Page 10 of Under a Wicked Moon
He tilted her chin to force eye contact. “I’m going to be fine. It’s a scratch. I’ll heal.”
“It’s my fault. I should’ve warned you about the collar. I could’ve prevented this.”
“It’s over. You’re not at fault.” He touched her chin again, his forefinger cradling the side of her cheek. “I don’t know what they did to you in here, but I promise we’ll get out.” His perusal traveled across her face to her neck and down, his eyes dilating. He whispered hoarsely, “So goddamned beautiful. You should stay away from me. Or we’ll both end up naked.” He fisted her hair in his hand to angle her head back and lean in to press his nose against her neck. After a long inhale that was more erotic than a kiss, more reverent than any words, he said, “Your core would throb harder than this before I’d give it to you hard and deep. And then I’d do it again.” He released her.
She jumped to the other side of the room, her body at the edge of detonation.
…
In Gaelic he said, “We need to talk strategy on how to get out of here. I have a plan, but to talk about it, we need to make it look like we’re, uh, getting it on. That way, we can whisper, and they might not worry about what we’re saying.”
She blinked.
He held up his hands. “Swear on my honor this isn’t an ulterior motive. I may be thinking it, but I won’t act on it.”
“But you just almost lost it.”
“I’m better now.”
“Behave yourself,” she muttered. He was unsure if she meant it for him or herself. She scooted down the bench toward him and loudly in English said, “Maybe I should massage your shoulders. Might help the stiffness.”
“I’d like that.”
She moved in behind him and began gently kneading his shoulders. She leaned in next to his ear and whispered in Gaelic once more, “Get aggressive or try to take us there, and I’ll rip you to shreds.”
“Good. Keep that line of thinking,” he murmured even though her threat evoked images of ripping off clothes.Not helping.
Her hands were magic. The feel of them working his muscles through the thin fabric, her smelling so exquisite this close…Stay focused.
But he didn’t want to. He almost moaned when she touched his neck and moved up into the back of his scalp.
Somehow, he whispered, “How many cameras?”
“Three.”
“Do they monitor them all the time?”
“I think they do it remotely in the middle of the night. They might leave a skeletal team here right now, but there’s not much movement through the night outside the door.”
“I’ll get the door open without touching it this time. Is the collar triggered to go off if we pass through the door or touch it?”
“Touch only. But they can shock you remotely any time in here.”
“Can you turn the collar off with the magic?” He watched her closely.
“No.” She moved her hand back to work his neck muscles.
“Have you tried?”
When she didn’t reply, he craned around to see her.
She tugged her lip through her teeth. He swallowed a moan and tried to disregard all thoughts of soothing the abused skin with his tongue.
Hoarsely, he said, “I know about the mark. Suffice it to say I know a lot about magic, probably a lot more than you do. I have no issue with you or the magic. Your secret is safe with me. Have you tried deactivating the collar?”
She nodded.
“And you can’t do it?” he promoted.
