CHAPTER SIX
She rushed back to the dungeon area at almost the same speed she’d left. The lantern light shed a golden glow; a beacon in a morass of dark. Eska stopped just out of view, using the time to tuck stray strands into place behind an ear. Fidget with where the dress hugged her hips. Adjust the lace of her undergarment about her hip. Perhaps she should have taken the time to change. This dress was travel-worn and wrinkled. She had options. She’d packed several gowns, all fashioned in the same basic pattern. Crafted of a similar material. In like colors. Then again, this one was orange, and while she loved vivid colors...orange was her favorite. She had shorter hemlines, though. Leg-baring lengths. And much sexier shoes. Why, she still wore the functional toe-skimming pumps she’d donned for travel. She could have swapped for stiletto heels...
She smacked her forehead.
What was she thinking? Changing anything would have taken time. And she’d already spent too much away from everything that mattered. She’d found her mate! A sliver of sensation slid through her, tickling as it lifted goose bumps. Her heart skipped a beat before resuming. Eska put a hand to her breast and almost sighed.
This was just so exciting!
She still didn’t know what he’d done to deserve incarceration, but his other explanations had been proven true. His name was Henry. He was a college student. He wasn’t a Hunter. He couldn’t be. Akron wouldn’t allow one of them to continue breathing. And he knew she wouldn’t.
But she added the real bonus. She had full permission to release him...and he didn’t know it.
Oh!
Excitement was too tame a word.
She pulled in a breath, straightened her shoulders, walked around the corner...and lost the inhaled air the moment she met his gaze. The earlier niggling sensation whooshed into something much larger. It rose through her chest, tightened her throat. Stung her eyes. It was akin to stepping outside on a frigid winter morn in her old village. And it wasn’t just the color of his eyes that brought about the instant response. It was the expression he had on his handsome face. He didn’t just look dangerous. He looked lethal.
She’d been wrong to call him Hank. Henry may not sound quite right, but Hank was much too casual, and easily too tame.
“Oh. Look who came back,” he remarked caustically.
“I said I would.”
“No. You said you’d be right back.”
His words confused. Her voice reflected it. “Yes. I did. Exactly.”
“This is your definition of right back?”
“I was gone a few minutes.”
“You were gone eighteen minutes, forty-two seconds. No. It’s forty-three. Going on forty-four.” He paused for a moment. “Now forty-five.”
“What are you counting?”
“This water drips at a constant rate of one every three seconds. It’s a simple calculation.”
“How do you know that’s accurate?”
“I don’t. I’m usually dead-on with time measurement, but I have nothing for a comparative at the moment except my heartbeat. As an athlete, it normally beats a consistent forty per minute. While resting. I am experiencing two heartbeats for every one drip. Therefore, either the drops are falling at twenty per minute...or this dripping sound is so annoying my heart has been dragged into cadence with it! And I swore I’d keep that part to myself!”
His voice rose in agitation. Eska smiled as she approached him. She took her time. Silk slid across her thighs, sending shivers with each alternating step. The lace bands of her stockings flexed. Her belly quivered, her fangs vibrated, her throat closed off. Even her nipples tightened against the bodice. She watched as he looked there before moving his gaze back to hers. Her steps halted as he regarded her without blinking, and oh! He had such amazingly blue eyes! How had she ever considered dark eyes desirable?
She licked her lips. Tried to swallow. Searched for something to say that wouldn’t reveal how his proximity altered everything.
“Sounds like your calculation could be flawed,” she finally remarked.
“This is a fictitious assignment, so it doesn’t really matter, does it? But, I’ll lay odds I’m close. I even factored in the times when the drip rate isn’t constant.”
“It’s not constant?”
“I can speed it up. Would you like a demonstration?”
He sounded angered for some reason. Eska considered him for some time before nodding. He turned his head to look at the stone above him. Took a deep breath that lifted his pecs and put a lot of definition everywhere she looked. And then he shoved his arms into the air to smack the cuffs together. Chains jangled. The clash of metal to metal was loud. A flash of light accompanied his actions, and then a shower of droplets misted him. His body jerked, he gave a low-pitched grunt, and then he settled back onto his pallet. His arms dropped to his sides. His eyes were closed. He was breathing heavily.
“That looked...painful,” Eska said.
“It is.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because it beats lying here with nothing else to do but listen to that infernal dripping.” He opened his eyes, but didn’t move from regarding the rock above him. “Know something else? The amount of pain seems to increase with each attempt.”
“Maybe it’s so you’ll cease trying.”
“Really? You think so?” he asked sarcastically.
“Are you making fun of me?”
He sighed. “Forgive me. This has been a hellish day. Or...it’s probably night, isn’t it? I don’t know why I ask. I don’t even know where I am.”
Several moments passed. Eska took a hesitant step toward him. “You don’t really expect me to tell you, do you?”
“Actually...I’m starting to think you’re part of the torture package on this joyride.”
Eska lifted a brow and tilted her head in consideration. His words were intriguing. Was it possible he felt the mating pull, as well? The thought sent a jolt of pure pleasure through her. She quivered a moment before licking her lips. She slid another step toward him. Exhaled a trembled breath that showed just how much his comment had affected her. Gathered her nerve, and spoke. “Oh. Be not like that.”
“Like what?”
“So...angry.”
“Are you joshing? I am being held prisoner here!” He thumped the pallet for emphasis. “I’m used to being active! I never laze about with nothing to occupy myself! And then what do I get? You.”
“That is not a very nice way to talk to someone if you want their help.”
He snapped his head back toward her. His lids were half-lowered over incredibly blue eyes. Her movements stilled. She wondered if he knew the power of his gaze, and then silently answered it. Of course he must. That’s why he used it.
“You’re still offering to help me?”
“I am debating it.”
“Oh, Eska. Please? I’ll do anything if you’ll free me. Pay any amount! I, um...fibbed earlier. Well...actually, it wasn’t a real fib; it was more a failure to fully disclose.”
You’re a Hunter?
Her heart stopped. Cold washed through her. She steeled herself, but her voice still cracked when she used it. “Go...on.”
“My family is wealthy. Filthy rich.”
Relief was a palpable entity. Eska couldn’t keep it hidden. She didn’t even try. She was smiling widely as she responded. “Really?”
“My father is a peer. That means he’s got a title. It’s been passed down since the Hundred Year War with France — never mind. It’s ancient history. I’m sure you don’t care. He’s a lord. And extremely rich. I think that’s why I’m here. I don’t know what the ransom demand is, but if you’ll help me, I will put as many dollars in your bank account as you want.”
“What makes you think I’d accept that?”
“I thought you were American. Are you Canadian, then?”
“What does that matter?”
“I’m trying to open negotiations here. I’m working on finding a baseline. Number one, you’re an Eskimo.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“Who else brings up sealskin boats? Oh. Wait a moment. That means you’re Eska the Eskimo.” He snorted. “That’s rad.”
Eska sucked in a gasp and stared at him. “What did you just say?”
“Oh, damn. You’re offended, aren’t you? I apologize. I do. And while I’m at it, I apologize for my language. I rarely swear. Honest. I believe there are so many words available in the English language, that it’s a mark of laziness to resort to profanity.”
“Repeat that.”
“I apologize for any offense. Truly. And for my use of profanity. I rarely—.”
“No. Not that. The ‘Eska the Eskimo’ comment. And the rad part.”
His brows rose. “May I ask why?”
“Someone I know said that exact thing to me. And he sounded just like you as he said it.”
“I have been told everyone has a doppelganger. Some swear they’ve met mine. He’s like an evil twin. Maybe you’ve also met him.”
“I doubt it.” She mentally shook herself. She must have misheard. He was the farthest thing from her viewpoint of Nigel she could imagine.
“Dare I hope this means you are still open for negotiations?”
“Maybe.”
“Look. Eska. Name a price. I’ll pay whatever you want. Pounds. Euros. Yen. Bullion. Whatever you want.”
“I don’t want money.”
“Everybody wants money.”
“Money is meaningless. A bunch of numbers.”
“That is not what I’ve been told. But I always had it, so I am the last person for a debate. What do you want, then?”
“For your freedom?”
“I’ll do anything! Please?”
“Anything?” Eska took a final step toward him, and stood looking down at his outstretched form.
“Yes. Anything. Come on. Want do you want?”
She reached a hand toward him. She heard him inhale a breath. His chest expanded with it, while his belly went concave. Her index finger hovered above his abdomen for a moment before she lowered it. Muscles immediately responded, clenching beneath her finger. A spark shot outward. She saw it, and the next moment she experienced it. Electricity raced up her arm and smacked into her bosom. Her nipples reacted with an urgency that scraped them against the silk.
All of it new.
And supremely wondrous.
“Do all the rowers look like you?”
She added more fingers to her touch, thrilled as a pulse of heat arced through each digit to join the morass of energy gathering at her breast. And as she watched, his skin beneath her hand darkened.
“What?” His voice was hesitant. And really deep.
“The other men on your rowing team. Are they as fit...as you?”
He didn’t have much chest hair, but he did have a definite line starting mid-belly to disappear beneath the waistband of his undergarment. She started moving her touch toward it. Forward an inch. Back. All manner of bronzed skin shifted with her progress, while he jumped slightly each time.
Oh!
This was fun!
He cleared his throat. It didn’t seem to help. The words were difficult to decipher, and carried a touch of vibrato to the bass tone. “I am...not certain about—uh.”
“Not certain? Don’t you have locker rooms?”
“What?”
“Locker rooms. So you can shower together...or something along that line?”
Speaking of a line...
Eska skimmed her touch along him, drawing an imaginary line, fingers lifting and sinking as rope-like muscles bunched and moved. His response was a rush of words. Rough-toned. Abrupt.
“That wasn’t what I meant! And, uh. Yes! There are showers...but I don’t look. I’m a guy! I assume the others are as fit. Some of them, anyway. I don’t really know. But, I—.”
She’d reached the start to his line of hair. His voice stopped dead. A whisper of sound drew her glance. The bit of cloth he wore at his hips had disappeared, but he still wore his undergarment. The front was distorted and bulged outward at an odd angle. Eska’s eyes widened, and then her lids lowered as she considered it. A tremor scored her. Another followed on its heels. He began inhaling small breaths and pushing them out with a force that sent air onto her upper arms. Throat. Cheeks. It didn’t cool her skin. It did the complete opposite.
“What did you mean, then?” Eska prompted.
“When?”
It sounded like he had his teeth pressed together. That was a far cry from her. Her lips were gapped open, allowing room for the fang tips, as well as her pants of breath.
“You said you were uncertain.”
“Oh. Yes. I am. Extremely uncertain...as to where this is going. Like...exactly.”
In answer, Eska lowered her mouth to one of his nipples and licked it. He lurched upward, breaking that contact. She heard a sizzle. Felt a hint of mist touch her arm where she still touched him. Stinging accompanied it, while his groans filled the space. They reverberated in waves around them. He dropped back onto the pad, shook in place. Her hand moved with it. And when he spoke, it was with a rough, loud tone.
“Time out! All right? We need a time out! Right now!”
She took her hand from him. He had his head lifted to glare at her. He was breathing extremely hard. His jaw was clenched, his lips drawn in a snarl. And his eyes resembled sky-blue London topaz. Just as vibrant. And just as hard.
“How long do you need for this time-out?” she asked.
“Long enough that I can figure out if what I’m hearing is really what you might be meaning me to hear. And think.”
“What are you hearing?”
“A powerful amount of ringing at the moment.”
She giggled. Every portion of him went rigid. And then he swore. Her brows rose, and she couldn’t resist teasing. “I thought you rarely used profanity.”
“Fuck that! I am in hell. My life turned upside down! I even got called a cold fish! And you are crazy!”
With an aura of fury about him, he stunned. The room temperature pulsated with heat. The very air carried an electric charge. Every cell on her body fought her effort to pull the response back. Eska crossed her arms defensively as she worked to control a runaway heartbeat. Rapid pulse. Reactionary breaths. And all sorts of other ills that came from arousal. And when she spoke, she used a bland tone. Aloof. Distant. Her voice sounded strange in her own hearing.
“Does that mean you are turning me down?”
“Oh, no. You are not getting out of this that easily.”
“Out...of what?”
“You want it in words? Very well. I may be off the mark, but you can only kill me once.” He paused. Took a breath. Moved his chin a little to one side and then back. “It appears you want sexual favors...in exchange for my freedom.”
“No. I want you to make love to me.”
He stared at her unblinkingly, his eyes intensely blue. “How about...I label it sexual satisfaction? Will that suffice?”
She considered it. Then nodded.
“I can’t—. I mean...whoa.”
“You can’t?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that. I sure as hell can. But I don’t know why. And I can’t fathom how you plan on enjoying anything...but you got it. I accept.”
“All night?” she asked.
“If you can handle it.”
She gasped.
“But we are setting ground rules first. Hold it right there, lady.”
Eska had leapt and was almost atop him. She lowered slowly back to the floor to regard him with what she hoped was the same baleful look he gave her.
“Ground rule one. No biting. Rule two. No sucking. Got that?”
“No sucking?”
“Or biting.”
He wore his blond hair shoulder-length. There were a lot of sun-kissed strands above a darker gold shade. He watched unblinkingly as Eska reached out and tucked a lock behind his ear. He was trembling as she lowered her mouth to it.
“But I like sucking,” she whispered.
And then she touched her lips to his throat.