“Jasper,” I breathed, “we’re locked in.”
Chapter Twenty–Six
I watched as Jasper threw his body again and again at the bedroom door. It was futile. That door had already endured for centuries. The wood was solid and the door was held together by iron rivets. The hinges were on the inside of the room, which meant that Jasper didn’t have the right leverage to burst open the door. It was pointless to tell him all of this, though. I was almost certain he already had gone through all of these thoughts in his head. He was lashing out. I had gotten all of that out of my system already, and so I simply waited until he stopped.
Jasper began to pace. “We could burn the door down,” he suggested.
“How do you propose we do that?”
He bit his lip. “We take a stick from the fire. Ignite the door.”
“There are no sticks in the fire, only logs,” I pointed out. “And the door won’t ignite. We have no accelerant.”
“We’ll stuff some cloth under the door and light that.”
“We’d suffocate. The smoke would fill the room.”
His shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what to do then.”
I didn’t want to ask the question in my mind, but I knew I had to. “Did you bring anyone else? Any backup?”
“I’ve got a few men in the village. I told them to wait for word from me before they did anything.”
Silence filled the room.
“That was stupid,” he said.
“No,” I tried to reassure him. “You didn’t know what you were walking into.”
“But I should have!” he insisted. “I’ve known Seth my entire life. I should have been one step ahead of him.
I climbed off the bed and hobbled to him. “You can’t think like that. You aren’t a psychic.”
He turned and looked into my eyes. “I’ve let you down,” he said. He reached out and cradled my belly. “I’ve let down.”
I shook my head, wrapping my arms around him. He rested his chin against my head. “No, darling. You did no such thing.”
He held me tightly for a long time. We were sitting ducks, waiting for Seth to come back so we could die. We were completely trapped here, with no way out of this room. Our dreams and our little family were going to die here. Even so, standing in the center of this awful, barren room, wrapped in Jasper’s arms, I felt at peace. Heat radiated through his clothes and warmed me, and as I rested my head against his hard chest I heard his heart racing. His strong arms surrounded me, and I pressed myself tighter against him, savoring the last few moments that we would have together. I never wanted him to let me go. I could die here in his arms, wrapped in his warmth, and maybe I would be all right with it. A tear dribbled down my cheek.
I looked up at him, wanting to meet his lips in a kiss. But he wasn’t looking at me; his gaze was over my head, out the window at the cool gray sky. He was lost in thought. I put my hand up to his cheek, my cool fingers brushing against his heated skin. He jumped, startled out of his musings, and leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.
“I’m so happy you’re alive,” he murmured. “I thought surely he would have killed you by now. When I got here and smelled your scent and heard your heartbeat, I was so relieved.”
“I could see it on your face when you came in.” I smiled.
He paused. “Why did he keep you alive?”
“To lay a trap for you, I suspect.”
“So why am I still alive now?” It was a question he asked more to himself than to me.
“I sort of assumed he wanted to kill you in some grand show of power and masculinity.”
I saw a light in his eyes, one that had dimmed the moment the door had swung shut. “Of course.”
“I can tell you’re thinking something,” I told him, “but I have no idea what it is.”
“I’m not quite sure yet myself.”
“Will you tell me?”
He shook his head. “It’s simply an idea for now. I’ll tell you when I’m a little bit more certain.”
I nodded, standing quietly in his arms. “Jasper,” I asked, “Will you hold me?”
He smiled down at me. “I am holding you,” he said.
“Of course,” I said. “It’s just… I haven’t seen you in so long. I miss you.”
Jasper wrapped me in a tight hug, then lifted me up off the floor. I giggled as he brought me over to the bed. We lay down, and I snuggled into his chest. He was staring up at the ceiling, and I knew ideas were flickering behind his eyes as he tried to figure out how we were going to get out of this mess.
With my head on his chest, I could hear his heartbeat again. It was slow and steady this time as his mind worked methodically on a solution for our entrapment. The sound of his heart was so soothing that I nearly fell asleep in his arms until he spoke, breaking the silence.
“How many men did you say Jasper had?”
“Six total, that I know of,” I said. “At least one of them is only human.”
“So we’ll assume that the others are wolf to be safe. I severely injured the ones guarding your door. I think one might be dead.”
I should probably have felt some sorrow at the loss of life, but I felt nothing, and that was worse.
“I injured another downstairs, but I doubt he’ll be too laid up,” Jasper continued.
“Did you see the brothers?”
He turned to look at me. “The brothers?”
“The Melle brothers.”
“The Melle brothers? They’re here?” Jasper sat up, and I readjusted so I was resting my weight on my arm.
“Yes.”
“Why are they here?”
“They’re all sort of alike, the three of them. They crave power but they’re too immature to wield it properly. I assumed Seth recruited them when you chose Conor.”
Jasper’s expression darkened. “Yes, that’s one possibility.”
“Will you tell me your idea yet?”
“Not much of an idea,” Jasper said ruefully.
“But you’ve thought of something.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “Seth will come for us soon, I’m sure. If you can cause a distraction when he’s least expecting it, I might have a chance at taking him down.”
“It would be you against all his men,” I said, furrowing my brow.
“Yes,” he nodded. “It would be.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either. But it’s our only shot.”
I knew he was right, but those words broke my heart. The idea that things were so dire that our only option was almost suicide was too much for me. Though I hadn’t thought I had much left in the way of tears, a few leaked from my eyes.
“Hey,” Jasper murmured, reaching over to brush the tears from my cheeks. He paused, looking deep into my eyes. He pulled me to him, our lips meeting in a heated kiss. They melded together, both of us pulling the other close. He slipped an arm around my waist and I wrapped mine around his neck. Our kisses were urgent, the kisses of those condemned to die, those who hadn’t much left to live for but this moment in time.
Jasper lowered me back down to the bed, careful not to put too much pressure on me as he kept his lips locked on mine. I didn’t want to ever let him go. I pulled at his shirt. He was already up against me, but I wanted him closer, as close as he could possibly be. My hands yanked the hem of his shirt out of his trousers and ran up his chest, the chiseled muscle tense under my touch. His rough stubble rubbed at the delicate skin on my neck. How long had it been since he’d shaved? His hair was a mess the way it always was when he was stressed.
He must have been a wreck over these few weeks. I hadn’t once considered how he felt while I was locked away. I was concerned that he would end up in this exact situation, but the idea that he was as devastated by my absence as I was by his was a new idea, an idea that blossomed love in my stomach. I was crying now, overcome with the emotion of my revelation. He had told me he loved me a hundred times now. He had made romanti
c gestures to indicate that he’d loved me. It wasn’t until now, seeing the what wreck he had been, that I truly understood the importance I held in his life. I wasn’t merely a wife or a duchess or a mother. I was his love, and just as I couldn’t survive without him, he couldn’t survive without me. So, perhaps, it was fitting that we would die together.
I leaned toward him, rolling him onto his back. I straddled him, careful not to lean too hard on my bad wrist. He submitted, laying his head back on one of the matted pillows. I bent over, my belly pressing against his hard stomach. I cradled his face in my hands and kissed him deeply, our tongues intertwining in heated urgency. Underneath me I felt the hardness in his trousers, and I ground against him, eliciting a moan.
My hands fluttered to his buttons, undoing them, taking his manhood in my cool fingers.
“Christine,” Jasper gasped out, touching my arm. “Are you sure this is the right time?”
“I can’t think of one better,” I told him. “We could die at any moment.”
He pulled my arm so I was down by his face, and he kissed me again, long and hard.
“I love you so much, Christine,” he whispered. “And I am so, so sorry.”
I shook my head. “No apologies,” I told him. “I love you too.”
I climbed off of Jasper, my feet hitting the frozen stone. I didn’t know how much time we were going to have before Seth burst into the room. I reached under my skirt and pulled off my undergarments, tossing them to the floor. I pulled myself back onto the bed and hooked my fingers into the waistband of Jasper’s trousers, pulling them over his chiseled hips. His erection sprang free. As much as I’d wanted to spend time pleasuring him with my mouth and tongue, watching him writhe and moan underneath me, time was of the essence. Instead I straddled him again, spreading my legs and taking him in, slowly sinking down on his member. He filled me, and that was enough for me to cry out. I pressed my good hand flat against his chest, using it for leverage as I moved up and down his shaft. Jasper kept eye contact with me, and as I stretched to accommodate him, he slowly began thrusting into me.
We joined together in rhythm; as he thrust up, I pushed myself down, driving him further inside of me until he was in as far as he would go. We rocked together as waves of pleasure lapped at my body. This was far from the perfect situation for us to be doing this in, but I had never felt closer, more in tune with Jasper. We reacted in turn to the other’s moans and groans, and the pleasure built in the pit of my stomach, the muscles tightening as I grew closer and closer to ecstasy. We crashed together, both crying out in pleasure. As we paused, panting hard, my body felt weak. Reluctantly, I pulled myself off him and rolled up next to him. I rested my head against his shoulder as my eyelids fluttered closed.
I don’t know how long I was asleep or if Jasper ever joined me, but I was woken up when the door to the bedroom burst open.
“Well isn’t this precious,” Seth said as he surveyed Jasper and me curled up together on the bed.
Jasper turned and pulled himself off the bed, his feet hitting the floor with a thud. “Seth.”
“Jasper.”
I watched the brothers stare each other down, wondering what on earth Jasper was about to do. My curiosity was answered when Jasper reached his arm back, landing a punch squarely on Seth’s face. Seth snapped his fingers and men swarmed into the room. The Melle brothers, one of my bedroom guards, and the man one who had kicked me in the carriage. I didn’t see the doctor.
The brothers came around and yanked me off the bed. I kicked, trying to fight, but I wasn’t strong enough to fight back. One of them held me around the waist while the other yanked at my hair, pulling my head to the side and pressing a knife into my neck.
“One more stunt like that and she dies instantly,” Seth said.
Jasper put his hands up. “Fine,” he said.
The other two men came and grabbed Jasper by the arms, twisting them behind his back. Seth left the room and the six of us followed. The brothers pushed me roughly down the stairs, almost causing me to lose my footing and stumble down the stone steps. I cried out and Jasper twisted his head around, greeting them with a glare of death.
“Don’t you hurt her,” he said.
“Not like it matters,” said Edgar. “Neither of you will be alive much longer.”
“Oi!” Seth yelled. He was at the base of the staircase now, looking up at us. “I told you two, no talking. You say stupid things.”
Edgar’s eyes shifted to the ground as the pulled me down the rest of the stairs.
We stopped at the base of the stairs and Seth directed the men to hold us in the center of the entry.
“I was supposed to have an audience for this,” Seth frowned. “But you killed Isaiah. And where’s the doctor?”
No one spoke. Seth looked up at his men, waiting for an answer. “Well?”
“You said not to speak,” Theodore said.
“Speak when I ask you a question, you imbecile!”
“I haven’t seen him since he went into town for supplies,” said one of the men.
Seth shrugged. “Fine. He was never truly a part of this anyway. You two!” he snapped his fingers at the men holding Jasper. “Let him go.”
“Really?” they asked, looking at each other.
“Did you not understand me?” Seth pointed to Theodore. “Keep that knife on her neck. Now, you two, let him go.”
They released Jasper’s arms, and he rolled his shoulders back. He watched the brothers, but he didn’t move. Theodore had tightened his grip, the knife pressed into my skin, droplets of blood rolling down my neck.
“That’s what I thought,” Seth said, crossing his arms. “Now, I was originally going to kill her first, and make you suffer. But you’ve made this so easy for me, playing right into my hand, I thought I’d give you the option. Would you like Christine to die first, or do you want to die first?”
Jasper gave me a nod, so slight, so imperceptible, but unmistakable. I cried out, a long, painful groan.
“Oh, what’s wrong with you?” Seth asked, rolling his eyes.
My hands flew to my belly. “The baby, he’s coming.”
The brothers, shocked, loosened their grip on me and I fell to the floor.
Jasper sprang.
Chapter Twenty–Seven
As I fell to the floor, I took advantage of the Melle brothers’ startled posture. I snatched the knife from Theodore’s hand. From my position on the floor, there wasn’t a lot of damage I could do, but there was definitely some I could inflict. As Theodore leaned down to try to pull the knife from my hands, I slashed it across the back of his ankle, severing the tendon. He yowled as he tumbled to the floor. His brother made a go at me, but I flipped the knife in my hand and plunged it into his calf up to the hilt, so far that the point of the knife was sticking out the other side. Like his brother, he dropped to the ground, crying out in pain. I yanked the knife back out, the silver streaked with the blood of traitors. Edgar’s hands flew to his leg, but the blood flowed around it, pooling on the floor.
This wouldn’t kill them. With their werewolf powers, it would waylay them for a few hours at most. It was enough to allow me to break from their grasp, though. The blade still clutched in my hand, I scrambled up to my feet. From this vantage point, I could have probably killed them, leaned down and slit their throats.
I wasn’t going to risk it. It might easily end up backfiring and I could get injured, and besides, no matter how angry I was, I had never been that kind of person.
I searched frantically for Jasper, desperate for assurance that he was still alive. One of the men lay in a pool of blood at Jasper’s feet, and the other stood there dumbly as Jasper battled his brother. It was a brawling fistfight; Jasper had no weapons, and he wasn’t allowing Seth a chance to grab at his.
Finally, the man who had been standing there, the one who had kicked me in the back, charged at Jasper with a ragged snarl. He wasn’t stealthy about it, and Jasper heard him coming. With one
hand on his brother’s neck, Jasper swung his elbow and hit the man squarely in the nose. He went down, his heavy body hitting the floor as the crash echoed through the chamber.
I rushed forward as Jasper struggled with Seth. I knelt down beside the man who had hurt me, turning the knife over in my hands. It would be so easy, so simple to take my knife and slide it across his throat or chop off a finger. There would be no easy healing from that. They didn’t have the ability to regrow limbs, as far as I was aware. I tilted my head, considering. One swift move and I’d have easy revenge.
The blade glinted in the candlelight, still dripping with the brothers’ blood. I was almost disappointed Jasper had knocked this man out cold. He couldn’t see the power I had over him now. I wondered if he had any sisters, a mother, a wife. Did he treat them as poorly as he treated me? If so, this would be a justified killing, getting rid of an evil man. As he was out cold, it made my job easier. I could stab this knife straight through his trachea and he wouldn’t have any idea.
That would be the easiest place to do it, through the neck. No bone that I would need to cut through. Simple and clean, right to the spine. No werewolf powers were going to save him from that.
I narrowed my eyes, still considering, when the baby kicked. Absentmindedly, my free, injured hand rested on my belly. What on earth was I thinking of? I couldn’t kill a man, no matter how much he had helped ruin my life.
I turned my attention to the center of the room, where Jasper and his brother were still grappling with each other. If someone was winning, it was impossible to tell who it was. They were deadlocked together. Jasper spun the two of them around, so I was looking into his face and Seth’s back was to me.
I saw the opportunity, and I had to take it. I crept across the room and caught Jasper’s eye. With my knife outstretched, Jasper shoved Seth backward, stabbing the knife into Seth’s lower back. That should be about where a kidney was. Seth let out a scream of agony as he fell to the floor, grabbing onto my arm, pulling me down with him. I landed hard on the floor, adding another bruise to my already extensive menagerie. Pain radiated through my hip, but I wouldn’t let it stop me. I reached over and pulled the knife from Seth’s back, releasing the flow of blood.
The Wolf's Bait (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 2) Page 20
