Page 100 of Charmless
Mal groaned again, his head flopping to one side.
In sheer desperation, I did the only other thing I could think of to shock him back to his senses. Scooting closer, I cupped his face between my hands and pressed my lips to his in a fervid kiss.
His chest rose and fell with a moan that was a combination of pain and bliss. Suddenly his hands closed over my shoulders, and he was kissing me back with a passion that took my breath away. Mal’s skills as a lover were legendary among the women of Arcady. I had always thought the silly females had to be exaggerating. But no man who had been battered half to deathshould have still been capable of kissing the way Mal was kissing me.
I broke away from him with a gasp, feeling guilty. Not only was it a betrayal of my love for Horatio, but in a strange way of my friendship with Mal. But I could not regret what I had done, not when I saw the lucidity return to Mal’s eyes.
He stared at me, saying hoarsely. “Ella, you reallyarehere.”
I nodded, tears of relief springing to my eyes.
Despite his pain, his mouth lifted in a teasing smile that was pure Mal. “Here in this frapping dungeon,nowyou finally decide to kiss me? I might have known you’d prefer your men in chains.”
I choked on a laugh that was part sob. Mal’s fingers trembled as he reached up to touch my face. “Your laugh, Ella. Your beautiful, wonderful laugh. I never expected to hear it again.”
“I know. I hated the way we parted. I never meant any of those horrid things I said to you.”
“Hush,” Mal said. He struggled to sit up straighter, although I could tell how much pain the effort cost him from the way he clenched his teeth. “I deserved everything you said and more after the way I deceived you. But that is not important right now. How did you manage to get past the guards?”
I dashed the tears from my eyes. “Have you forgotten about those glass dancing slippers you gave me the night of the ball? You said they would turn me invisible, but I didn’t believe you. But you were right. The shoes really do work.”
“Ha! Told you so.”
“Seriously, Mal? Only you could be beaten to a pulp and still be unable to resist the urge to gloat.”
Mal started to laugh, but immediately stopped, flinching as he clutched his side. He sucked in a short painful breath. “Here is what I want you to do. Put those magic shoes back on your pretty feet and get the frap out of here before you are caught.”
“I am not going anywhere without you!”
“Yes, you are.” Mal’s mouth set in that stubborn expression I knew all too well. “No one has ever managed to escape from the Dismal Dungeons. I can’t believe you would be reckless enough to try freeing me all on your own.”
“I am not alone. Delphine and Waldo are helping me.”
“The Wharf Rat and the mad witch who hates both of us?” Mal moaned. “Oh, that makes me feel so much better.”
“Delphine is not mad,” I retorted. “Well, perhaps a bit. But she doesn’t hate us. I believe she adores you and she has become my friend. She has given me all sorts of magical objects to help rescue you. I used up all the mouse cookies, but I still have the mist pellets and the magic lock pick made from Waldo’s big toe.”
Mal gaped at me. “Mouse cookies? The Wharf Rat’s toe? One of us is clearly insane and I don’t think it’s me.”
Ignoring his gibe, I said, “There is no time to argue about this, Mal. Delphine and Waldo are waiting for us with a boat on the river side of the wall. Now come on.”
I stood and tugged at Mal’s arm, trying to urge him to his feet.
Mal pulled away. “Unless Delphine gave you some potion that will grant me invisibility and wings, there is no way you are getting me out of here. I don’t think I can walk. They broke my ankle in the iron boot when they were torturing me.”
“Oh, Mal.” My eyes burned with tears of fury and anguish at the thought of Mal enduring such a thing. But I pursed my lips with renewed determination. “Then you must lean on me, use me like a crutch. When we get up to the top of the stairs, I will use the mist pellets to cover our escape.”
Mal shook his head. “No, Ella, you must see how hopeless this is. You can’t save me. Please just go.”
I regarded him with dismay, realizing they had broken more than Mal’s ankle in this dreadful place. That roguish spark that lit up his eyes was gone, replaced with the shadows of defeat.
Swallowed a thick lump that rose to my throat, I said fiercely, “What kind of foolish talk is this, Hawkridge? The Mal that I know would never give up like this. You have an orb to protect, a rebellion to lead.”
I tried to drape his arm about my shoulders, but Mal resisted all my efforts to draw him to his feet.
“That stupid orb,” he muttered. “That’s why they were torturing me, to find out where I had hidden it.”
“Did you tell them?”
