Midnight Enchantment by Anya Bast

success, but it also limited his time. She glanced down at the cuff. “I think I can hold you off long enough.”
    He was on her in a flash, pushing her back. She tripped over the edge of the couch and went down into the cushions. He followed her. His body was strong and warm on hers, and immediately the memory of the kiss flooded her mind.
    His lips were only a breath’s space from hers as he spoke. “I can make you believe anything with my magick, Elizabeth. I can create heaven or hell. I can make you imagine the worst kind of pain or give the best pleasure. I can bring your nightmares to life.” He paused, his gaze fiercely focused on her eyes. “Don’t make me take the dark path.”
    Her tongue dry and her eyes wide, she returned his gaze as coolly as she could with his huge body pinning hers. “I thought we went over this already. I’m not
making
you do anything.”
    He pushed up and away from her, dragging a hand through his hair as he turned from her.
    She sat up. “I will resist you to my dying breath, Niall. I will force you to take every black road you don’t want to travel before this is over.”
    Half turning toward her, he said, “Then I need to protect you from yourself…and from me.” With that, he was striding toward the door.
    It slammed behind him, leaving her alone.

S EVEN

    NIALL pulled his SUV up in front of the house where Elizabeth had done her last delivery in the mind scene he’d created for her. He recognized the place from following her around. Certainly this had been the point in the scene when she’d been ready to lead him to the pieces, so maybe that meant the pieces were hidden around here somewhere.
    He knew it was a long shot. She had the ability to travel anywhere she wanted within the bounds of Piefferburg with her ability. The logic that had led him here to search was pretty fucking flimsy.
    But he was desperate. Every lead, no matter how thin, needed to be followed so he could avoid hurting Elizabeth.
    He parked the SUV and stepped out into the early evening air. The small stone cottage up the narrow lane needed repair. Two of the shutters were gone, another was falling off, and several of the shingles on the roof were broken. Weeds choked the base of the building, vines climbing the crumbling walls.
    This was one of Elizabeth’s hard-luck cases. He started circling the area, checking under rocks, behind bushes, peering up into the trees. The pieces probably weren’t anywhere near here, but it gave him an excuse to be away from Elizabethfor a little while—away from her beautiful, accusing eyes and the horrible temptation she presented.
    He’d never thought he was the type of man to take advantage of a woman in his care. He wasn’t exactly
caring
for her, of course, but she was still in his keeping, vulnerable to him. It was wrong how much he wanted her. It was wrong that he thought about her constantly, fantasized about taking her on the dining room table. It was wrong how often he had to draw back from touching her. He wanted her spread beneath him, wanted to taste her—wanted to make her come over and over.
    That made him the worst kind of predatory bastard.
    He stopped for a moment and breathed the cool evening air deep into his lungs over and over, the bark of the tree he leaned against rough on his palm. He needed to get this woman out of his head somehow. Maybe a trip back to the Black Tower and the welcoming arms of someone else would help, but he didn’t have time for that.
    “Hello, who is that? Elizabeth? Is that you?”
    At the sound of the old man’s voice, Niall stepped out into a shaft of silvery moonlight. “No, it’s not Elizabeth, sir, but I’m a friend of hers.” In the mind scene, Elizabeth had called him Donnell.
    He was a Fir Darrig, one of the fae who were helpful to humans who became lost in faery. They also partied a lot and liked their whiskey. This one was ancient, probably had been ancient when Piefferburg had been created. His