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Andbefore she could say anything else, he drifted quickly through the wall of her bed chamber and away from her.
Ashe went, he couldn’t help thinking what a mess he’d made of things!Forthe first time in over a hundred solar cycles a woman could actually see him and what did he do?Hefrightened her nearly to death!
“Stupid,Wraith,” he muttered to himself. “Reallyfucking stupid!”
Butthough he was angry with himself, another part of him was still in shock.Notonly could she see him—she couldfeelhim too—andhecould feelher.Fora brief moment he had almost been corporeal again.
Hishand still tingled with the warmth and softness of her skin and he had no idea what to do next—he only knew hehadto find another way to talk to her and get to know her—to touch her again.
Notonly that, hehadto have her—Hannawas the first person in over a hundred years that he could touch and already he hungered for her.
9
HANNA
Hannasat up in bed, staring at the wall the mysterious warrior with the mismatched eyes had disappeared through.Washe a ghost?Aspirit of some kind?
Itwas the only explanation she could think of for the way he seemed able to move through solid objects.Butthe strange thing was, he didn’tlooklike a ghost.
Almostall of the shades and spirits she’d ever seen had a kind of faded, gray, almost see-through appearance.Andmost of them seemed to be stuck in the moment of their death—or else repeating an endless cycle of some kind.LikeAbuelitaback at her apartment, endlessly cooking and baking, which was something she must have loved to do during her life.
Thatwas a nice cycle, at least—much better than the ghost of the nasty, abusive husband who paced outside his old apartment and cursed his wife in an angry, hoarse voice onlyHannacould hear.Butneither one of them could carry on a conversation with her, even if she tried.
Anytimeshe’d ever attempted to talk with a ghost,Hannahad never been able to get sense out of them.Herolder sister,Sam, was a kind ofGhostWhisperer—she was good and leading lost spirits into the afterlife.Butall the ones thatHannahad spoken to just mumbled and murmured to themselves.Noneof them had ever called her by name or talked directly to her in a way that made any sense.
Andthere was another thing—the strange warrior hadtouchedher.Notto pinch or poke like the cruelImpsdid, though—his touch had been kind and firm and strangest of allwarm.Everyother ghost she’d ever touched had felt as cold as ice—but not the strange warrior.Heatseemed to radiate from his hand to her skin.Also, hesmelledgood.Hehad a warm, spicy, masculine scent that lingered in the air long after he was gone.Hannahad never smelled any ghost before—for which she was profoundly grateful, considering the circumstances of some of their deaths.
Shefrowned to herself as she considered the situation.Couldit be hewasn’ta ghost?Maybehe was new kind ofKindredshe’d never heard of?Likean elementalKindredor something?Butif that was true, why had she been the only one who could see him in theDockingBay?
No, hemustbe a ghost,Hannadecided.Thequestion was, what should she do about his nocturnal visit?
Herheart had stopped pounding by now and she felt considerably calmer.Shelooked down at the golden wire circlet of theThink-me uncertainly and then slowly put it back down on the bedside table.Therewas no point in waking upAuntLunafor a ghost that onlyHannacould see.Hemust not have any evil intent towards her, or he couldn’t have gotten through the wards.Andhe had even apologized for frightening her.Sohe was a polite ghost—that wassomething.
Atlast, she decided the only thing she could do was try to get back to sleep.Hopefullythe warrior with the mismatched eyes would leave her alone for the rest of the night.Ifhe wanted to talk,Hannawouldn’t mind if he approached her during the daytime, when she was awake.Shewould certainly tell him, though, not to bother her in the middle of the night again!
Shegot up to use the bathroom and take a drink of water and then settled in the unfamiliar bed once more.Anotherperson might have lain there, freaking out for hours.ButHannahad been seeing spirits and shades all her life and she’d hadmuchworse encounters with ghosts before.Soin a relatively small amount of time, she was able to drift off again…
Onlyto wake an hour later with a cold weight pressing her down into the mattress and a malevolent voice hissing in her ear.
10
HANNA
“Sohere you are, my sweet littleHanna,”the voice of theDarkEntityhissed in her ear.“Ittook me some time to find you, but here you are at last.”
Hannastiffened and tried to reach for theThink-me on the nightstand beside her.Butshe found that her entire body was paralyzed and she was completely unable to move her hand and arm.
“Itook the liberty of immobilizing you.”Burningred eyes blazed down into hers.“NowthatIhave placed my mark on you, your body is mine to do with asIplease…”
Ashe spoke,Hannafelt a cold, claw-tipped hand stroke her breast through the white silk of her nightdress.Hernipple hardened at once, but not in lust—she could only feel fear and loathing of the monstrous creature that was covering her body with its own.
TheDarkEntityseemed to read her mind.
“Don’tworry, my darling littleHanna,”he snarled.“It’sbeen long enough sinceImarked you with my curse—soon your body will come to life as it never has before.Andwhen it does, you’llbegfor me to quench your thirst and ease your lust.Andthe moment you invite me in, you’reMINE!”
“No!”Hannagasped. “No,I’llneverdo that!”
“Oh, yes you will—you’ll be my wanton little slut before the night is out!”
