I’ll have to survive both themandMori.
13
CAMERON
The compartmentwe’re thrown into is actually pretty nice. There’s a window on the side of the train that’s adjacent to the sofa. A coffee table is nailed down in the center of the space and blankets are stacked near the rear. The lighting consists of two small lamps on each side of the couch.
I try to rein in my grin as I watch Emery nervously twist one of her long pink braids between her fingers. The blindfold is really bothering her, and I can tell she’s tempted to take it off. She seems more anxious now than she did when she was thrown into a cell with me.
“Why don’t you sit down? You’re just going to fall standing like that,” I mutter as I lean back on the couch and spread my legs to relax.
Emery stumbles as she tries to find her way through the compartment. I bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. Her frustrated expression is adorable. Much like her dreaming one is. I’ve watched this woman for countless hours already—all the time she spent with her nose buried in books, the frustration when she couldn’t ward off my training strikes, the weariness when she rolled in her sleep.
She won’t ever know it either—how well I’ve come to know her by expression alone. Her floral scent has all but consumed my mind.
“Where are you?” she whispers, with a hint of fear in her tone. It centers me and pulls me from my thoughts.
I tilt my head back, closing my eyes and smiling. She’s way too much fun to tease, so I don’t say anything to help her.
She lets out a small whimper as I hear her knee smack into the side of a small desk beside me. What I don’t expect is for her to accidentally fall into my lap when the train rattles.
Her braids fall over my shoulder. Emery’s small frame fits so nicely on my chest. I can’t believe how much broader my torso is than hers. Not that I haven’t noticed every night, but it’s different when we aren’t in bed in the dark.
Emery gasps and tries to sit up as fast as she can, jutting her ass into my crotch in the process. I suppress a groan at the pressure on my dick and hook an arm around her waist so she doesn’t fall to the ground.
“Slow down and chill the fuck out.” I laugh and her breathing evens out as she forces herself to take a few long, deep breaths. Emery’s muscles are stiff and her lower lip quivers. God, I want to bury my teeth into it.
“You have a habit of falling on my cock,” I say slowly, brushing my thumb over her lower back.
“You think I’m doing it on purpose?” she snaps. Her voice gets higher when I get on her nerves. So cute.
“Hard not to,” I tease, admiring the way her lips firm with frustration.
I pull her close until her chest is against mine. She’s so small that her head only reaches my pec. Her legs straddle my hips, creating heat between us. I wrap my arms around her back gently and rest my head to the side so I can watch her.
“I’m not sure I can wait much longer, love. Tell me one thing about you. It’s starting to bother me that I don’t even have a scrap.” I sound desperate for her to give me something,anything.I’m beginning to regret telling her to keep her mouth shut about her past.
“You don’t get to know personal things about me,” she says rigidly.
I chuckle and twist her braid between my fingertips.It’s cute that she thinks she could withhold information from the best interrogator on the Fury Squad.But I’ll play along. There are ways to get people to talk besides torture.
“Do you want to know one thing about me first?” I offer. She doesn’t reply, but the way her hands curl into themselves at my ribs tells me that I have her interest. “I hate the thought of being disposable. Being useless. And this fallout I seem to be having with the new strain of drug? It’s the scariest shit I’ve ever had to go through. I don’t want to be useless to them.” My heart beats faster with the admission.
Will she think less of me? Do I care? I’m actually not sure, and that thought is very unsettling.
She hesitates before murmuring, “I had to give up my dream to be an artist because of my family’s business.” Her heartbeat quickens as if she’s nervous to share this part of her. “I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and preparing for the job that I was assigned started at a young age.”
My brow lifts. If she was a lawyer or some stuck-up stockbroker I wouldn’t ask, but she’s in the Under, so clearly this “job” was sketch.
“A shady job?”
She nods slowly against my chest. It’s evident she doesn’t want to go deeper, so I shift gears.
“Well, I know a soldier upstairs that does tattoos under the table. You can apprentice with her if you want. You could putink on my back if I don’t kill you before then. I’m sure the squad would let you do theirs too. Partial dream achieved?”
She giggles. “What the fuck? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
I’m glad she can’t see my grin. “Yes.”
