AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why? Got somewhere to be?”
The new guard grinned. “Yes, someone is waiting on me. She’s got a nice body and a feisty bite. And when I grab her and put her to my lips,” he licked his bottom lip and raised his brows, “she makes my head spin.” He laughed, and it was the first warmth Ali had felt in days. Her face flushed again, but it was not from embarrassment. Why was she having this reaction?
The first guard slapped his shoulder in amusement. “It doesn’t matter how much you love the bottle, Nik. She’ll never love you back.” He turned and headed back. “Just a few more groups to go. When we’re done here, I’ll meet you at the bar. Friends don’t let friends drink alone.”
“Friend is a bold word,” Nik yelled back at him. He grabbed a hose and focused his attention back on the women. “Spread out. Uncross your arms.”
He didn’t gawk at their bodies the way the last guard had. Instead, he looked bored as he sprayed them down from head to toe. The water was freezing cold, and her nipples hardened but she kept her arms pressed to her sides. This was the most dehumanizing experience she’d ever endured.
She distracted herself by watching the dirty water run down her legs. She hadn’t realized how much blood and filth had accumulated during their trek. As much as the water stung, she was glad to be clean.
The guard, Nik, moved closer and took his time rinsing each of the women. As he moved toward Ali, he aimed the water at her shoulders and slowly moved the hose down. She’d been naked in front of Eli before, but she had never felt this exposed. The blast of the water stung against her newly tattooed skin. He took a suspicious amount of time over her breasts and then her midsection. She looked up when he got to her groin. To her surprise, he wasn’t looking at her bare body. He was staring at her face.
Her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were a steely blue that contrasted his disheveled dark brown hair and the stubble covering his jaw. Moisture clung to his bangs and cheeks. His features were strikingly sharp, like a cold, hard, impenetrable fortress. He was an unwavering mountain, and he had all the confidence she lacked in this moment.
His gaze was penetrating. So much so that she might’ve been more comfortable if he had been gawking at her body and not her soul.
“Turn around.” His voice was deep and soothing. His jaw clenched and heat radiated through her body again. What is that? She didn’t know why he kept having that effect on her, but she wanted him to keep speaking so she could figure it out.
She turned slowly, obeying his command. He grumbled something inaudible and pushed her hair over her shoulder. Her chills had nothing to do with the temperature. She was hyperaware of his fingertips grazing her nape.
The water trailed over her back and down her body while she struggled to breathe. For a moment, she felt lightheaded. When he moved to the woman on Ali’s right, her heart rate slowly returned to normal. She bit her lip and snuck a look at his profile.
The fringe of his hair swung softly in front of his eyes. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and she admired the muscle and veins protruding on his forearms. His hands were rough and calloused. This likely wasn’t his main job in Rysburg. He probably did something else with his hands to have developed that rugged exterior. Or perhaps his rough hands were the result of a hobby? He was tall. Not quite as tall as Eli, but maybe just an inch or two shorter. He also wasn’t as lanky as Eli. His shoulders were broad and strong.
He glanced her way and caught her staring. She should’ve been terrified, and part of her was, but she also couldn’t look away. He was enchanting.
He clenched his jaw and looked away, moving on to the final woman. She squeezed her fists and realized that her hands were clammy.
How in the hell am I sweating when it’s freezing here?
Nik finished and went to hang the hose back on the wall. His arms weren’t the only muscular part of his body. She stared at his backside as he walked away, impure thoughts trickling into her mind. She shook her head to rid them. Now wasn’t the time for intrusive thoughts. It made no sense to be thinking about him like this. She did her best to calm her conflicting feelings.
“Hold out your hands.” The women did as he said, and he placed a metal band on each of their wrists. They were cold and rubbed against her already irritated skin. She itched to take them off the moment they touched her.
She shifted back and forth on her feet, uncomfortable as he dug into a bin of freshly washed underwear. She tried not to think too much about how his hand brushed hers as he passed them to her.
He opened the door on the opposite side of the room and waved them through. As she passed him, she tried not to notice his muscular arms leaning against the door frame. Or think about his ass. She gulped when she suddenly became self-conscious about her own ass covered in thin, sheer underwear. She desperately hoped he was still keeping his eyes up.
Or maybe I wouldn’t mind if he looked down.
Her eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting. There were several cells in front of them and the guard led them down a hall to the left, where a maze of cells spread out. He brought each of the other two women to their cells and took Ali to one in a far corner. She couldn’t retrace her steps if she tried. It must be by design that they didn’t want them to know the way out.
Clothing was laid out on a small cot, and she wasted no time grabbing it to cover up. The thin gray T-shirt and black sweatpants swallowed her small frame but she was grateful to have clean clothes again.
A small window at the top of the cell revealed that daylight was nearly gone. She’d survived another day, and she would continue to do so.
Day by day, she would keep going. She would keep fighting.
She glanced around her cell. There was nothing else to do, so she lay down on the cot. It wasn’t much worse than her bed back home, but not as comfy as Eli’s. Stiff, but it wouldn’t stop her from sleeping. No, what would stop her were the thoughts racing through her head. Replaying the events of the past forty-eight hours. That uneasy conversation with her mom. A normal day with Eli. Andus under attack. Her mom being murdered. The long trek to Rysburg. A brutal intake process.
And steely blue eyes that light me on fire.
***
Chapter Seven
The sun set by the time Nik was finished with his duties. He hadn’t expected it to take so long, but they captured more people than the scouts had estimated. He and the other guard rounded up the plastic bins and took them to be sorted. Judging by the state of these prisoners, there wasn’t much that would be salvaged off their backs.
