“Neither can you. You can only tempt.”
“Then we’re at a stalemate.”
Not exactly. Thorn held a much bigger piece to this puzzle. He just had to figure out how to play it.
And when.
CHAPTER12
Bright yellow flames coiled around Valteri’s legs. He flinched at the blistering heat that scorched his flesh. As he struggled against the ropes that bound him securely to a stake, he realized that they weren’t true flames, but rather the desperate, vicious arms of demons holding him there.
He fought against them as hard as he could, yet their grip never wavered, never lessened.
Even hotter than the fire, their breath singed his cheeks and burned his lungs. He struggled to free himself from their grip, but it was useless.
The demons were relentless.
They wrapped their arms about his chest and neck, clawing at him. Pulling him down through the hot coals and into a stifling cavern. Raw sulfur glistened on the walls, the stench of it clinging to his nostrils.
Screams and howls filled his ears. He heard thousands of souls crying out for mercy. And even more laughing at their misery.
All his youth, Valteri had listened to the priests and monks warn others about the cries of the damned.
Those warnings paled in comparison to the reality surrounding him. Nothing on earth was equal to the soul-chilling anguish those screams betrayed.
“Valteri?”
His heart pounding, he turned toward the soft, soothing voice that reached out to him through the heat and misery.
Ariel floated above a bloodred sea.
The pale gossamer dress barely concealed her luscious curves. Her white hair blew around her shoulders, brushing against his face and bare chest in a tender caress that stole the air from his lungs.
His body burned anew as he hungered for her in a way he’d never hungered for any woman.
He tried to reach for her, but his arms refused to obey. She floated toward him, a light, gentle smile curving her lips. Hands softer than down touched his face and slid over his stubbled cheek.
Valteri closed his eyes against the power of that touch, and he stood helpless before her. Pleasure the likes of which he’d never known coursed through him.
He needed her more than he’d ever needed anything. He knew thatnow, yet he no longer felt the desire to curse his weakness. Nay, he wanted to shout with relief and release.
Still, he couldn’t move.
Feather-like lips touched his. Drawing her closer, he held on to her for the sake of his soul. He deepened their kiss so that he drank of all her kindness until everything else faded away. All the horrifying sounds and pungent smells.
It all was gone.
He knew nothing more than the feel of the woman before him.
Then suddenly, his arms were empty.
She was gone.
“Valteri!”
He opened his eyes to see a group of Saxons pulling her away from him. Pain racked his body.
“You’ll not have her!” The old Saxon lord ran down into another cavern, while he dragged her behind him.
