Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16) - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,41
Basq said before giving a faint shrug. He’d been too busy worrying to pay any attention to the passing time. “Maybe three.”
Her eyes narrowed with fury. She shoved herself off the cot. “That bastard. I’m going to…”
“Chaaya.” Basq grabbed her shoulders, keeping her from disappearing. “I can’t get out of here.”
“Oh.” She made a visible effort to control her burst of anger, offering him a tight smile. “No problem. Escaping prisons is my specialty.”
His grip softened as he smoothed his hands down the curve of her back, cupping her hips as he stepped close enough to savor her warmth.
“Not your only specialty,” he assured her.
“True.” She lifted her hand to run her fingers through his hair. “I’m also awesome at kicking orc butt.”
She was teasing, but her words hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut. Suddenly he was back in the net, the pain searing through him as he heard the roar of the orc as he tried to kill this female.
“I hated being helpless,” he ground out, his fangs aching. “I never want to feel like that again.”
She cupped his cheek in her palm. “I had it under control.”
His lips twisted. This female would face a horde of marauding trolls without batting an eye.
“Always in charge.”
“It’s how I roll.”
He tugged her against him, desperately wanting to shut his eyes and pretend they were alone in his lair with nothing to think about but the glorious desire weaving a spell between them.
“I thought we were in charge together?”
Her thumb stroked along his jaw before tracing the tip of his fang. “That means having each other’s backs, doesn’t it?”
Basq shivered as the image of sliding his fangs into her soft, yielding flesh seared through his mind. The hunger for her taste had been simmering inside him since her arrival in Vegas. Now it felt like a wildfire, scorching through him with a ferocious intensity.
With a jerk, Basq dropped his hands and stepped back. He was treading in dangerous waters. The eternal, everlasting, forever and ever sort of danger.
“Yeah, that’s what it means,” he said, giving himself a mental shake. This wasn’t the time for distractions.
No matter how tempting.
Chaaya studied him, perhaps sensing his inner conflict. Then, with a cocky little smile, she sauntered toward the door.
“I’m going to get some keys.”
“Be careful, Chaaya,” he urged. “The chieftain might act like a fool, but he’s a cunning demon.”
“A dead demon once I get out of here,” she assured him.
“Not without me,” he insisted. “I want in on the fun.”
“Hold tight.”
Chaaya pressed against the door, her body fading from sight as she oozed through the thick metal. Any other time, Basq would have been fascinated by her amazing talent. He’d never met anyone who could walk through solid walls. But now he resumed his pacing, his hands clenched in frustration.
It was annoying as hell to have Chaaya once again risking her neck while he was trapped. When he got his hands on the chieftain… No. Not his hands. His fangs.
He was on his sixth circuit when there was a faint click and the door swung open. Rushing out of the cell, he found Chaaya standing in the center of the passageway, a heavy set of keys dangling from her fingers.
“That was quick,” he congratulated her.
“The guards were busy with a strange dice game that included lots of swearing and stomping their feet. If we hurry, we might be able to sneak past them.”
He nodded, taking a step toward the closed door at the end of the dungeons.
“Wait,” an urgent voice called from the cell across the walk space. “Master Vampire.”
Chaaya sent him a puzzled glance. “A friend of yours?”
The torches shoved into the brackets along the dirt floor flickered as Basq’s anger thundered through the air. “He’s the bastard that sold us out.”
Her eyes narrowed, as if she’d been struck by a sudden realization. Before she could speak, however, the imp continued his pleas for help.
“That’s not true,” he whined. “I would never betray a client. It’s bad for business.”
“Then how did they find me?”
“I was attacked just minutes after you left. I assume they followed you.”
Chaaya rolled her eyes at the smooth words. “Do you believe in leprechauns?” she asked Basq.
“About as much as I believe this imp had nothing to do with our capture,” he retorted.
“Wait. Okay.” A desperate edge entered the imp’s voice. “I might have heard the chieftain was searching for two intruders in the city.”