“It’s okay, Dom,” she whispered. “It’s two of the other captives.”
His muscles relaxed, and he scooped her into his arms again. Never had she felt so safe, so protected.
“Follow us,” Dom told them.
“So how did you escape?” Mackenzie asked the woman.
“It was when the Overlord left. We were...” The woman choked back a sob while the man covered his ears.
“I’m so sorry,” the man said over and over.
Those poor people.
Mackenzie’s arms stiffened around Dom’s neck as he carried her outside, into the sunlight.
They’ll be all right, love,his voice soothed in her head.Our doctor will check them, then we’ll do a mind-wipe. They’ll remember none of this.
No more doctors, Dom. Given what they’ve been through, that could terrify them.
That’s why Lily’s mother is on her way down from Region. She's one of our top physicians. When Lily heard we’d located the facility, she sent for her. She’s very compassionate.
Mackenzie relaxed. If Lily’s mother was anything like her daughter, everyone would be well cared for.
The woman cleared her throat. “It was the tall man who helped us. The one with blue eyes. He brought us our clothes and told us how to find our way out.”
Mackenzie looked over at the dark prison behind them. She caught a glimpse of a figure in an upper window. Alfonso. As she stared, an eerie orange light flickered behind him. Then he turned away from the window and was gone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Mackenzie couldn’t be sure if an hour or a week had passed when she woke up amidst a pile of pillows and beneath a golden down comforter. Bright light filtered through her eyelids as she yawned and arched like a cat, her back cracking several times. Although the thrumming of Dom’s pulse was lighter than if he were in the same room, she still stretched her legs to the opposite side of the bed, hoping maybe he was buried away from the sunlight underneath the covers. But the sheets on his side were cool, so he’d been up for a while.
She felt him nearby, elsewhere in the loft. Good. She needed to discuss something with him.
Slipping from the bed, she walked naked to the wall of windows. He’d opened the blinds for her, and she smiled.
Absently, she rubbed the tender bruises at her wrists and on the delicate skin inside her elbows as she watched a container ship, guided by two tugboats, move through Elliott Bay. She pushed her fingers through her hair, expecting to meet with the tangled resistance of major bedhead, but instead they slid right through. He must have brushed her hair again as she slept.
The thrilling heat of anticipation blasted through her veins and she felt Dom’s presence getting stronger as he approached from somewhere else in the loft. Although she knew the light wouldn’t bother him nearly as much now with her blood in his system, she hit the button for the automatic blinds, and they droned closed.
Dom entered carrying a tray of breakfast food. As the air wafted in, the smell of bacon and coffee made her stomach rumble.
“Mmm. You’re up.” His eyes raked her from head to toe, and a promising smile formed on his lips before he busied himself with setting the tray on the bed and fluffing her pillows. “Feeling better?”
She closed the distance between them and hooked her arms around his waist from behind. He was so warm, and she rubbed her cheek along his shoulder blades, inhaling the scent of his skin.
“Yes, much,” she mumbled, not wanting to exhale. His low-slung pajama bottoms barely covered his hips, and she wondered if they were the only article of clothing he wore. Slipping her fingers beneath the drawstring waistband, she confirmed her suspicions.
“Good morning to you, too.” He turned to face her, brushing his lips against the hollow of her neck, his stubble tickling her skin, awakening her nerve endings like a blast of electricity. “First things first.” Gripping her shoulders, he turned her away. “Get in and eat.”
She climbed back under the covers and he set the tray across her lap. Lifting her chin to him, she gave him her warmest smile as she let him attend to her. His hair fell forward, grazing the tops of his shoulders, and his brows furrowed with concentration as he first cranked the salt grinder over the scrambled eggs, then the peppermill. After opening her napkin,he sprawled out next to her on the bed to watch her eat. How could she concentrate? The closer he was, the harder he was to ignore. She fought the urge to push the tray aside.
“It looks and smells almost perfect. Thank you.”
“Almost?”
Raising an eyebrow, she looked pointedly at him for a moment then blew him an air kiss before turning her attention back to her food. Did he know how much she loved him? He reached out an arm and his fingers twisted a lock of her hair.
Yes, I do, love.
