Page 17 of The Captive's Curse
Not him. Not even if my mind kept putting his dark eyes and sardonic smile in front of me every time I thought about who might be the right choice to bend me over, wrap his strong, swordsman’s hands around my hips with bruising force, press my thighs wide…
Flushed and panting, I fumbled the next note, my lute letting out a discordant twang. I’d nearly broken the string.
Finn. I’d sit next to Finn at supper, and I’d invite him to walk me back to my bedchamber so I didn’t get lost, and then I’d be set for another ten days or so. That would give me time to either establish someone as a regular lover, or take Finn to bed again, or…any other solution that seemed workable.
After all, it looked as if I might be here for some time, so I might as well make the best of it. Tomorrow I’d begin my exploration and search for any trace of the Mad Lord without the shadow of my curse hanging imminently over me. I’d write my ballad, I’d have a bit of fun with whichever men showed interest and whom I desired in turn. Living here until Bruno came to his senses wouldn’t be so terrible.
Anyway, Enzo wouldn’t be involved. He probably wouldn’t even notice. He’d be terrible in bed (or out of it) in any case, wouldn’t he? Selfish and rude. Making offensive remarks about cucumbers.
And I certainly didn’t want him to notice me.
That settled, I put my lute carefully away and made ready to go down to supper and find myself a lover.
Flirting had always come naturally to me, ditto seduction, and likewise making myself irresistible—if I did say so myself.
But somehow, even though I executed my plan perfectly…it all went wrong.
Whoever had packed my things—and I suspected Aldo, my brother’s valet and also my closest friend and sometime lover—had been thoughtful enough to include a little box of my favorite jewelry and toiletries. With my lucky gold chain earring dangling from my right earlobe, a tiny sapphire in my left, and a dusting of gold powder along my cheekbones, I knew I looked good. Even my slightly rumpled clothing might suggest someone who’d just rolled out of bed, an excellent idea to plant in men’s minds.
And Enzo’s opinion didn’t matter to me in the slightest. He could sneer at and mock me, or call me any variation on Lord Something Unflattering, and I’d simply ignore him…and his broad shoulders and glittering black eyes and tall, strong body and low, shiver-inducing voice.
When I reached the hall, my eyes went immediately to Enzo’s seat, to my great annoyance. I ought to have been looking for Finn first! He was my objective tonight, after all. I let out a long breath of relief—definitely, without a doubt, relief—when I saw Enzo’s chair empty.
Thank the gods. Maybe he’d miss supper tonight entirely. Leander wasn’t there either, so perhaps they had prisoners whose families actually wanted them back to ransom, or a caravan to attack, theft and violence to commit, and so on.
Excellent.
The mountainous fellow whose name I still didn’t know had hunkered down in his spot between Finn and “my” seat, but that could be handled well enough.
“Good evening,” I said sweetly, with my most radiant smile. The big one glanced up with a grunt and went right backto his potatoes. But Finn set down his fork and smiled back. He really was a very decent-looking man if you liked them rough. “Is there any chance I could sit between you, instead of at the end? It’s so chilly in here.”
That earned me a surprisingly sharp, shrewd glance from under the huge fellow’s dark eyebrows. I raised mine back. What was he going to do, accuse me of being…friendly? Or cold?
After a moment, he shrugged and moved up the bench, leaving a gap for me between him and Finn.
And from there it was easy.
Well, it should have been easy.
It should have been fun, even! I loved the dance of seduction, of leaning closer and then back again, of half smiles and a hand on the arm and the brush of knees.
But Enzo’s empty chair snagged my eye every time I turned my head. And I started and looked up whenever someone walked near, expecting him to be there. Where the hell had he gone? I had to have someone tonight. I couldn’t risk waiting until tomorrow.
Finn was here now, so of course I had someone already…which reminded me, we were in the middle of a conversation.
“…show you around the castle,” Finn was saying, his voice warm, his body languageextremelyencouraging. “Maybe after supper. I hope you’re not afraid of the dark. We might need to stay close to one another, if you are.”
Irritation prickled under my skin, and I resisted the urge to tug at the neck of my tunic. Did he think I was useless simply because I was short and slim and pretty? Afraid of thedark? Gods, I’d missed half of what he’d said to me, and what if the rest had been just as annoying? I found myself leaning away a bit, feeling stifled and flushed, with nowhere to go but up against the man on the other side of me.
Finn leaned in to follow. Mirroring my gestures, edging closer, meant he was ready for me to make my move.
If I backed up any more I’d be cuddling with the muscled mountain.
Gods, the heat was making me dizzy. My eyes fluttered shut.
Finn’s warm breath, faintly and pleasantly scented with the fruity wine we’d been drinking, fanned over my mouth. He’d thought closing my eyes meant an invitation for a kiss.
Which it was, wasn’t it? I wanted him to kiss me so that we could go upstairs and fuck.
