Page 21 of Grabbed By the Guard

It isn’t often I trust others, Sierra and Roy excluded. Anytime I finally let down my guard, like I did with Trevor, it tends to bite me in the ass. I have no reason to believe that Glaine won’t be another Trevor—despite the fact that he seems to want me as his mate—but I have no choice other than to hope he wants to get laid bad enough that he’ll help bring me back home.

Am I above trading sex to get what I want? Right now, not even a little. I won’t go there if I don’t have to. It’s not fair to either of us, not when I’m sure I’m not his mate and Glaine’s sure I am, but if a little nookie gets me back home before Sierra discovers that I’m in trouble… hey. He’s not looking so bad at the moment, and I can only imagine how he might become more attractive the longer I know him.

It’s my turn to stare at him now. Can he tell what I’m thinking? I know my essence gave him access to English, my name, and my memories… but the way his expression has turned heated, his eyes glowing impossibly brighter as he starts to inch his way closer to me…

I dart around him before he can get any closer. In a heartbeat, I’m standing outside of the cell while Glaine is dabbing his bottom lip with his tongue, reaching up to stroke his right horn with his free hand.

“Billie…”

The way he groans my name is a plea. If I had any doubt that he’s attracted to me, or that he sensed that fleeting yet charged moment between us, they’re gone.

Crap. I’m playing a dangerous game with this demon, but what else can I do? He stole me. I want to go home—and I’ll do whatever I have to to make sure I do.

His voice is a plea. Mine? It’s a hint of a tease as I tug on the chain, gesturing for him to join me outside the cell. “Come on. What are you waiting for?”

Glaine doesn’t hesitate. Leaving the half-touched tray behind him, he’s by my side in seconds. He shudders, then straightens, as if putting his obvious arousal away for the moment. “This way,” he rumbles. “If we go down that hall, we can leave the palace without Duke Haures realizing we’ve left.”

I fall into step behind him. The chain won’t let me get too far from him, but I’m not taking any chances.

Keeping my voice low, I ask, “Won’t the duke be pissed you’re helping me escape?”

“It doesn’t matter what his grace thinks of me.” His glowing green eyes slide my way again. It’s like he can’t keep them off of me for long. “He is not my mate.”

Yeah? Well, neither am I.

Right?

CHAPTER 8

IMMORTAL

BILLIE

Idon’t know what happened while I was sleeping. If my demon kidnapper grew a conscience or he finally caught on to the fact that you can’t just steal a woman, proclaim her as your mate because ‘fate said’ blah-blah-blah, and except she’s going to just go along with it… it doesn’t matter. I told him I wanted out of the dungeon and, poof, he found a way to let us out.

Now, do I believe he did this out of the kindness of his heart? Yeah, right. Trevor broke me the other night almost easily as I snapped my stiletto heel. I’ve got the business acumen all right, but I’ve never been suspicious to a fault until I got grabbed by the guard.

In a way, Glaine broke me, too. When he obviously has ulterior motives that only make sense to the demons of this hellish world, I can’t put anything past him. Did he really call in a favor with one of the guards he knows? Or is this all some long con? Who knows? Maybe he had a key or something, just waiting for me to knock out so he can put his plan into motion. Then he could wake me up and, look at that, he can play the hero as he helps me out of the dungeon.

It could’ve happened like that. Then again, he could be telling me the truth. There’s no way to know. I always thought I was an amazing judge of character. I mean, I knew Jared Turner was a dick back when I met him and he was barely seventeen. I’ve saved Sierra from signing more bad deals than I can count because something didn’t sit right with me. I liked to think I can trust my gut?—

—and then Trevor Daniels fooled me for way longer than he should’ve been able to. I didn’t even love the guy. We had fun and he was one hell of an actor since I really thought he cared about me, but I was already set to dump him before he made it clear that, while he might’ve cared, he didn’t love me the way he loved Whiskey Rose.

He blindsided me. Now that the worst of the shock has worn off, I can admit that. The first time he asked me about Sierra possibly receiving certain fan letters last week, it barely pinged my overprotective meter. I left him open to make a move on her, and worse? Now that I’m trapped in this demon world, I can’t even warn her about Trevor.

Not like I think he’s going to go right after her. I made it clear that, as soon as I arrived back in Manhattan, I was letting her know to stay away from him. I told him to stay away from her. I’m kicking myself now—and have been since I’ve been stuck in Sombra—that I didn’t go straight to Sierra’s room last night to tell her instead of wimping out and heading to the kitchen instead.

What kind of bestie am I? What kind of manager? She was my client, and the closest thing to a sister I have. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her—if Trevor turns out to be another Patrick Ridgefield after all—and I can’t stop it because Glaine decided to take me home with him.

I get it. Kinda. If I was given a fated mate who was meant for me, loved me, and would never cheat… wouldn’t I want to grab onto them and hold tight? But that’s how it works for demons, not humans, and no amount of telling him otherwise is going to change his mind.

That’s okay. He wants to pretend I’m his mate? Go right ahead. If he wants to loops up the excess chain keeping up connected so that it doesn’t drag and I don’t trip? Anything to get us out of the dungeon faster. He takes the lead, warning me back as he vows in that deep voice of his that he won’t let anything get me?

I hang back, because while I might be independent, I’m not an idiot. I’ve traveled all over the word. I know there are customs and unsaid expectations for locals, and if the fact that I’m human won’t mark me as the most obvious tourist ever, the chains that belong to a fugitive make everything worse.

When we first landed in this world… in Sombra… all I saw were smoke and ash and fire. To be fair, I was more consumed with turning around and running right back to New York to care that I was in a literal Hell. Not even being mean, either. The air is scorching, the rotten egg stink is overwhelming, and there are demons everywhere I go. And not just regular Lucifer-type demons, either. Glaine’s red skin and black horns are devilish, but that other guard I met was nothing but shadows.

Duh. They’re shadow demons, right? They can swap from one to another instinctively, going somewhat transparent as they hide in the shadows that make up this world, but lucky me: the gold chains aren’t just an accessory or a way to mark us as prisoners. They’re charmed to contain Glaine’s powers. He’s stuck as a demon.

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