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“No. If she wants them, the lass can come get them. Can’t she?”
The idea of getting out of this blood-stained dress is far too comforting to pass up, so I take a cautious step forward. Then another. Conary holds steady delight in my compliance, evident in his sadistic grin.
As soon as I’m close enough, I reach out and grip the fabric. Before I can pull it back, he yanks me forward, gripping my forearm and yanking me against the bars. Rafferty is at my side in an instant, his arm through the bars and gripping the arm that pins me.
“You’ll want to let her go,” he warns, “or I’ll snap your fucking arm like a twig.”
“Do that, and I’ll rip her through these bars with such force it will crack her pretty little neck.” Fingers brush against my throat. “And what a pretty little neck it is.”
“Let. Her. The.Fuck.Go.”
Rafferty’s voice simmers with violence.
Conary grins and releases me. Rafferty lets him go and takes a step back with me. “Go on and change, little bird.” Gone is his attempt at appearing charming, which makes me wonder just what he was getting at in the first place. Or is he truly bipolar?
“Not until you leave.”
He grins at me. “I have all day, and I’m under strict orders to take that dress back upstairs.”
My skin crawls with the idea of removing any clothing in front of this pervert, so I toss the clothes to the ground.
“Let me make this clear for you. Either you change now, or I will come in there and do it for you.”
“Come in and you won’t leave alive.”
Conary chuckles at Rafferty’s threat. “Your threats are worthless to me, Raffe.”
“Then come in.” Rafferty takes a step back and holds out his arms.
“Sounds fun.” Conary unsheathes his blade and moves toward the gate. Fear over my cellmate kicks me into courage mode, and I shake my head, leaning down and grasping the clothes.
“No. I’ll do it.”
“Ember—”
“No. It’s fine,” I interrupt Rafferty, and Conary stops right in front of the bars.
“Go ahead, then. Don’t be shy.” Sheathing his blade, he crosses his arms and stares at me. Rafferty steps to the right and positions himself as much in front of me as he can get.
With shaking fingers, I untie the ribbon over my left shoulder that holds the dress in place. It flutters to the ground, revealing a chemise that barely covers anything. It’s unstained, so I start to leave it on.
“Chemise, too, little bird. Prisoners do not wear silk.” He grins as he says the words, licking his lips as he glances around Rafferty at me. My cellmate moves farther to the right and takes a step back, nearly completely obliterating the other man’s view.
With a deep breath, I drop it to the ground and force my eyes down as I quickly slip into the fabric he brought down for me. The long skirt is tattered and torn where huge spots of missing fabric show my skin beneath. But at least, it’s more fabric than the pathetic top that barely covers my breasts.
As soon as I’m covered, though, I grab the blood-stained dress and chemise and shove past Raffe, throwing them through the bars at Conary’s smiling face.
“See, was that so hard, little bird?”
“Screw you,” I spit back, and immediately regret my choice of words.
“Oh? Is that an offer?” He reaches down and grabs his groin. “I’ll make a woman out of you.”
“You got what you wanted,” Rafferty growls. “Get the fuck on.”
Conary chuckles and shakes his head. “I can’t wait to tell your brother just how protective you are of his bride. I believe he’ll find it to be quite interesting.”
As soon as he’s out of sight, I let out a breath. Rafferty, however, turns to the wall and slams his fist into the stone. Bones crack, and I gape at him in horror.
