Succubus Chained (Paranormal Prison) Page 5

  “Yeah but that was totally different,” Fin countered. “One, we had no way of knowing what those trolls were hiding, and two, if the scouts hadn’t shot first and tried to ask questions later, he wouldn’t have slaughtered them.”

  I had to admit, I was getting more curious by the minute.

  “And to be totally fair,” Fin continued. “We were this close to getting our heads chopped off.”

  “That’s because someone doesn’t know how to follow a plan.” That someone was clearly Fin. I’d just met him, and the fact he had impulse issues couldn’t be clearer if he’d taken out a neon advertising sign.

  “Oh, I know how to follow a plan,” Fin argued in a smooth tone, then leaned toward me. “I definitely know how to follow a plan, it’s just that when it’s a stupid plan, I like to get creative.”

  His shoulder brushed mine, and the sense of nothingness hit me. My palms itched to reach out and put a hand on him.

  “Fin,” Maddox growled. “When did you send for Rogue?”

  “About an hour before we left.” The cheerfulness in his voice pulled a reluctant smile from me. The fact Maddox actually exhaled the most put upon sigh so heavily made me laugh.

  The chuckle worked its way up from my belly, and I shook from it. I almost felt sorry for Maddox.

  Almost.

  But really, fucking with his day? Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

  “She thinks I’m funny,” Fin said with a grin in his voice. “You like me best, don’t you?”

  Still chuckling, I almost answered in the affirmative, in spite of the fact that I would rather be back on my rather monotonous routine if I had to be stuck in this place. Probably better to not encourage them. Then again, Maddox’s derisive snort made me rethink that. Dropping my hand onto Fin’s thigh, I said, “I absolutely do like you better.”

  Not best.

  But better.

  There, suck on that dick face.

  I didn’t really get to savor Maddox’s response though, because that sense of nothingness regarding Fin only intensified. No heat. No pulse. No sense of him being there, and yet, I could touch him.

  “You’re astral projecting.” Shock rippled through me.

  “Very good, beautiful,” Fin complimented me. “I was supposed to meet you hours ago, but apparently, Maddox doesn’t know his ups from his downs and totally screwed the pooch on the introductions. I didn’t want to wait a couple more days, so—voila. Here I am, and not too soon, if you don’t mind me bragging.”

  Another aggrieved sigh from Maddox made me smile wider. Fin could really push his buttons.

  Still…

  “To be fair, he could have been out of here, but he insisted on following me.” I shrugged. “I’m the one who came down the stairs instead of up. Oops.”

  “It’s all right, anyone could get turned around in here. Sometimes down is the way to go. Who knows, by the time Rogue gets here, you might have to go down to get up, and then we’ll go right to get left. It’ll be a whole thing. But we’ll both be here to help Maddox out so he doesn’t get lost.”

  “You really aren’t helping,” Maddox said, his tone bland and bored before he moved back to the cot. When he dropped to sit right on top of Fin, I expected more of a protest than an exasperated sigh.

  Then the shadow disconnected itself from him and stood. “You know I hate it when you do that.”

  “Amazing the things we do that we know will irritate the other.”

  “True,” Fin admitted. “I’m guilty of that.” Then he turned to me again, and the shadowy hand came to rest against my thigh this time as he knelt. “I’m honored to meet you, Fiona MacRieve, I don’t know if I said that earlier.”

  “No,” I told him. “Not really. But I’ll bite, why are you honored?”

  “You’re the—”

  “Fin.” Maddox’s snarl cut him off. “Later. For now, find us a route out of here preferably before Rogue arrives. This is an extraction, not a war.”

  “Eh,” Fin, said. “It’s kind of both. Even you have to admit that. With the lovely Fiona here the prize at the center of the maze. We just have to get through all the mini-bosses to the big boss, and boom, we get the girl.”

  “Okay,” I said, removing his shadowy hand off my thigh with two fingers. “Bored now.”

  “Ha.” You could practically taste the smirk in Maddox’ tone.

  “First, no one asked for rescue. Second, I’m not some helpless damsel. Third, I’m nobody’s fucking prize.”

  “I can’t wait to lay my real eyes on you when we rescue you,” Fin said. “You’re delightful.”

  Then he vanished, and it took everything I had not to scream.

  “Do either of you actually listen?” I demanded.

  Maddox shrugged before he looped an arm around my shoulders and dragged me against the furnace of his body. If I really were a kitten, I’d sink in my claws and shred him before I sprawled out to doze in the heat. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be surrounded by this much warmth. The only heat I’d had came when Dorran…

  “Oh.” Fin popped back in and gave Maddox a start. His jerk betrayed his surprise, which I’d bet on my best pair of shoes—well, second best at any rate, since my best ones got trashed in the same incident that landed me here. “Don’t believe a word Maddox says about me. He really does love me, he just doesn’t know how to show emotions. He’s very sixteenth century in his affections.”

  Then Fin vanished again, and I chuckled.

  “You really do like him,” Maddox stated, and I couldn’t tell if he was disgusted or pleased by that revelation.

  “Don’t be jealous,” I advised. “I haven’t really met him met him yet.”

  “True.” That seemed to please him way too much though.

  “Then again, I like him more than you—so that’s something.”

  A rumbling growl was his only answer, and I tipped my head to rest against his shoulder and went back to designing my house. Better to not get attached to anything. ‘Cause the first opportunity I had, hasta la vista, grumpstiltskin, and his nutty buddy, Fin.

  Chapter 5

  “Reality doesn’t impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.” - Anais Nin

  The sudden tension cording the arm I dozed against as the torches whooshed to life in the corners of the room woke me. “It’s morning,” I told him, then let my eyes fall closed again. The heat rolling off him probably shimmered the air, but I wasn’t going to complain.

  “That’s the only marker for time shifts?” Dislike crackled between the words.

  “Well, I ordered the turn down service and breakfast in bed, but the service here is you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.” A yawn elongated the last word.

  When he rumbled a growl, I leaned away and began to stretch. Fine, if he was awake, it was hard to justify using him as a pillow. Though to be fair, I didn’t think he’d actually slept. It was more like he’d just been quiet, and I could sleep without remorse for using him as a pillow.

  The arm he had around me tightened, and he dragged me back with a huff. “You don’t have to move,” he said, then pressed his chin to the top of my head. He was a big dude, but I wasn’t a damn doll.

  “If you’re talking, you’re up,” I told him, and peeled his hand away from my waist as I stood. The room swayed, but I locked my legs to keep from falling on my ass. The last thing I wanted was to give Mad Dog Twenty there a chance to scoop me up.

  As soon as I was sure I wouldn’t collapse, I made my way to the toilet in the corner. Dropping my drawers, I took a seat and emptied my bladder. Some people would be put off by being on display. Me? Not so much. I didn’t invite him. He was just lucky I didn’t have to crap. I had no problems with giving him a stink bomb he would remember.

  Finishing, I flushed the evidence then stripped out of the top and pants to begin my daily wipe down. The water from the sink was always cold.
But it was clean, and there was no taint to it. The ache in my wrists served as the only reminder of the damage the shackles had done. He’d done a very effective job cleaning the injuries. Had he healed them or just sealed the injuries? I’d certainly burned enough resources in the recovery, so it was a fifty-fifty debate on who owed what to whom.

  The items in question were no longer on the floor. He must have recovered them when his friend beamed in for a visit. Ignoring the chill, I wiped down the best I could with what passed for soap. What I wouldn’t give to wash my hair in a real shower. So far, I’d made do with washing it in the sink, but there was no conditioner, and even my hair needed something. Dipping my head, I twisted to get it under the water.

  A pained groan issued from behind me, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Don’t look if you can’t handle it,” I told him.

  “Oh, I can handle you just fine,” Maddox informed me. “Though you’re lucky it’s me and not someone else. Not everyone would be so restrained.”

  I snorted. “No one takes anything from me,” I reminded him as I worked the soap through my hair. Eyes closed, I massaged my scalp. “And intentions matter.”

  “Fair.” The single grunt was his only response. I appreciated his lack of challenging the assertion. All things being equal, I didn’t need to deal with another flood of choking testosterone. That said, I didn’t question the fact he wouldn’t try to take what hadn’t been offered to him.

  Like I said, intentions mattered. His lust hung over him like a cloud of electricity, buzzing the air with its presence. But he also hadn’t moved from his spot on the cot, nor had his focus lasered on to me. After rinsing the soap out, I wrung the hair as best I could, then straightened.

  I almost objected to putting the clothes back on, but I didn’t have anything else to wear, so clean or dirty, the ugly drab gray would have to do. The top clung to me in places, and my dripping hair soaked the back. The chill raced over my flesh, but I ignored it as I stepped into the pants.

  Unsurprisingly there were no blood bags on the floor. That was a nice change of pace. I never touched the damn things anyway. Finished, I headed for the corner I’d sat in the day before when Maddox released a warning growl and stood. The cell suddenly seemed far too small for the two of us as his presence billowed out, carrying heat with it that chased away my chill.

  “Sit.”

  “Not a dog.”

  The baleful look he sent me promised a hell of a fight, then he exhaled. “Kitten…don’t provoke me. This whole situation is grating on my nerves. I do not want to take it out on you.”

  The request surprised me. It wasn’t an order. The fact that he asked followed by the explanation pleased me on a level I wasn’t going to examine at the moment. Instead, I had a counter offer. “Answer a question for me?”

  If my response surprised him, he gave no indication. In the light from the torches, he seemed even bigger than he had the day before. His shadow stretched even further across the walls, even as his eyes reflected the flickering flames. They weren’t slitted at the moment, but more normal. The hazel-green a pretty enough color. Almost simple.

  Yet nothing about Maddox was at it appeared.

  That much I didn’t doubt.

  He shrugged. “Ask.”

  “Why are you here? I mean really. Why come to get me? You don’t know me. We’ve never met before.” I’d have remembered him. “So why risk it to get in here?” This place was legend. Most who were consigned within its walls never returned. Those rare few who had? Well, it was said they weren’t the same.

  Granted, rumors and urban legends weren’t precisely facts, but they were all I had to work with.

  “Because what you are isn’t a crime,” he said simply. “And we take care of our own.”

  While vastly unspecific, it was an answer. Before I could press the point, a shuffle and scrape from the hallway seemed to echo in the silence. We both stilled, but Maddox went from looming over the bed to next to the door in the blink of an eye.

  That shit was unnerving.

  If he could move that fast, how had I outrun him?

  Oh. I nailed him in the balls.

  Right.

  Even supergrunt there needed time to catch his breath.

  Good to know.

  “We’ll get you out of here, Kitten,” he continued when I said nothing. “You may trust that if you trust nothing else.”

  I trusted very little, but sure, why not? Shrugging, I moved back to the bed and took a seat. Crossing my legs, I leaned back against the wall and let my eyes drop half-closed. I was far more tired than I wanted to tell him. The lost blood volume wasn’t a problem. Maybe if I hadn’t fed so well before, but I was still weary.

  Even though I wasn’t looking at him, the weight of his stare settled on me like a tangible presence. Finally, he moved to the sink, and from beneath my lashes, I caught the flash of golden skin as he shed his shirt and then washed his face and chest.

  The ripple of muscle didn’t surprise me. Having been gripped to that steely body, I wouldn’t expect anything else. When he finished, he ducked his head under the water, and slicked back his sandy brown hair away from his face. It just gave him a more angular look, not that it was a bad look.

  When he turned to use the toilet, I closed my eyes and let him have his privacy.

  See, I had manners, unlike some people.

  The image of my house flickered to life, and I began to do some rearranging in the room I’d make my bedroom. I wanted it to be as spacious as possible, no walls to hem me in. Having floor to ceiling windows all along one side would help.

  Unless the sun turns you into a pile of ashes, then you better invest in a good vacuum for the next residents.

  Shoving that wordy bitch out of my head, I debated the color scheme. I wanted blues in the bathroom. The sea and the seashore were good themes. But the bedroom? Soft creams, maybe, nothing too bold. I wanted it to be restful.

  Heat settled next to me, and an arm slid around me. I didn’t fight the tug as he settled me right against him. I’d actually gotten chilled after the cold wash and the fact that my hair was still wet.

  “What are you thinking about so hard you have a tiny frown right here?” He traced a finger between my eyebrows, and I flicked my eyes open to find him studying me intensely. His shirt was back in place, and his damp hair had already begun to dry. Guess all that heat he put off took care of that quick.

  The words ‘none of your business’ lingered on my tongue. Not that what I was doing was really a state secret. “I’m building a house.”

  Surprise reflected in his narrowed eyes. “A house?”

  I nodded. “A retreat. Some place just for me. I’m building it from the ground up, so it’s exactly what I want and where I want it.”

  Closing my eyes, I went back to my room and studied it from floors to ceiling. Carpets, definitely. I might do wood floors or tile in the main body of the house, but I wanted the good carpet in here. Did I want a fireplace?

  Yes. Images of a stone fireplace flickered to life, then river rock, I kept shifting the construction.

  “Can you show me?”

  The voice intruded, and I slid him a look. “What?”

  “Show me your house.”

  “No. I’m not done with it yet.”

  Despite his seeming repose, nothing about Maddox was relaxed. Likely, he tracked any sound in the hall, though there had been none since the earlier shuffle step. In theory, no one was supposed to be in this cell. We could languish here without detection unless they happened to open it up for a new occupant.

  Well, then we were fucked.

  “Tell me about it then.” The soft invitation in his voice came at a direct contrast to his aggravating and entitled tone of the day before.

  “No.”

  “Well that’s rude,” he chided me. “We’re alone. We have time. You could get to know me.”

  “Or you could shut up and let me build my house. I’ve been working on it f
or weeks. By the time I get out of here, I’ll be ready to build it.”

  To my absolute surprise, he went quiet. I half-waited for him to interrupt again. My focus divided between the half-formed nebulous bedroom and the very much present male currently binding me to his side. When his silence continued, I settled into the work of carpet selection, fireplace construction, and where the bed would go. The room would be open, not cluttered. There would clothing storage in the enormous walk-in. Plenty of space for my clothes and shoes without taking up the bedroom. I wanted nothing to obstruct the walls.

  Maybe one of them could be painted with a scene. A mountain glen came to mind—trees, grass, and a crystal lake. It was absolutely stunning and pristine in how untouched it was. I could escape all of humanity there. The peace twisted into my veins, and the lust for it flooded me.

  The water was cool, even on the warmest days of summer. The woods and the surrounding mountains boasted plenty of game. The location, tucked away so high, wasn’t near any crossroads or passes. To ascend to it would require master climbers and a sure knowledge of the way.

  It was the perfect escape from everything and everyone. The longer I stood there, the more I realized it was a very real place. This was no simple painting. I drew back from it until I stood only in my room again, and the wall stretched before me beckoned like a gateway.

  Almost as if it were saying, You know you want to come through. Come, play with me.

  Snapping my eyes open, I glared at Maddox. He was absolutely still next to me, his eyes closed and his breathing deep and regular.

  He wasn’t asleep though.

  “Afraid, Kitten?”

  “How are you doing that?”

  “He’s not,” Fin announced in a cheerful voice. “That would be me.”

  Of course it was.

  “Fin,” Maddox growled. “Have they reduced their security?”

  “Nope,” Fin stated. Even in the torchlight, I couldn’t quite make him out. The blurring seemed to take him just out of focus. Understanding that he wasn’t truly present helped, but it was equal parts irritating to focus on him and intriguing to discover how he pulled it off. “They’ve increased it.”