He swore he could smell her, and he was still moist where her mouth had touched him. And he was buck-naked.
He was losing his goddamned mind.
For the first time in longer th
an she could remember, Lilin was in tears. She hadn’t remembered what it felt like to cry until this very moment.
She wiped her eyes before she passed through the doors into Queen Rusalka’s chamber. Lilin found it difficult to walk under the Queen’s disapproving glare.
The moment Lilin knelt before Rusalka, the Queen’s harsh voice cut through her like a blade. “You failed, Lilin of the Succubae. You were given three opportunities, and you are found lacking.”
Lilin hated the tears in her voice. “Please give me another chance, my Queen.”
“My word is law.” The Unseelie Queen’s voice echoed in the chamber. “You are now mortal, Lilin, formerly of the air Succubae. Once you are on Earth, you shall have little time to arrange your affairs before I strip you of all memories of your former life. I will provide you with what humans require to live in their world — what they refer to as identification and the paper they use to trade for goods. I will give you new memories of living your life as a human.”
Lilin looked at the Queen, fear punching her belly. “Please, my Queen. I will not fail if you give me another chance.”
Rusalka scowled. “Do you dare contradict me? I demanded that you bleed Archer of his soul. As an Incubus he once disappointed me as you have. I will not tolerate such failures.”
Lilin’s eyes widened. Archer had been Incubae?
The Queen’s face grew darker. “After giving him opportunity to adjust to his new mortal life, I stripped his memories. He remembers naught of being Incubae.” Her lips twisted into a scowl. “Rise, Lilin, mortal.”
All Lilin felt was numb as she obeyed. She didn’t feel changed. Yet. But she was a mortal. A mere human now.
“I will send you to Archer.” The Queen’s expression became amused. “He may do with you what he will. Throw you out. Fuck you. It matters not.” She gave a slight nod to her guards who stood to either side of Lilin. “Go.”
Still stunned, Lilin stared at the Queen. She didn’t move until the guards forced her to turn and walk out of the chamber and into the Hall of the Lost.
Four
So tired he could hardly see straight, Archer entered his sprawling mountainside home. He’d spent the day on a construction site and he was hungry and in need of a long hot shower.
He’d also spent the day thinking of the woman - whoever she was, whatever she was - who’d kept appearing and disappearing in and out of his life. What happened on his living room rug had been real. But the way she’d just faded away . . . He was going out of his freaking mind.
He tossed his keys on the entryway table then strode into the kitchen.
He came to a complete stop. Again.
Lilin. In his kitchen.
This time she had clothes on - jeans and a grey T-shirt with the Grateful Dead logo on it. She sat at the kitchen table, her elbows on the surface, chin in her palms, and a glum expression on her pretty face. Her silvery-blonde hair shone in the evening light coming through the bay window. Her eyes, though, looked more grey than silver as she looked at him. She didn’t smile or get up.
He rubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw. “What are you doing here?”
Lilin gave a deep sigh. “No thanks to you I’m mortal now.”
That made Archer pause. “Listen, lady. I don’t know what planet you came from—”
“Otherworld. The Unseelie Court.” She rose and draped her forearm on the table. Her Irish accent was stronger now than before. “I was a Succubus. I failed to get your soul for her so Queen Rusalka made me mortal and sent me to you to decide my fate.”
Otherworld? Unseelie Court? Queen Rusalka? The names rang like bells in Archer’s head, as if he should know them. They had to be from fairy tales read to him when he was a child.
Not that he remembered his childhood.
Lilin kicked at the table leg with her white tennis shoe. He saw a hint of her bare ankle. God, she had sexy ankles.
He shook his head to get the crazy thoughts out of his mind. “I’m tired, hungry, and I need a shower. You know your way out.”