Page 9 of Trapped to Tame
When she began to lather the soap in her brown hair, he finally left the room, going downstairs to the small tap house to order food for them. He noted Drax in the doorway and gestured with his head that the female was upstairs in their room. His Brother trudged up and Fie ordered an ale, deciding to settle in until their food was ready.
Chapter 3
Eve
The bath was easily the best thing that Eve had ever felt. Sometimes she’d washed with water that she heated herself in her tiny room on the rare occasions that Jays had brought dried dung for her to burn in the tiny grate, but she'd never been so enveloped by warmth. She promised herself that once she escaped these men, she'd find a way to have one of these every single day.
After what she’d fortuitously heard people whispering about on their way through the town, she’d already decided on a course of action. It wouldn’t be long now.
She opened her eyes,realizing she must have drifted off to sleep, though only for a little while as the water was still warm. The room was empty, and she supposed it was time to think about her next step. She left the bath, letting the water sluice down her body to dry in the warmth of the room. She put on her stinking clothes, wishing she had something clean to wear, but even if there were clothes in the men’s bags, it wasn’t as if anything of theirs would fit her.
She’d probably need something more substantial to wear soon though. The weather was getting colder, and she had heard them mention the Ice Plains. Perhaps they’d provide her with something warmer if she wasn’t successful in her bid for freedom tonight. They wouldn’t want her to die before she did whatever it was they’d brought her along for, she supposed. But if they did, would they expect more in return? By the way they all looked at her, she didn't think it would be the same thing as what the Bull always wanted from her. That was a good thing, she told herself. All men knew how to do was hurt. Even the beautiful ones.
She plaited her hair anew to keep it away from her face. She should cut it, she thought. It was a hazard in the fights, but Jays had never let her, telling her that Talik said it was part of the draw. She bared her teeth at the thought of him and the others. She hoped that they didn't come looking for her. But if they did, she'd do everything in her power to send them all to their graves before she went back to that fucking room, before she let the Bull ever touch her again.
Her boots were by the bed, and she faltered as she began to slip her bare feet into them, knowing how they were going to feel against her warm toes. She grimaced as she forced them on and shivered. Cold and wet. The first thing she’d buy if she ever got the chance were new boots that didn’t let in the weather, she decided. They’d be tall ones of the finest leather. Beautiful too.
She ventured outside the room, happy to find that the door was not locked. They didn't think she’d try to escape again.Fools. She made sure her hated jerkin was as tight as she could make it. She’d need to look the part for what she intended.
Having a thought, she darted back into their room and grabbed the same bag she’d taken before, knowing it would be refilled with food. She brought it downstairs with her and stuck it in a corner behind a large plant pot out of sight.
Eve entered the tap room. The three men were sitting at a table by the back wall; a strategic location so no one could sneak up. She approached them, taking a deep breath. It was time to escape these men properly. She couldn’t afford to underestimate them again.
Fie nodded to the fourth chair. ‘Sit.’
She did as Fie said. It was odd, but she liked the timbre of his voice, finding that it made her feel calm when she rarely did. She looked around, trying not to gape. She hadn't been in an inn for a very long time. Not since she was thieving as a child, in fact, before she’d joined Talik.
A plate of meat was slid across the table to her, and she began to eat the fayre slowly, trying to emulate the manners of the others lest her behavior be remarked upon again. Though she felt hungrier than ever, she didn't like them poking fun at her.
She felt Drax’s eyes on her.
‘Should have got her something to wear.’
Eve watched his gaze dip down to her breasts and noticed that one or two other men in the room were also watching her.
She didn’t stop eating, pretending to ignore them all.
She heard Priest scoff. ‘Probably for the best that we didn’t waste the coin. The way she eats, she’ll probably drop her dinner all down herself anyway.’
She didn't need to look up to know that his eyes were also staring at her chest. She finished her plate and then stood, resisting the urge to suck the marrow from the bones.
‘I assume your generosity extends to ale,’ she said to Drax, her eyes flicking to the long, wooden table behind which an assortment of gargantuan barrels lay on their sides, taps protruding from their bases.
Fie snorted, but Drax nodded, and she made her way across the room.
Knowing they watched, she pretended to look for a serving wench as she surreptitiously searched the room for her mark. A group of soldiers entered the tap room, and, as she watched them, she knew she had found the ones she wanted. From their uniforms, they were a noble house’s men probably sent to the town to keep it safe at night.
One of the soldiers noticed her waiting alone and broke away from the group. She turned towards him with a smile and watched his eyes predictably move down to the skin she had on show.
‘Haven't seen you here before,’ he said smoothly.
Somehow curtailing the instinctual rolling of her eyes, she instead smiled demurely at him again. ‘Perhaps you can help me. Those men there, the three sitting across the room. They’re thieves planning to steal into a noble family's home tonight. I don’t know what to do.’
Eve wrung her hands and looked worried for affect.
The soldier’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the table where Drax, Priest, and Fie sat. They weren't even watching her now, oblivious to what she was doing.
The soldier didn’t even ask her any more questions though she had thought up a story to explain how she knew what she’d just told him. He merely thanked her and went back to his friends. Eve turned away, pretending not to notice when he and his men stood and approached Drax and the others at their table.
