Page 29 of Taken to Kor
She does not find herself beautiful. Could that be her concern? That she finds herself inadequate relative to me?
“Interesting,” I breathe.
“What is?”
“Mathilda’s skill with manipulation and psychological torture.”
Deena makes a sound that is all but confirmation of my assessment. At least some of her tension deflates as the topic returns to her kinswoman. “You have no idea.”
“I would like to.”
“To what?”
“Have an idea.”
“Don’t you already? You were always listening.”
“I was, but I could only hear you.”
She does not respond to this, but continues to try to look anywhere but at my face. Every so often, however, she steals a glance. I suppose steal isn’t the right word. They’re all freely given.
I pause again on the rungs and she tenses, as expected. I touch her face again, prepared for her to attempt to retreat. I don’t let her, but slip my hand around the back of her neck and hold her still while I lean forward and press my lips to her forehead. She tastes like a fever dream, raw, unrepentant adrenaline crashing like a wave on the rocks. She tastes like war.
Frozen as she is, when I pull back, she doesn’t retreat. I tilt her chin up and lick the blood from her bottom lip with my tongue. “I will fix it, Deena.”
She gasps and jerks in my arms. I can see her expression in the dark and it’s lost. Adrenaline or something more? I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter. “What?”
“I will fix what she broke in you.”
“You…you mean my leg?”
I growl, frustrated and my hand tightens in her hair, pulling harder than I wholly mean to. “Deena, I will tell you only once, I have no idea what you’re talking about. You will have to show me whatever is wrong with your leg when we are alone…” My hand drops from her neck to the front of her chest. I trace the outline of whatever contraption she wears that cage her breasts, warring with myself on whether or not to tear it off. “…and I have ample time to examine it, along with the rest of you.”
“But…you…don’t want me for shekurr.”
“Centare. I don’t. I don’t want to share.”
She winces, but I tighten my hand around her right breast and she shivers and straightens and releases a little breathy moan. She’s breathing hard again and her eyelids are fluttering and the shadow of a fleeting guilt flutters over me. Maybe she is crashing and I’m making things worse by making lewd suggestions and pawing at her like I am. As things stand now, I don’t even know ifshewantsme,though I’m fairly confident she does.
I’m confident in all things and have confidence enough for us both. One day soon, I will teach her to wield a confidence that is all her own.
“I will teach you,” I say, ending the conversation as a voice flutters through my token. Herannathon’s. “Rhorkanterannu, you and Deena need to hurry up. You need to see thisnow.”
“Teach me what?”
“Everything.” I withdraw my palm from her chest and reposition my hands around her bottom, hoisting her up and tighter against me as her grip goes momentarily slack.
“You’re not making any sense, Rhork.”
I grin at her use of my nickname as I take the rungs two at a time and begin moving faster. Looking up, I can see now that we’re the last two left in the shaft and a light filters through the opening in the wall my pirates disappeared through.
“I am making sense. You just aren’t hearing me.”
She opens her mouth to reply, but at the same time, a screech from above is followed by a pirate’s roar. A pale body suddenly sails down the shaft dangerously close to where Deena and I climb. I pull myself over her body, arching to prevent the creature from clawing at her without first impaling itself on my spines. It narrowly misses me. I can feel the air whoosh across my back as it plummets past.
“A little warning next time!” Deena shouts up the shaft. Her words are met with laughter, some of it mine.
A face peers over the edge of the opening andQuintenanrretand another male, Rhegaran, reach down to grab my upper arms and help lift me up. Only when I’ve got my feet firmly planted beneath me do I set Deena down. I take her hand in mine and weave between the pirates who I think part more for Deena’s benefit than they do for mine.
