“I’ll give you a boost,” he said decisively. “When I do, then you jump. Picture yourself getting onto the ledge but have no fear. I will catch you if you fall.”
“I know you will.”
The trust in her bright eyes pierced him to the quick. The pain was fleeting and exquisite. He couldn’t recall a woman ever looking at him that way.
Frowning, he focused. “On the count of three. Ready?”
“When you are.”
Following his own advice, he kept his gaze on the ledge and envisioned Gigi’s safe landing. “One, two, three.”
He catapulted her. She coordinated her leap with his movement, and his lungs seized as she flew through the air. He braced to catch her…but she landed on the ledge, lying on her front, her feet dangling.
“Are you all right?” he demanded.
“I’m perfectly well. And there is a tunnel.” Her elation was contagious. “I can see light at the end. I shall figure out the exit then come back for you.”
“Be careful?—”
She’d already disappeared. He kept his eyes fixed on the ledge, his ears pricking at the slightest sounds. Soon it was quiet…too quiet. When he called her name, she didn’t reply. Perhaps she couldn’t hear him? He tried again: still nothing. Minutes ticked by, and tired of calling for her, he braced his hands on his hips, staring at the empty outcropping of rock.
Gigi’s fine. If she wasn’t, she would call for help?—
Then it hit him. What if she had escaped…and left him there?
It wouldn’t be the first time a woman left you hanging.
The past crawled beneath his skin, grabbing his heart and smacking it against his ribs. Raking a hand through his hair, he tried to calm himself. To give Gigi the benefit of the doubt. She wasn’t like the others. She wouldn’t betray him. She wouldn’t use him the way Isobel, Vicky, or other lovers had. Nor would she break her promise the way his mama had.
But as the minutes passed, he cursed himself.
How could I be so bloody gullible?
He hardly knew Gigi. Why would he think for even a moment that she would come back for him? Their relationship, such as it were, consisted of a few heated disputes interspersed with kissing and groping. He knew better than anyone that a night of pleasure meant nothing. Hell, she was probably galloping home right now, laughing to herself because she’d gotten away with an indiscretion, and her reputation was safe.
In the meantime, he was stranded in this hellhole.
I’ll come back for you. I promise…
Desperation sucked at him, but he fought it off with fury. With icy logic, he contemplated Gigi’s next moves. What strategies he, himself, might employ in her situation. She could, for instance, summon constables to the spa on the pretense of discovering a break-in. When the authorities knocked down the door to the caldarium, even Conrad would be hard-pressed to come up with a reasonable explanation for his presence.
“Fucking hell,” he bit out. “The deceitful b?—”
“Conrad?”
He jerked, his gaze shooting up to the ledge. Gigi was smiling as she peered down at him, and he choked on a breath. Relief flooded him…along with anger.
How could I have given her such power over me?
“What took you so long?” he said tersely.
“I was looking for something to help you up.” She threw down a dirty length of rope. “Luckily, I found this in Miss Letty’s shed. I’ve secured the other end to a tree; it should hold you.”
“Aren’t you ingenious?”
At his surly tone, she frowned.
“What’s the matter with you?”
