Bittersweet Magic (The Order #2)

Christian pulled away and disappeared up the ramp.

“Come on,” Piers said and strode toward the elevators. Once inside, he pressed the button for the second to lowest level, where the cells were situated. His living quarters were on the lowest level, and he briefly contemplated taking her there instead, but he needed time alone to think through what his next move should be. No, she’d be better in the cells for the day.

The level with the cells was not designed to be comforting. Rather, it was supposed to make the occupants contemplate some dire possibilities. The corridor was narrow and bare, except for strip lights along the ceiling.

He cast a glance behind him. She was obviously trying to pretend that she wasn’t intimidated by her surroundings, but her full lower lip was caught between her white teeth, and he could see the flutter of her pulse at her throat where the blood ran close to the surface. The other sister had shrunk in on herself and appeared even smaller, her pale eyes scared. He felt a flicker of something he thought must be guilt. The idea shocked him.

He came to a halt in front of a cell door, pressed his thumb to the lock panel beside it, and the door slid open. “You in here,” he said to Sister Maria.

“Will we be here long?” Roz asked.

He shrugged. “That depends.”

“Keep us together.” When he remained silent, she reached out and rested a hand on his arm. “Please. Can’t you see she’s terrified?”

Yeah, terrified about covered it; her whole body was shaking. He was officially a monster who terrorized nuns. It shouldn’t bother him. But it did. He nodded once, almost ashamed of himself for giving in.

He hustled them both into the cell. It was small, about ten feet by ten feet, a narrow cot the only furniture and toilet facilities through a gap in the wall opposite. They’d have to take turns on the cot. They didn’t do double rooms.

“Bag,” he said.

She clutched it tighter. “Can’t I keep it?”

“Let me see.”

Reluctantly she opened it and showed him the contents. A laptop and a cell phone. She would get no signal down here, so there was no way she could use either to make contact with the outside world, and he shrugged. “Why not.”

He stood looking down at her for a minute. The wound at her neck had closed, but he could still see the mark of his fangs, and his cock twitched at the memory. Soon, he promised himself.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the sex toy and tossed it onto the small cot. “Something to keep you company.”

…

Roz glared at the door as it slid closed behind his retreating back. Dropping her bag onto the small cot, she looked around their accommodation. Hardly five star—the place was grim, but she’d been in worse. Beside her, Maria was staring at the huge pink vibrator on the bed as though she had no clue what it was. Roz reached down and rammed it into her bag. Out of sight, out of mind—she really didn’t want to think about sex right now. Certainly, she didn’t want to think about mind-blowing orgasm number two at the hands, or rather the teeth, of Mr. Sexy Vampire.

She was in trouble. Big trouble.

“Sit down before you fall down,” she said to Maria. The other woman was clearly at the end of her tether, but at least she was still upright and wasn’t screaming.

Maria sank down onto the cot, wringing her hands together. “Thank you.,”

“For what?”

“For asking to stay together. I know I must be a nuisance to you.”

Roz was exploring their new home. It wasn’t much, but at least it had a toilet and a small sink. She ran some water and splashed her face. There was no mirror, but that was hardly surprising. Stroking her fingers down over her throat, she could feel the slightly raised scar where he’d bitten her. Already the wound was closed and healing. Maybe something in the vampire’s saliva? Ugh!

When she returned to the other part of the cell, Maria was in exactly the same position. Roz ignored her for the moment. Perching on the edge of the cot, she pulled her laptop out of her bag. She switched it on and tried her cell phone while it started up. There was no signal, which didn’t surprise her. And no internet reception on the laptop, which was hardly surprising either. He wouldn’t have let her keep them if he’d believed she could reach the outside.

Did he still believe her story? She glanced down at herself. The habit was ripped to the waist.

“Did he hurt you?” Maria’s question broke into her thoughts. She glanced up to see the sister’s gaze on the ripped habit.

“No,” she said. “He didn’t hurt me.”

Maybe she could find out at least some of what he was thinking. She switched the laptop to the monitoring system. While there was no internet signal down here, perhaps the bug would still work. After all, if it was capable of sending a signal out of the building, presumably it could also do so within the walls.