I would not allow him to go into a cage, not when he was free and we could work together, and that no doubt meant we had to play this game a little longer.
"Yes. You're due back in the reprogramming room. We should hurry."
He fixed his mask, and my heart ached at his beautiful face hidden away from me again. "When can we talk next?" I whispered as we set out on the path again. "We need to plan our escape."
Rafe just shook his head. "I need you to stay alive. I'm watching your back, but I'm also watching Jordan's and can't be in two places at once. Don't worry about the plan; something is in the works."
He refused to talk to me again, and afraid that we might be overheard, I kept my mouth shut and an annoyed expression on my face as I followed him. I was desperate, though, to reach out and touch his back. The movement of muscles beneath his shirt was all but mesmerizing.
Why didn't he kiss me?
Rafe might not have acted like Jordan—he seemed reasonably normal, actually—but there was a tension wrapped around him that I didn't like. And he'd barely touched me.
The building of my nightmares came into view, and I shuddered. Despite the fact it was all surrounded in well-manicured lawns with no potential for an ambush, I knew that what waited for me inside was way worse than any sort of random attack.
As we neared the back entrance, a scream died in my throat when Rafe jerked me into his arms, lifting and carrying me into the side alley, his grip biting and possessive.
"What—"
My words were cut off when he ripped his mask down and crashed his lips into mine. His tongue demanded entrance, stroking against mine in the same instant I gave it. He lowered one hand, slipping it down the front of my pants to rub me through the material.
Everything was a blur as I lost myself in that kiss, rocking against Rafe and his clever fingers that could bring me to the edge of an orgasm through my pants and in a situation like this.
The pressure and pleasure built, and I barely managed not to scream when I came, Rafe's mouth swallowing my moans. We must have set some sort of land-speed record with how fast it was, but that was just what Rafe did to me.
His touch was my fucking Kryptonite.
He lowered me to the ground, my knees like jelly as they locked back under me.
"I'll see you soon," he murmured, pulling his mask up over his lips and nose again.
I nodded, not even fucking sure what had just happened, but knowing I needed to get into the building right now. Stumbling off on shaky legs, I was almost out of the alley when he called back.
"Oh, and Violet?"
I turned.
"If Uriel gets into your bed one more time, I will go on a murder spree that will make the Monarch War seem like a children's program."
The air shimmered between us with a fucking lot. Anger, lust, pain, power, and... love.
It was there, even if Rafe never admitted it.
It was there.
Chapter 9
That brief encounter with Rafe gave me the strength I needed to survive the grueling day of reprogramming Uriel had planned for me. When the horrific, edited images swarmed the screen in front of my eyes, I switched off and pictured Rafe's eyes as he told me he'd see me soon. Those words, that touch of his lips... of his hand... that was what allowed me to hold my sanity.
More than anything, though, it was his reassurance that Jordanhadn'tturned on me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. There was no way I could have made it out of the compound with Jordan that night. My plan had been flimsy at best, and it'd clearly been a test that Uriel had set up. He'd known I would take any opportunity presented to me and had probably gloated to Jordan about it.
If they were using Jordan's safety to keep me in line, I had no doubts they were doing the same to him withmysafety. And my foolish Prince Charming wouldn't ever risk me, even though he knew I could handle it.
Those shining beacons of hope buoyed me and kept my head above water as Uriel increased the pressure over the next few days, but by the time our eight-day agreement had come to an end, I was losing faith.
Two things were clear. One, that Rafe's idea ofsoonwas vastly different from my own. And two, that Uriel had no intention of honoring our agreement.
Day eight came and went, and my sensei gave no hint he even remembered our deal, let alone made any moves to free me. I couldn't speak up about it, either, or I'd completely ruin the small level of trust I'd rebuilt. My total compliance in his reprogramming had finally started to sway him, and the suspicion and anger was fading from his interactions with me.
