Page 13 of Necromancers Don't Raise

“Miss Nova, you are not being a very good prisoner.”

I widened my eyes and tried to look innocent. “Isn’t it the duty of a prisoner to escape periodically? Otherwise, she’d just be a guest.” I tried to straighten up, but he had me secured against him.

He studied me with a thoughtful frown. “Do you know how exhausted you are? You’re going to fall over without me or a bed to land on, and then what?”

“And then Bones would carry me. I still have to teach Bones to make a nice chicken dinner before I can really rest.”

His eyes were slightly cruel as he picked me up sideways, in a bridal carry. “I’m afraid that’s not going to happen. You really are a workaholic. You were supposed to go to bed when I prevented Bones from turning on that deplorable show, but you went out shopping instead.” He shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

I kicked my feet as he started to carry me out. “I’m not going anywhere until I have some underwear. Do you have any idea how much my sensitive skin will chafe in these leather pants?”

He froze for a moment, looking down at my pants and legs like he’d never seen them before. “Hm. I hadn’t considered the dangers of chafing.”

The gray-skinned underwear shopkeeper dodged around us and retrieved all the fallen merchandise. “I’ll send it with Bones,” she said eagerly, giving me a look that was positively gleeful. “I can see you’d rather carry her off directly, so don’t worry about taking care of it yourself.”

Bones was the worst haggler in the world. He’d definitely get taken advantage of without me there, but Mercury only nodded at her and carried me out with one hard look at Bones, who looked like a scolded puppy. We were all his puppies.

He strode very quickly through the market and soon reached the car. He put me in the backseat and then slipped in next to me, nudging me over until I was crowded against the other door with him there, frowning at me so ominously. I carefully touched his cheekbone, surprised that it didn’t cut my fingers, it was so sharp.

“What did you learn?”

I blinked at him, then at my fingertips. “All the goblin girls want to seduce you.”

“Pardon my imprecision. What did you learn about your murderer?”

I frowned up at him. “I didn’t have time to learn anything. Not that I was trying.” I crossed my arms and wanted to pout. Well, why shouldn’t I? “I spent a lot of energy coming out here, and you dragged me away right before things got interesting.”

“You fell over into my arms because you’re exhausted. Do I have to personally watch you sleep to keep you in bed while you recover?”

I wagged a finger at him. “It’s your fault for blocking the show. If not for that, I’d be happily dozing on the couch with Bones. But think of the chafing.”

His expression darkened. “I am trying to not think of the chafing, Miss Nova. Your naïve innocence is alarming. You are mine to protect, but it would be so easy to consume you.”

Was he talking about personally or in general? I glanced out the window in the direction the vampires had gone. Probably in general. “I had Bones to protect me.”

“Bones isn’t here now.”

I looked up at him, skin prickling at how close he was, the way he loomed over me trying to be threatening. He was just too ridiculously attractive to really be scared of. “I hadn’t noticed. Do dark sorcerers feed on human flesh? Or is it blood? Maybe just certain organs like hearts. Do you think my heart would grow back like my fingers? There’s only one way to find out.”

He pulled away slightly, leaning against the seat while he studied at me like I was a puzzle he was determined to untangle. “There are actually several ways to find out, each more shocking than the last. For someone who was recently brutalized, you have a nerve-wracking lack of fear.”

I hesitated and then took his hand. “I’m afraid of a lot of things, but not of you. If you wanted me to believe that you’re evil and vicious, you shouldn’t have rescued me from the sewer. Thank you. I’ve never been so scared, so hurt, so helpless. So smelly.” I smiled at him. He was taking on a blurry glow that probably meant that I was about to pass out. “You’re right that I’m exhausted, that I shouldn’t have gone traipsing through the goblin market, and that I need a bed to fall over on. Can I rest my head on your shoulder and take a tiny nap? If you refuse, I’ll probably die.”

“Die? You’ll likely come back immediately. Still, it’s better to avoid death where possible.”

I took that as permission and promptly dropped my head on his shoulder and grabbed hold of his muscular arm. I squeezed the biceps, thinking about the goblins and how much they wanted to see him without his shirt. I’d seen him without his jacket, but I’d been too dead to appreciate it. Was it that one-eighth goblin that made me find the dark sorcerers so attractive?

“Do you ever go swimming?” I asked.

“I avoid it where possible. For some reason, the only time swimming seems to come up is in the sewers.”

“Ah. The water in sewers is to be avoided. Pity you couldn’t find a nice lake or pool to take some laps in. It’s very good exercise.”

“Are you subtly suggesting that you’d like a pool to swim in for exercise once you’re more fully recovered? No, you’re probably trying to find a job cleaning a pool, or perhaps you were a lifeguard in your other life.”

“Actually, I’m wondering how hard it would be to see you without a shirt. All the goblin girls were talking about it.” I rubbed my cheek on his jacket and smiled because I should have felt humiliated saying that to him, but I didn’t. “Although I am avery good swimmer and could definitely be your lifeguard, if you needed one.”

“Hmph. I see it now. You’d sell tickets to all the goblins so they could watch me while you were paid at the same time to be my lifeguard. You seem to have a head for shady business dealings.”

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