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"Allura," she muses. "That's very pretty and very fitting."
I smile nervously. "Thanks."
She beams. "You're very welcome." Then she sticks out her hand. "May I?"
Blaise smacks her hand away. "I said no."
Poppy juts out her bottom lip. "I was just going to shake her hand."
"Sure you were." Sarcasm oozes from Blaise's tone.
"I'll shake your hand," Zander says in a daze. "If you'll allow me."
Poppy deliberates then offers him her hand. "But this is the last time for tonight."
Nodding, Zander wraps his fingers around hers, and then brings her knuckles to his nose. As he breathes in deeply, his eyes gloss over and he lets out a husky moan. "So ... wonderful ..."
Poppy smiles then wiggles her hand free from her grip. "Now, boys, what else can I do for you?"
"We need to put her in something more inconspicuous," Zander explains drunkenly, slumping against the wall.
Poppy inspects me with her hands clasped together. "Just how inconspicuous are you looking for?"
"Enough that we can get her in and out of the library without anyone questioning us," Blaise explains, hovering at my side.
"The library, huh?" She dithers, bobbing her head to the side. "I'd ask why, but you probably won't tell me."
"No, we won't," Blaise says firmly. "So don't even ask."
"Fine, I won't," Poppy replies, shooting him a dirty look. "But you will pay me for the clothes."
"Fine by me." Blaise reaches into his jacket pocket, retrieves a large, round copper object, and flicks it at Poppy.
She catches the object, tucks it down the front of her corset, and then claps her hands together. "Well, then, shall we get started?" Without waiting for anyone to respond, she begins sifting through the seemingly endless amount of clothes. "Nope. Nope. Definitely nope." She twists around to assess me with her hand propped on her hip. "You know what? I think I have a better idea." She crosses the room and disappears into the tunnel.
Blaise blows out an exasperated sigh. "Man, she can really drive me crazy."
"That's because you don't know how to have fun ..." Zander murmurs, sinking to the floor with his eyelids halfway lowered.
Blaise shakes his head. "You do realize you're addicted, right?"
Zander clumsily lifts his finger, nearly poking himself in the eye. "Not quite."
"It'll ruin you one day," Blaise assures him. "Robot or not, your brain can only handle so much poison."
"Well, at least I'll have fun up until I'm ruined," he slurs, his head bobbing to the side as he passes out.
"Is he all right?" I ask, turning toward Blaise.
Blaise gives a half-shrug as he begins ambling around the room with his thinking face on.
Sensing he's troubled, I ask, "Are you all right?"
"Always." He makes a small path around the room, staring at the floor with his fist pressed to his chin. "I'm just thinking about what my next move is."
"After what?"
"After you show me where the channels are."
I feel terribly guilty over knowing that Blaise's sister isn't where I was. At least, not when they rescued me. Then again, there were other people in the cells around me at one point. Like the girl I talked to sometimes who barely comprehended words but brought me comfort in listening.
"You think your sister will be there?" I ask, reclining against the wall behind me.
He lifts his shoulders, shrugging. "I'm not sure, but I have to check. I have to check everywhere until I find her."
"You're a good brother, then?" I wonder if I had any siblings. If I did, I can't recall their names or what they looked like.
"No, I'm not."
"It seems like you are--trying to rescue your sister no matter what."
"Yeah, well, it's my fault she needs rescuing." He steps beside me, removes his fist from his chin, and props his palm against the dirt wall. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Pressing my lips together, I shake my head.
He sinks down beside me, reclines against the wall, and stretches his legs out. "Well, trust me when I say that, as an older brother, you're supposed to protect your younger brothers and sisters, no matter the costs. And if something happens to them, it becomes your burden and guilt to bear."
I draw my knees to my chest. "That doesn't sound very fair. I mean, what if what happened to them was completely out of your hands?"
"It's still my burden and guilt to bear." He stares straight ahead. "Until I save her."
"Then you'll forgive yourself?"
"If she's okay."
"And what if she isn't?"
His gaze welds with mine as he looks at me and, for the briefest moment, I swear I see a trace of the Blaise I know.
"Then I'll let my guilt drown me," he says, the passion in his voice branding my soul.
I open my mouth to convince him he's wrong when Poppy whisks back into the room, carrying a small stack of clothes and a pair of heeled boots.
"This will look absolutely amazing on you." She sets the pile of clothes down on a chair in the corner of the room then turns toward Blaise and shoos him toward the door.
"You need to leave while she gets dressed." She waits for Blaise to rise to his feet then walks over to Zander and pokes the tip of her boot against his hip. "Wake up, darling. You need to leave."
Zander's eyelids lift, and he blinks profusely up at Poppy. "We're done already?"
"No, we need to step out." Blaise strides across the room, grabs Zander's arm, and helps him to his feet. "And apparently get you some fresh air so you can wake the fuck up. I can't have you all doped up while we do this."
Zander staggers to the side, bumping into the wall. "Why? Are you afraid something will go wrong?"
"Who knows? But I never exclude the possibility." Sighing heavily, Blaise drapes Zander's arm over his shoulder and guides him toward the tunnel. "I'm stepping out for exactly five minutes, and then I'm coming back in," he calls over his shoulder to Poppy. "And she better be completely coherent." He exits the room with Zander stumbling to keep up.
Poppy glares at the door. "He's a bossy one, isn't he?"
"Not always." I grow fidgety, too aware I'm alone in a room with a stranger. "You just have to get to know him, and then he warms up."
She glances at me with suspicious. "How do you know him?"
Realizing my mistake, I tense. "I just met him today."
"Then it's awfully early to be making speculations about his personality, don't you think?"
"I guess so."
"Hmmm ..." She traces her finger along her lips, studying me. "Where did you come from before you showed up here?"
I discreetly twist my arm so my wrist is pointing behind me. "From around."
She watches me too closely. "From around where, exactly?"
"Blaise told me not to tell you," I say, crossing my fingers she won't know I'm lying.
She grinds her teeth as she shakes her head. "Typical Blaise." She spins back around and picks up the clothes. "All I did was give him a little break from his moodiness, and how does he repay me?" She shoves the clothes at me. "By treating me like shit."
I take the clothes from her, unsure what to say. I completely understand Blaise getting upset with her for poisoning him, but I fear she'll try to poison me if I say so.
My silence makes her laugh.
"You're thinking I deserve his treatment, right? That helping people relax somehow makes me a bad person?" Her boots kick up dirt as she inches closer to me. "I guess I might as well do it then, if you're going to judge me." She dips her mouth toward my ear while skimming her finger up my arm. "I could eat you up, you know that?" She nicks her teeth along my earlobe. "Maybe I will one day."
I feel like I should be running for the hills, or at least flipping out, but a sedated calmness glistens over me.
"Maybe you will," I murmur, every muscle in my body unwinding.
When she leans back, she's smiling. "Not so ba
d, is it?"
My head bobs from side to side. "No, it really, really isn't. It's actually wonderful. Like I'm in faerie land."
She laughs softly. "Well, I don't know what faerie land is, but it sounds awfully lovely."
I let out a contented sigh. "I don't either, but it sounds amazing."
Grinning, she leans forward and kisses me on the lips. A spark ignites inside my chest, and I almost pull her back, kiss her hard and fiercely until nothing is left inside her. But she moves away quicker than I move my arm to grab her.
"I'm going to go entertain Zander while you get dressed," she tells me, dabbing her lips with her fingertips.
"Wait ... Come back ..." I reach for her, but she's already gone.
Sighing, I set down the clothes she gave me and peel off my tank top and shorts. Then I grab the first article of clothing on the top of the stack: a leather corset embroidered with various shades of gold, deep browns, and silver chain. It takes a lot of sucking in and holding my breath to get the binding top on, but I manage. Then I slip into the sheer black skirt that flows at the back and bunches at the front. Next comes fishnet tights and a choker. The look is topped off by black boots that lace up all the way to my upper thighs.
