him, she had become a woman on a mission. Nothing mattered but being with him.

Her desire for him pushed her through the thick growth. Pine needles reached out, clinging to her hair when she brushed by, but she took no notice. Her entire being focused only on getting to him.

Her foot caught behind a thick root, but momentum carried her body forward. She threw her arms out in front of her body, hoping she might find something to brace her fall. Her hands landed on a hard form covered in soft material. She looked up, meeting Ky’s ice-blue eyes as his hands reached out to steady her.

Chapter Ten

Ky’s fingers closed around Lyn’s upper arms to keep her from falling. Her hands splayed across his chest, her touch burning into him like a brand.
Lyn
. She actually stood here with him, just like she had many times in his dreams.