Chapter 17

The giant dragged her down stone steps and through a long tunnel without mercy. She knew pleading would fall on deaf ears, so focused on not tripping lest the bruising grip of the stone vice clench tighter and break her arm. Tossing her into a cell, he wordlessly slammed the door behind him.

Gathering herself off the gritty floor, she sat on the rough-cut bench in the stone, hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the wall. The tears that rolled down her face were already cold by the time they splashed onto her bare feet.

How could she have trusted that rat bastard, even just a little? Like Bern had said, she kept expecting him to act like a decent person. Clearly, the only decent part about him was the rat.

Clenching her teeth at the angry growl in her stomach, she shivered and adjusted to hug herself, resting her cheek against her knees as the hours dragged on. Roan’s tunic just wasn’t enough to keep her warm in the stone prison.

At least when she had been stuck in that cage as a hatchling, it was in the bowels of an active volcano. And after her escape, Draen was always there beside her, his thick fur keeping away the cold just like his strength had kept away the monsters. Monsters, like a giant rat...

The slit of flickering light at the door to the cell grew dark with a presence before the lock clicked and the hinges creaked open. She didn’t even need to turn her head. His shadow danced on the wall she stared at, larger than life. She had known he would come for her, but she hated so much how it filled her with relief. An unbidden warmth flashed from her core through her icy digits, causing her to shudder with dread.

“What do you want?” she growled without looking at him, hoping he wouldn’t hear how choked up she was. “Got a dungeon fetish?”

“No, actually. I’d be much more turned on if you were purring in my warm bed.”

He tossed a fresh pair of boots at the ground for her. She glared at them.

“So, my options are to sit here and freeze while waiting for death or be your sex toy while waiting for death?”

He smirked. “Is that really so bad?”

Her throat was so swollen with emotion that she could barely mumble, “You’re not the one going to die.”

“Listen, elf, ” he shot back, stepping in towards her. “No one is going to kill you. I’ve claimed you, and I’ve made the council accept it, Azeruatt be damned. Whatever choice they make, it will not end in your death. So, make your choice. Would you prefer to sit in here until they figure out what to do with you or share my comfortable bed?”

Shaking her head, she stared at his shadow again, muttering, “I fucking hate you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Fine. Prove it. Convince me and stay here.”

He turned away. The hinges of the door squealed painfully, her freedom slipping away–and all it would cost her is some pride. Did she even have any of that left?

“R-Roan. Wait.”

He stopped, turning to look back at her standing there, next to naked and hugging herself from the cold. Her head hung down in defeat, fresh tears streaking her face, and her pleading voice trembled as much with emotion as her shivers. “Don’t leave me here, Roan. I ... I really don’t want to be here.”

With a sharp inhale, his face softened. The ever present stir in his mind pressed him with a desire to wrap her in fur. Swinging the door back open, he stepped up to her and spread a fresh gray cloak around her quivering shoulders. “I didn’t want you down here, either. It was ... unexpected. Stay close to me. You don’t want to get lost here.”

The sun shone bright when they emerged. Cylthan didn’t want Roan to know just how relieved she felt, softly sucking in the warm early evening air before she felt the bite of guilt. Draen was still down there in that awful place while she followed this man who saw her as an object–his object– to his comfortable lair.

There were so many people. She saw species she had never seen before, and plenty of those few she did know. Clutching the cloak tight, she stayed close to Roan as he led the way down several halls and through a neatly planted courtyard.

As they headed towards a large archway that led to stairs, a man’s clear, taunting voice stopped Roan in his tracks.

“Roan? My God, you’re back! It took you so long to deal with that vampire, I was about to celebrate your demise. Sightseeing, were you?”

Looking over her shoulder, she blinked a few times to take in the tall elf man that stood by a rectangular bush. His silky blonde hair was tied back into a loose ponytail. A few piercings glinted in his ears, and his dark violet eyes shined with copper slits. He had a dickish sort of smirk like he was about to win some game.

Sucking in his breath, Roan tilted his head without looking back and swiped it side to side. “I’m not in the mood, Xanathys,” he replied in a flat and icy voice, then continued on his way without another word.

When the elf’s eyes met hers, Cylthan felt her breath hitch at a tingle in her belly. Quickly tucking her head, she hurried after Roan.

“Oh, ha! No, of course not,” the elf called after him. “Not with a beauty like that on your heel. In the mood for other things. I hope he treats you well, dovlin. If not, you always have options.”

Roan was tense the rest of the way to his room. So tense that she felt anxiety tighten her chest and knot up in her stomach. Would he take it out on her?

Finally, halfway down another hall that looked a lot like the last half-dozen halls they walked through, Roan stopped and opened a door that looked a lot like all the other doors, strolling into a large apartment. Glancing around, Cylthan thought the place looked barely lived in with sparse furniture and hardly any decorations, but she didn’t really care to examine the place too closely. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the table covered in food. The smell of it all crashed into her with an angry wave of gnawing hunger.

She jumped when she heard the door latch behind her. Now, she was trapped in a different kind of cage, and the company might hurt her. She didn’t really know which one she preferred, but she knew which one made her heart beat harder.

Stepping around her, he strode to the table and sat in the chair facing her. “You can relax now. You’re safe here.”

She sneered at him. “Safe? When you’re in here with me?”

His eyes narrowed in warning before his face softened to a smirk. “Jorsam once kept a cat a lot like you. Hissed at everyone, even the hand that fed her.” He gestured to the food. “I figured you weren’t ready for the chaos of the cafeteria, so I thought a quiet dinner would be better.”

Though her stomach loudly demanded she quit being so standoffish, she still sneered at him with a mutter, “I doubt it was the only thing you thought of.”

A grin stretched to his ears and he laughed before answering. “Oh, you’re right about that, kitten. But first, I’m going to eat even if you don’t. I spent all day arguing with the Council, and I’m famished. If you’d like to stand there and glare at me the whole time, the least you could do is strip. Otherwise–sit and eat.”

The tone of his last words made her thighs tingle in memory and her heart thump. Looking down at the chair, she gritted her teeth and slid sideways into it.

“You do know how to use a fork and knife, right?”

She shot him a glare. “Of course! I’m not an animal!”

He held up his hands as though in surrender, smirking. “I was just making sure. Growing up wild, manners probably weren’t very high on the list of needs for survival.”

Her nose wrinkled in contempt. “So much for a ‘quiet’ dinner.”

God, she hated that arrogant expression. He wasn’t even trying to hide the desire in his eyes.

With that smirk still on his face, he swept his hand over the food. “Help yourself, kitten.”

Every movement she made felt observed, even if he wasn’t looking at her. She was used to her thoughts being invaded, but this felt worse. He was hungry for more than the meal before them, and it made her loins warmer than she cared to admit.

Stopping herself from devouring every last morsel that touched her tongue was a challenge. The steak was so tender, it practically melted in her mouth. The only flavor she knew meat had was the char of the fire and the smoke of the wood. The soft buttery rolls were fluffy and flaky, and the perfectly roasted vegetables tasted so much sweeter than when she had eaten them raw or boiled.

When she looked up at him, she didn’t really understand that particular look on his face. Did he feel sorry for her? That felt so insulting. Her life had been just fine before she had met him. Sure it had been lonely, and not nearly this flavorful, but at least she had been free instead of stuck in a luxurious cage with a devil.

Knowing what was to come after suddenly upset her stomach.

“Are you done already?”

She glared up at him before nodding.

Leaning back, he tilted his head, looking at the food left. Shrugging, he pushed his chair back and stood, gesturing with his head for her to follow.

Her heart thumped as she stood. “Now what?”

“Now, I’m going to get rid of the rest of that mission in a bath. Normally, I’d go to the bathhouse, but I didn’t think you were ready for that, either. But, if I recall, your last bath was right after you stole my horse.”

Her mouth popped open in surprise before it changed to outrage. “I’m not bathing with you!”

His face grew dark. It made her breath catch, stepping back when he drew closer. Every nerve went numb. She couldn’t meet his hard gaze, but she didn’t want to look away.

Standing but inches before her, Roan sucked in his breath with a deep sniff. “Fine. Elves just smell better the longer they don’t. But, if you don’t, I’ll just fuck you on the floor and you can sleep on the rug like a wild elf.”

Turning around, he started away when he stopped at the door to the bedroom and looked at her expectantly. “Come along, kitten ... if you’d like to sleep in my bed, that is.”

He didn’t wait for her after that.

She hated every bit of this. Just having to strip naked in front of him. Knowing what he wanted of her. Clutching the front of the cloak tightly, she particularly hated how much she wanted to feel his touch.

Straightening up as she gathered herself, she followed after him. As soon as she stepped through the doorway, her eyes were drawn to the massive bed that took up the middle of the room. The blankets were puffy and white while the head and foot boards were made of a heavy wood with tall posts on each corner, held up by carved and polished clawed feet, each gripping an orb. Gulping, she hung her head and followed the sounds of water.

Standing in the doorway, she didn’t even realize she was staring at him. The well defined lines of his muscular chest glistened with water. The thick hair growing over his body looked so soft.

She noticed he was smirking back at her. When their eyes met, he made a gesture at himself. “Like what you see?”

Her face scrunched up in disdain. “No.”

His smile grew into a grin, and he waved his hand at the space in front of him. “Then get in so you don’t have to keep looking at me.”

Glaring at him a moment longer, she finally unclasped the cloak, letting it fall from her shoulders. With another sharp breath, she pulled the tunic over her head.

His gaze might as well have been his hands. Her nipples perked to the sensation of his eyes as they followed her long, slender legs all the way up her body to meet her eyes again, and she shuddered, sneering back at his smile.

“Well, I like what I see. You could stand there and hiss at me all night.”

“You’re such a pervert,” she snapped.

He only grew even more smug, his eyes falling to the slick space between her thighs. “You seem to enjoy it more than you admit.”

Clenching her fists with a growl, she quickly climbed into the tub.

Once she slipped into the hot, soapy water to sit in the space he left for her, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close until she was leaning against him. She hated admitting that it ... actually felt really nice.