AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“As you say. ”
“I don’t get it. Are you angry?”
He hustled me along, pushing me gently down the corridor. “It appears that, despite my best efforts, I’m not dead yet. So aye, I’m mad as a wet cat. But we McClouds are accustomed to adversity. ”
That I’d been the one to piss him off troubled me more than it should have. “Well, excuse me. ” I stopped short, and he bumped into me. “I can’t think of many things more adverse than dying alone in a dark cell. ”
He barked out a laugh.
“What is so funny?” I thought I was being deadly serious.
“My reprieve has been granted at the hands of a wee spitfire, and I find it funny indeed. It’s an aggravating thing, bonding to a child. ” He chucked me on the chin. “But at least you’re easy on the eyes. ”
Easy on the eyes. Nobody had ever told me anything like that before, and it confused and annoyed me. I angled my head away. “I am not a child. ”
“I was born in 1732. Trust me, you may have a woman’s body”—his eyes raked over me, and I felt those flames flicker again in instant response—“but you’re still a child. ” He ran a finger down my cheek. “Shut that mouth before I kiss it again. Now, let’s go surprise Hugo, shall we?”
The slow burn in my body was doused at the mention of Alcántara. How had I forgotten Alcántara and my escape? I stopped short. “Is this bonding thing permanent?”
“Not even death is permanent, girl. ” He swatted me on the butt to move me along. “But if we stay here much longer, that’s a theory we’ll have the opportunity to test. ”
Never had I ever been swatted on the butt before. This Carden completely threw me off, and his amusement appeared to rise in direct relation to my aggravation, which of course aggravated me further. “I have a name, you know. ”
He glanced down at me, his brows raised.
“A name,” I repeated, whispering now, close to the spiral staircase. “I have a name, and it’s not girl. ”
“Well?”
I stood as tall as my five-foot-two-inch frame would get me. “Annelise Drew. Acari Drew. ”
He chuckled low. “Acari. Such nonsense. Fine then, Acari Drew. Hold on. ” He swept me into his arms and swung me up over his shoulder.
I yelped.
“Hush. ” He swatted me again for good measure. “We McClouds have a motto, girl. Hold fast. ” Guarding my head with his hand, he jogged up the narrow staircase.
I held on, but his shoulder jostled into my belly, and the blood rushed to my head. “Ow…crap…my ribs. ” I pounded a fist into his back. “This isn’t necessary. ”
He gripped tighter, speaking in the barest whisper. “I’ll decide what’s necessary and what’s not. Let’s call that step one of our new plan. ”
I hoped his strategy was more complex than that, because I didn’t think
the vampires would let him just jog out of there, with me slung over a shoulder like his Neanderthal bride. We emerged from the stairwell and made it only halfway down the hall before I sensed another presence. He turned his head, whispering to me, and I felt his breath through my dress, hot on my skin. “Hide your blade. ”
He stiffened beneath me and slowed but didn’t stop walking. “My new feeder,” he announced. “It was too much for her. ”
I went limp, playing dead, but I realized Carden’s mistake the same moment he did: He’d spoken in English.
“Shite,” he cursed under his breath.
“Such a charming accent—you must be McCloud. ” I recognized Brother Jacob’s voice speaking in thickly accented English. “What a surprise. Leaving so soon?”
Carden adjusted me on his shoulder, his hand a vice grip on the back of my thigh. “I had thoughts in that direction, aye. ”
“But you must be weakened from your captivity. Or did this pretty snack take care of you?” I heard Jacob step closer. “I sense her blood still pumps. You won’t mind if I share?”
“I’m afraid I do. ” Carden slid me down his body—his long, muscled body—and set me down, shielded behind his back.
