I was struck speechless by the Erlking’s instant refusal. My heart sank. That had been my one and only idea of what I could offer the Erlking in place of what he wanted. Tears welled in my eyes despite my best efforts to hold them back.

The Erlking reached over the tea tray to put his hand lightly on my wrist. I’d have pulled away if the despair weren’t weighing me down so heavily.

“Don’t cry,” he said, and he brushed his thumb over the back of my hand. “All is not yet lost. I have a counteroffer for you.”

His words were enough to rouse me from my stupor, and I finally pulled my hand out from under his, the motion so sudden I spilled the mug of untouched coffee in my other hand. The Erlking rose to his feet and plucked the coffee mug out of my hand, laying it on the table. Then he knelt in front of me, and there was a handkerchief in his hand—I had no idea where it had come from. He started dabbing at the wet spot on my jeans.

His touch was impersonal, his movements brisk and businesslike, nothing sexual or otherwise inappropriate. Still, the feel of his hand on my thigh was … disconcerting.

“I’ll do that,” I said, reaching for the handkerchief, half expecting him to insist on doing it himself. But he let me have the handkerchief.

“Did you burn yourself?” he asked, sitting back on his heels.

I shook my head, embarrassed at my overreaction to his touch. He wasn’t being threatening, and he wasn’t trying to be seductive. No big deal.

And yet somehow it felt like a big deal, and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. I tried to shake the feeling off.

“What is this counteroffer of yours?” I asked.

He gave me a look I can only describe as assessing, then rose to his feet and grabbed the chair he’d been sitting in, pulling it around the table so it was facing me. Then he sat down, his legs barely an inch from mine.

I fought the urge to sink back into my chair. He was so big it would have been hard not to be intimidated by him even if I didn’t know who—and what—he was. I met his eyes and was surprised to see how much warmth existed in that cold blue. Maybe he couldn’t help being intimidating, but he was trying hard not to be.

“I’ll warn you in advance that my proposal is nothing you are expecting,” he said, “and that it will both frighten and discomfit you.”

Oh, great. Like I needed to be even more frightened and uncomfortable than I already was. “All right, you warned me. Now what is it?”

His eyes seemed to bore into me. “I will release Ethan from the Wild Hunt. If in turn you will pledge to give me your virginity.”

Chapter seventeen

My jaw dropped open, and I blinked at him in disbelief. “Excuse me, what did you just say?”

“You heard me. And I did warn you.”

I shook my head, feeling like I’d somehow slipped into a dream. I replayed the Erlking’s words in my head, and they still made no sense.

“You are young,” the Erlking said. “Perhaps too young for the bedroom yet. At least by your modern human standards. In olden days, you might have been an old married woman with a handful of children by now. But I am nothing if not patient. I will give you the freedom to choose when you are ready to fulfill our bargain.”

“And you’ll keep Ethan with you until I do,” I said, still too stunned to fully absorb what was happening.

“No, no,” he responded. “Your pledge will be binding, and unless you plan to live a life of celibacy, you will eventually have to come to me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

I’m not so falsely modest as to claim I’m unattractive or anything, but I’m nothing special, especially when compared to the unearthly beauty of the Fae. When I’d first met Ethan and he’d instantly started flirting with me, I’d known in my heart of hearts that there was something not quite right about it. Some girls really are so beautiful and/or sexy that they have guys falling at their feet right and left, but I’m not one of them. There was no way the Erlking was going to let Ethan go just for the pleasure of getting me into his bed.

“I assure you, I’m quite serious,” he said. “If you won’t ride with my Hunt into the mortal world, then there is only one way you can win Ethan’s freedom.”

I sat there and gaped at him. “I don’t understand. What would you get out of this?”

He quirked an eyebrow at me, and I blushed hotly, right on cue. I’d been so focused on my disbelief I hadn’t fully absorbed the fact that I was sitting here discussing my virginity with a man.

“My apologies,” the Erlking said softly. “I shouldn’t tease you under the circumstances.”

He looked genuinely sorry, but that didn’t make my blush go away. I’d never gotten past first base with a guy. I’m cautious by nature, and not too good at trusting people, so that made intimacy kind of difficult for me. You might even say it made me a prude. The idea of actually doing … it … with the Erlking made me break out in a cold sweat.

“I will not hurt you,” he told me. “I can even make it pleasurable for you, despite any misgivings you might have.”

That made me look up at him sharply. Had Ethan told him about having tried to cast that roofie spell on me?

“I won’t do that without permission,” the Erlking said, and the look in his eyes told me he knew what I was thinking. “If you’d prefer to have your mind completely clear, then I’ll respect your wishes.”