Belial tilted his head to the other side, his eyes glinting with thought. “Alright. Why don’t I take you back to the castle–”
“No.” I cut him off, panic setting in. “Absolutely the fuck not. I’ve fought so hard to get away from there. Why the hell would I go back?”
I tried to push him away but his arms banded around me, holding me close to his hard chest.
“Hey. It’s okay. It’s not a trick to get you to turn back.”
My eyes narrowed into deadly slivers. “Itfeelslike a trick.”
“What the Hells am I supposed to do?” His voice was sharp as a knife, his eyes dark. “Summon a bed and a bathtub in the middle of the labyrinth? Shall I pull Holga out of thin air and hope she brings bath salts and lotion?”
“I don’t know, it’s fucking magic.”
“I’m not a fairy godmother, Rayven. It has its limits. Besides, sleeping in my bedroom will be more private. You need a break from this place. Let me take you back to the castle. You can bathe, change, and eat.”
At the thought of a warm bath and dinner, I nearly sobbed, but I managed to hold it together. It was too good of an offer. There had to be hefty strings attached. Besides, I didn’t have time to start all over. My time was running out, and I still hadn’t found my way out of the maze.
“I don’t have time to waste,” I said, broken-heartedly. “If I start over, I’ll never make it out. I can’t risk it. I have to–”
“You won’t be starting over,” he jumped in. “I’ll bring you back to this exact spot in the morning. I swear by my bone.”
His promise made my heart flutter, and I fought the smile teasing the corners of my mouth. Now it definitely sounded too good to be true, but I was beyond exhausted. Mentally and physically drained.
If I rested a while, I knew I’d be better for it. My reflexes would be faster, my mind sharper.
“In the morning?” I echoed, staring up at him with uncertainty. “Why so long? I only have until midnight tomorrow night. And the Lord of Bones… He knows you're helping me. It could be risky taking me back.”
His expression shifted at the mention of the Lord. He probably sensed the fear that shot through me at his name, and he reached for my cheek, the cool leather of his glove teasing my jawline.
“He won’t,” he said. “And if he does, I’ll take care of it.”
He sounded confident, but his words didn’t do much to reassure me.
I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. What stunk about it was that I wasn’t sure if the foreboding sensation hooking in my gut was just my old trust issues rearing their ugly head, or if something was actually off with Belial.
I wanted to believe him.
I decided to believe him. Because what other option did I have? Wander around naked, starving, cold, and bloody? Be more alone than ever, with nothing but thoughts of what could have been with Belial to tease me into insanity?
Yeah, that was gonna be a hard pass from me.
“What’s the price? You aren’t going to do all that for free.”
His arms banded tighter around me, tucking me close to him. My nipples hardened to stiff peaks at the contact, and my pussy throbbed needily.
“I want to take care of you. In whatever way I see fit,” he answered.
I inhaled sharply. “That can mean a lot of things.”
“I’m not about to give you a list of everything I plan to do to you. We don’t have time for that.”
“Are you going to hurt me?”
“Only in ways you’ll like.”
I didn’t know what to think. I could have everything I’d been deprived of for two days, and he’d get to use and abuse me all night. Heat clawed through my body at the thought.
Was it a terrible idea? Probably. But my desire to be clean, to lie in his bed with his body wrapped around me was overwhelming, trumping every bit of logic I had left. My body begged me, pleaded with me, to concede.
