Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Riot

He’s dressed her like a goddamned whore. Of course he has. Because Franklin Fucking Parker may wear the finest suits and drink the finest whiskey and smoke the finest cigars, but at heart, he’s scum. More of an animal than any of the creatures he trades in here.

Raura’s eyes are huge as she stares up at me. She’s terrified. And it’s my fault. I want to say I’m sorry. That I don’t mean to terrify her. But right now, there’s no way of knowing whether Parker and his men are watching us. I’ve looked around the room for cameras or some sort of device he might be using to monitor us – I’ve found nothing, but that’s no guarantee. The man’s just sick enough to want to see what’s happening.

I don’t intend to give him a show. But if I draw this out long enough, maybe he’ll get bored and turn his attention elsewhere.

“You can threaten me all you like; I’m not doing it!” Her jaw juts out in defiance despite the terror shadowing her lovely eyes.

Fuck, she’s beautiful.

I can smell her fear, see it in her face, but she’s not backing down. If anything, she seems to be working herself up more.

“I won’t let you touch me! You’re a monster, just like him!” Her voice rises with each word until she’s almost shouting at me.

I know I should shut her up before Parker or one of his goons decides to investigate the racket, but I can’t help but admire her spirit. She’s got fire in her, this one.

A fighter’s heart.

“I should have known this was what you had planned from the start!” she yells. “All that bullshit with sharing your food. You were just buttering me up, weren’t you?” Her hair flies about her face. “You thought you’d be able to cozy up to me.”

“Raura, do you honestly think I need to do anything to…cozy up to you?” I stifle a chuckle. “They just gave you to me. I can do what I want with you.” It’s probably an asshole thing to say, but she seems to have lost touch with the reality of her situation.

She gasps. “You…! You wouldn’t dare!”

I raise an eyebrow.

“I can’t freaking believe the nerve of it!” She’s waving her unbroken arm around like a crazy person, and I know I need to put a stop to this. Parker is probably expecting some sort of sex god performance, and this doesn’t fit into the act. Just as she’s about to poke me in the chest, I snap out a hand, grabbing her wrist in a firm grip.

“What the—?” she blurts just before she loses her balance, stumbling forward until she crashes against my chest.

And just like that, the world stops.

Her body is pressed against mine, soft curves molding to hard planes of muscle. I feel her breath hitch, hear the tiny gasp that escapes her lips. And fuck me, my body reacts instinctively, desire surging through me like wildfire.

She feels it, too. I see the shock in her eyes as she registers the hard length of my cock pressing against her belly. For a moment, we’re both frozen, caught in a web of sensation that neither of us understands.

I know I don’t.

But what I do know is that I want her. God, I want her so badly it hurts. But not like this. Not as some sick prize awarded to me by a man I despise.

I let her go abruptly…so abruptly that she sits down on the bed with a thump. She stares up at me, her eyes dazed. Her chest is heaving. So is mine.

Fucking hell!

It’s been too long. Years of celibacy can do this to a man. My body’s reaction to her must be purely physical, a response to deprivation. I try to convince myself of this as I turn away from her and move to switch off the light.

But deep down, I know there’s more to it.

I push that thought aside and return to the bed. The darkness amplifies the sound of her ragged breathing. She’s terrified. I can almost taste her fear.

I run a hand down her arm, and she cringes from my touch. It stings, though I can’t blame her. She must think I’m about to hurt her, and in this place, that’s a reasonable assumption.

“Hold still,” I murmur, feeling along the bone for the break. Her skin is warm beneath my fingers, the muscles tense.

“Are you in pain?” My voice comes out rougher than intended.

“What?” She sounds incredulous. “Why do you care?”

“The bone,” I say simply. “It’s going to heal crooked if we don’t set it right.”

She goes quiet, processing my words. In the darkness, I feel her eyes on me, searching for deceit.

“I need to straighten it,” I continue. “It’ll hurt.”

“Okay,” she whispers. She doesn’t resist as I apply pressure on the break. Feeling the rough grind of raw edges beneath my fingertips, I give a sharp twist. A small scream leaves her lips, piercing through the silence like a knife.

“Sorry,” I murmur, hating myself for causing her pain even as I fix what’s broken.

The bone snaps into alignment under my fingers. Her breathing slows, becoming less ragged as the immediate agony subsides.

“There,” I say softly. “It’ll heal better now.”

She doesn’t respond, but there’s a shift in the air between us – a tentative truce in this hellish place.

“Why did you do that?” Her voice is hesitant.

“It had to be straightened,” I reply simply.

“No…I mean…” Her hand moves. I sense the gesture rather than seeing it in the dark. “This. Why did you bring me here?”

“I couldn’t watch him hurt you anymore,” I say, keeping my voice low, the words almost lost in the dark. “And I can’t imagine what he’d do next. Sell you to someone even worse than he is, maybe.”

She’s silent for a moment, processing what I’ve said. Her breathing evens out, and she shifts slightly on the bed, still cradling her arm.

“Why?” she whispers finally, voice trembling with confusion. “Why would you care?”

I exhale slowly. “Because I’ve seen what happens to people here. And you…you don’t deserve that.” I pause, searching for the right words until impulse takes over, and I say quickly, “You remind me of someone.”

She seems stupefied, eyes wide and uncertain. The defiance from earlier is gone, replaced by a vulnerable curiosity.

“Who?” she asks softly.

I don’t answer immediately. Instead, I reach out and take her good hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. There’s that strange tingle again at the contact. I try not to think about it.

“That’s not important,” I say quietly. “But… She had that same fire in her eyes. The same spirit.”

Raura’s fingers tighten around mine slightly. They’re warm against my skin, and I find myself wondering what they’d feel like on other parts of my body.

Quit it, you ass!

“Okay,” she says uncertainly. I’m sure she’s still trying to make sense of this new reality, trying to reconcile the brutal fighter with the man who’s trying to protect her now.

The silence stretches between us again. When she finally speaks again, there’s a note of tentative understanding in her voice.

“So…this was your way of protecting me? Taking me as your prize?”

“It’s the only way I could think of,” I admit. “Parker would have sold you off otherwise. And believe me, there are worse fates than being here with me.”

She seems to be absorbing this information slowly, piecing together the puzzle of my motives and actions.

“You don’t know me,” she says finally, but there’s less accusation in her tone now.

“No,” I agree softly. “But maybe we can change that.”

Why the fuck did I just say that?

“I…um…well….” she fumbles for words. I lean away from her and peel my shirt over my head.

“Get undressed,” I tell her.

“Wait! You said that—” she splutters.

“If they come in here and find us having a pleasant little chat, Parker’s going to know something’s up.” I unbutton my fly, thankful that the damned erection I’d been sporting seems to have subsided again.

“But you can’t just… You can’t….” Her voice trails off as I stand and shuck out of my jeans. “I…you… Oh, shit,” she says, looking away quickly. Even in the low light, there’s no hiding the fact that I’m naked. I move to the side of the bed and sink onto it.

“Come here and lie with me.” I pat the mattress beside me. “I won’t bite.” I grin when she keeps staring at me.

She hesitates, then cautiously, she clambers onto the bed, favoring her right arm as she crawls up beside me.

“Off.” I brush the strap that’s holding her dress up…barely. It’s straining over her lush-as-fuck tits. “It’s not doing a good job of covering anything up anyway.”

“Fine!” she huffs, awkwardly squirming as she tugs the thing up her body and over her head. “But don’t think this means I’m letting anything funny happen here.”

Again, I want to laugh at how naive she is. Because if I truly wanted something to happen, it would.

Thank God I’m just not wired that way.

“Of course not,” I say instead, waiting as she wriggles down to lie on the bed at my side. As much as she may think that all her attempts to cover up are helping things, they’re not. She keeps bumping and brushing against me, and I’m more aware of her sweet curves than I ever would have been if she’d simply stripped off in front of me.

Finally, she stops moving, lying stiff as a board, staring up at the ceiling.

“You’re going to have to get closer than that,” I tell her.

“Oh, hell no!” She shakes her head against the downy pillow. I have to admit, this is the most comfort I’ve experienced since my nightmare life began here, and I like it. What I also like is having her this close.

It’s for show, asshole!

“If Parker walks in now and sees you acting like an ironing board, he’s going to send us straight back to our cells.” I slide a hand behind my head, enjoying the soft mattress beneath me. I could definitely get used to this. “Do you want to go back to your cell?”

“No,” she says quickly.

“Then move closer. I told you; I won’t bite.” Though right now, I can imagine sinking my teeth into her soft skin…and not because I want to eat her.

Not in that way, at any rate.

For fuck’s sake, Riot!

She moves closer, and I take a deep breath. God, she smells good. It’s been a long time since I scented freedom, but I imagine this must be what it’s like. I think of a sea of blooms beneath the full moon, and the wolf in me prowls restlessly. I squeeze my eyes shut.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Sure,” I lie. “Roll on your side. I’ll settle behind you…if you’re comfortable that way. How is your arm feeling?”

“It’s sore…but better.” Her voice is hoarse. I hear her swallow as I press up behind her, sliding an arm over her waist. The urge to pull her tighter to me is riding me hard, and that would be a mistake. Because, yet again, I’m feeling a tugging in my balls. And the last thing I want to do is scare the hell out of her by having my cock pressing up between her butt cheeks.

“You good?” I ask. Her hair is soft and fragrant against my face. It tickles slightly, but I really don’t care.

“I’m… Yes. I’m fine.” She doesn’t sound very convincing. “Just…don’t get any ideas, okay?”

“I’m not that desperate, Raura,” I tell her.

Oh, you poor deluded bastard. You are totally that desperate.

“Okay,” she says in a small voice. She’s still so tense I can feel it radiating from her.

“Talk to me,” I tell her, hoping it will help her relax. And suddenly I realize that I want to hear her voice. “Tell me about what the world is like out there.”

The world out there.

Fuck. I can barely remember it anymore.

“The world out there?”

“Yes. What is it like now?” I’m not just trying to calm her. I crave details about the life I lost.

“It’s okay, I guess. What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Tell me anything.” I hold her closer, burying my face in her hair. “Tell me what your days are like. Your life. Who do you speak to? What do you do?”

There’s a pause, and then she says, “Alright…” Her words begin to wash over me in a soothing flow as I soak in the tiny details – the books she reads, the daily chores, the trips she’s made to the human cities, and how curious she finds them. I take it all in, my mind storing every little fact.

And I’m in trouble.

I know it more clearly than anything I’ve known in a long time.

The way that I want to hold onto the sound of her voice…to hold onto her… It’s all a mistake.

I’ve faced Death a thousand times in the past years, but suddenly, this feels like the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done.

This feels like something that is really going to hurt me.