“Dufuq you say?” The passion slowly cleared from his gaze, and he reluctantly let her go, allowing her to sit up fully. He propped himself on his elbows as she slid off the obvious bulge in his pants, the evidence of her effect on him.
“Someone is outside, yelling loudly.”
His gaze hardened, and he groaned, running his hand down his face. “Whoever it is, they’re dead.”
She couldn’t help the tiny smile that graced her lips. As she turned away and retrieved her bandeau bra and his shirt he offered earlier, he sat up fully and rested an arm on a lifted knee, hiding from her that part of him that had to be throbbing painfully right now. Once she was covered completely, he stood slowly and started for the entrance.
She picked up her bow and arrows, slung them on her back, and ran to catch up to him with a sigh. Part of her hoped it was her sister, but another part of her was quite pissed off that she’d be left frustrated if it were.
Her body ached with unsatisfied desire. So much for a little side-action.
If it was her sister, she wouldn’t allow Rise to hurt her, no matter how unmet his needs were. But, if she were being honest, at least at first, Liv might not welcome her with open arms. If she weren’t careful, Val might accidentally walk her face right into Liv’s open palm. Accidentally, of course.
10
Once the cool air hit his face, Rise felt his temper recede, and his sense of mind return. He still couldn’t believe what he’d been about to do. In all of his life, he’d never been so lost to lust as he had been with Liv, the daughter of his enemy. Who was he kidding? Up until she’d told him the tortures she’d endured at the hands of her father, he had thought her a proper villain as well. He still wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with her.
If he were smart, which he clearly wasn’t, he would stop the fucking nonsense and take her straight to her father, get close enough to chop the bastard’s head off, and be done with the entire family. Instead, he was still sporting half a hard-on for a woman who probably was playing him for the fool he was turning out to be. Even now, with the crook of her finger, he’d probably kneel before her, drooling, and let his head be ripped from his shoulders without the slightest bit of a struggle. For all he knew, it had been her plan all along, and her sister was waiting on the other side of the beach to put an arrow right through his heart. It was the least of what he deserved for letting his guard down.
Yet, as he rounded a rather jagged boulder, he didn’t see an army waiting to attack. Instead, he saw a small, lone figure standing at the water’s edge, hands cupped around his mouth, calling out toward the choppy water in front of him.
He stopped to watch, wondering if the creature they’d fought merely an hour before might come out and snatch the figure right off the beach in front of them.
“It’s just a kid.”
Rise shifted his focus to his right where Liv edged up beside him, looking no worse for the wear. Tension still pulled his muscles tight, and he resented the fact she obviously wasn’t hurting as much as he was.
“Well, how the hell did he get here?”
“I don’t know. I mean, could he have just wandered into your dimension?”
Rise turned his gaze back toward the interloping child. “Not without some help.” But who the hell was letting others into his dimension?
He had an idea, but he still wasn’t sure how Liv’s sister could have opened his seal. It was unbreakable to any who had come before her. As a matter of fact, being able to create a dimension at will was the only thing that had finally saved him from a life…and early death…of slavery.
The smile that lifted her lips shouldn’t have brought one to his, but he knew what she was thinking. She was convinced that her sister would be with them soon and would alleviate her fate from his odious presence. However, Rise only saw an opportunity to entice Grawl so convincingly, he wouldn’t see the trap closing around him until it was too late. Grawl would never be able to say no to getting his hands on both daughters.
For the smallest of moments, though, doubt crept in. He didn’t doubt he could pull off his plan. For some ridiculousreason, he was now questioning whether heshoulduse Liv as bait.
On the one hand, she never thought twice about using him as just another slave in the palace. Yet, she had remembered him. She had called him “her dream.” He had meant something to her, even if it was to bring her peace in her uncertain existence. She hadn’t been able to count on much, but she had counted on his presence. Something about that gave him pause.
The smile fell from his face as he planted his hands on his hips and glared at her. He fucking hated that she still had any effect on him. But she did. There was no denying it.
She looped an arm through his and leaned her sexy body into him. He glanced down at the electrifying connection. Damn if his cock didn’t take notice.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out how he got here. Let’s go ask him.”
On his list of things he never wanted to do, possibly one of the very first things at the top of the list was to interact with children, matter alone, in a dimension he created specifically to avoid people, most especially children. But seeing as they’d almost been killed by creatures he hadn’t let in, and a random kid had found his way in, Rise needed information.
So, without saying anything more, he met her gaze and nodded, and they started walking toward the kid, her arm entwined with his for the whole way.
It wasn’t unpleasant.
As they got closer, Rise listened to the kid calling over the sound of the whistling of the wind and the quiet slosh of the water, “Spot! Here boy! No more playing around! We’ve got to go now!”
They stopped, without notice, once they were a few feet away. The kid was a scrawny thing, no more than four feet tall. He had scraggly, black hair that stuck out around his ears,and his skin was brownish, possibly from the layer of dust that seemed to coat him, but it was hard to tell for sure. He wore what looked like a blue tunic with purple detail that covered his arms and chest, hitting just below his knees. A bulky, leather vest was layered over the tunic, for what looked like decoration or possibly warmth. Underneath the tunic, he seemed to be wearing some sort of dark-colored leggings, and a pair of soft-leather shoes. His voice was high-pitched and desperate. Something that reminded Rise of a younger version of himself.
Liv cleared her throat, and the young boy turned toward them, wide-eyed. He swallowed with a loud gulp right before his chin dropped, and his mouth opened wide. Rise sensed his muscles tensing to run.
