Prince of Air and Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

thousands of men she’d seen in the crowded streets of Philadelphia, did that one stand out so in her mind?
    Kiera laughed and shook her head at herself. Nuttiness must run in her family, and she was apparently suffering from a delayed onset. There was nothing the least bit mysterious about Hunter or her attraction to him. He was just a gorgeous guy, and she was an unattached woman who’d gone too long between boyfriends.
    Not willing to go back to her apartment building—Hunter lived there, after all, and she didn’t think she wanted to see him again just yet—she ordered a decaf and curled up on an armchair in the corner of the intimate little seating area. Her mind seemed not her own, for if she didn’t concentrate every moment on not thinking about it, she found herself imagining Hunter stripping off his expensive clothes for her pleasure.
    Kiera frowned at the image. She hadn’t thought about it before, but his clothes really had been expensive. Why, the leather coat alone must have cost a small fortune. And that business card holder had had a gleam to it that suggested it might be real gold. Was massage therapy so lucrative an occupation?
    And now that the fog of sexual desire was finally beginning to fade, how could that man possibly be a massage therapist? Sure, looks could be deceiving, and stereotypes prove false, but it was almost impossible to imagine an obvious alpha male like him choosing that profession. She closed her eyes and tried to picture him putting his hands on the sagging flesh of one of the matronly women who resided in their apartment building, and her mind balked. Her mind balked even more at the image of him putting his hands on a man’s flesh. Something about it just wasn’t right.
    But that was silly, right? Why would he lie about it? Why would he hire her to design a website for his business if he didn’t really have a business? Paranoia, she decided. First she’d caught herself thinking he might be the mythical Mr. Right, now she was thinking he was some kind of imposter.
    Sure this temporary insanity was somehow her mother’s fault, Kiera pulled out the pad of notes and began idly sketching out some design ideas.

Chapter 2
     
     
    Hunter’s nostrils flared the instant he stepped into his apartment. He recognized that stink, like poorly tanned leather. With a flick of his wrist, he unsheathed the knife he kept hidden up his sleeve. Cautiously, he moved farther into the apartment, his nose twitching as he followed the stench of goblin until he found the uninvited guest in the room that would one day be his massage studio. Already, the room sported a massage table, CD player, and a stack of CD’s with soothing, tuneless music on them.
    Bane didn’t hear Hunter’s silent footsteps—he was too busy uncapping and sniffing the collection of massage oils and lotions Hunter had purchased. In fact, the goblin had no hint of his presence until the silver blade of Hunter’s knife was pressed into the flesh of his throat.
    The goblin’s natural appearance was hidden behind a mortal glamour, and to top it off, he was disguised as a stinking, filth-encrusted street person. The stench made Hunter’s eyes water, and he hoped it wasn’t rubbing off on his own clothing.
    “I don’t remember inviting you in,” Hunter growled in the goblin’s ear, increasing the pressure on the knife so that the blade just broke the first layer of skin.
    Bane didn’t move, but Hunter sensed no hint of fear from him, no tensing of his muscles, no quickening of his heartbeat. “Her Majesty would be displeased with you if you killed me,” he said calmly.
    Hunter’s hand itched to draw the knife across the evil creature’s throat, but he didn’t want to imagine how the Queen would punish him for killing the most vicious of her courtiers. “It might almost be worth it.”
    “You don’t have the balls for it, half-breed.”
    With effort, Hunter reined in his temper. Bane had goaded him into more