Captive of the Deep (9 page)

Rigel’s finger slid over hers, breaking through the residual numbness left over from her dive down. She hadn’t noticed it before, yet here she was, feeling his finger on her hand as if it was the first time. It caused her to ache all over—her breasts, her stomach, her thighs and sex. Only the laughter behind them stopped her from grabbing Rigel’s face and kissing him like she wanted to.

Her mouth tingled. It was agony. His finger stopped and she drew her eyes to his. He looked the same. Was it possible all the feelings assaulting her senses were hers alone?

She pulled her hand away under the pretense of looking behind them to the kitchen. It didn’t matter. She could still feel his touch.

Seeing her eyes on them, the twins stopped talking and looked at her. It was hard to tell them apart but for their clothes. Brutus nodded in her direction and gave a meaningful glance to Demon, who in turn nodded once.

“You should bring her tonight,” Demon said to Rigel.

“Bring me?” Lyra asked, looking at the man next to her. The fluttering again assaulted her heart. “Where?”

“To see—” Brutus began.

“I do not think that is a good idea,” Rigel interrupted, standing.

“No?” Demon asked, arching a brow.

“It is a family matter,” Rigel insisted.

“And is she not family?” Brutus challenged. “She is your ward, given the protection of our family name, and if I am not mistaken you will soon announce her as your wife.”

“Wife?” It was Lyra’s turn to stand.

“You were seen,” Demon gave short laugh, before saying, “out by the castle wall.”

“Brennus and Vitus were none too quiet about your half naked trip through the hall,” Brutus added. “The king asks us often when you will make the announcement.”

“We’re to make an announcement tonight?” Lyra shivered. Why was the idea of being Rigel’s wife not as repulsive as it should be?

“No,” Rigel stated flatly. “There is to be no announcement. Lyra and I have an agreed upon arrangement between us.”

This time the twins’ expressions were not so cheerful. Brutus asked, “Then there is to be no wedding?”

“No,” Rigel answered.

“And you agree to this?” Demon asked, shocked.

Lyra suspected if she were to claim she was not, both brothers would be forced to defend her honor against Rigel. Not wanting to see a brotherly brawl, she nodded her head. “Yes, I have agreed to it.”

“Had I known that was an option I would have put my bid in,” Demon muttered. “Aidan would have us think all surface dames want marriage.”

“Dames?” Lyra repeated. “Yeah, that sounds like Aidan.”

“Perhaps Cassandra will also be in search of a lover,” Brutus said. “If Iason brings her back from the countryside we can ask her.”

“Do not bother. There is no way she would pick you. I am the handsomer twin. Everyone knows that,” Demon said.

“Is that what your pleasure nymph tells you?” Brutus teased.

Lyra closed her eyes and for a moment she could imagine it was her brothers talking, teasing each other. The ache came back. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes. Softly, she said to Rigel, “I’m going to lie down and rest.”

He studied her face and nodded. “We will go so we don’t wake you.”

After saying the customary things expected of her to his brothers, Lyra slowly walked into the bedroom and shut the door.

* * * * *

Rigel wondered what was wrong with Lyra. One moment she stared at him as if he had two heads, the next like she wanted to kiss him, a second later like he was the only man in the world, then as if she couldn’t run from him fast enough. With all his centuries and he didn’t seem to understand the first thing about women—or was it just Lyra?

“You should follow her,” Brutus said.

 
Rigel glanced at his brother, unsure.

Demon nodded in agreement. “You should.”

“Don’t you have any food in here?” Brutus asked, turning back to the kitchen area. “No wonder your ward is so skinny. You don’t feed her.”

“All the wards are skinny this dive,” Demon said. “Whatever happened to women you could hold on to?”

“I can hold on to Lyra just fine,” Rigel defended.

Both twins began to laugh, hard. Demon doubled over onto the counter, slapping it with the palm of his hand. “Too easy, too easy…”

“You are so easy to read, brother. Go to her. Make her our sister so that we may be released by the king to go back into the ocean.” Brutus grabbed Demon by the arm and jerked him toward the front door. “You know we do not do well if we are landlocked for too long.”

“To hunting,” Demon said, lifting his fist in the air.

“To hunting,” Brutus repeated, louder and with more force.

“Hunting,” Rigel agreed, lifting his hand, though not quite as enthusiastically.

When the door shut behind them, Rigel sighed and looked at the bedroom door. He contemplated whether or not to go in. Then, thinking if Lyra on his bed, her body softly sprawled and inviting, he couldn’t stop himself from going to her.

She rested on her stomach. Her head turned toward the opposite wall. He could detect her even breathing as soon as he walked into the room. Not wanting to wake her if she slept, he quietly striped out of his clothes to get comfortable and slid onto the bed next to her. He ignored the fact his body wanted her. Instead, he was content to hold her gently against his chest in the hopes that she would never make him let go.

Just as his eyes were about to close, she turned to face him. Steady eyes looked into his. Without saying a word, she lifted her mouth to kiss him. The caress was sweet, gentle, and it stirred a powerful yearning inside his chest. There was so much he wanted to say, to do. The secret he kept from her, of his brother Nemus and what had happened the night he rescued her in the water, felt like a lie. He was purposefully keeping it from her, so it might as well have been a falsehood.

Then there was what was in his heart. Oh, how he wanted her! He wanted to love her, worship her, to be loved by her. He wanted these things so badly it made his chest ache and his bones weak. If only she would say it. If only she would be his wife. If only she gave him some hint as to how to win her.

Her tongue rolled against his, light and easy, as unhurried as her hands leisurely moving up and down his naked thigh. She made tiny movements, inching her hips closer. The tip of his arousal brushed her stomach, sending a shock of desire down the already hard shaft. Needing more, he cupped her ass and pulled her forward. The full press of her against his cock caused him to moan into her mouth. The intense pleasure filled him.

She smelled sweet and her lips tasted like berries. He licked along the seam of her mouth and was rewarded with a trembling sigh. He rocked his hips into her. The naked length of his arousal tangled in her clothes. Fingers ran up his spine, slithering like water trickling along the valleys of his muscles. His ass tensed as she made the trip back down. Lyra cupped a cheek, pulling him forward.

Her legs moved as she began to wiggle out of her clothes. When the bare flesh of her calf ran along his, he groaned. He couldn’t resist. Rigel had to taste more, feel more, see more. The affliction surged within him. His lips moved over her neck, trailing kisses along the warmth of her skin.

Rigel maneuvered her onto her back, pinning her beneath him as he drew his legs between hers. A soft, round breast beckoned him from beneath the material. The texture of her nipple strained against the cloth dress. He brushed his mouth against it, flicking his tongue back and forth over the erect bud.

He couldn’t stop himself. Her very nearness pulled his energy from him. At first, he fought it, not wanting to open himself up like that, but soon he didn’t care.

Her kiss became harder, as if desperate to taste him. She bit at his lips, not hurting but not too gentle either. Lyra moaned. Her legs worked restlessly against him, squeezing his thighs before parting in offering.

Rigel’s erection bumped against her. Seconds later he found the slick opening of her desire. The memory of the wetness, the tight sheathe of her sex, called to the primal conqueror inside of him and he had to take her.

He reached down, finding her pussy wet and ready. His finger slipped into the tight folds, brushing up and down along her slit. She jolted as he passed her clit. He rubbed along her sex several times, pushing a finger inside her before quickly pulling back.

Rigel guided his cock to her opening, taking aim. His arousal slid against the tightening of her pussy, before he thrust, filling her completely. Her hand gripped his hips, urging him on. He braced his weight with one hand, reaching for a breast. He fondled it through the material blockade. Though he wanted flesh, there was something sexy about the eager way her clothes were tossed about her body. It pulled tight in some places and hung loose in others. She didn’t seem to notice.

His world became a rush of sensations—her thighs against his, he wet slip of her sex, the softness of her breath, the heat of her skin, the pressure of her body. Her fingernails skimmed his back and ass, scratching his flesh. Sweet little noises escaped her throat.

He moved his hips, taking it slow. Their lips met. He wasn’t sure if it was his doing or hers. Lyra’s hands pushed through his hair, holding him to her. Their tongues caressed, mimicking the thrust of their bodies. Tension built, but he held back not wanting it to end too soon. He waited to feel her tremble against him as she came.

Lyra gasped and let go of an erotically feminine cry. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she tensed. Rigel’s body answered hers. He came, jerking his hips as he released.

“Lyra,” he whispered, unsure what he was going to say.

“Don’t,” she answered. “Just close your eyes and sleep with me.”

Lyra wasn’t sure what caused her to slip out of Rigel’s bed in the early morning hours and leave his home, but that is what she found herself doing. She couldn’t get the image of the tortured man out of her dreams. Finding her way to the laboratory doors with some difficulty, she was relieved to find that the man was alone in the room.

She didn’t know what possessed her, but she was suddenly pulling on the door in an effort to open it. What if it was her brother? Her father? It didn’t look like them, but then the transparent body made it hard to detect features.

The frantic thought gave her hope. Somewhere, she knew that hope was pointless, but she clung to it. She needed it. Lyra pulled harder. She wasn’t sure how, but the door was suddenly open.

“Dad?” she whispered. “Will? Jack? Kris? Rocky? Winston?”

None of the words caused the being to stir.

“What did they do to you?” She knelt, touching the wet flesh of the man. She saw the shape of his arms and legs, noted the defined strength in his arms. He felt solid, slick and firm. “How can I help?”

The man stirred and she thought she heard him speak. “Ocean.”

“Ocean,” she repeated. Not knowing what else to do, she said, “Ok, I’ll take you to the ocean.”

The two guards would probably be at the opening of the Crystal Caves, but she could distract them easily enough. They would be eager for some kind of action, considering no one ever tried to break out of Altaran. If she told them Rigel needed them, they would run to his aid without questioning her. Then, she could help the man into the water.

“Ocean,” he said again.

“I’m trying.” She pulled at his arm to lift him. He wasn’t much help as she braced her legs and hoisted him up against her back. Her legs shook, but she had a purpose and she wasn’t about to stop. In this she was not helpless. She could help this man. She
had
to help him because she felt connected to him. She couldn’t explain it.

“Hold on,” she said under her breath, as she willed her feet to slowly move up the stairs. Sweat beaded on her body at the excursion. Her legs shook. The man’s wet body soaked into her gown, making him harder to hold onto. “Hold on.”

As she took a step, suddenly the burden lightened as water flooded over her entire body. The man dissipated with a giant splash. The sudden change tipped Lyra off-balance and she fell forward. Her hands hit the ground hard. For a moment, she stood, wet and shivering as she realized what had happened. The man was gone, spilled into a puddle on the floor, draining behind her down the hall. Seeing a hard block of ice on the floor, she automatically reached for it. His heart, maybe? The tips of her fingers touched the chilled rock.

Lyra’s feet slipped again. She lost her balance and fell. Her arms flailed as she tried to stop her fall. The angle of her body was too awkward and she banged her head on the ground. For a moment, she was completely aware, but then it was as if a light was turned off and her mind faded into nothingness.

* * * * *

All was inky black. And cold. So cold.

Lyra felt the brush of something by her arm, then her leg, but she couldn’t see, couldn’t feel beyond the currents that pulled her. The dark dreams were relentless, like the pressure of the ocean on her dive down. She could breathe, could open her eyes, but she couldn’t see beyond the tiny specks of light dancing in the distance, couldn’t move to fight the current pulling her this way and that.