He turns us, still holding me firmly from behind.
In all my life, no one’s ever held me like this. No one’s ever gotten the upper hand on me.
“Darrio, shit, you’re scaring the hell out of her. Let her go already.” The man with identical features to my captor gives him an impatient look, his brow raising as he studies us. “You two look cute like that, by the way.”
“Shut up, Daxdyn,” Darrio says in a gruff voice.
His twin smirks at him, seeming pleased that he got under his brother’s skin so easily.
“Both of you knock it off. We need her.”
Calm breaths meet my lungs as I force the adrenaline building in me to a dull hum.
“What do you want?” I ask in a sharp but reasonable tone.
The blonde, the one I just introduced my knee to, gives me an odd look.
“You got a lot of fight in you for someone who nearly died an hour ago,” he tells me.
My lips part. Nothing but a surprised breath escapes.
He’s lying. It doesn’t stop the doubt from circling my mind, though.
“What do you want?” I stiffen my spine to my full height, my body going rigid in Darrio’s arms. Out of the corner of my eye I can see his dark beard pressed against the top of my head.
Thin lines slash up and down the bronze forearms wrapped around me. Scars kiss his skin; the scars of a man who’s seen battle too many times it appears. My attention lingers there for a moment before staring up at the men in front of me.
“We need you to take us somewhere,” the blonde tells me hesitantly. “We were drugged and captured over a year ago and we need to get home. We don’t even know where we are.”
Does he expect me to feel bad for him?
“And why would I help you?” I pause, my brow arching high, “Again.”
Darrio shifts until his dark hair can be seen. I turn to him and he narrows his gray eyes at me. “Do you really feel you’re in the right position to be sounding so condescending?” His words are gruff and clipped, and the way his voice sounds almost holds my attention for a moment. It’s a voice you feel everywhere on your body; an alluring sound that you want to hear as a whisper against your neck.
Swiftly, I shake the thought from my head.
I roll my eyes at him and the other two men smile back at me.
The man with short, light hair takes a few steps closer to me. His hand reaches up and he pushes back my long, tangled hair with ease. My teeth clench together painfully as I shake my hair away from his touch.
“We did save your life. Isn’t that reason enough?” he asks.
A tingling feeling races through my body and my fingers twitch at my side with the memory of the dagger sinking into my flesh.
Was that real?
I push the strange memory away. My shoulders square and I cling to my confidence.
“You’ll have to do better than that; my life isn’t worth very much.” My lips quirk into a smile I don’t feel.
“I like her,” Daxdyn says with a smirk that warms his eyes.
“You like everyone,” Darrio replies in an even tone.
“Her especially.” Daxdyn gives me a wink that makes him too attractive for his own good. He’s all smooth features and even smoother talk.
I’ve met a thousand men like him in my life. His charming swagger will get him killed one day. I’d bet money on it.
