Page 84 of Auctioned for Her Blood
His hot breath warms my body, but the sound sends chills into my heart. I don’t know much about bears, but the cry sounded more like pain than a warning or battle cry.
His snout nears me, and I hear snuffling sounds as he takes in my scent, then his head turns, and one of his enormous shoulders presses against my body.
Firmly, but gently.
The bear’s not trying to crush me, I hope, and the heat from his body and the softness of his fur makes me moan in relief.
My hands lift off the stone wall and fall onto his fur, and my upper arms soak in the warmth. If I’m going to die, at least I’ll die warmer. The thought of fighting against this beast ridiculous. I could fight, but I’d lose.
The bear backs up a few steps and my hands slide out of his fur, then he rises onto his hind legs again, filling me with terror.
One of his paws lands on the stone wall above and next to me, the beast’s chest now in front of my face, his scent musky, but not unpleasant—fur with a faint hint of campfire smoke.
His other paw lands on the stone near my waist and he tugs me, as if hoping to nudge me off the cold wall.
One of his claws presses hard against my flesh, and I jerk forward to avoid being punctured.
The bear scoops me off my feet, then rolls down and onto his side, enveloping me, completely trapping me in his powerful body and warmth.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ryker
Seeing Ember in that hallway,I felt the worst terror of my life—and I’ve been through some shit.
Now, my fear has morphed into rage, but I mask my emotions. Every instinct inside me says that drawing Tavi’s attention to Ember would mean she’d take my place in that torture chamber, or something even more horrible, so for now I must leave her behind.
Adding insult to injury, I have to walk alongside this Zuben asshole—the one who got us arrested.
I cannotwaitto kill him. I’ll tear him apart with my bare hands.
When I woke down here, I was stripped naked and strapped into that chair, my skin already burning from silver cuffs and my body aching from the aftereffects of whatever it was they injected into my bloodstream. I assume the same shit they used the first time Zuben had me picked up.
The masked guards had several vamps take my vein, and I was forced to watch them burn. Then my chair got dragged under that shaft of sunlight, Diederik showed up and my own torture started. The sunlight burns were horrific, so horrific I’m not even sure when Octavia entered the room, but I didn’t give up a thing—especially once I realized they thought my blood would let vampires walk in the light, and who they were really after was Ember.
I thump my fist against my leg. I should have been more careful. It should have been obvious that those vamps in the square weren’t cops. Distracted by Ember’s kiss, I wasn’t paying fucking attention.
Serves me right for thinking with my dick.
If I hadn’t kissed her in the square, none of this would have happened.
But I need to focus on what’s most important now. My urge to save Ember is strong, but I need to look out for number one. Always. Call me selfish, but I know who I am.
What’s best for me always comes first.
We reach a huge metal door, and massive iron bars grind as they unlock, shifting to the side. One of the DEFTA security guards pulls a lever and the huge door itself slides, revealing an industrial-sized elevator cab. The group enters, Octavia encircled by her five burly lovers, who stick to her like erotic glue.
Once, several decades ago, Octavia wanted me as her mate, and I have to admit her offer was tempting—for about thirty seconds. As great as the sex was, once upon a time, no way would I ever give up my freedom to be with one woman forever. No fucking way.
Ember. Fuck. I wince as I think of her again. Right now, the idea of losing her seems even worse than being tied down to one woman. Is she the one who might make me commit?
Nah. Who am I kidding? I’m not wired for anything long-term, and even if I were, no way would I deserve someone like Ember.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to get her released, and to do that, I need to talk to Octavia. I need to charm her, figure out a way to get Ember out without revealing what her blood can do.
Because the main thing today’s torture exposed beyond pain, is that Ember’s blood only let me take sunlight for a limited time. And if Octavia discovers a way to walk in the light, Ember will spend the rest of her life locked up, kept barely alive while being daily drained of her blood.
The elevator doors open, and we enter a long, dark tunnel, walking far more quickly than any human could fathom, traveling miles in less than a minute without running.
