Drake’s mouth curved faintly, and the room swam again. Damn it.You willnotcollapse.
All he needed was five minutes. Five minutes to stop the bleeding and pull himself back together. He didn’t want her to panic. Or God forbid, turning into a hysterical woman running off to find help.
He turned his wounded side away from her. “There’s a crate of cognac to your left. Bring me a bottle.”
She moved to the crates. “Ah, right. For the wound.”
Drake leaned a hand on the desk, letting the cool wood steady him while the room swayed. Christ, he needed a distraction. “There’s more art beneath those cloths, if you’re inclined,” he added. “A Caravaggio, I was told.”
The fog pressed harder at the edges of his vision. He forced his gaze to remain sharp, his breath even. Bloody hell. He refused to go down in front of Violet Sharpe. The last time they’d both been in a dungeon, she’d locked him inside. This time, who knew what the woman might do.
But the floor still tipped. His last coherent thought, embarrassingly, was that he didn’t want her to panic, but he had no control over his body. One moment he was upright, reaching for his supplies, the next, his strength simply disappeared.
Then bloody nothing.
Chapter Twelve
Violet glared atthe unconscious man at her feet. How many hours had passed? She’d stitched him up, doused the wound with expensive brandy, and wrapped him up, and still he didn’t wake. She took a slow swig from the bottle, settling deeper into the sofa, her gaze never leaving him. There was a glass for the cognac on the desk, but she couldn’t be bothered. She’d known he’d been lying about beingfine, but she hadn’t grasped the depth of his stupidity. The man hadn’t come close to sharing the extent of his injury!
Blazes, she’d never forget the horror of him crumbling in all her life. Had he died on her? That had been her first thought. Her hands had trembled searching for a pulse. When she found one, the relief had been unimaginable. She’d scurried to get the wound sutured and cleaned, all the while he lay blissfully unaware.
Like the deuced fool he was!
Of course, fainting from blood loss could probably not be considered bliss, but he’d left her in complete scrambling misery!
She narrowed her gaze on him.
Not so strong at the moment, heh?
How could he hide such a thing from her? Was it that hard to admit? Then again, her anger wasn’t directed at him alone.She could slap herself as well. How had she not realized the male with her was being insufferablymale? Her foot itched to lash out at him.
She ought to let him fend for himself.
This man was dark. King of the underworld.Hades.
Hah!
If he’s the dark, what does that make you for lingering?
Good question.
She could have left ages ago. She could have borrowed his horse and returned home. The beast would most likely find its way home if she let it loose after that. Yet she stayed, as if she couldn’t leave. As though it were impossible. If he hadn’t been injured, she might have attempted to slap him awake. The man deserved some form of lesson!
Violet stilled, her fingers tightening on the bottle.
This was not the first time the thought, or the desire, had crossed her mind, but it was the first time it disturbed her.Punishment.The word provoked memories she preferred buried. Much more than usual. Her brother had wielded punishment like a weapon, indiscriminate and cruel, meant to diminish any defiance until there was nothing left but obedience in the world he had created for her.
Had she mistaken herself entirely? Was there more of her brother in her than she cared to acknowledge?
No, Vi. You’re nothing like him.
This was not that.
If she bore any resemblance to her brother, she would already have turned her back and walked away without so much as a hint of guilt. Perhaps punishment was too crude a word, she decided. One mired in cruelty.
What stirred in her now was something else entirely. Something brazen, altogether sinful, and very much impertinent in nature. Also entirely against her better judgment. However,the more she stared at him, the more the desire strengthened. Should she attempt to wake him by pinching his arm again?
Violet suddenly laughed.
