Chapter 16

Jared had zipped her back to his castle as quickly as he'd brought her to the park to practice.

Odd how she was getting used to this mode of transport, and the use of magick in everyday life. It felt like years ago that she'd read that letter from her parents, which set her on this new course.

After insisting she eat a hearty meal, during which he seemed absent-minded, Jared had left. He told her he would see her at sunrise.

First he'd warned her again about avoiding the north turret, where he slept at night.

No denying the amazing chemistry between them.

As she walked around the guest bedroom, Harper kept pressing fingers to her mouth. She still felt the imprint of his mouth upon hers, the erotic way he kissed.

Never had a kiss aroused her so quickly, nor left her so frustrated and unfulfilled.

Sleep proved impossible. Tossing and turning in bed, she finally dozed off, only to dream of demons chasing her through the park. When she reached out for Jared, her pleading turned into a scream.

For he had turned into a demon as well, a beast with enormous horns, a mouth filled with teeth ready to tear apart her flesh…

Shaken, her heart racing, Harper reached for the glass of water at her nightstand and drank deeply.

No use trying to sleep anymore.

She slipped out of the massive bed and donned the warm flannel robe draped over one chair. She pulled on foam slippers and tip-toed out of the bedroom.

Time to explore. The castle was quiet after midnight.

Sonia had said that Jared had another form, a form that was fun, after midnight. That dream made her wonder.

What was he hiding?

Harper decided now was a perfect time to find out.

She, who had never let a mystery go unsolved, needed to know what Jared hid. Sure, she wanted to respect his privacy, but after that dream, she needed to see him in person, reassure herself he wasn't as terrifying as the creature in her dream who wanted her dead.

And why did he abandon her at midnight and said he would be there at sunrise to greet her? He said he hadn't worked his sexual magick in years.

Deep inside, she sensed he would not harm her. All his intentions so far seemed noble. Even if he was sardonic and distant at times, she felt like she could trust him. He wanted her to learn how to use her magick, and if he intended harm, why, he could merely destroy her long before she even learned to toss a bolt of energy.

The demons he mentioned who could melt her from the inside out with fire scared her far more than Jared. Yet she wondered what he was hiding.

Maybe Jared would reveal the real reason he kept her here. If he truly was an incubus, why her? He could have all the women he desired. Wave a magick wand, or his magick cock, she thought with a smile, and they'd fall at his feet. Or into his bed.

I'm no prize. So why me? Because I can shoot fire out of my fingertips?

Yet she sensed the reason was far more meaningful and deeper. Despite his flaws, Jared possessed immense powers of his own and didn't seem the type of man to covet others' magick.

That and the fact Sonia seemed to adore him. The little girl was far smarter than her years and yet she was still a vulnerable child.

A kid who liked to play with poisonous spiders.

Shivering, Harper crept through the castle, down the corridor with its carpeting that muffled footsteps.

After about a half hour, she finally found the north wing and steps leading up to the turret.

The turret Jared warned her to avoid after midnight.

Stone steps, seemingly ancient, wound up and up, like lighthouse steps. She padded up there, gripping the worn wooden railing for support.

Up and up she climbed, driven by something other than mere longing to discover a secret. A compulsion drove her, an inner need she couldn't define nor understand.

At last she reached the landing, a small circular room with three large openings cut into the stone walls, overlooking the surrounding mountains. Harper hugged herself as she walked over to one, peering down.

This fortress was built to withstand many enemies from the ground. But those in the air, such as dragons…

She nearly laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth. Goodness, all this was beginning to make more sense than the volcanoes she'd studied. Magick worlds where dragons belched fire and little girls conjured spiders and applauded blue fire destroying innocent chairs.

Demons that wanted her dead.

An imposing wooden door blocked off the rest of the turret. Harper drew in a breath. She sensed this was Jared's room.

His private domain.

Science was her forte and catered to her natural curiosity. Jared intrigued her. What kind of creature was he turning into a night?

Downstairs a grandfather clock chimed midnight. Midnight, the hour when she was supposed to be sleeping. But like a child itching to spy upon the chimney at Christmas for a glimpse of Santa Claus, she could not sleep.

Nor resist the temptation to see Jared.

The thick oak door was cracked open an inch. Harper crept closer.

She pushed the door open a little further to peer inside.

The room was larger than hers – adorned with heavy masculine furniture and gold and black draperies. A large four-poster bed that looked ancient dominated the room. Jared was not in it.

Before a crackling fire in the hearth were two straight back wood chairs with intricate carvings, including a crouching demonic figure atop each. Jared sat in one chair, his back to her, gazing into the fire. But it wasn't Jared, the handsome man with the mocking smile and the sensual air.

Fur covered this creature's arm, thick brown fur. The hand gripping the carved armrest had long claws. A long forked tail protruded from behind the chair.

Her breath hitched as her gaze roved over the creature, the long hair spilling down the back… the pointed ears like that of a goat, the horns protruding from the top of his skull were curved as a goat's horns.

Fascinated, she crept closer. Suddenly the creature stood and snarled.

He stood nearly seven feet tall, with cloven hooves for feet, and his face was that of a fierce beast. Horns twisting from the front of his head were long, pointed. Demon horns. Yet this was no demon. No ordinary demon.

He looked like the stuff of nightmares, tales parents whispered to their children to coax them into behaving at Christmastime.

"Krampus?" she whispered.

The legendary German monster who tormented bad children at Christmas night while Saint Nick handed out gifts to good little boys and girls surely could not be standing before her.

The monster that had terrified her as a young girl.

The creature snarled again. "It is I, Harper Ashley. Jared Griffin. Now you know my secret."

His long tongue flicked outward, the pointed goatee covering Jared's once well-defined jawline. His eyes were dark as pitch, Jared's eyes, but rimmed in red. His nose was long and sharp and as he opened his mouth, she saw two sharp fangs.

Harper stepped backward.

He advanced toward her. A leather loincloth covered his groin area. But for that large square of cloth, he wore nothing else but the fur on his body.

"Say it, Harper. Tell me what I am. Tell me how terrified you are of the grotesque beast."

Curiosity killed not the cat, but the stupid girl dumb enough to open the door and see what he hid. Harper began to shake. She didn't dare say anything, only stared at him as he kept creeping toward her.

Krampus, the monster who would devour her.

The nightmare was real.

"Say something," he roared.

"Jared." Her voice came out as a whisper. Maybe if he didn't hear her, if she was silent and a good girl, he wouldn't hurt her. Wouldn't come lurching at her in the darkness, laughing at her screams as she tried to run from him…

"I am hideous. Do not lie to me. I know what I am."

Whimpering, she kept backing away, toward the door, the exit offering safety, away from this horrible secret he held, the nightmare beast who haunted her dreams.

Harper backed up until her body hit the thick oak door.

She'd have to turn around to open it, slip away. Show him her back. Oh, but everyone knew the moment you turned your back on a monster, that was when he got you, slashing at you with those claws as you went down, pleading for mercy…

Fumbling for the door latch, she tried to be quiet, oh so quiet, her breath coming out in little whistling gasps.

"Now you know." He smiled, a grotesque display of sharp teeth. "This is what I am, Harper Ashley. A beast, cursed to remain like this every night from midnight to sunset."

"Please," she whispered, her throat clogged. "I'm sorry I spied on you. Please don't hurt me."

Stupid pleas. They never left you alone. Hadn't Jared himself warned her the demons were out to get her? Beasts like this had no gentleness, no compassion, no goodness in them. Not a droplet of love.

Only a vicious hunger to suck away all her magick and leave her drained as an Egyptian mummy.

And here in this castle, where he'd brought her, perhaps as his own private meal in the dark of night, she would meet her end.

He stopped in his tracks. Clawed hands hanging at his furred sides, his dark gaze… something in his eyes caught her attention.

Not triumph nor rage, no not even hint of bloodthirsty need to slash, tear and maim.

Something else. Jared's eyes in Krampus' face.

"It is you, Jared." With all her might, she forced herself away from the safety of the door, from hopeful escape. "It's you. Jared, who kissed me and saved me from the demon."

His snarl echoed through the room. "Jared is gone. Do not look for him, he has vanished. There is only me, you foolish girl."

Harper's heart raced. Easy enough to turn now and flee out the door. Something made her pause, see past the fear and the grotesque beast.

"It is you beneath all that, Jared. I know it is."

Suddenly his muscular shoulders slumped. "Get out," he said in a tired voice. "Just leave me alone."

He made a dismissive gesture with one clawed hand. "Go away."

Immobilized, she stared at him, her heart racing, compelled by both pity and something deeper and more intense.

"Jared…"

"Get out," he roared. "Get out before I eat you, girl! I am your worst nightmare!"

Gasping, she whirled, grabbed the doorknob and flung the thick door open. Harper raced down the steps, her breath coming in stabbing gasps. She ran, her side burning, and did not stop until she reached the safety of her bedchamber.

Slamming the door behind her, she locked the door and raced for her bed.

Harper pulled the covers over her face and cried.

Not for herself.

But for the beast she'd encountered. For it wasn't rage nor lust for violence lurking in his dark eyes. Jared's eyes.

It was sorrow.