Really, how did he expect me to get any sleep like this?
I blew out a breath, shoving my legs and shifting my weight as I tried to find a comfortable position, All the while, anxiety swam inside of me as I wondered when and if Blackthorn was coming back. Eventually, the excitement of the night got to me and myeyes grew heavy. I tried to fight against it but, before I knew it, everything went dark.
Briefly, in a half sleep daze, I remembered the bed dipping beside me. Someone tugged at my shoes, murmuring under their breath. A gentle hand brushed my hair away from my face and something cool touched my forehead.
“I’ll protect you from him,” they whispered. “I promise.”
I tried to fight to the surface. To tell whoever it was to stop touching me. That I didn’t need their protection. But sleep dragged me back under and there was nothing I could do.
I was at the mercy of my kidnapper, wondering how exactly this was protecting me.
Chapter 13
I woke with an ache in my shoulder that I tried to stretch out. When my arm didn’t move, my eyes snapped open. I jerked up in bed, as far as my bindings would let me go anyway and glared at the vine still wrapped around my wrist.
Right, I was in Blackthorn’s room. He’d caught me trying to climb out of my bedroom window. Not my stealthiest moment.
Blinking against the dim light of the room, I waited for my eyes to adjust before settling on the form on the bed next to me. His dark hair splayed across the bed, his pale pink face relaxed and almost innocent in his sleep. I wanted to slap his perfectly handsome face.
As if hearing my thoughts, his lips parted as he let out a long breath, his chest moving up and down with the movement. He had removed his cloak and was only in a shirt, the neck of it opened to show quite an expansion of pale pink skin. I forced my eyes to focus on the movement of his chest and not the male chest in front of me.
Vampires breathed? Who figured? I always thought they were more like the undead. No breath. No heartbeat.
Wait... if he could breathe, then did he have a heartbeat too?
My irritation at the situation wavered as my curiosity took over. I shifted on the bed closer to him, briefly realizing that I was under the covers when I strictly remember not being before I fell asleep. Shoving that thought aside, I moved closer until my thigh pressed up against his arm.
I waited for Blackthorn to wake. He didn’t even flinch.
Slowly, I leaned over him, eyes flicking up to his face as I lowered my head down, my arm straining against the vine holding my wrist. I pressed my ear to his chest, listening for the telltale beat of his heart. When I heard it, I jerked back, but a hand touched the side of my head.
I froze.
“If you wanted to cuddle all you had to do was ask.”
I scowled and pushed at his hand. “That’s not what I was doing.”
Blackthorn allowed me to sit up as he arched a brow, his lips twitching at the edges. “Then pray tell, what were you doing?”
How did I tell him I wanted to know if he had a heartbeat without sounding like a crazy person?
“I was... just checking something,” I explained, wincing because even I knew it was a flimsy excuse.
“Oh?” Blackthorn’s amusement shone through in that one word. “Is that so? Well, do not let me stop you from continuing with your research. I am at your disposal.”
I snorted. “I’m good.” I tugged on my arm. “Can you release me? This thing is kind of hurting my wrist.”
Blackthorn leaned up on his elbow, turning to face me. “Are you going to try to run away again?”
I just stared at him.
What was I supposed to say? No. That would be a lie. We both knew I wanted to leave and the moment he released me I would be plotting a way to escape.
Blackthorn took my silence as my answer. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he shifted to sit on the side of the bed.
“Then I have no choice but to keep you tied up.”
Anxiety ate at me. How would this affect the spell? It was only happy if I was trying to leave. Being tied to his bed made it next to impossible for me to do that.
