His arm curved around her waist, an impenetrable force. “Come then, Up Yours, and I will show you the palace.” He ushered her up that long, winding staircase, coarse and crudely built.
Not knowing what else to do, she followed without protest. Really, what could she say? Leave me in this cold, dank cave to rot? God, what kind of nightmare had she entered? Every second that passed became more surreal and damning than the last.
There had to be another way home; she had only to find it. Shaye studied the markings on the wall. The higher she stepped, the less jagged the rocks became. They appeared to be dusted with glitter, sparkling and inviting her to touch. Unable to resist, she brushed her fingertip over the smooth surface.
Valerian stopped abruptly. She bumped into his back and gasped at the fiery, full-body contact. As she hastily backed away, he spun around and faced her. He pushed her against the cold wall, his frown fierce, his turquoise eyes gleaming with purpose.
“Close your eyes,” he commanded.
His imposing stance didn’t frighten her. No, she struggled against a surge of excitement. Heady, blissful excitement. “Hell, no,” she said.
“That was not a request, love. That was a demand.”
“You should have taken me home when you had the chance. I’ll never do anything you say. I told you that before.”
One of his brows arched. “Keep your eyes open, then.”
She smirked. “Nice try.”
He pushed out a frustrated breath. “I do not want you to know the way back to the portal. Do not force me to blindfold you.”
“Force you? Please.” Her smirk became a glare. “I seriously doubt I could force you to do anything you didn’t already want to do. The same holds true for me. I don’t like you, I don’t trust you and you’ll never be able to bend me to your will.”
“I could have lied to you.” As he spoke, he closed the small distance between them, crowding her, eating up her personal space. But he didn’t touch her. No, he left her craving it. “I could have told you that you would go blind if you looked at the rocks. You would not have known the difference. But there will be only truth between us. No matter how harsh, I will always tell you the truth.”
Her defiance drained, and fear claimed center stage—past the kernels of desire fighting for life. His tone was so final. He truly expected her to remain here. He truly expected her to obey him. To trust him.
Valerian had said before that he and his men wanted her and the others for their bodies. Translation: sex. Were they to be sex slaves? Was she to be Valerian’s slave? Shaye’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. She’d die first—and kill every male within reach in the process. She’d spent her childhood a slave to her parents’ edicts. Kiss your new daddy, Shaye. Give that woman my phone number, Shaye. Don’t you dare use profanity, Shaye.
She’d fought hard for her independence and would relinquish it to no one.
“Did the other women have to close their eyes?” she asked.
He ran his tongue over his teeth. “No.”
“Well, there’s your answer.”
He leaned his face close to hers, cutting away the remaining distance inch by precious inch. His warm breath caressed her face, but still he didn’t touch her. His male scent wafted deliciously. “Unlike you, the others will not try to escape.”
“I don’t know about that. The one with the curly black hair didn’t look happy to be here.”
Something dark settled over his expression.
Don’t infuriate the man. No telling what he’ll do. “What if I promise not to try and escape?” She didn’t plan to try, she planned to succeed.
“I would laugh at such a blatant untruth and then scold you for lying to your man.”
“You are not my man!”
“Not yet.” But I will be echoed between them, unsaid, yet powerful nonetheless.
“Not ever,” she said through clenched teeth.
His brow puckered, confusion settling over his beautiful features. “You continue to amaze me. How are you able to resist me with such fervor?”
Was she resisting him? She didn’t know. She’d never felt so…needy. Even now, when defiance beat hard fists through her, her heart pounded, her skin stretched too tight. His heat slithered over her, inside her, shattering and chipping away at the ice she prized. Her nipples still reached for him. Her legs parted slightly, inviting an intimate glide, a hard press. Just…inviting.
His nostrils flared as if he sensed her growing arousal. If he moved another inch, he’d mesh himself fully against her. Finally. Part of her screamed in protest, part of her trembled in welcome.
“I want to touch you and kiss you, love, and feel—”
“No!” she shouted. “No kissing. No touching. And for God’s sake, stop calling me ‘love.’” But, oh, the thought of his lips feasting on hers was heady. “I don’t know you, and like I said, I damn sure don’t like you. You abducted me. You deserve jail time, not a makeout session.”
“I can make you like me.” He braced his palms on each side of her head, trapping her in a hard, muscled circle, touching her hair but not her skin. “Oh, I can make you.”
The truth of his claim shimmered between them unmercifully. Because deep down, she admitted that with every second that passed, she liked him more. She wanted him more. Wanted that skin-to-skin contact he was denying her. Was he doing it on purpose? Making her desperate for something she couldn’t have?
Idiot! Shaye didn’t need a lot of experience with men to know she dangled on a precarious edge. If he pushed, she would crumble. She would take the momentary pleasure he offered and be glad for it. But in the taking, she would be no better than the others, forgetting his atrocious crime and throwing herself at his sexy feet.
She’d be one of those pathetic creatures who did anything for pleasure, everything for love. Just like her mom.
Make him despise you. Hurt him. Now! Determined, she jerked up her knee. He anticipated the action and jumped backward, out of striking distance. His mouth thinned and firmed.
“I warn you now.” He met her gaze, otherworldly blue against plain brown. Determination against determination. “Fight me if you must, but do not attempt escape. I will punish you, have no doubt.”
She forced herself to snort. “I haven’t begun to fight. And what the hell do you mean, you’ll punish me?” The fury she didn’t have to force. It increased with every word she uttered. “A little while ago you said you could never hurt me.”
“There are ways to punish a woman that will not physically hurt her.”
“And I bet you know every one of them, you sick pervert.”
He released a long, frustrated sigh. “We have not the time
