Page 15 of Angel Unchained

Samantha

Another three days had passed in my jail cell with moody Knox with the only reprieve I got was being let out to wash with the strong-scented soap and to use the toilet. The nearly daily beatings that the Roulex did to him were making me want to rip my hair out. Why were they torturing him? And so far, they’d left me alone.

I needed a drink.

Yeah, right, in this place? I’d be lucky to have a glass of water. But I needed something to calm the frenzied violence surging through my body.

Maybe I could get some sleep tonight rather than imagine how to wipe the guilt off me for nearly fucking a married man—alien. I felt dirty all over. And to think, I’d actually been drawn to him. My body, on the other hand, didn’t care. Even now, it sensed his nearness. Made me want to rub myself up against him.

I couldn’t give in. No matter how sorry I felt for him as he took their torture while they washed me in that sweet-smelling soap and shampoo that flooded my senses.

Thunder boomed closer, shaking the bars on the window in the far corner, and the very foundation beneath us. Between the coming storm and my lust-filled body, I wasn’t going to get much sleep at all.

Knox brooded in the corner. He stared at the floor half the time looking so miserable I fought the urge to go hug him and tell him it was okay. The other time he glowered or looked like he wanted to punch through the wall.

His wounds were all healed over now, only showing white-lined scars that I imagined would fade away in another day or so. Even if they remained, they didn’t mar his sculpted abs and chest or the muscles in his arms and legs. He looked like a cover model for a supernatural girly magazine. His kissable lips and piercing eyes. And I was getting used to him having horns.

My nipples hardened and the throbbing ache in my core returned.

Gah, I needed to stop romanticizing about him. He was a criminal and a cheater. Not someone I wanted to get involved with.

I touched my ankle, feeling the tenderness of where he had grabbed me. If he had another nightmare, I’d learned my lesson, and wouldn’t wake him no matter how much it sounded like he was in pain.

Faint cries and moans sounded from somewhere else in the prison, and I shuddered. How had I ended up in this foul place? Just because of an antique piece of junk car and my stupid boss. I shook my head. No, there had to be more to it than that.

Humans were on the endangered species list. Was this some type of scientific experiment? Not that other species cared about that. And why have Knox here? How did he fit into all of this?

He’d said the Roulex had him here to learn how to copy his magic. Healing abilities. Which made sense as those would come in handy during battle. And the fact he knew so many languages… I had a feeling that had to do with his heritage too. Maybe there was more angelic-ness in him that matched the stories in human religions about his kind.

But what did the Roulex hope to accomplish by putting us together if we weren’t having sex?

What did the Nebobite family and Mr. Simmons gain with all of this? Power? Fame as being the ones to help the Roulex? To what end?

None of this was making sense.

My eyelids started to get heavy. The metal cuffs on each wrist started to grow warm. Their dull, gray color turning to black.

A cold, dampness filled the cell as the storm raged overhead. Thunder shook the cell while ragged rain pleated against the stone roof. The metal bars of the cell and pipes within the walls groaned like a wild beast.

Through it all, Knox slept, his even breathing a reprieve in-between the thunder booming.

How could he sleep through all this noise?

Something sharp hit the side of my neck and I cringed, rubbing at the spot, but found nothing.

Two Roulex appeared at the barred door, gawking at me. Their tongues hanging out halfway, their tails swishing in the air. Had they returned in hope for another peep show? Not going to happen guys.

They shot something into the cell at Knox. He startled awake, letting out a howled growl that made goosebumps broke out across my skin.

I tried to sit up, to my surprise unable to get my legs under me. My head spun, my eyes caught a flash of green. I rolled over but was knocked to the floor again.

It was then I realized I was on a leash. Somehow lassoed through the cell door. The Roulex chuckled, yanking hard on an invisible cord and I was sent hurtling into the bars. Pain radiated through me and I yelled. The electric leash lessened and I was able to push back from the bars. The copper taste of blood coated the inside of my mouth.

Behind me, Knox roared, staggered to his feet. The second Roulex spoke in clicks and trills. The guard flayed its palm, a green device pulsed across its scaled fingers.

Heavy footsteps sounded behind me. Knox struggled to reach me against the force field that held him in place. Sweated beaded across his forehead. His eyes a mix of horror and rage.

“Don’t… go,” he said.

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