my hair. I flailed my arms to grab something—anything. Christian seized my hand, and I hung suspended for a moment, assessing the fact that my boobs were out.
When he lifted me up and set me down, I stared up at Christian in shock.
His eyes skimmed down to my chest. “Ah, there they are. I think I might just have that coronary after all.”
I pulled my tank top down. One of the straps was broken, but not as broken as I would have been if I’d fallen into that pit. We both leaned over and looked inside.
“Metal spikes. Nice touch,” he said. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you not to run headlong through a dungeon door?”
“Lesson learned. I guess it’s safe to assume this isn’t the only booby trap?”
He winked. “Nice word choice.”
I scowled at Rafferty. “You could have warned us.”
The human looked equally amused and terrified. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t—”
“One more word and I’ll drain you,” Christian ground out, his eyes still locked on mine. When Rafferty piped down, Christian lifted my chin with the crook of his finger. “Do you trust me?”
“Hell no.”
Without further discussion, I backed up a few paces and then jumped over the pit. I landed on one foot and stumbled a little before turning around.
Christian followed close behind and landed on both feet. “That little gobshite is lucky I don’t throw his arse down there along with the jaguar.”
Without light, I fell back a step and gripped Christian’s arm so he could lead me. “It’s a panther.”
“Aye. But a panther is just a blanket term for a black cat of any Panthera species.”
“You have a disturbing knowledge base about animals.”
“Remind me to tell you about the mating ritual of honeybees.” Christian crunched on his candy. “Isn’t this romantic? All that shite about flowers, dinner, and a night on the town is overrated. All a man needs is a woman with supple breasts, a bucket of blood, a dark tunnel, and a slim chance of survival.”
“Be still my beating heart.”
“Don’t ever say that to a Vampire.” After two more steps, he yanked me to the ground. “Duck.”
Something whooshed over our heads, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“A free haircut. Will you stop distracting me? I missed the trip wire.”
Annoyed, I crawled ahead of him.
“Mmm, nice view,” he growled. His voice sounded higher up, and before I had the chance to ask if it was safe to stand, he made an oomph.
“You okay?”
Wood snapped, and the air whistled overhead. It sounded as if a body hit the ground a short distance away.
“Aye,” he grunted. “Just dandy. Get on your feet, lass.”
I stood and waited for him to offer me his arm. “This is like an Indiana Jones movie,” I mused. “If they unleash spiders, I’m running the other way. Just so you know.”
“Jaysus. Did you have to say that aloud?”
“Since when is the man who has spiders for roommates scared of spiders?”
“’Tis one thing to have a few wee spiders scurrying about. ’Tis another to have a cluster of foot-long tarantulas.”
I slowed my pace. “I never said anything about tarantulas. Why did you just say that?”
“Keep to the left,” he said, amusement in his voice.
“I hate you.”
After a short turn, he quickly stopped and broke from my grip. I stared into the darkness, trying to make sense of incoherent sounds like rustling clothes, metal vibrations, and Christian heaving a sigh.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Fecking door is thicker than my cock.”
I blindly staggered forward and felt for the knob. “Did you try opening it first?”
“What you know about dungeons could fill a thimble.”
When I turned the lever, the door swung open. I grinned wide in the darkness. “After you, Poe.”
I swear I could hear his jaw clench.
When Christian whooshed past, I heard his feet stomp in the distance.
“Jump, and I’ll catch you.”
I imagined a dark pit like the other one. “How long is it?”
“If I had a dime for every time I heard that,” he murmured.
“What?”
“Pretend it’s the Grand Canyon. Just run, and I’ll tell you when to jump.”
I backed up and ran full speed. My heart dropped when, after a second, I was certain I’d passed the door. Before my feet could skid to a stop, I crashed into Christian.
He belted out a laugh. “Fell for that one, didn’t ya?”
“You fanghole.” I shoved him away and moved toward a lit hallway on the right. There was a gold elevator at the end. I came to a