“I would never let you fall.” Even without knowing my past or hers, without knowing what she truly was to me, I knew in the depths of my soul that my words were true. I would never let any harm come to her.
Without another word, she straightened her legs and let go of one of my hands and then the other. “I’m up!”
“Good,” I said, moving my hands to hold her legs in place. “Now I’m going to move closer to the wall so you can reach the window.”
“Really slow,” she said. “No sudden movements, big guy.”
I took a painfully slow step while keeping my head and shoulders completely still. Then I took another. When I was almost touching the wall, Skye flattened her palms against the surface and released a breath.
“I’m here, and I can reach the window.”
I didn’t look up in case that might upset her balance. “What do you see?”
There was a rattling sound above me. “The grate feels loose, and you’re right, it’s bigger than it looks. I might be able to fit more than one boob through here.”
I allowed myself a grin. “What about the rest of you?”
“Maybe, although getting my ass stuck in here with me halfway out would not be pretty.” She rattled the grate again. “From what I can see, this opening leads to an alley of some kind. I can’t see any people, but I also don’t see any guards.”
Bad news and good news. We could not call for help, but no one was monitoring a potential escape route.
“Also, the stone up here feels gritty,” Skye called down. “It might be possible to wear it down and make the hole even bigger. I’m not sure what we’d use or how long it would take, though.”
Even as I stood holding Skye’s legs so she wouldn’t fall, my muddled thoughts coalesced. I had been in tougher situations. I did not know exactly what they’d been, but I knew I had gotten out of them. If Skye was right that I was a battle chief, then it had been my job to strategize and plan. Somewhere deep within me was the ability to get us both out of this.
A clang at the end of the hall made Skye jump.
“Son of a—,” she cried as her legs wobbled.
I used my grip on her legs to toss her up high enough that I could step back and catch her before she hit the floor. I swung her feet down so she was standing next to me when the guard came into view.
Before I could take a step away from Skye, she twisted toward me, lifted a hand to curl around the back of my neck and pulled me down into a kiss.
Chapter
Nine
Skye
What was I doing? My pulse jangled as I reminded myself that I was doing this to protect both of us. The Zagrath wanted me to convince Kolt that I was in love with him. Even though I had no intention of doing that, I could pretend for their benefit. Maybe if they thought I was trying to seduce him, they’d back off. At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.
Even though the kiss had started hard and insistent, I soon melted into him as he looped an arm around my waist and held me close. My head swam as his lips moved hungrily against mine, making me forget that this was supposed to be fake.
When the guard cleared his throat gruffly, I pulled away. “Oh, sorry about that. Didn’t see you there.”
The Zagrath muttered something dark and most likely insulting as he shoved two metal bowls of watery soup between the bars, then stalked away.
I picked them both up and handed one to Kolt. “They’re not hot, but at least it’s food.”
He didn’t take the bowl. “Why did you do that?”
I avoided his gaze and set both bowls of lukewarm soup on the bench, even though I would not play dumb. “Why did I kiss you?”
“You told me we had never kissed before I kissed you and that we are not lovers, but then you…”
I sighed. “I know, I know. It probably makes little sense.” Guilt stabbed at me that I was doing nothing to help his current confusion. “I promise that kiss was only our second kiss ever.”
“If that’s true, then our kissing frequency is increasing rapidly.”
