Prince of Air and Darkness by Jenna Black Read Free Book Online Page B

as Bane digested the thought. His heart thundered in his ears and his palms were sweating. No doubt Bane was just baiting him as usual, knowing he could never force himself on a woman, even after a lifetime of corruption by the Unseelie Court. But if Bane was serious about this, and if the Queen thought Kiera’s consent was unnecessary . . .
    Bane nodded. “I suppose that possibility exists,” he conceded, and Hunter let out a silent sigh of relief. The goblin grinned again. “Besides, you wouldn’t be able to get it up to rape her, so it wouldn’t do us any good.”
    Yes, Bane had been baiting him again. And even knowing it, Hunter hadn’t been able to stop the creature from getting under his skin. His hand itched to unsheathe the knife up his sleeve and bury it in Bane’s throat.
    The goblin shook his head. “You’re too easy, Prince. After all these years, shouldn’t you know me well enough not to fall for it every time I goad you?”
    Hunter forced himself to relax, leaning back into his chair once more. “Probably,” he agreed, pissed off at himself for fueling the goblin’s amusement once more.
    “Now, let’s get down to the real business, shall we?”
    “What business would that be?”
    “The Queen wants to see some sign of progress.”
    “I told you, I’m working on it!”
    “Well, work faster.” Bane drained the remains of his coffee cup, giving a pointed look at the cup he had passed to Hunter.
    Hunter pushed the cup back across the table; he would never dream of drinking anything the goblin had fouled with his touch. Bane shrugged and gulped half the cup down.
    “She’s set a deadline for you,” Bane said. “You have three days to win your first kiss.”
    Hunter told himself not to panic, but that didn’t stop the sudden quickening of his pulse. Kiera was far too guarded with him still. With her ability to shrug off his glamour, he would need to court her slowly and with great care or he might never gain an invitation to her bed. Hell, he didn’t even think he could get her out on a date in so little time. He shook his head.
    “Too soon,” he said. “I need time to get her to trust me.” His conscience stirred uncomfortably. He’d seduced women before, but never like this, never for the purpose of anything but mutual pleasure. He’d never violated anyone’s trust like he planned to violate Kiera’s. But it wasn’t like he had a choice; his mother had been quite clear about that when she’d given him this mission. He wished his damned conscience would just go away for good. It was a highly irritating and completely counterproductive accessory for a member of the Unseelie Court. He was tired of having to wrestle with it all the time.
    “The Queen wants that kiss in three days. She is not overly patient, as I’m sure you know.” Bane pushed his chair away from the table and rose. “If you fail, she has authorized me to administer discipline.” Anticipation glowed in his eyes. He was the ideal of the Unseelie Court, unfettered by conscience of any sort. Hunter both loathed and envied him for it. “Personally, I really hope you fail.”
    Chuckling to himself, Bane casually wove his way through the tables to the front door.
    Three days was not enough, Hunter was sure of it. After the way she’d brushed him off today, there was no chance Kiera would go out on a date with him so soon. Somehow, he was going to have to engineer a meeting before then, and it couldn’t be just a “chance” encounter in the lobby or a brief elevator ride.
    Struck by a sudden burst of inspiration, Hunter leapt from his chair and hurried for the door. He glanced left and right, and was relieved to see Bane ambling down the street not far away. If the goblin had hailed a taxi, Hunter would never have caught him.
    “Bane!” he called, jogging down the pavement.
    Bane looked both startled and amused, but he waited. Hunter came to a stop upwind. “I need a favor” Hunter said.
    The puzzlement in