Page 77 of Wings of Lies
I went further and clutched his face. I needed him to see me as a person, not a thing. I needed him to have a conscience. “Please, Aspen.”
The red glow stuttered.
Pain flashed through his eyes, and for one unbelievable moment, his forehead dropped to mine as his hands came up, sending distracting vibrations into my cheeks. He squeezed his eyes shut as the red glow vanished. “I never wanted you to come here,” he said, sounding broken. “Why did you have to come here, Lucille?”
The rough ache in his voice and his confusing words paused my tears.What did that mean?
The way he spoke sounded like he knew me. But he didn’t. “What mind games are you playing?” I said, jerking out of his tender hold.
In the next second, he lifted his bowed head, and the scar beneath his chin glowed with a blood-red hue. His agonized expression changed right as his arms wrapped around my waist and picked me up. He luscelered us through the forest, back to camp, and against the side of the carriage.
My heart stopped. My breathing stopped. My thoughts fled.
Every inch of his body pressed against mine—leather to leather, knee to knee, chest to chest, and it would’ve been hip to hip, but his belt of daggers separated that connection. I couldn’t even breathe out a relieved sigh with his muscles entrapping my small form and shocking me with the heat of his body.
“Remember what I said if you ran, Lucille?” he whispered. His hand slid around my neck, making it tingle at the contact. “Did you want me to catch you? Punish you? Is that what you wanted when you created your mindless escape plan?” He went from cold to broken to filled with vindictive arrogance so fast my brain was trying to catch back up.
With my heart beating out of control, his body heat consuming mine, I had to take a second to gather myself.
“How is it mindless when the risks are the same? I either die with you or escape and die on my own in the forest,” I said, pushing back my useless tears and drowning in a deadly sea of blue.
That same flash of pain blinked in and out of his eyes. Once it left his expression, it was like I could still feel it. I didn’t understand.Why was he in pain?We didn’t know each other. I was a prisoner going to my death because of him. He shouldn’t feel any pain from my words.But more importantly, why could I feel it?
Sensing emotions wasn’t part of my powers, not that I knew of. Plus, why now, and why only him?
Focusing on the softly lit navy and purple ring and not the confusing emotions lurking in my battered chest, I interrupted whatever he was about to say.
“What does the blue ring mean?”
One side of his plush lips tugged. A predatorial gleam sparked as he tightened his hand around my neck, uncomfortable but not suffocating.
He lowered his face to the side of my head. “Would you believe it if I said demon?”
The movement of his lips sent little flares of electricity into my ear and crawled down my spine. I shivered.
“No,” I said, not expecting that answer to come out of my mouth. It was instinctual, with absolutely no evidence to back it. He controlled my life. He held it in his dangerous hands and was about to give it over to be snuffed out. I hated him, his tingles, his eyes, how worthless he found me. He handed over multiple girls to be killed. So my answer shouldn’t have been no. Yet it was. When I opened my mouth to take it back, something tickled in my brain, holding me back.
He stared at me with an utter look of shock. I was pretty sure my expression mirrored his.
He recovered fast, lowering his head to the side of my face. “Stay the fuck out of the forest,sweetheart.” I flinched as air pushed into my lobe. “I have one job to do, and I won’t fail.”
Tilting my face up to his ear, I reached the pulse underneath his jaw—a vulnerable, throbbing spot that worked in my favor. I still didn’t know if the tingles only tormented me, but if they didn’t—I smirked, brushing my lips to his neck, feeling his muscles tense. “Go tohell,” I whispered. The pounding of his heartbeat bounced against my lips and pebbled nipples before I leaned back.
For a minute, there was absolute silence as he stayed frozen, no comeback nor arrogant retorts, only a feathering in his jaw.
I had to admit I was pretty impressed with myself.
His hand came up from my neck and gripped my chin, stealing my attention with his touch. “So help me, Lucille. If you try to escape again, I will chain you to the carriage.”
“I could just melt…” I trailed off as Aspen stiffened, and my head throbbed. I forgot what I was about to say, and the throbbing quieted.
Weird.
Aspen took a step back, gazing at me with an odd expression. “Stay here. Stay safe,” he whispered so softly I wasn’t sure I heard him right. I was almost positive I didn’t.
The moment he dropped his hand, ceasing the tingles, a red light pulsed beneath his chin, and whatever pain I sensed from him vanished.
“Why does your chin glow red?” I asked.
