“Come with us.” Jesse despised the pleading tone of his own voice.
“Can’t.” His former partner winked. “Save your lady.” He took off at breakneck speed down the middle corridor.
Niall urged them forward. “From this point on you should be able to see the way out with your gift. It will lead you to the second level. Go to the barn and use the first corridor to get home.” He speared Prudence with a stare, daring her to move. “Trust Jesse and do not let go of his hand for any reason. The damned and keepers alike will be gunning for you.”
“The damned would help steal Ellie?”
“No. You. Now go.” He faded and whisked away in a blur.
“Me?” she said, her voice shaky.
“The Passion Pit.” Jesse adjusted his grip on her hand and grimaced. “I don’t know what Niall knows about you that I don’t. And whatever it is, you shouldn’t feel shame. If you’re still a virgin—”
“A virgin?”
“Like I said. No shame. If you hold as tight to your strength as you do me, we’ll both be fine.”
He didn’t know how he’d explain the blisters on his hand to her, but he’d deal with that later. He could take anything, as long as he didn’t lose her.
Especially not to The Passion Pit.
∙•∙
Linked in his iron grip, he hurried her through the winding corridors, and though she was fast, at times she felt like he was dragging her along. Maybe because her mind tended to wander. Not so much forward to the dangers of the Passion Pit, but back to the moment she’d read him.
Niall was wrong. She trusted Jesse implicitly, more than ever after her empathetic examination.
But allowing her access to his innermost sanctum had been a mistake. In a few short minutes, she’d confirmed something she’d suspected a long time.
Jesse hid wicked secrets.
And she was determined to learn every last one of them. If it meant disclosing her own embarrassing omissions, then so be it. Their safety, maybe even their lives, depended on his total honesty.
Buried inside her partner ran a vein of torment, deep and dark and worrisome. She almost hadn’t noticed it. Had it not been for their kiss, she might have ignored the tiny taste of anguish piercing through all that integrity. But she’d felt the same darkness last night, right before he pushed her away, a surprising burst she could only describe as pure sin.
If the sensation occurred only once, she’d write it off as her imagination. Now she couldn’t.
Part of his torment surely balanced on the shoulders of Swift. She wondered if Jesse realized she’d recognized his old partner. Probably not, or he would have fumbled through some quick excuse. Jesse had known Swift’s whereabouts all along, and it pissed her off to no end he hadn’t confided in her.
And to think, she’d believed they performed better than all the other teams because they were more forthcoming, more trusting, more connected.
But Prudence couldn’t be angry at him. Honor and decency drove his every decision. Jesse deserved a chance to come clean on his own. And she was willing to wait him out—at least for a little while.
He slowed and then stopped abruptly, and she could tell by his expression his gifts had picked up more than a hidden trail. The narrow causeway had been shadowed, but light from the main chamber spilled invitingly over the ancient path some thirty feet ahead of them.
“Do you hear that?” he whispered.
“Yeah,” she said, having noticed the distant drone only a few moments before. The dissonance sounded different than anywhere else in Hell. “Does it seem louder to you now we’ve stopped?”
“No.” He squeezed her sweaty hand in his unforgiving grip and frowned. “That can’t be good.”
It definitely wasn’t. And not because of the volume. Because of what she heard.
Threaded through the groans, the wails, the screamed demands, wove the unmistakable keening of sexual arousal.
A delectable flutter ricocheted inside of her, igniting the initial spark that always preceded a first kiss. Her belly clenched and her breath stilled, the same as when Jesse slow-leaned into her last night. She couldn’t stall the tremble in her limbs.
He shook her hand hard. “Stay sharp, Princess.”
She thought she nodded agreement until he yanked her off the path and whipped her around to face him. Her back hit the stone wall, snapping her out of her stupor. With his free hand, he cupped under her chin and lifted, digging his fingers into the soft flesh along her jaw.
“Fuck! You’re already losing it.” His eyes blazed orange fire. “We can’t go in there unless you fight it and we have to go in.”
“I am fighting it,” she said, far too aware of his rough breath on her face and proximity of his lips to hers.
“No, you’re not. You can barely stand up.” He let go of her face and shoved one hand under her armpit, hoisting her higher against the wall. “Lock your knees and act like a Runner.”
The jab about her not doing her job sobered Prudence. Not entirely, but enough. “Let go,” she demanded. “I’m fine.”
He didn’t let go but kept lecturing. “Everyone in there will attempt to seduce you. You’re an Empath and far more susceptible to their temptations. They will sense it. Probably do already.”
“It would help if you didn’t hold my hand.”
“Out of the question. We can’t afford to separate.”
“And I can’t afford to touch you.” Her cheeks flamed, but she forced herself to look into his face. “What the shade knows. I—I,” she stammered, knowing it was time to relinquish a secret of her own. She swallowed a throat full of dust with her pride. “I’m no virgin, but I haven’t been—intimate—with a man in a long time. Any touch, especially…”
“After last night,” he finished, his voice dropping a register.
She nodded.
He thought for a moment and then hauled her away from the wall, his grip around her hand as tight as ever. “Tough it out. I’ve got to.”
“No,” she insisted, pulling back.
He trudged forward, no matter how adamantly she begged.
Mere feet from the archway leading into the pit, she could see the interior.
The medieval fortress had disappeared and in its place was a rambling mansion with hundreds of alcoves, its high white walls ornate and gaudy with art. Flowing draperies billowed like clouds in a breeze she couldn’t feel, and beds in multiple shapes were equipped with contraptions she didn’t recognize.
But it was the inhabitants of the fancy digs that posed a new problem.
Thousands of human spirits and demons alike strutted or lounged or were tied down, squirming in various stages of sexual tension.
All of them naked.
Her heart ratcheted up, and her mind raced. Her weakness for her partner wasn’t the only problem.
“We can’t go in there.” She buckled her knees so he’d have to halt and listen, or drag her.
“Son of a bitch.” He stopped and turned, grabbing for her with his free hand.
Scooting away from him on her butt, she blurted, “It’s impossible. We have to find another way out.”
“Why are you being so difficult?” He lifted her to her feet.
“Look.” Pointing at the writhing pit, she put as much space between them as she could. “Nude. Not a stitch of clothes. On anyone.” Then she waggled a finger between them. “We look like the new faces for the cotton industry.”
“Fuck. We’ll be made for mortals.”
At last he released her hand, and the blood gratefully rushed into her fingers.
“We can backtrack.” She rotated her wrist to work out the needles. “Take another tunnel. The demons would have given up by now.”
Mouth pursed, he nodded as if taking her plan into account. His gaze flicked from the path leading into the pit and back along the way they’d come in.
“Strip.” He raked his T-shirt over his head.
“What? Are you crazy?” Inst
antly understanding his plan, she backed away, but her eyes never left Jesse’s freshly bared chest. “I can’t—”
“You can and will.” He wadded his shirt and chucked it next to her. “When I look behind us, the path is gone. I can only see it going forward. For us, the way home is through that Pit, and the only chance we have of survival is to look like we fit in. Now, lose the duds.” He ripped at the button of his jeans and jerked down the zipper.
Panic froze her arms. Naked with Jesse would guarantee his knowing how much she wanted him, and she couldn’t bear another of his harsh rejections.
Without the slightest embarrassment, he dropped his jeans over his hips and kicked out of them, shooting them on top of his discarded T-shirt. Arms crossed below his pecs with a stare like fire, he dared her to disobey.
But she couldn’t obey. Not until she’d taken a good, long look at her naked partner.
Every inch of muscle had been honed to hard brawn, from his wide-as-a-barn shoulders to his perfectly formed runner’s thighs. Bronzed by the light emanating from the archway behind him, he could have passed for a Rodin statue. Except he breathed, loud and labored enough to move his massive chest.
He’d told her to tough it out because he had to. Could that mean what she hoped? Was he equally affected by her?
Curious, she dropped her gaze to his snug blue briefs and noticed an eye-popping bulge teasing the wide band riding below his belly button.
Desire burned hot at her core, and warm fluid slicked into her lacy thong.
“Do it, or I’ll do it for you.”
Her sex flickered with excitement at the thought of his hands on her, but her brain still had some control. Forcing him to manhandle her would only complicate an already impossible situation.
She turned her back and slipped off her hoodie and then tugged her shirt off over her head. She dropped both on top of the pile. The warm air stirred slightly from some unseen force, raising tiny pebbles on her exposed skin.
With shaking fingers, she worked the button and zipper of her blue jeans. Her movements felt like a striptease. Thumbs jammed into the back of her waistband, she worked the denim over her hips, careful not to roll down the slim elastic band of her panties.
She heard his sudden intake of breath followed by a wicked curse. Bent at the waist, she half turned, her pants lowered only as far as her knees.
One arm propped against the opposite wall, Jesse speared her with a sideways glance. “Finish,” he ordered through a tight jaw.
Quickly she discarded the pants.
“Now turned around. Face me.”
Cheeks hot and chin high, she did.
“Red lace half-bra. Not exactly suitable for running.”
“I may have to dress like a dude every day, but I still like to feel feminine. And I don’t jiggle that much.”
“Pfff. I never thought so.” For the first time all night, he grinned, crooked and devilish. “Though it draws attention to your cleavage, you’d better lose the Hell Runner’s pendants. You can keep the rest on seeing how you’re bare-assed and all. It’s fitting. I’ll have to go al fresco.” With that, he doubled in two and stepped out of his briefs.
Prudence fought stealing a peek, turning to face the pit instead. She slipped the thin silver chain over her head and tossed it toward the pile of clothes.
It fell short. In an instant, both her new gold and old silver touchstones melted into the floor. A thin ribbon of steam rose and disappeared a second later. No clasp. No puddle. Nothing remained, as if she’d never earned them.
Horrified, she choked back a gasp. “Did you see that?”
“Don’t think about it. It’s only metal. You know who you are. Inside.”
She expelled a nervous breath. He was right, but she missed the touchstones next to her skin. “You ready?”
“Almost. Niall,” Jesse called to the air. “I know you’re watching, you perv. Arrange to have our clothes meet us at the barn.”
“You really think he’s watching?”
“Well, I would.” Smile fading, he nodded. “Okay. So you’re not a virgin and haven’t had sex in what? More than a year?”
“Two.”
“No wonder Niall worried. Ever do role play?”
“Getting a little personal aren’t you?”
“I’ll take that as a yes though I’m guessing very vanilla. If you take a good look and don’t by the way, that pit is primarily a fancy D&P boudoir.”
“A what?”
“Discipline and punishment. Here’s the plan. I’m your demon guard. You’re my sex slave. No eye contact in there. Not with anyone. Don’t look right or left or up. Head down at all times. Be obedient and do only as I say. This is about safety and not ego. We need to stay under their radar. I might have to act like a total asshole in there, so don’t get scared. It’s the only way to get us the fuck out of here. Got it?” He cinched her hand again, her fingers not yet recovered from his prior clenching.
“Got it. But please. Don’t hold my hand.”
“That’s worse than being naked together?”
“Yes. We’re touching.”
“Believe me. I want to let you go.” He squeezed her hand a little tighter. “But I won’t. Now get into character”—Jesse tugged her forward— “wench.”
Chapter Sixteen
Luck on their side, not one set of eyes turned their way when he led Prudence into the chamber. Thank goodness he’d instructed her to keep her head down. If she’d witnessed any of the gross debauchery, she might have succumbed to the whim of some derelict demon.
Or maybe not.
Maybe the graphic orgy would squelch the urges Niall insinuated would lead to her doom. The display wasn’t doing much for Jesse. Talk about overkill. He loved porn as much as the next guy, but the heartless abuse of his favorite pastime wouldn’t have stirred the hair on balls had he not been hauling his nearly naked partner along.
Christ. His hard-on hurt worse than his blistered hand.
Why the hell did she have to wear a fucking thong? From the moment she’d revealed the twin moons of her shapely bottom, he couldn’t stop thinking about how good it would feel to mold his hands around them, to kiss the swell and nip it with his teeth.
And the sheer little bra barely stretching over her breasts. Why they hadn’t popped all the way out when she’d bent over defied basic physics. Not even if her stiff nipples punched through the gaps in the red, lacy curlicues should they have stayed so perfectly shaped.
Jesse would love nothing more than to reach behind her and unfasten the hooks, letting those rounded beauties bounce free. He could do it one-handed and had been complimented many times on his mastery of the intricate hooks.
Massaging those perfect C cups while he kissed, and licked, and sucked her pink nipple to a delicate point could easily be written off later as staying in character. And he was pretty sure Prudence wouldn’t mind one bit.
“Is the trail gone?” she whispered, gingerly touching his shoulder and setting it on fire.
Fuck. He’d let this place get into his head. Let himself forget why he couldn’t touch her.
“Lost it for sec. But I see it now.” He picked up the pace, and they wended through the center of the multitude.
“Trading in your charge?” A redheaded seductress with alabaster skin stretched tight over high cheekbones stepped into his path. She wore nothing but a leather bustier over her enormous bosom and a wry grin on her full red lips. “Can’t say as I blame you. This one is already obedient. Though I’d like the chance to make her bad again.” Her focus dropped below his waist. “And you have so much to offer.” She raised emerald eyes to his. They sparkled with more than mere mischief. “Tell you what, I can take her off your hands. Supply you with someone more—of a challenge. More entertaining.”
Verbally sparing with a demon was exactly what he’d wanted to avoid. But a polite decline would blow his cover.
“Fuck off, Red. Do I look like a newb?” He bullied past her, inte
ntionally butting his shoulder into hers.
Instead of taking a hint, she ran ahead and cut him off in a flash.
“You look like someone who needs to be appreciated.” Her hand wrapped around his sex, and she licked her lips. “Tasted. Satisfied.” She purred the last word like a cat, and her breath reached him in a steady stream of smoke.
Cloying with undertones of spice, he sensed the demon possessed a special gift for drugs.
He caught the puff in his nostrils and exhaled, pinching off enough air to warn Prudence.
“Don’t breathe,” he gritted and knocked the demon’s hand away from his groin.
His partner covered her mouth and nose with her free hand.
Jesse tried to dodge around the seductress, but she moved without touching the ground.
“I’ve been watching you,” Red taunted. “Carefully picking your way across the mansion, never once participating in the group tortures. Never touching your charge. You know what I think, Big Man?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t walk away either. Red would absolutely cause a scene. One that would incite the wrath of a thousand demons.
“I think you’re not a keeper at all. Or at least not one assigned to this pit. I think you’re pretending so you can sneak off with your little girlfriend and have some fun. What happened? Jealous husband kill you both? Couldn’t learn your lesson and let go? Bad news—you’ve chosen the wrong pit for getting your way.”
He sneered. “If you had the slightest idea who I am or who created me, you’d mind your tongue. Take your warning. Now move, or I will have you removed.”
“Tsk. Tsk.” She waggled a finger and pulled a fake frown. “You’re a poor bluff, Big Man. I can’t be removed.” Circling them, she spoke in a singsong. “But you make this dreary place a lot more interesting, so I’ll offer a one-time deal. Hand over this sweet bit of ass, and I’ll let you go on your way.” She caressed Prudence’s breast with fingers tipped by long red nails. “Or else you can—”
“Get your fucking hands off me.” His partner ignored his strict orders and raised her gaze to meet the demon’s challenging stare and then reared her arm back, her palm spread to slap.
Rule Breakers, Soul Takers (Hell Runners Book 1) Page 18
