Page 27 of Hunting Her
I’m out of breath, sweat dripping down the sides of my face, when he finally speaks.
“Are you ready to make a deal?” he asks.
Both hands gripping the bars, I glare up at him. “A deal?”
“Give me something I want, and I’ll give you something you want. I figured you would know what a deal is.”
“Fuck you.”
“Stay in there, then. You don’t have long until dawn, my queen. I’ll send Damek to fetch you back to the Underworld.” He turns on his heel, his footsteps thundering as they take him toward the door.
I blink after him as he swings into the hallway, not even pausing. He’s seriously just going to… leave me locked in this cage?
“Hey!” I shout.
He backtracks and leans a shoulder against the door. “What?”
“You can’t just leave me here.”
“Yes, I can.”
“Aren’t you worried about me escaping before Damek comes?”
Brellan looks around the storage room. There’s barely anything usable. The tool drawers are way too far for me to reach, and the only thing close to me is my inflatable pumpkin. I can’t break the padlock with my bare hands like they could, and there’s nothing nearby I could use to pick it.
“No, I’m not worried,” he states when he meets my gaze.
Seething, I glare at him. If he leaves again, he’s not going to turn back around. I’ll be stuck in here until the demon king comes for me, losing every chance I have of winning.
But if I make a deal, I’m playing into their hands. It’s so starkly obvious, I’d have to be blind not to see it. First Lorcan, and now Brellan? They know I’m going to lose either way—they just want me to be their willing plaything until I do.
He turns again, and I can’t resist grasping at hope one more time.
“Let’s make a deal.”
CHAPTER TEN
NOVA
Brellan turns back around but doesn’t approach. “Take off your clothes.”
“What do I get for doing it?”
He scoffs. “That’s not the deal—you being naked is the condition of me discussing a deal in the first place. Clothes off, and toss them outside the cage.”
I bite my tongue against the retort that wants to come out. I’m testing his patience as it is—no good comes of being sassy when I’m helpless in here. Giving up my dignity is a cost, but I’ve paid it once tonight already.
Shrugging the coat off my shoulders, I shove it through the bars. He picks it up and drapes it over the workbench, watching me with sharp sapphire blue eyes.
Next, I remove my shirt. My boobs are held in a plain sports bra beneath, and I take that off too. He groans low when my breasts fall heavily from the restrictive fabric. Kicking off my shoes, I give them to him, and he sets them aside with the same care he’s given to all my clothing.
I close my eyes and run my thumbs along the waistband of my pants, taking a moment to get used to the idea of being fully naked in front of him.
Nude andcaged.
I’ve been a prisoner for so long, you’d think I would be used to it.
I’m not, and this is the only piece of clothing I have left. Izoran stole my underwear, so I’m bare beneath the loose cotton pants.
