Page 19 of Beloved
Yes, my stomach was in knots, but the little voice in my head was whispering the prisoner wasn’t here to hurt me. Whether or not he was a bad man was something else entirely.
Once the lock was free on the latch, I placed it so when the door was closed, no one would be able to tell it had been unlocked.
Unless they pulled on it.
I held my breath as I opened the door, my entire body shaking. The interior was cavernous, the darkness threatening to derail the adventure with a panic attack. As I struggled to catch mybreath from raging nerves, I heard a noise. Just as I swung the flashlight in the direction of the sound, Goldie decided to ignore her training as she’d done before, rushing inside.
Just as a blur lunged in my direction, a solid block wall slamming into me and knocking me onto my back, the flashlight pitching from my hand. While I’d been attacked, Golden didn’t seem overly bothered that I was in danger.
I realized I’d cinched my eyes shut just like I did when watching scary movies, hopeful by doing so the monster wouldn’t see me.
A whimper escaped my lips as the person who’d attacked me shifted his weight, not to crush me, but to give me more air. His heavy sigh was followed by a series of curse words. Russian curse words. A hard hand clamped hard over my lips, his hot breath skipping across my face.
He smelled of sweat and dirt, yet the brutal work he’d performed only added to the tingling sense of desire.
Golden moved closer, shifting the flashlight on the ground until his face was illuminated, shimmering in the dancing beam. That’s when I found the courage to look my attacker directly in the face.
As I’d experienced before, I was caught in a moment of shock, unprepared for the venom in his eyes or the sense of danger that had become overwhelming.
“Posmotri na menya, printsessa,” he directed then slowly removed his hand.
I understood the word look and princess, but not the others. His voice was gravellier than before, barely a deep whisper as he nuzzled his face against my neck. I remained rigid from shock,uncertain now that I was here, what I was supposed to do. As soon as I turned my head toward the exterior wall, he grumbled again, using two fingers in controlling my chin.
After being forced to look him in the eye again, I shuddered audibly. “Malorossiyskiy.” Little Russian, I’d told him. “Italian?”
His snort was full of irritation. “Molto poco italiano.”
Very little Italian.
I had no idea how we were supposed to communicate. “English?”
“Some.”
After breathing a sigh of relief, I was no longer certain what to say to him. He kept his hold on my chin, peering down at me for a few seconds before noticing the bag I’d brought with me that was halfway stuck underneath my body.
He glanced toward the open door and I had a sense he was ready to bolt. I don’t know what possessed me, but I cupped his face, biting back another whimper when I did. The touch was even more powerful than earlier in the day. I was momentarily caught off guard until he moved away, still studying the open door.
“You can’t,” I offered in English.
His head snapped in my direction, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowing. “Why?”
“There are guards everywhere. At least twenty surrounding the property. They pass every fifteen minutes like clockwork.”
He narrowed his eyes, studying me before turning his attention to Golden. I could sense he wasn’t certain he could trust me.When I moved, trying to get up, he acted as if he was prepared to keep me here.
“It’s okay. Let me close the door.” He had every right to be concerned. As soon as I moved, I could see his face better in the light. “Mio Dio. Cosa ti hanno fatto? La faccia?”
My God. What did they do to you? Your face?
When I was anxious, words rushed from my mouth and always in Italian. I also did the unthinkable, brushing my fingertips across the horrible cut near his eye. Someone had beaten him up. One eye was very swollen, his lip was split wide open, and he would bruise terribly.
Even with the destruction, Mr. Beautiful Blue Eyes still maintained a sexy Greek god face.
He curled his upper lip, still uncertain what to think of me, but the longer I stroked his face, the less tense he remained. Until finally, he pulled my hand free, placing a single kiss on my palm.
For a girl who was rarely touched by anyone and had never been kissed, the swell of sensations and emotions were close to being crippling.
But I caught sight of my watch, scrambling to get to the door before we were caught. Once it was closed, I took a deep breath. If I kept the beam low, there was no way the guards could manage to see the light. Or so I hoped.
