back into the seat but held her ground. Where had this inner strength come from? She almost cursed at herself, hating that she couldn’t have been this strong in front of Chris.
“Sick fu... You whore!” the one on the left screeched, and would have lunged across the table had his brother not grabbed him and held him back.
Jamie shuddered, wishing she had her Columbia. Her shoulders were bare, the corset of the low-cut dress they had shoved her into pushing her breasts almost above the thin material. She thought of the callous remarks that he had stated in front of her as he had forced her to change from the only pieces of clothing that she had called her own. The room was freezing. She could have sworn that her skin was turning blue, almost purple.
The fall of the skirt brushed against the floor when she walked, and Jamie felt a permanent revulsion for the men. What kind of sadistic bastard would force a woman into a Victorian Era harlot costume? The dress was skimpier than any of the cocktail dresses that Chris has gotten for her.
The one on the left took a shuddering breath. Out of them all, it was clear to her who was more emotionally unstable. While the man on the right had the cool demeanor, the hard eyes, and the ingrained hate that she had no idea about, the other could barely control his anger, he was shivering so bad.The air around her turned frosty — possibly from the men? She shoved her trembling hands in her arms as she tightened them across her chest, well above the swell of her breasts.
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor drew her attention back to the men. A sickly delicate whisper floated to her ears as one of the men appeared behind her suddenly. Her back tensed, face paling as his breath caressed her cheek.
She could smell the metallic smell of the bloody...thing that he had been eating. Their plates were all filled with the same disgusting creation — a still pulsing something with pieces of charred...skin? Strips of meat? Bacon? Her stomach heaved. Jamie desperately prayed it was the latter.
“You will go into that room. You will seduce the monster. You will give us our pay. If you fail to do so, I will tear you apart with my bare hands, along with your family. Everything you love, every drop of their blood, will caress your skin as I force you to watch their demise.”
Jamie shivered. He was the colder of the two and yet, it was the one who was so unstable and looked at her with eyes that said she owed him, that made her hoist her backbone.
“No.”
Chapter 5
The thick door slammed shut, the action making Talon’s ears ring as the sound echoed through the room. An array of scents wafted over him.
Sweet.
Soft.
Fresh.
Female.
His hackles rose, and he pressed farther into the shadows. His guard rose as well, furious at Auro and the new presence. Was he meaning to tempt him, to make him want even more than he had before? Disgust roiled through him as he spied a curl of dark black hair shimmering in the light.
Talon’s eyes darkened as he forced the shadows to cover him, wanting any source of light to vanish. By just being there, the woman was in danger. Not only from Auro — but from him as well.
He wrapped his hand around his arm, chest tight as a sense of familiarity came over him. The form lay still, curled defensively. She hadn’t moved since she had been thrown in, something for which Talon was grateful.
His body tensed. The woman stirred.
It felt like forever since Talon had been in the presence of a woman, had even looked at one from a distance. Not many people walked by, wary of the foreboding mansion, and even if they did, none paid him or the prison any heed. The forest around them was Auro’s fence, his grand force of protection. Crows were his daily visitors, squawking at his treats of food.
He was disgusted.
The small form lay silently on the ground before him, only moving in jerky movements. Soon enough, he realized that she was shivering. She made no sound, made no move to look at him. For a millennium, he felt as if she didn’t know he was there.
Talon was perfectly fine with that.
She knew he was there, could actually feel his gaze on her back. Although the lighting was dim, Jamie