“We can take this as slow as you need,” he promised. “Just so long as we’re together.”
It was a spell. The warmth in his eyes. The gentleness of his touch. She knew that better than anyone. So why did it feel so real?
Crap. She thrust away the ridiculous thought, forcing herself to concentrate on the only thing that mattered.
Getting the hell out of this cell.
“Yes, but we both know that Styx won’t allow that,” she reminded him. “He thinks I’m the enemy.”
“No,” he denied. “Not the enemy.”
“Then why am I being held in this cell?”
A muscle clenched in his jaw. “I will speak with him. . . .”
“No, please, Roke.” She lifted her hands to clutch at his shoulders, her expression openly pleading. “We have to leave here.”
He frowned as her magical compulsion clashed with his loyalty to his Anasso. “Leave?”
“It’s the only way we can be together.”
Several tense minutes passed before he at last gave a grudging nod of his head. “Yes.”
She released a shaky sigh of relief. “Can you get us out of the dungeons?”
He frowned. “That’s no problem, but we’ll never be able to leave the lair without alerting Styx’s guards.”
“Once we’re away from this cell I’ll be able to use my magic,” she assured him.
There was another pause, then abruptly taking hold of her hand, he pulled her toward the cell door.
“Stay close.”
Chapter 11
North of the Louisiana wetlands
Nefri hid a grimace as they skirted past the small town. The violence that had tainted the air was slowly fading and the residents were gratefully settling in for a peaceful night.
Unfortunately, the promise of serenity did nothing to end the cold prickles of displeasure that radiated from her companion.
Santiago was in a crappy mood and he wanted to make sure he shared the misery.
Not that she was blameless, she ruefully acknowledged.
She’d been so intent on scurrying back behind her defensive walls that she’d totally forgotten the potency of male pride.
Santiago wouldn’t consider the idea that her rigid composure might be her way of coping with the overwhelming night of passion. Or that she might not be comfortable with the realization that she’d made herself vulnerable to him in a way she hadn’t for centuries.
Of course not.
He was used to females who fawned and fluttered over him. The kind of women who stroked his ego with assurances that he was a magnificent lover and no doubt begged for the opportunity to remain in his bed.
That knowledge did nothing for her own mood and it was a relief when there was a flutter of wings and Levet floated down from a nearby tree branch.
“At last,” the tiny gargoyle complained. “I had begun to fear that you had forgotten me.”
“I couldn’t be so lucky,” Santiago snarled, stepping past Levet to head toward the truck nearly hidden by the thick brush.
Levet sniffed, moving to walk at Nefri’s side. “What crawled up his ear?”
“My ass, gargoyle,” Santiago corrected, tugging open the door of the vehicle, which looked as if it should be headed for the junkyard. ASAP. “It’s ‘what crawled up my ass.’”
“Ew.” Levet wrinkled his snout. “I do not wish to know anything concerning your nether regions.”
Santiago narrowed his eyes, his beautiful features tight with irritation. “Just get in and shut up.”
Nefri reached to pat the gargoyle on the head, her gaze never wavering from the cranky male. “Ignore him.”
Levet gave a flick of his tail. “He’s rather large to ignore.”
A humorless smile curved Santiago’s lips. “Nefri can give you lessons. She’s made an art form of ignoring what she doesn’t want to have to deal with.” He waited until she reached the truck, his finger lifting to stroke down her cheek. “Haven’t you, cara?”
She refused to flinch from his glare. Maybe she had been too swift to protect herself from the emotions Santiago threatened to expose. And clearly she could have been more sensitive to his male ego.
But now was hardly the time to be bickering.
“Are we going or not?” she demanded in cool tones.
“Oh, we’re going.”
“Yes, well.” Levet cleared his throat. “Perhaps I should—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Santiago snapped, grabbing the gargoyle by one horn and tossing him into the truck.
“Mon dieu,” Levet squeaked as he landed on the leather seat.
Rolling her eyes, Nefri rounded the back of the truck to slide into the passenger side, in a cowardly way pleased to have the gargoyle between her and Santiago.
Not that she believed he would ever try to harm her. Santiago was by nature a protector and no matter how she might infuriate him, he would never strike out. Besides, she had enough power to protect herself from any enemy.
No, she simply didn’t want to spend the next few hours rehashing her impulsive decision to share Santiago’s bed only to panic when she awoke in his arms.