“Lola is my girl.And Maddie.They’re my friends.”Otto took her down another hallway, still with the carpet on the walls.This one did have some pictures that looked ancient, depicting people who had no doubt been dead for a very long time.“And my girls are probably worried sick about me.And my dad.Holy lizard babies, he is probably freaking out.”
“Lizard babies not holy.”Otto’s tone suggested he thought she was completely stupid, which made Katy grin.
“It’s just an expression.I don’t actually mean it.”
“Dumb,” Otto barked.
This actually made Katy chuckle.They turned left and then right and then another left.Good grief, how big was this house?Forget trying to escape.She’d never remember the way they’d come, even to just get back to the study.And she had no idea if that was even close to the front door.Katy had yet to even see a window to the outside world.
Finally, the lizard stopped at an immense door.“You never told me what was tortured.”Katy stared at the door.
“Not matter.Your room.”He kicked the door with his foot.
She waited and then, like a moron, realized he couldn’t open it because he couldn’t reach the doorknob.Duh, Katy.She grabbed the old glass knobs and turned.It clicked, and she pushed it open and stepped inside.The room was shrouded in shadows, elegant dark tones enveloping her like a warm embrace.As her eyes adjusted, Katy took in the understated opulence surrounding her.Deep midnight blue walls were offset by gleaming mahogany furnishings polished to a mirror shine.
Heavy velvet drapes the color of black coffee swept along expansive windows, blocking out the bright morning light.She breathed in the heady, masculine scent of sandalwood and cedar permeating the air.
Her feet sank into plush carpeting as she drifted farther inside, fingers trailing over the intricate carvings of the massive sleigh bed’s headboard.It dominated the space, draped in silken, cobalt sheets that looked sinfully soft.
This was a room meant for seduction, Katy mused.From the intimate seating area with its cashmere throw blankets to the flickering fireplace surrounded by bookshelves, it whispered of lovers’ late nights spent in a passionate embrace.
She imagined two lovers lounging before the flames on fur rugs, feeding each other gourmet chocolate and sipping rich, red wine.She conjured an image of steam from the adjoining bathroom.No doubt, it had a spacious shower and sunken tub, perfect for two.
Shaking her head to dispel the tantalizing images, Katy took an involuntary step back toward the door.“What the hell was that?”she whispered as she closed her eyes and tried to banish the images that had filled her mind.Where had those thoughts come from?Her chest got tight.Goose bumps rose on her flesh, causing a shiver to run down her spine.Katy had never daydreamed of romantic things, not like Lola.Romance wasn’t in Katy’s four-year plan.She shook out her arms and even gave each leg a kick.
“What?”Otto asked, nearly making her jump.
She’d forgotten he was there.
Katy pressed her hand over her heart.“Shit, Otto, make some noise, dude.”
“I dids.I said what?”he snapped.“You need food.Humans get dumber with no food.”
Katy walked over to the seating area and sighed as she plopped down.“You’re not wrong, Ot.You’re not wrong.”
He waddled over in his oversized jeans and scurried up into the other chair.His big, yellow eyes stared at her curiously.“Why you want me?”
Katy stared at him for a few breaths before she finally answered.“Because everyone should be wanted, Otto.Not just tolerated.”She ran her fingers across the velvet fabric of the chair as her head tilted to the side.“And I have a feeling that king of yours—the one you claim is soooo great—just tolerates most people.”She didn’t want to say he just toleratesyou.It was obvious from the slump of the little guy’s shoulders and the bruised look in Otto’s eyes that he had been abused by Azure.For that reason alone, Katy was going to make sure the Snake King got his ass handed to him, one way or another.
Otto shifted in his seat, looking slightly uncomfortable.“I still bite you,” he blurted out.
Katy laughed.“If you do, it will surely be because I deserve it.”She leaned her head back against the seat as her laughter died away.She wondered what happened to Slick, Antonio, and Myron.She was about to ask Otto, but her stomach growled again.
Otto jumped down from the chair.“I get food.”He ran from the room so fast she wondered if he was worried she might try to eat him.When she didn’t hear the sounds of the door opening or closing, she got up and hurried over to the door and looked all around.“Hey,” she hollered.“Otto?”He didn’t answer.She tried the door, but it was locked.“Of course.Because all guests are locked in their rooms.”How had he gotten out?
Katy debated getting on her knees and searching along the wall for a little door, but it wasn’t like she was squeezing her short, round butt through one, even if she found it.She sighed and looked back at the beautiful room.Then she trudged—because what else do you do when you’re a captive but trudge—back to the chair where she’d been sitting and sank down into it.There was a rock in the pit of her stomach that she continued to ignore.It had dropped there when she’d stepped into the room and the sudden romantic fantasy had manifested itself.Now that she was alone, it was again attempting to push to the forefront of her mind.Katy pictured a barrier around her mind and took a deep breath.
“Think, think, think.”She tapped her chin.Lola and Maddie would be gathering the calvary.She didn’t know if that meant the police or if that meant Lola would be getting her new man, Callon, and his people to come after Katy, but she knew her two best friends would not be twiddling their thumbs.So while she waited on them, Katy could do something to help the cause.Maybe while she was in Azure’s kingdom she’d gather information that could be useful to Callon or the Shaman.They were the holy men-slash-politicians that enforced the laws, right?And as of the current moment, Azure apparently wasn’t going to torture, maim, or kill her.She didn’t have to shake in her boots like a damsel in distress.Katy could channel her inner internet detective skills and attempt to figure out what the Snake King was doing by abductinganimuschicks.“Whew.I’ve got a plan, man.I like having a plan,” Katy said into the empty room.Now, if Otto would just come back with some food and a distraction.Maybe then she would have something other than an imaginary wall in her mind to keep away the feeling that something was coming—something more dangerous than King Azure.And it was coming for her.
Chapter 7
I Never Play Fair When It Comes To You
“If I’ve learned anything over the many centuries of being mated to my female, it’s to pay attention to more than only her words.Typically, they are but ten percent of what she is actually saying.Although, being a supernatural being does give me abilities that human males don’t have.As usual, it sucks to be human.”~Azure
“What do you mean, she’s not on the market?”Zeena asked through gritted teeth as she strode into Azure’s throne room.Call him old-fashioned, but Azure still felt it pertinent that a king have a throne room where his subjects could be reminded that he did indeed sitabovethem.
“You heard what I ssssaid, my love.There’sss no need for me to repeat myssself.”He walked up the steps that led to the two chairs and then took a seat in the one that was his, resting his hands on the enormous arms of the massive chair.Azure lifted his chin and looked down to where his female paced back and forth.Her long, silky, black-and-green dress billowed out behind her.Her arms were folded tightly across her chest and her lips drawn taut across her face as her eyes practically glowed in rage.She knew he wasn’t telling her everything.But she was the Queen,notthe King.She was not his equal, and it was not her place to question him.Azure loved his mate, but Zeena had her place in their kingdom, and it was at his side supporting him and the decisions he made, whether or not she fully understood them.
