He glares at me, resentment flashing in his beady eyes, but he’s smart enough to do as I commanded and lower his arm. With a shallow nod, he acknowledges my bid. “Sold to the nobleman in the back for five hundred gold pieces!” he declares, quickly moving on to the next pawn.
Though my family was well-off, I am far from being of noble birth. But it suits my purpose to lean into the assumption that my tailored wardrobe and ability to throw around large sums of money affords me. Fortunately, I’ve had little need to spend my earnings over the years, leaving me ample funds for this mission.
Leaning back against the cold stone wall behind me, I cross my arms over my chest and wait as the rest of the auction unfolds. My gaze never leaves her, nor does hers stray from me. She lifts her pointed chin and glares, a silent challenge that all but promises her wrath if I dare to test her. With the bloodstains still fresh on the dealer’s shirt, I don’t doubt her resolve.
Her wordless threat is unnecessary. I might be heartless, but I’m not a monster. I would never own a pawn. My impetuous decision to bid on her was for the sole purpose of granting her freedom. Once the exchange is made, I’ll escort her to the outskirts of the city and send her on her way.
The rest of the auction proceeds quickly. As the crowd begins to disperse, the successful bidders approach the platform to claim their purchases. Watching the other women get passed over like goods rather than people sours my gut. But I don’t have the funds with me to help them all. Plus, buying that many pawns would draw even more attention, and I’ve already drawn more than I should.
When it’s my turn, I cross over to where the dealer is busy removing the manacle that chains her ankle to the platform, and I get my first good look at the woman. If I thought her beautiful from a hundred paces, up close she is positively breathtaking.
Her eyes are a pale green, like the color of new leaves after a long winter, with flecks of sunlit amber swirling within. Tiny freckles dust her nose and cheeks, and a slight indent graces the center of her lower lip. It’s barely noticeable, yet it makes all the difference in how badly I want to capture it between my teeth and trace it with my tongue.
She cants her head ever so slightly as she studies me, like I’m a puzzle she might solve if she looks from the right angle. And if I fail to control my wayward thoughts, soon my cock will be at a right angle as well.
The moment shatters when the pawn dealer straightens. I expect him to remove the manacles chaining her wrists together like he did with the others, but instead, he hands me the key. “Best if you keep this one trussed up till you teach her some manners, my lord,” he says with a conspiratorial wink.
It takes all my resolve not to finish what the woman next to me started.
“I will take that under advisement,” I reply with asmile that is more a baring of teeth than anything near cordial. I hand him a large pouch of gold coins and grasp the short chain connecting her hands.
He hefts the pouch a few times, then tips an imaginary hat. “Thank you, my lord. If ye’d like a collar, it’ll be an extra—”
“That will not be necessary,” I grumble as I lead her down the wooden steps and through the town square. If I never see that bastard again, it will be too soon.
“Where are we going?”
Hearing her address me takes me by surprise. I so rarely speak to anyone these days unless it’s out of necessity, and I don’t need to speak with her.
“Hellooooo,” she persists, annoyance coloring her tone as she does her best to keep up with my long strides. “Are you going to answer me?”
I stay silent and continue walking.
“Fine. Two can play at that game. If you won’t talk to me, then I’m not talking to you. How do you like that, buddy?”
The corner of my mouth almost lifts as I continue to lead her through the streets, careful to avoid the rockier paths that would be hard on her stockinged feet.
“Whatever. This is all just a figment of my imagination anyway,” she mutters. “That’s the last time I let Stella dose me with edibles, I can tell you that much. Definitely not looking forward to unpacking that whole unpleasant trafficking situation. And being saved by a comically stereotypical tall, dark, and drool-worthy hero?” She chuffs out a laugh. “I’ve never been a damsel-in-distress type, so I don’t know what my subconscious is trying to tell me with that one.”
Now my mouthdoesquirk up, though I keep my gaze straight ahead. She is definitely odd, this one. Perhaps even a bit touched in the head. That could explain the strange clothing and complete lack of self-preservation.
Unable to resist engaging, I glance over my shoulder as we walk. “Maybe it is saying that you talk too much.”
She gasps dramatically. “Hedoesknow how to speak. If you’d done that sooner, I wouldn’t have had to fill the silence, so you only have yourself to blame on that one, Prince Charming.”
My shoulders tense at the mention of the title. Is that her way of telling me she knows my connection to Valen? No, I am making too much of it. Up until a few minutes ago, she was an imprisoned pawn who came from gods know where. She cannot possibly know who I am or why I’m here. Still…
Halting my steps, I turn to face her, and she nearly crashes into me. My hands instinctively reach out, gripping her slender arms to steady her. “I am far from a prince—or charming,” I say, injecting just enough edge to my tone to make my point clear. “And even if you were a damsel in distress, I am most definitelynota hero.”
“Clearly,” she replies, arching a copper brow. “Imprisoning a defenseless woman is not what I would consider heroic.”
“Defenseless? You call bloodying a man’s nose defenseless?”
“Under the circumstances, I call bloodying that bastard’s nose a complete necessity.”
Her quick wit is both aggravating and amusing. “Is that what you’re going to do to me? Bloody my nose for rescuing you?”
She huffs. “I wouldn’t waste my energy on you.”
