“Put medown.”
“No.”
“Eric, throwing me on the bed isn’t going to fix this.”
“That wasn’t my plan.”
He carried her—very carefully—down the spiral stone staircase.
Due to the odd layout of the castle, he had to pass the Great Hall. Several people leaned to the side to watch him pass through the open door.
“Admiral?” Grigoris called out. “Do you want me to dart him again?”
“Bring me the gun,” she snapped, though her voice was breathy. “I want to shoot him this time.”
“I can’t tell if you’re joking,” Grigoris called out.
Eric paused, just a brief moment, because despite the caveman routine, he wasn’t going to force her to stay. To listen. She had a thousand reasons not to trust him with her heart.
“I’ll handle this myself,” Nikolett said after pregnant silence.
Eric grinned and started walking, waiting until they were out of sight to slap her ass.
“Where are we going?” she snapped.
“I told you. I finally get to use what I think is the perfect solution to all our problems.”
Down another narrow stone hall, through a door, down more well-worn steps, he finally reached Triskelion Castle’s dungeon.
He flung open an ancient wooden door with a barred window and carried her into the stone cell.
Setting Nikolett on her feet near the back wall, he took only a moment to grin at her wide-eyed shock before he grabbed one of the dangling chains and fastened the attached cuff around her wrist, making sure the chain was long enough she didn’t have to raise her arm and stress the cut.
She gaped at him, then bent her arm at the elbow to raise her wrist and shook her arm, making the chain clank.
“Your solution is…locking me in the dungeon?”
He tried to grab her other wrist but she slapped at him.
“Yes. And I’m going to keep you here until you realize that I’m serious.”
He sidestepped and reached for her other arm. Nikolett twisted to evade him. Elbowed him in the gut.
He didn’t want her to accidentally hurt herself, so he stopped trying to grab her and instead ducked down and kissed her.
He wasn’t touching her anywhere but her lips and yet he caught her, more surely than he would have any other way.
He felt her relief through the kiss. Realized that maybe he should’vestartedby kissing her.
After a long time, they came up for air and he rested his forehead on hers.
“I know I hurt you,” he whispered. “I let my past, my fear, come between us. I won’t do that again. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you that for as long as you want me, I’m yours.”
She slid her cheek against his, and he felt the dampness of her tears. “And I’m yours. I think I have been from the moment we met.”
“I’m sorry, Nikki. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry you couldn’t trust me not to do it again.”
“It might just be because I’m tired and emotionally worn out, but last night, I was lying beside you, dreading the way you’d look at me when I finally told you what he said, and some stupid part of me thought that I’d have rather died beside you in that plane than live without you.”
