Taming the Raven's Son (Galactic Lust) (16 page)

“Jacob waits.”

“It seems,” she said, swallowing several times to make the
lump in her throat go away. “My feet. They won’t move.”

He leaned down, brushed hair away from her shoulder and
whispered, “Courage, Jacob’s miss.”

The deep baritone of his voice sent shivers down her spine.
As imposing as Heat appeared, she believed he would do everything in his power
to keep her safe. She had no choice but to believe.

“Yes, yes, you’re right. Sorry.”

He remained bent at the waist. “Don’t apologize, delicate
miss. You’ve been very brave.”

She straightened her spine and forced her chin a little
higher. Regardless of what would happen, she’d been the leader of the
intergalactically renowned Bastillous Corporation.

Heat led her from the room, down the long corridors lined
with guards. As they walked, the men fell in behind them, providing a silent
escort to the arena. The sun had fallen and the temperature rose. Regardless,
random chills bombarded her. Each step she took brought her closer to the event
that might end her life.

She’d never considered herself a coward. She’d always faced
crises and adversity head-on. Even as a child, she hadn’t backed down from a
threat. In her heart, she knew why this situation would be different. Until
now, she’d seldom craved things for herself. In the course of only a few days,
that’d changed. Jacob had changed her. Forever.

They stopped at the top of the long staircase leading to the
arena. Raucous male voices pummeled her as their happiness and anticipation
rolled from the gathering place. Heat leaned down and spoke close to her ear.
“Our situation has changed. You must pay attention and be ready for anything.”

“No!” She attempted to pull free of the massive hand holding
hers.

“Trust.”

She forced her feet to move to keep pace with the giant next
to her. Step by hesitant step she walked into an antechamber crammed with men.
The sea of testosterone parted, giving them a path into the large arena. Heat
held her hand gently and placed his other hand on the small of her back,
guiding her down the long flight of stairs.

She surveyed the gathering place as voices grew in
excitement. Heat stopped when they’d reached the middle of the lower stone
floor. She scanned the seats, watching the arena fill. Some of the men appeared
uncoordinated as they stumbled and laughed.

At least part of the plan is working out.

Disappointment soon clouded her vision. Not nearly enough of
them swayed. Too many remained sober.

“Don’t fear,” Heat said. “Our men outside know what to do.
So do the women.”

She swallowed a shriek when Heat touched her back. “You must
listen carefully. There isn’t much time.”

“All right.”

“I’m going to strip you, tear the gown off prior to the
whipping. If an errant spark finds its way close to you…”

“Fine. Whatever needs to be done.” She didn’t want to go up
in flames, after all.

“I apologize in advance, Jacob’s miss.”

She smiled despite her miserable situation. A greater than
average chance of them dying stared them in the face and he worried about
tearing a gown from her.

“I’ll give you my shirt when the fire starts. It’s still
damp. It might afford you some protection until we can get you into the
tunnel.”

“That will leave you exposed.”

He chuckled. “A few burns on me won’t matter.”

“Where’s Jacob?”

He drew her closer and cuddled her. Her blood raced at the
attempt to reassure her. “He’s acting wild and has been since he left you
yestereve. I managed a moment with him. He understands what he needs to do.”

“Wild?”

“I’ve never seen him like this. But fear not, he seems to
have retained his wits. Nothing’s changed. The plan holds.”

She shivered wishing they’d taken the time to devise a
better plan. One that didn’t involve such risk to Jacob, her and Heat.

“It will be over soon.”

She forced herself to swallow to open her constricted
throat. “Indeed.”

An eternity passed as row after row of seats filled. The
sound from those gathered echoed off the stone walls. Control and confidence
dwindled by the second until her insides shook almost as much as her legs.
“No,” she whispered.

Heat couldn’t have heard her through the deafening noise
battering them from every direction, yet he gathered her into his arms,
cradling her against his massive chest. She took refuge there, absorbing the
warmth emanating from beneath the damp shirt.

With her ear against his chest, a deep, low vibration
reached her. The tension drained from her overtaxed muscles. Her mind drifted,
trying to concentrate on the sound and determine its origin. She smiled. The
source of the soothing resonance was Heat.

He rocked her in his arms and hummed to her. The huge,
battered man with the gravel-bed voice soothed her in the only way he knew how.
She didn’t detect any particular melody as the vibrations reached into her,
calming her with their peaceful quality.

Many long, tranquil moments later, her mind woke to an ear
shattering silence. “It’s time,” Heat whispered.

He placed her on her feet and turned her, his hands resting
on her shoulders. Jacob entered the arena and doors closed along the wall. In
her mind, she envisioned what happened on the other side. Heavy beams were
being secured so that no one could escape. One of the doors would open a crack
in a few minutes to set the arena on fire.

The men sat on old and dry wooden benches. It wouldn’t take
long for the flames to lick and devour them, taking any fool in its path to
boot. No, it wouldn’t take long at all for the interior of the arena to turn
into an inferno. With any luck, the three of them would be long gone.

Jacob walked down the stairs with a fluidity and grace
seldom gifted to a mere mortal. His pitch-black eyes remained trained on her,
as if no one else existed. He carried a coiled whip in his left hand, the
dangling ends twisted with vicious-looking barbs.

The closer he came, the more she tried to back away. Heat
held her still, making her face the approaching creature. This
thing
was
not Jacob. He stalked near, tilting his head from one side to the other,
studying her, sizing her up. He leaned in and hesitated, his lips a hairsbreadth
from hers. Gently, he kissed her, tasting beyond her lips. In that moment, she
knew Jacob resided within.

A shudder having nothing to do with fear swept through her.
His unique taste swept through her, quickening her heart while giving her strength.

The kiss ended and she reached for him. He stepped back
after reverently touching her chin. His black-orbed gaze traveled the length of
her before looking at Heat. Jacob nodded and turned away.

The hands holding her shoulders grasped material and spread
outward, shredding the center of the gown down its entire length. She knew to
expect the disrobing, but the brutality of it shocked her.

Jacob turned and released the coils, allowing them to drop
onto the stone floor. Before Heat restrained her, she ran to Jacob and threw
herself into his arms. He captured her, letting the whip drop from his hand. A
last kiss would never be enough to convey all she felt. She needed to tell him.

With her lips against his ear, she whispered, “I need you,
Jacob. I love you.”

He held her tightly as warm breath washed into her ear. He
tried to speak. Nothing but deep, breathy grunts escaped.

She kissed him and rimmed his ear with her tongue. “I know
how you feel about me. You’ve shown me, dear Jacob. Whatever happens, I know.”

His bone-crushing grip decreased until he set her upon her
feet. Large hands settled on her shoulders. Heat pulled her away and the
deafening roar of the crowd battered her ears. They’d been yelling the entire
time. With her focus on Jacob, she simply hadn’t heard them.

Heat spun her around and captured her wrists. He held them
high in one of his hands as he reached to bring her hair forward. He’d exposed
her back. She gazed into his face to find him looking beyond her at Jacob. He
stood motionless, watching, waiting for a signal.

The faint odor of smoke drifted to her and her mind calmed.
The scheme progressed and she needed to help, not hinder their efforts. The
crack of the whip made her twist in Heat’s embrace. Jacob had removed his shirt
as he coiled the whip. The crowd cheered as he threw, disturbing the dust mere
centimeters from her heels. The heavy metal barbs scraped the floor as he
dragged them away.

Heat spared her a glance. “Brave woman.”

“Stupid woman,” she muttered under her breath, hardly able
to believe she’d wound up in her current situation.

A woman’s high-pitched voice rose above the others and Sage
glanced to her left. A former coworker sat perched in a front-row seat, looking
on and cheering for Jacob to land a blow.

I should’ve eaten that little bitch for lunch. Of course
she’s behind the negotiations with Sovereign.

The acrid scent of smoke drifted over. Her eyes watered and
she blinked, trying to focus. Seconds later, a man yelled, “Fire!”

Pandemonium ensued as the mob jumped from their seats.
Before she could completely comprehend what’d happened, a cool cloth hit her
face. She righted the garment and pulled the impossibly long sleeves up her
arms. As she did, Heat ran across the floor, jumped the stone wall and landed
in front of her former coworker.

A rage-filled scream echoed as he picked her up, extended
his arms and hoisted the flailing woman toward the ceiling. How could he do
this?

The chip stops him from hurting Sovereign and his men.
She couldn’t be more delighted.

In the next second, he dropped her spine onto his head. Her
body broke and hung at an awkward angle before Heat threw her onto the arena
floor.

Sovereign rushed toward her and she ran, scanning the floor
for something to defend herself with. She reached for a large wooden plank but
he grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto her back. He drew his booted foot
up, aiming at her face.

A whirling noise sliced through the air before a thin coil
wrapped around his neck, metal barbs sticking into his face. His scream was cut
short when the whip tightened, severing his head before jerking it from his
body. Blood spurted from the headless neck, showering her in a warm crimson
rain before Sovereign’s body fell.

She crawled to him, pulling the decorative knives from the
sheath at his waist. She’d no skill in fighting but would do everything within
her power to kill any fool stupid enough to stray near.

She looked on as Jacob slashed through countless men
attempting to flee his wrath. The chip no longer deterred him. Heat grabbed one
man and dropped to the arena floor holding his head. Two men converged on him,
striking and kicking him. Heat crumpled. Others clawed at the doors, trying to
escape, crushing those closest to the barrier in the process.

Heat stood when the men retreated to an exit. He staggered
and grabbed Sage’s arm, dragging her to the opposite corner of the arena where
a single metal knob lay embedded in the rock. He released her and bent,
grasping the ring with both hands. He strained and pulled but the metal didn’t
budge. He tugged and tugged but the trap door wouldn’t open.

Thick smoke descended upon them. They both gasped and
choked. Heat tugged the shirt up to cover her nose and mouth and surprisingly,
it helped. Her muddled brain had difficulty comprehending their situation.
Their escape route was gone. Even if they could kill every bastard in the
arena, they’d still die.

“No!” Heat screamed, grabbing her upper arm, dragging her
over bodies and through aisles. The fire grew and roared as Heat scanned for a means
of escape. The high windows had shattered but they remained well beyond their
reach. The metal bars also kept them right where they were—trapped.

As smoke swirled, she caught sight of Jacob at the far side
of the arena, cutting through men like a murdering machine. The fire didn’t
deter him. Nor did the smoke.

“Bodies,” she screamed, grabbing Heat’s hand, attempting to
pull him along.

“What?”

“The fire is consuming this place. Bodies. We’ll bury
ourselves in the dead. Once the wood has burned, the stone won’t. We’d have a
chance.”

Heat didn’t respond but took off at a dead run with her in
tow. He began piling the dead, creating a barrier for them to hide behind. She
attempted to help but could barely move a single guard.

A blood-chilling cry rose above the crackling, whooshing
sound of the fire. She coughed and searched the cloudy room for any sign of
Jacob. When she heard another cry, she ran in that direction. Something moved
in front of her, slicing the smoke before whirling away.

She hesitated as she neared him. Would he turn on her and
cut her to ribbons before realizing who she was? She choked when she called to
him, unable to make herself heard. The fire burned hotter and brighter. They
needed to take cover now!

She reached out blindly and found him, his naked back
blistering hot. He turned on her and her heart stopped for a moment, wondering
if this would be the end. She wrapped her arms around him, unconcerned with the
red-hot embers raining down on them. “The floor,” she sputtered. “Safety.”

He grabbed her and ran. Super-heated air narrowed her
throat. She clung to Jacob and prayed for a miracle. A moment later, cool air
flowed into her lungs. Her weightless body no longer absorbed the sting of hot
embers.

What happened? Were they all safe?

Peace dulled her spinning thoughts as her body relaxed.
Sleepy. She’d never been so tired in her life. Her heart slowed as her mind
drifted, carrying her to a place filled with light. It no longer troubled her
that she couldn’t draw air. Nothing mattered except falling deeper into the
tranquility surrounding her.