Moments later, he was on the footstool with me again, one arm wrapped around my waist, holding me up as he freed my wrists. When I would have collapsed, he scooped me up and carried me to the black bed. He set me on my feet beside it, supporting me by my shoulders.
“Lie on your stomach, love,” he said softly, and he guided me down.
The sheets were silk, I noticed irrelevantly as I buried my face in the pillowcase and tried to contain the agony. The world swam around me, a dizzy, nauseating mess.
Adam’s voice came to me from what seemed like a great distance. “Don’t fight it.” His fingers stroked over my hair. “Let yourself go. Let Lugh fix things. It’ll be over soon.”
His voice was strangely soothing. I felt myself go fuzzy around the edges. With unspeakable relief, I let myself sink into the darkness.
CHAPTER 21
I awoke lying facedown on an unfamiliar bed. My back felt like it was on fire. I whimpered, and a gentle hand stroked over my hair.
“I’m healing it as fast as I can,” Lugh said, and even in the short time it took for those words to leave his mouth, the pain lessened by a degree.
My face was buried in a wonderfully fluffy down pillow, and I didn’t feel inclined to move or speak. Little by little, the pain faded. His hand slid down from my head to brush over my bare shoulders.
It was only then that I realized I was naked.
I raised my head, turning it just enough to see that a crimson silk sheet covered me from the hips down. But I could feel that silk against my bare butt, and nothing covered the top of me.
Lugh’s hand continued down the center of my back. I’d have jerked away, except it’s hard to do that when you’re lying on your belly and you don’t want to flash someone.
“Is it necessary for me to be naked?” I asked, trying for cool aplomb.
I expected either a flirtatious or a smart-ass comment in reply. Instead, I suddenly found myself wearing comfy cotton knit pajamas. The top was a barely-there camisole with spaghetti straps, but it covered everything important.
I cautiously pushed myself up and turned over. My back felt fine. Lugh fluffed a couple of pillows and laid them against the headboard, a quilted affair covered in the same red silk as the sheets. I took the hint and sat with my back resting against the pillows, hugging my knees to my chest.
The pain was gone, but my whole body felt weak and shaky. I had a feeling that evil black room would feature prominently in my nightmares for years to come.
“As long as you are hosting me,” Lugh said, reading my thoughts, “ you will have no nightmares.”
I appreciated that more than I could say.
“That was a very brave thing you did,” he continued.
I snorted. I’d practically peed my pants in terror, and I’d screamed my lungs out. Not exactly my ideal of courage.
“You can be afraid and still be brave.”
I nodded my agreement, though I wasn’t sure I was convinced. It wasn’t like I’d had much of a choice, not unless I was willing to let Brian die a slow death without even trying to save him. I met Lugh’s eyes.
“Was it brave, or just plain stupid? I mean, will Adam really help me? Because if I went through all that for nothing, someone’s gonna die.”
He didn’t quite smile, but I could see his amusement nonetheless. “I think perhaps you understand demons a little better than either you or I realized. I don’t know if there’s anything else you could have offered that would have reached Adam. But you did reach him, and he’ll keep his word.”
Thank God! But I had to disagree with Lugh’s assessment. I might have figured out how to reach Adam this once, but I couldn’t say I came close to understanding him.
“Now,” Lugh continued, “I believe you and I need to talk about this rescue attempt you’d like to make.”
“Oh?” I sounded suspicious even to my own ears.
His eyes crinkled around the corners, but it was only a brief flash of humor. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“No shit.” He gave me a quelling look, and I held up my hands in surrender.
“I could stop you from trying. I could tell Adam to keep you under lock and key.”
My stomach knotted and I sat bolt upright. “No! You wouldn’t-”
“I said that I could, not that I would. But if I’m going to allow you to endanger us both, then I must set a condition.”
Why did I think I wasn’t going to like this?
“You mustn’t be captured,” he continued, his eyes boring into mine. “You know what will happen if you are.”
I shuddered. Yeah, I knew. And if you’d asked me a couple weeks ago if I’d be willing to risk being burned at the stake in a rescue attempt, I probably would have said no. I’d have been ashamed of my cowardice, would have hated myself for it, but I wouldn’t have believed I had it in me. There was some small sense of satisfaction in finding out I wasn’t as much of a chicken-shit as I’d once thought.
“Adam is to accompany you on any rescue mission, and he is to stay at your side at all times. He will not allow you to be captured.”
I let out my breath in a loud whoosh. “In other words, if it looks like they’re going to capture me, he’ll kill me?”
“Yes.” He reached out and took my hand, prying my fingers loose from their tight fist. His grip felt firm, strong. More reassuring than it should. “It’s a case of the lesser of two evils. And I am, perhaps, being an irresponsible king in even granting you the option. If I return to the Demon Realm without having defeated my enemies here, there is nothing to prevent them summoning me into another host, and I’m sure they wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.”
His thumb stroked over my knuckles as he held my hand. Maybe I shouldn’t have let him, but I needed that lifeline. He peered at my face, his brows drawn slightly together in an expression that was almost, but not quite, a frown. I read concern and regret in his expression.
“Why would you take the risk?” I asked, meeting his gaze, trying to understand him. “Why would the king of the demons risk himself for a human pawn? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”
He smiled at that, but quickly sobered. “It’s Dougal who holds human life so cheaply. I suppose I see myself as a defender of the pawns, so to speak. If I don’t defend them, who will?” He laughed. The sound held no humor. “Or perhaps I’m just a misguided, self-important fool who deludes himself into thinking he can save the world.”
He ran his free hand through that scrumptious black hair. This was the first time he’d seemed even vaguely human to me. It was good to know even demons suffered from self-doubt every now and again.
Before I knew what I was doing, I’d reached out to him, finally allowed myself the luxury of touching his face. Maybe he was using his understanding of my innermost thoughts and feelings to manipulate me. If so, at the moment I didn’t care. I just wanted to give him comfort.
His skin was ever so smooth under my fingers, like he’d never had to shave. I almost giggled at the thought, for, of course, he never had. He closed his eyes at my touch, the corners of his mouth tipping up in a hint of a smile.
I finally gave in to the urge to touch his hair, running my fingers through the length of it. His hair was as soft and silky as it looked. I moved closer to him on the bed, and his arm slipped around my shoulders. Arousal tingled over my body, though the touch wasn’t particularly sexual. I snuggled close to his body and laid my head against his shoulder.
We sat like that for a long time, taking silent comfort from one another. I realized that for the first time in my life, I actually liked a demon. And a demon who’d possessed me against my will, at that! Was this how Dominic had felt about Saul? If so, perhaps I understood a little better how Dom could have been so heartbroken over losing him. I still wanted Lugh gone, wanted my life back the way it was before. But I realized with a little squeeze in my heart that I would miss him.