Page 28 of Trapped to Tame
He didn't come any closer, thankfully. Instead, he poured himself more wine and raised the jug at her, asking silently if she wanted any.
She shook her head between mouthfuls. ‘No, thank you.’
‘It’s better than that swill they brought us in the Camp. Are you sure you don’t want to try it?’ he asked in that quiet way he had about him that, annoyingly, put her at ease.
A wolf in sheep's clothing. She almost laughed out loud at that. More like a Dark Realm beast in wolf's clothing. A giggle erupted from her, and she slapped her hand over her mouth to stop it. It sounded so odd to her ears.
She glanced at Drax who was now looking at her with a peculiar sentimentality that made her uncomfortable. What was going on between them?
Eve stood up abruptly. ‘I’m tired.’
He raised a brow but didn't say anything as he gestured to the door, opened it, and let her go first in a display of chivalry that confused her. She didn't like him being behind her either. She turned her head to watch him as they walked across what was now a crowded tap room.
Eve walked with confidence as she always did when she was moving through throngs of men. She didn't shy away from any eyes, though plenty were looking her way, and she wondered why. They weren’t in the rings now and she wasn’t wearing the jerkin that displayed her body. Usually, she was assessed like an animal for her fighting abilities, to see if she would win and make money and that was all. Well, except for the Bull.
Eve’s lip curled at the thought of him. She was beginning to lament the fact that she had been able to kill Jays, but not him nor Talik. After all they had done to her, they deserved it as well.
Drax was still on her heels, staying close in an almost protective gesture which wasn’t needed considering she could kill any of these men easily.
She walked up the steps in front of him. Stone. The whole place was stone. Old, unlike the town she had come from where everything was made of timber and not nearly so timeless as this place was.
‘Third door,’ she heard Drax say, and she opened the one he said, stepping inside a spacious room.
Her mouth dropped open. There were two beds with quilted coverlets, a small, polished table with a jug of wine in the center and matching chairs around it. There was a fire in a small grate, rugs on the stone floor, and intricate tapestries hung along the walls that ensured the room was warm. Eve found her eyes captivated by the intricate patterns and colors.
She was nudged from behind and she realized she'd stopped in the doorway. She moved into the room to let Drax pass, her gaze still riveted. She'd never seen anything so beautiful before. Drax went to the table, pouring himself a goblet and shucking his cloak and tunic. He dropped his glamor as well, and she could now see his violet eyes, slightly longer fingernails that were a bit like claws, she thought. His teeth were sharper too, making him look just a little bit more menacing.
She wrinkled her nose, hating that she was so tiny as she took off her own cloak, and put it on the peg next to the door, following what Drax had done. She took off her tunic in the warmth of the room as well, leaving herself in just the chemise that Maeve had procured for her. It was long as it was meant to go under a gown, so she'd bunched it up to fit into her trousers.
Her hand stroked the soft leather of the supple, red tunic, she’d been given. She hadn't thanked Lily, though she belatedly realized she should have. In truth, she'd been uncomfortable by the kindnesses she'd been shown, wondering what they'd ask of her in return. But they hadn't requested anything. They probably would in the future, she decided. If she ever met them again, they'd take their favors from her.
Drax sat at the table.
‘Where are the others?’ she asked.
He shrugged. ‘Entertaining themselves at the brothel. Perhaps at the fights.’
Fights? Her ears perked up, and his eyes narrowed as if he knew the direction of her thoughts.
‘We don't need the extra attention,’ he said, his voice hard. ‘You won’t be fighting in the ring.’
The panic that welled up in her shocked her. It was the likes of which she'd never felt before. She felt afraid. She wasn't their slave. He couldn't forbid her, could he?
‘You can’t stop me,’ she said, challenging him before she could think the better of it.
His expression shuttered, turning almost cruel as he watched her, but she didn’t care what he did to her. She would not do as he said.
Eve bit her lip to keep it from quivering, but it wasn’t fear she felt. She began to move, pacing around the room with a nervous energy that made her shiver.
‘You enjoy it.’ He sounded surprised.
She nodded. ‘I need it.’
He stood up and approached her and she knew she must look like a prey animal ready to bolt, but all he did was put his hand on her shoulder and suddenly she felt more relaxed, her alarm subsiding.
She looked up at him. What was he doing? He was doing something to her. She could feel it, same as he had in the Camp before he’d … She twisted away with a cry.
‘Don’t!’ she hissed.
