Night of the Tiger (Hades' Carnival) (14 page)

He slanted a knowing look in her direction. He knew now that the demons had been searching for the women who could break the curse and free the warriors one by one. “The carousel remains hidden from the view of the public, always tucked away in a tent far from the other rides.”

“Just like it was last night.” Aimee chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, leaving it slightly red and puffy.

The action was innocently seductive. Roric felt his body respond immediately. He wanted to lean down and lick her lips before deepening the kiss. Instead, he continued his story. “Mordecai, the serpent, was the first of us to be released. It was Kansas in the late nineteen sixties. We never saw Mordecai or the woman again.”

He paused in front of the window, not seeing the beautiful view beyond. His heart ached as he wondered what happened to his friends. “The next time it happened we were in Louisiana. It was Phoenix’s turn. He and the girl who freed him disappeared in a flash of flame and smoke.”

“When did that happen?”

He turned back to face Aimee. She deserved nothing less than the entire truth from him. “Maybe thirty years ago, but I can’t be certain. Time flows differently for us. Sometimes a century can fly by in the blink of an eye. Other times, a year can seem like an eternity.”

Aimee pulled her legs up tight to her chest, wrapped her arms around them and rocked slightly back and forth as she thought. She looked innocent, so achingly beautiful perched on the end of the bed that, for a brief moment, Roric wished she hadn’t released him. As much as he’d prayed over the past several thousand years to be released, he didn’t want her caught up in this war. Because that’s what it was—a war for his soul and the souls of his fellow warriors. A war to save the Lady. A war to save the world from the domination of Hades. And it was now a war for Aimee’s soul as well.

“That’s only two. There was another empty space.” Aimee rested her chin on her upraised knees. “A jaguar, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Yes. That would be Stavros. He was released soon after Phoenix.”

“But how were you all released?”

Unable to resist her lure any longer, Roric strode to the bed and sat beside her. “Are your memories of last night returning?”

She picked at the sheet covering her. “Sort of. I’m getting flashes. I went to the carnival with a friend.” Aimee dropped her feet back to the floor. “Sandra! She’s going to be frantic wondering what happened to me. I have to call her.” She started to stand, but Roric wrapped his hand around her wrist, tugging her back.

“After. I need to know what you remember. We don’t have much time.” He was constantly aware of the ticking of the clock and the silence of the demons. That wouldn’t last much longer.

“The place creeped me out, but we went in the funhouse. I lost track of my friend and eventually went to the sideshow tents to look for her. I watched some of the performances, but got disoriented. The tent with the carousel just seemed to appear out of nowhere.” She nibbled on her bottom lip again, and Roric barely suppressed a groan. His shaft was as hard as a rock, but thankfully Aimee didn’t seem to notice. She was caught up in the retelling of her tale.

“What did you do next?” He was very aware of the fact that he was still holding on to her. His fingers easily wrapped all the way around her slender wrist.

“I couldn’t resist the carousel. It was so beautiful I was drawn to it immediately. To you.” A light blush covered her cheeks.

“That seems to be the way we are released. Some woman is drawn to find the carousel and chooses one of us.” He asked the one question that had burned in his heart from the moment he’d felt her sit on his back. “Why me? Was it because of the dreams?” That was something he needed to know, to understand.

She nodded. “I told you I dreamed of you. Well, not you specifically, but the white tiger. Only I did dream about you the night before I went to the carnival.” She broke off and scrubbed her free hand over her face. “It’s all very confusing.”

“You dreamed of me? Me, not the tiger?” Memories stirred from deep inside him, of a woman who called to him. Had that been Aimee? He struggled, but could remember nothing more.

“I’ve dreamed about you—” she broke off, seeming flustered, “—I mean, about a white tiger for years, but about you the night before I went to the carnival. Then I thought I saw the tiger stalking me when I got lost in the funhouse. When I saw the carousel, I couldn’t resist sitting on the tiger for a moment. The machine came to life, spinning faster and faster until it was out of control. There were people laughing and yelling.” She shivered, rubbing her free hand over one of her bare arms. “They all worked at the carnival. The harder I spun on the ride, the more their faces changed. They looked like the demons from my dreams.”

She swiveled so she was facing him. “They were chanting your name. I didn’t know what the word meant then, but it was your name. After that, things get a little blurry and I was falling from the carousel. The next thing I knew I was dreaming about making love to you, only it wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“No.” He rubbed his thumb over the inner curve of her wrist. She was so soft, so fragile. “None of this is a dream.”

“How did we end up here?” she asked. “Back at my home and in my bed. Why didn’t we stay in the tent?”

“I don’t know. I think my Lady used her waning power to make sure if we were ever freed, we would be sent away from the demons who held us. A way of giving us a fighting chance to survive.”

“Maybe this is Hades’ doing.” Aimee’s fingers curled into a fist as he continued to stroke her soft skin.

Roric shook his head. “Hades wouldn’t want to risk losing us after going to such trouble to find the right woman to set us free.” Even as he said it, he knew it rang false. Hades would know exactly where he was. Maybe Aimee was right. Maybe Hades wanted Roric to bond with Aimee so he’d be more likely to do whatever it took to protect her. That made her a liability to him.

Aimee nodded and sucked in a deep breath. “So what happens now? What are we going to do?”

His heart skipped a beat when she said the word
we
. Most women would be screaming in fear, demanding he leave, or calling on the demons of Hell to come and get him. She might look fragile, but Aimee was strong-willed. The voice in the back of his head reminded him she might just be luring him into complacency to make it easier for the demons to capture him.

“Now, I figure out a way to keep us both safe. The demons will be coming for us. They have only twenty-four hours to defeat me. After that, Hades must relinquish his claim on me and my soul forever.”

“That’s good, right?” Aimee tugged on her wrist, and he reluctantly released her. She stood, staring down at him. “I mean, you only have to hide for a few more hours and then you’ll be free.”

Roric shook his head, unable to keep the truth from her. “I can’t hide from them, Aimee. They know where I am. They know who you are.” If she was as innocent as she appeared, he didn’t want to frighten her, but she had to be fully aware of the situation. “And Aimee, they’re not only coming for my soul, they’re coming for yours too.”

Chapter Nine

Aimee stood beneath the showerhead and let hot water pour over her. She’d scrubbed herself from head to toe and was now simply trying to drive away the chill permeating her bones. She watched as the water trickled down the drain, so ordinary, so normal. Her life had suddenly become anything but.

Demons, immortal warriors and a war with Hades—it was enough to drive a woman stark-raving mad. If she were a weak-willed person, she’d have run screaming from the house after calling the sheriff’s office to report a handsome but slightly touched stranger in her bedroom.

But deep in her gut, Aimee knew this wasn’t a dream, wasn’t a fantasy. Somehow, some way, all of it was real. And that meant the nightmares that had been plaguing her for months had been genuine as well. On some level, she’d truly been a part of them. But that didn’t bear thinking about right now.

She shuddered in spite of the heat and steam enveloping her. If she truly believed Roric, then she’d also been in the presence of Hades himself. It was enough to give a girl nightmares—if she wasn’t already having them, that is.

Burying her face in her hands, she gave a slightly hysterical laugh. “This is all a nightmare. All of it.”

“All of it?”

Aimee shrieked and whirled around. Her feet slipped on the tile floor and she began to fall. The shower curtain was ripped back and strong arms wrapped around her. A familiar, woodsy scent surrounded her.
Roric
.

She blinked, unable to quite believe what she was seeing…or feeling. Roric was in the bathroom with her. Furthermore, he was standing in front of her. Right in front of her. And she was naked. Her bare breasts were plastered against his hard chest. The man was forever catching her naked.

“Don’t do that.” She pulled away from him, grabbed a towel from the rod and held it in front of her. The towel wasn’t large enough to wrap around her, but it was better than nothing.

“Don’t do what?” One corner of his mouth twitched. If he laughed at her, she’d smack him.

“Sneak up on me. I was taking a shower. Alone,” she added for emphasis. How long had he been watching her? Heat pulsed through her body, pooling between her thighs. She stifled a moan and ignored it.

“Ahh.”

What the heck did he mean by that? She decided she really didn’t want to know. “What are you doing in here? I told you I’d only be a few minutes.”

Roric traced his index finger over her collarbone. The small caress made her blood sing. “Why so shy?” He skimmed his finger lower, dipping below the edge of the towel. “It’s not as though I haven’t seen you naked.”

Aimee took a step back. One of them had to be sensible. “That was when I thought it was just a dream. I’m not in the habit of jumping into bed with any strange man that comes along. Especially not one who is trying to break some kind of ancient spell or curse or whatever it is.”

His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. The indulgent lover was gone, replaced by the cold, implacable warrior. “You will not help me?”

“I never said that.” Sighing, Aimee reached out and turned off the water, which was beginning to run cold. She had to turn slightly, exposing her naked backside to him, but there was no help for it. The large bath towel she’d laid out was just behind him on the edge of the vanity. She could feel his eyes caress her spine and lower as she turned back around.

He was leaning against the edge of the sink, his massive arms crossed over his chest, his legs crossed. For the first time, she realized he was wearing a pair of dark brown leather pants that molded his muscular thighs. It also showcased the impressive bulge in the front to perfection.

Aimee shivered. She was personally acquainted with what was under those tight pants. It would be so easy to jump back in bed, but that wouldn’t solve anyone’s problem. “Where did you get those?” She pointed to his pants.

One corner of his mouth turned up in what might be considered a slight smile. “I’m not without some power. Although much of it was drained during my imprisonment, and it will take me some time to get back to full strength, I have some basic skills. It seems I can manifest what was mine before I was trapped.”

“Good to know.” She wished he’d manifested a shirt for himself while he was at it. His chest was distracting her. All that bare, tanned flesh and muscle were a distraction she didn’t need. It was also a sharp reminder of how she’d spent the night. She needed him to leave. Needed to be alone for a few minutes to compose herself before she faced the day and whatever came with it.

Aimee paused for a moment, then shrugged, deciding there was no point in being subtle. “If you want a T-shirt, check in the bottom drawer of my dresser. I’ve still got a few of my dad’s old ones there. It’ll be tight, but they’ll probably fit.” Her father hadn’t been a small man by any means, but Roric was huge. But at least they would cover him up some. Hopefully, that would make it easier for her to deal with him without getting sidetracked.

“Thank you.” He inclined his head.

“No problem. I’m just going to dry off and get dressed. Why don’t you wait downstairs in the kitchen?”

“I don’t mind waiting here.” His eyes warmed considerably as they grazed over her exposed limbs.

Heat suffused her, and it wasn’t all from the steam still filling the room. Her breasts ached, and her core was damp with more than just water. So much for her not being subtle. Either he was completely dense or he was ignoring her hint. She opted for door number two. The glint in his eyes told her he knew exactly what she wanted him to do but was choosing to ignore her unspoken request. It was time to bring out the sledgehammer.

She took a deep breath. “Leave.” She pointed to the door. “I want some privacy while I dress.” She couldn’t get any plainer than that.

His muscles bunched and coiled as he pushed away from the vanity. She was immune to such a display. Of course she was. She ignored the way her mouth went dry and her fingers gripped the towel until her knuckles turned white.

It didn’t matter to her that he was built like a tank without being muscle-bound. His long limbs were fluid and full of grace as he moved, reminding her that the tiger lived just below the surface of the man, all power and supple strength. She stilled when he moved closer, feeling very much like cornered prey. The wrong move could make him pounce.