Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ALINA
While we ate our disgustingly oily and burned scrambled eggs and washed it down with weak, lukewarm coffee, I scrutinized Tynan.
He was suspiciously quiet. His dark eyes returned to my face over and over as if he was trying to solve a riddle.
I shifted forward, picking up an uneven piece of hard, grainy bread then spread some oversalted butter on it.
I had to get away, but my captor was constantly shadowing me.
He would not even leave me alone while I was in the bathroom.
My nostrils flared when I thought about the humiliation of him standing behind the door, as if I was some kind of a dangerous criminal.
To be fair, if he had not, I probably would have tried to escape.
One thing these people did not seem to understand; I would do anything to be free.
No amount of shaming me for not wanting to make their life easier would do them any good.
I chewed the bread, watching my guard. All I needed to do was to come up with another plan.
Fortunately, I was good at planning and I knew how to deal with different types of people. That was my day to day task back at home. I made sure my family’s castle ran smoothly, placing the right people in key positions and managing all the conflicts and drama. I could do it, I could best him.
I just needed to learn more about Tynan, despite him being so reserved, and unpleasant.
Maybe if I pushed his buttons a little, I would have a better idea what to do about him.
That was an uncomfortable thought because it absolutely went against my nature to be nasty to someone on purpose. I sighed.
“I want to go for a walk!” I demanded.
Tynan’s eyes shifted back to me and he scowled.
Victor smirked, watching the two of us.
I stood up, committing to the idea. If we could get into a thick crowd, I would be able to lose him and escape. It was a simple plan, too simple perhaps, but it was certainly worth trying.
The truth was, I was not sure if Tynan could be so easily manipulated. To my surprise, he slowly got up. I turned away from the table feeling nothing short of triumph for making him do something he did not want to do.
In the meantime, I approached the front door and my hand just landed on the door knob when Tynan’s closeness made me hesitate. He placed his hand directly on top of mine, trapping me.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” he whispered in my ear, and shivers ran down my spine.
“Or what?” I said before I could stop myself.
“Or you will see how unpleasant I can be,” he responded, letting go of my hand and opening the front door for me.
I gave him a side eye, realizing that he used the exact same word I thought of when describing him. Carefully, I stepped outside.
“What? You can be more unpleasant than you already are? I don’t think that’s possible,” I said, watching his lips press tightly together.
“Trust me on this,” he said and I looked away.
The sun was shining directly into my eyes, I squinted, covering my face. Maybe this would be the perfect distraction I needed. I quickly got up on the sidewalk, avoiding a collision with a street seller’s cart.
“If you are so unpleasant, why did you come with me?” I asked, looking at his profile.
“Why? Did you change your mind?” he asked, and I bit my lip.
“No, I did not.”
There had to be something, some weakness I could exploit.
I needed to figure him out and use it to my advantage.
At the same time, I thought about what it would feel like to be one of his friends.
Someone he trusted, someone he was ready to sacrifice himself for, to save and protect.
He treated his little group as if they were his family, and maybe they were.
I concentrated on my destination, watching the rows of merchants and numerous soldiers who walked with hefty white dogs on leashes. After I saw several similar groups, my eyes returned to Tynan.
“Why do they have dogs?”
“They are looking for the infected. In a big city like this one, one crawler could create mayhem,” he explained.
“Why would infected people try to get into the city?” I asked.
“Why do people do what they do? Many of them are selfish, ignorant or suicidal.” Tynan watched the crowd and my eyes kept returning to his profile.
His face was devoid of any emotion, cold and stoic. He reminded me of the soldier my brother hired to guard our family castle who only recently returned from the war. His eyes bore a sharp, restless look, as if he got a glimpse of hell and came back, but not all the way.
I returned my eyes to the horizon, thinking hard about escaping these lands.
We walked for a good portion of the morning.
My eyes darted from the stores to random pedestrians we saw passing by.
The only other city I had ever visited was Rottestadt, but it was so very different, always cold and covered with thick fog.
At least the weather was mild here, but again my brother’s city did not have crawlers.
“How did you meet the others?” I asked.
Tynan turned to face me and I could plainly see that he was not prepared to have a casual conversation with me.
“We grew up together,” he said after a long pause.
“Here? In Riolle?”
“No, far from here.”
I sighed, looking at the pavement beneath my feet.
“You’re quite the talker.”
“So are you,” he responded.
“Are you going to be rewarded for dragging me to the capital?” I asked.
“Rewarded?” He frowned.
“There should be a reason why you would do something so . . . dishonorable.”
Tynan frowned, but said nothing.
“I hope your masters pay you well,” I continued.
“It’s getting late. We should head back,” he said and his broad hand landed on my shoulder.
I clenched my teeth, and followed him through the busy streets.
The noise of the crowded tavern and the smells of pork and sour wine invaded my nostrils when an enormous platter of roasted vegetables and meat was placed in the middle of the wooden table. I picked up my bent spoon and dug into the food.
This time, Frid joined us, but she sat on the other side of Solomon.
From time to time, I caught her staring at me.
I did not need a crystal ball to see that she was still really angry.
I shifted in my chair uncomfortably. If there was one thing that I absolutely did not feel good about, it was that I knowingly took advantage of her.
And there was no way to fix it, especially because I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Solomon concentrated on his food, his strong profile and dark skin reflected the lights of the candles. From time to time, he raised his head to scrutinize the crowd of tavern visitors before returning to his meal.
I looked at Victor, whose eyes were glued to the busty blond girl behind the counter. It would be so incredibly easy to trick him and escape if he was the one guarding me. But, unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
Almost against my will, my gaze shifted to Tynan. His hard profile was outlined by the soft glow of the low hanging chandelier. He was amazingly beautiful and absolutely rotten.
How was it possible to have everything he had, and not be kind or compassionate?
Why won’t he just let me go? Why couldn’t he tell his commanders that I died in prison and let me escape?
Why did he want to drag me back to another prison cell?
What did he say about other people? They were selfish, ignorant, and suicidal.
It was obvious that he did not like people in general, except for the lucky few who have been with him since they were children.
I bit the inside of my cheek. My time was running out.
I only had one more day before Erin would return, and he could bring more people with him.
I had to make my move. My eyes landed on Tynan’s broad shoulders and strong neck.
He was too big for me to overpower. To be honest, all of them were larger than me.
If I wanted to make a run for it, I needed to come up with a way to immobilize him.
My hand brushed the side of my dark brown pants.
The handcuffs were sitting snugly in my pocket.
Just then, the blond approached our table and purposely placed herself directly in front of Tynan.
She leaned forward, revealing her cleavage.
His gaze briefly landed on what was barely concealed by the light blue, cotton bodice before meeting her eyes.
And a sudden idea as much as exploded in my head.
If I can’t overpower him, maybe I could use another means of distracting him.
I returned my attention back to my plate, thinking through my options.
“Don’t even think about escaping again,” Victor said when Tynan left the table to get another drink.
I looked away, feeling Frid’s eyes burning into me.
“And by the way, what was your plan? There is absolutely no place for someone like you to go,” the brash man continued.
“Why’s that?” I could not stop myself asking.
“Crawlers are everywhere around us. You’ll never make it,” Victor continued.
I looked down, dismissing his words, although without the previous confidence.
When we returned to Tynan’s room later that night, I sat on the bed, stretching out my legs.
My eyes followed Tynan as he walked to the water basin and washed up.
His damp hair laid flat against his face and I watched the sparkling droplets of water slide down his cheek to his neck.
I swallowed, looking away. The wave of panic hit me unexpectedly.
I did not know why I was so nervous. Maybe it was because I was going to seduce him and I had never done anything like that before.
Or maybe because I had not been with anyone for more than two years since my fiance was killed.
I was not even sure if I had it in me anymore.
What if he doesn’t find me attractive? What if he could see through my ploy?
I took a deep breath, clenching the bed cover with my hands. It was not a good time to be nervous. I only had tonight. It was my only chance. I bit my lip looking up to the ceiling.
Tynan stretched on his bed, and fluffed his pillow.
I swallowed and sat up right.
Don’t mess it up! Don’t mess it up!
“Do you know what I want right now?” I said in a breathy voice.
My heart fell. It was like I just leapt into freezing cold water. There was no other way out. I had to see it through now.
Tynan turned his head watching me, surprise flickered in his umber colored eyes.
“I haven’t had any fun for so long. You know what I mean?” I placed my feet on the floor, feeling his gaze on my face.
“Go to sleep,” Tynan said quietly, but I could see that his attention was on me when I stepped closer to his bed.
“I saw you looking at that woman downstairs. I think we can help each other,” I whispered, stopping by his side of the bed.
“What?” His eyebrows shot up, and it would have been comical if I had not been so scared of my daring ruse.
“Don’t you want me?” I asked.
He froze, watching me as I leaned over him. The strands of my hair landed on his cheek, and I placed my hand on the headboard.
“What are you doing?” His eyes narrowed.
He was suspicious of me. He was not buying it.
“I saw you watching me all night,” I lowered my voice, trying to emulate the flirting I frequently witnessed between my brother and his wife.
I paused, fully aware of the cold sweat that was beading on my skin. I was never any good at flirting. My fiance was my friend first, then it got more serious. I never tried to be sensual with him. We spent time together, laughing and goofing around, but I never needed to seduce him.
I lowered myself closer to his face, inhaling the spicy, intimate scent of leather and tree bark. He smelled so captivating. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had stored that scent as Tynan’s way before this, but I never paid enough attention to realize how alluring it was.
My knee pressed against the mattress of his bed and I watched as his eyes landed on my thigh.
“Don’t you want to know how good it can be?” I whispered.
He stayed silent and I took that as a positive sign.
My lips almost touched his. Tynan’s warm breath caressed my skin, and the feeling was not unpleasant.
My eyes darted to his mouth. He had the most amazingly shaped lips.
Not too full and perfectly lined. His eyes were on my mouth; I could almost feel his gaze as the lightest, most gentle of touches.
“Don’t,” he whispered and his words released millions of butterflies in my stomach.
“What?” I asked, half dazed.
My fingers carefully landed on his forearm. There was no way he could hide that my touch affected him. My heart sang the sweetest melody somewhere deep in my chest.
He was not immune to me. I can do it! Just a little longer. I only need another moment.
My hand slowly traveled down his arm to his wrist. Tynan’s hand flexed, his breathing stuttered. He hated it, but he could not keep control. I looked into his bewildered, dark, smoldering eyes, noticing the specks of amber and gold dusting his irises. Gods, he was breathtaking.
I could not believe what I was doing, and that my simple touches made him react that way. I licked my lips, experiencing the warmth of the pull that seemed to affect all of my senses. He was so tempting that, for a moment, I nearly lost myself.
“Alina,” he whispered.
My name on his lips did something to me.
I did not know I was capable of experiencing anything like it.
Not anymore. After Petro died, nothing could make me even look at other men.
I was sure that I would spend my days alone, and I was fine with that.
But, my body had come to life. My body wanted to feel things, to experience being alive, to touch and be touched.
I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the revelation.
I do not know what happened next, but Tynan’s lips lightly brushed the skin of my cheek and I panicked. My hand flew toward the hidden pocket on my hip and before I could change my mind or even think about what I was doing, I locked Tynan’s wrist to the headboard.
His dark brown eyes went huge, he looked at me in absolute shock and complete disbelief. The next moment, he tried to break free and the whole bed shook under him.
I jumped back.
“Don’t do this!” He jerked the headboard and a dull metallic clang filled the room.
Attached to the handcuffs, he reminded me of a wild animal trapped in a snare. It pained me to see him like that, the way he struggled to break free. I took another step back, and when my back touched the wooden panel, I grabbed the door handle. With one last look, I walked out the door.