My hands balled into fists as I twisted my head again. He suddenly stiffened against me, his body crackling with tension.
“Is that all, Madis?” a voice reached us from outside the tunnel, distant and feminine.
“Yes, Cressa,” came the answer, spoken in a deep voice laden with power.
It was the god and goddess. I stilled completely against my captor.
“For now.” Annoyance dripped from those two words spoken by this Cressa.
“We must be close,” Madis answered.
There was a beat of silence, and then Cressa said, “Taric, you know what to do with them.”
“Of course,” a second male answered.
“Since we’re here, we might as well enjoy ourselves,” Madis remarked. Enjoy themselves? After he’d just slaughtered a babe?
“Whatever,” the goddess muttered, and then there was quiet.
Three of them. Taric. Madis. Cressa. I repeated those names over and over as silence fell around us. I wasn’t familiar with them and I had no idea what Court they belonged to, but I would not forget their names.
The male that held me shifted his stance, and then his breath touched my cheek once more. “If I remove my hand, you promise you won’t do something silly like scream?”
I nodded against his chest. Screaming was never on my priority list.
He hesitated. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this,” he said with a sigh that caused me to grit my teeth. “But I guess I’ll add this to the ever-growing list of things I end up regretting.”
His hand lifted from my mouth, but it didn’t stray far, sliding down so that his fingers curled around my chin. I dragged in deep breaths as I tried to ignore the sensation of his chilled flesh against mine. I waited for him to release me.
He didn’t.
“You were going to go after those gods,” he stated after a moment. “What were you thinking?”
That was a good question since mortals were forbidden from interfering in the actions of gods. To do so was considered an insult against the Primal they served. But I had an answer. “They slaughtered a babe.”
He was quiet for a moment. “That is none of your concern.”
I tensed at his words. “The slaughter of an innocent child should be of everyone’s concern.”
“You’d think,” he replied, and I frowned. “But it is not. You knew what they were when you saw them. You know what you should’ve done.”
I did, and I didn’t care. “Do you also believe we’re supposed to leave the bodies there?”
“I doubt they left them,” he answered.
Whenever gods killed a mortal, they left the bodies behind, usually to serve as a warning. If they didn’t, where did they take them? And why? Why had they done this? Could anyone else have been in that home?
I straightened my head. His hand followed. “Are you going to let me go?” I demanded in a quiet voice.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “I’m not sure I’m ready for whatever it is that you’re about to do.”
I stared at the mass of dark vines above me. “Let me go.”
“So you can run back out there and get yourself killed?” he countered.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“You’re right.” A pause. “And you’re also wrong. But since saving your life is still interfering with my evening plans, I want to make sure my generous and benevolent actions are worth what I lost by coming to your aid.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “I did not ask for your help.”
“But you have it nonetheless.”
“Let me go, and you can get back to your oh-so-important evening plans that apparently do not involve having the common decency to care about senseless murders,” I retorted.
“There are a couple of things you need to understand,” he drawled, his thumb sliding along my jaw, causing me to stiffen at the unexpected and unfamiliar caress. “You have no idea what my evening plans were, but yes, they were very important. Nor do you know what I do and do not care about.”
My face scrunched. “Thanks for sharing?”
“But you are right about one thing,” he went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “There isn’t a decent bone in the entirety of my body. So, no, I do not have this thing you call common decency.”
“Well, that’s…something to be proud of.”
“I am,” he agreed. “But I will pretend to be decent right now and let you go. However, if you attempt to run back out there, I will catch you. You will not be faster than me, and the whole thing will just annoy me.”
His devotion to stopping me—a complete stranger—from getting myself killed actually seemed like a rather decent thing to do. But I wasn’t going to point that out. “Have I given you any indication that I care about annoying you?” I retorted.
“I have a feeling you don’t. But I’m hoping you discovered whatever smidgen of common sense exists inside you and have decided to use it.”
My entire body prickled with anger. “That was rude.”
“Be that as it may, do you understand?” he asked.
“And if I say no? Will you stand here and hold me all night?” I spat.
“Since my plans are now shot, I do have some spare time on my hands.”
“You have got to be kidding,” I snarled.
“Actually, no.”
Every part of my being ached with the desire to punch him. Hard. “I understand.”
“Good. To be honest, my arms were getting tired.”
Wait. Was he insinuating that I was—?
He released me, and gods, he was tall. There had to be a good foot between the ground and my feet based on how hard I landed. I stumbled forward, and his hands clasped around my arms, steadying me. Another decent act I was not even remotely grateful for.
Tearing myself free, I whirled toward him as I reached for my dagger.
“Now you’ve got to be kidding me.” The male sighed, snapping forward.
He was as fast as a strike of lightning, catching my wrist before I could even free my blade. I gasped. Dressed in all black, he was nothing more than a thick shadow. He yanked me toward his chest as he spun us, forcing me back. Within a few too-quick heartbeats, he had me trapped again, this time between the vine-covered wall and his body.
“Dammit.” I leaned back, lifting my right leg—
“Can we not do this?” He shifted, simultaneously wedging a thigh between mine and catching my other wrist, bringing my hands together.
I fought, using every ounce of strength I had as he lifted my hands, stretching my arms above my head and then pinning my wrists to the wall. Flowers broke free, raining down on us. I drew up my other leg. I just needed to get space—
“I’ll take that as a no.” He leaned in then, pressing his body to mine.
I froze. Air lodged in my throat. There didn’t seem to be a part of me that wasn’t in contact with him. My legs. Hips. Stomach. Breasts. I could feel him, his hips against my stomach, his stomach and lower part of his chest against my breasts—his skin through his clothing, cool as the first touch of autumn. My senses were a chaotic mess as I forced air into my lungs—a breath that was fresh and citrusy. I couldn’t even smell the sweet peas beyond his scent. No one—not even Sir Holland or anyone I fought who knew what I was—got this close to me.