Ruby Shadows (19 page)

Laish nodded curtly and seemed to shrink
back to his normal size.

“
Very well, I have no time
to argue with you,” he growled, frowning at Druaga. “One meal
together—just you and me.”

“
And your lovely lady, of
course.” The human eyes in the boar’s face gleamed. “She must come
too.”

“
All right—but I want it
known that this meal will pay the debt for saving her
life.”

“
Yes, yes…of course, my
lord.” Druaga nodded and bowed obsequiously. “I will send an imp to
lead you to my private quarters tomorrow morning.”

“
No,” Laish said sharply.
“Not your quarters—here will do.”

“
As you wish.”

“
Fine. And now I must see
to my concubine.” Heedless of the smashed sandwich and the plastic
shards of the ruined Sponge Bob container, Laish gripped me by the
arm and pulled me back into the suite.

Chapter
Fourteen

Laish

“
Strip!” I said at once,
as soon as I had the door closed and securely fastened.

“
What?” Gwendolyn took a
step back from me, fear flashing in her eyes. “What do
you…?”

There was no time to explain. What Druaga
had been telling her about the venom of a devilkin’s bite was no
lie. I had to be certain she wasn’t bitten anywhere—if she was, I
had to get rid of the venom immediately and cleanse the wound.
Without saying a word, I quickly began peeling the red silk dress
from her lush body, needing to see for myself that she was safe and
unharmed.

“
No, wait…please!”
Gwendolyn tried to bat my hands away but I couldn’t afford to be
gentle. Devilkin venom begins working at once and, if left in the
system too long, is completely lethal.

I disposed of the red dress, throwing it in
a ball into the corner and reached for her panties.

“
Stop!” She tried to take
a step backwards and almost fell. “Oh…” She put a hand to her head.
“So
dizzy.”

I swore to myself in the Black Tongue and
she flinched back, away from the harsh language. I didn’t want her
to fear me but I had to know where they had bitten her—and how many
times. I felt panic growing in me—fear that she was in danger past
my ability to save her.

“
Let me see you,” I
demanded, trying to make my voice a little more gentle. “I need to
count the bites and get rid of the venom.”

“
Oh…it was just once.” She
held out an arm to me and I saw something red on her café au lait
skin.

Grasping her wrist, I licked it quickly,
trying to ascertain from the taste how much venom had been
injected. But instead of the bitter, chalky taste of devilkin
venom, my mouth filled with something fruity and cloyingly
sweet.

“
What’s this?” I pulled
back, frowning. “This isn’t blood.”

“
No—it’s strawberry jam,”
Gwendolyn said. She was half laughing, half crying—as though she
was just on the edge of hysteria. I wasn’t surprised—being swarmed
by a pack of devilkins is a disorienting experience—and a deadly
one. Most don’t live to tell about it. But I was determined that
she would.

“
Come,” I said, pulling
her wrist. I meant to take her into the bathroom where the lighting
was better but she wobbled again and sank down to the floor. Damn
it—the venom must already be working on her!

I swung her up in my arms and carried her
through the suite, past the massive four poster bed with its fur
coverlet and into the bathroom where the deep marble tub was about
to overflow.

“
My bubble bath!”
Gwendolyn struggled weakly in my arms. “I forgot all about
it.”

“
Understandable
considering the circumstances,” I said. Sitting her on the black
marble counter that ran the length of one wall, I turned off the
taps quickly and went back to her.

“
Laish…I’m sorry. I should
have listened to you,” she whispered, her voice soft and
weak.

“
Yes, you should have but
never mind that now. Where were you bitten?”

“
Here.” She held out her
arm again and this time I saw what the smear of fruit spread had
been hiding—an oval ring of wickedly deep bite marks ran around the
inside of her forearm. Already black streaks were beginning to
climb up her creamy brown skin.

The sight made me swear again—damn it, we
might be too late! Anger and grim determination flared in me.

No—she must not die. I will not allow it! I
will not lose her!

Quickly, I took her arm in my hands, fit my
mouth over the bite marks and began to suck.

“
What…what are you doing?”
Gwendolyn asked uncertainly as the bitter, chalky taste of the
venom rushed over my tongue.

I pulled back and spat in the sink. The inky
venom was black as sin but I hadn’t gotten it all—I still saw
traces of it under her skin.

“
Removing the poison,” I
said briefly and went back to her arm again. She moaned softly but
didn’t try to fight me as I sucked and spat and sucked and spat
again.

Finally her blood tasted pure and clean. I
spat once more and rinsed my mouth, ridding myself of the last of
the venom.

Straightening up, I examined her forearm
under the overhead light. No more black lines ran under her skin
but she still appeared weak and only half-awake. Then she started
to shiver helplessly.

“
Laish,” she whispered in
that soft, helpless voice so unlike her usual fearless tone. “So…so
cold.”

“
Gwendolyn…
mon
ange…
” The nickname fell from my lips. My
angel…my dear one. I took her hands in mine—they were cold to
touch. The venom might be gone but the aftereffects could still
kill her.

Luckily, the bath she had drawn was just
what we needed.

Stripping off my suit jacket and shirt and
toeing off my shoes, I lifted my little witch gently into my arms.
The bottom of the suit would be ruined but that was too bad—I
didn’t think Gwendolyn would be comfortable with me bare in the tub
with her. And besides, I could always get another pair of
trousers.

Gwendolyn was shivering continuously by now,
shaking in my arms, her teeth chattering.

“
Gently,
mon ange,”
I murmured,
hearing the worried tone in my own voice but unable to help it.
“Come, we’ll get you warmed.”

I climbed the steps to the raised tub and,
still holding her in my arms, stepped into the steaming water.

* * * * *

Gwendolyn

I didn’t understand what
Laish was doing or why he was doing it. I only knew I was cold—so
horribly cold and the freezing sensation was coming from
inside
me. It was almost
as though someone had frozen my heart and the ensuing wave of
bitter cold was working its way outward, coating the rest of my
body in frost.

Then, holding me gently, Laish settled us
both in the huge marble tub even though he was still half dressed.
Why was he doing that, I wondered hazily. Didn’t he think I was
capable of taking a bath on my own? I tried to ask him but my teeth
were chattering too badly.

“
Just relax, Gwendolyn,”
he murmured in my ear, cradling me in his arms as the hot water
lapped around us. “Relax and let the warmth penetrate
you.”

I tried to do as he said though my first
instinct was to ball up and try to keep myself warm. But soon I
found that the hot water around me was doing its job—warmth began
to creep back into my body and my shivering stopped, leaving
nothing but weariness.

I sighed and let myself go limp, relaxing
against the broad, bare chest behind me. Though I had sworn to try
and keep my distance earlier, now I was very glad Laish was with
me. I felt so weak I wasn’t certain I could have kept my head above
water in the deep tub. He must have known that because he held me
gently but firmly against him, keeping me safe as he waited for the
heated water to heal me.

“
Gwendolyn,” he murmured
in my ear after a while. “What happened? Tell me
everything.”

Should I? Somehow I didn’t feel like I could
lie to him—not when we were pressed so closely together with his
arms around me.

Hesitantly, I told him, starting with the
knock on the door and how I had looked out the peephole and seen
the innocent looking little cherub boy. I didn’t tell him about how
the little blond boy had brought back my shoe—in retrospect
believing that he had gone to get it back for me out of the
goodness of his little heart made me seem even stupider than I
already was. Instead, I told Laish, truthfully enough, how hungry
the devilkin child had looked.

“
I didn’t think it could
hurt to open the door to him,” I said. “He looked so hungry and I
thought I could give him a sandwich—give him a lot of them to take
back to the other kids.”

He sighed, his broad chest moving against my
back.

“
And so you opened the
door out of compassion. Wanting to feed him, not knowing that what
he hungered for was your flesh.”

“
How
could
I know?” I asked, a little
defensively. “I mean, I know you told me that their appetites might
surprise me but I just thought you meant they would eat anything
because food was so scarce. You could have been a little more
specific.”

“
Yes, I should have,” he
agreed with me, to my surprise. “But I didn’t want to frighten
you,
mon petit chat.”

“
I’m not your little cat,”
I said in irritation. “And you
should
have told me. I thought you
were just being a bastard when you said we should ignore
them.”

“
Should I tell you then,
every time we are near someone or something that can kill you?” He
turned me around so that I was facing him, still wrapped in his
arms. “Should I explain in detail exactly how each threat wishes to
maim, devour, or despoil you? How they all desire to drink your
blood, violate your body, or steal your soul?”

He was looking at me earnestly, honestly
seeking an answer to his question. He really wanted to know if I
cared to have the dirty details of exactly what or who wanted to
kill or rape me and how they planned to do it everywhere we went.
Except we were in Hell which meant at any given time just about
anyone we met would be wanting to do those things.

I felt like my eyes had
been opened by the devilkin incident. It was like being in a room
full of people you know aren’t very nice but don’t think are awful.
Then you suddenly find out that every single one of them is a
serial killer and they all have a knife with your name on
it.
Horrible
.

As the realization sank in, I felt sick to
my stomach.

“
No,” I whispered at last.
“No, I guess not.”

“
You’re in danger every
minute,
mon ange,”
he murmured, stroking my cheek lightly with the back of his
hand. “I thought you would be safe in the room but I underestimated
Druaga’s determination to get to you. Forgive me.”

“
I’m the one who ought to
be asking forgiveness, I guess,” I said, trying to look away from
that steady, ruby red gaze and failing. “I should have listened to
you. I should have known you wouldn’t tell me not to open the door
to anyone without good reason.”

“
That is correct but I
think you may have learned your lesson.” He cupped my cheek. “From
now on remember—you are only safe when I am with you. I will try
not to leave you alone again but if it is ever necessary, you must
trust
no one.”

“
All right,” I whispered,
my mouth feeling dry. “I believe you. I mean,
really
believe you now, Laish.
I…don’t think I really got it before.”

“
I am glad you ‘get it’
now,” he murmured. “Are you feeling better?”

I realized that I was. And then I further
realized that I was sitting naked, except for my soaking wet
panties, on his lap in the huge marble tub. I had felt too sick and
weak for the situation to seem sexual before. But now, sitting as
we were with my legs straddling his lean hips and my bare breasts
almost brushing his broad chest, I began to feel warm all over for
a reason that had nothing at all to do with the hot water
surrounding us.

“
I’m fine now,” I said,
trying to make my voice sound normal. “A lot
better—really.”

“
Good,” he murmured and
those burning ruby eyes of his were suddenly half-lidded with
desire. “Because I think it’s time to get out of the tub and dry
off now, Gwendolyn. And then it’s time to pay the tax.”

“
The Sin Tax you mean?” My
voice was much higher than I liked. “I mean…can’t we wait until
tomorrow morning? I just had a near death experience and I’m not
exactly feeling very, uh, sexy right now.”

“
Is that right? These
would seem to tell a different tale.” Cupping my breasts in his big
hands, he thumbed my erect nipples, sending a shiver of desire
straight from my tender peaks to my pussy.

“
Laish!” I protested
breathlessly, shifting against him. “Please…you
shouldn’t.”

“
Shouldn’t give you
pleasure, you mean?” he murmured, lifting me effortlessly so that
my breasts were free of the water. “Or shouldn’t take pleasure
myself in your beautiful body?”