The Bargaining by Christine Warren Read Free Book Online Page B

shudders wracking her petite frame and felt a twinge of envy spurred on by the fire behind his fly. He ignored it. This had been her time, service to her need, not his. If they managed to make it out of their present situation alive and with all pertinent parts in working order, then they’d reevaluate the situation and see if they couldn’t come to an agreement more pleasing to his cock. ’Til then, they’d both have to suffer.

    When her shivers began to give way to a constant, subtle shaking, he lifted his head and slowly slid his fingers from her quivering sheath. He licked the last traces of moisture from them and shifted his position on the cot, coming to rest beside her, one hand propping up his head, the other, still warm from her pussy, resting on her belly and offering occasional reassuring caresses.

    He watched her face for several long minutes. Her eyes stayed closed, but her lips were parted as she tried to regain her breath. Her nipples were beaded, whether from cold or lingering arousal, and patches of gooseflesh raised the skin of her arms into curious rough swatches of silk. It took a long while before her breathing settled into a normal rhythm and her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.

    “Come on, little bit,” he urged, voice rough and low. “No time for you to fall asleep. I know that would feel good right about now, but we’ve got work to do. You gonna be able to help me now?”

    Her eyes opened, dark and shining in the dim light, but they had lost the frantic look he’d seen earlier, and now they gazed up at him with clear calm. Her cheeks flushed a dusky pink color, but her voice was soft and steady when she answered him.

    “Yes, Deacon. I am ready to help as best I can.” She drew a deep breath and turned to face him more fully. “What do you need me to do?”

     

    Chapter Ten

     

    Kili stood nervously behind the door, just where Deacon had positioned her, and waited for the guard to respond to her three loud knocks. She and Deacon had gone over the plan half a dozen times in the last hour, from this first contact with the guard to the minute she fastened the safety harness around herself in the co-pilot’s seat. The rebel prisoner, she was discovering, left very little to chance.

    She prayed silently that their plan would work. It didn’t even need to go smoothly, just so long as it ended with both of them in a ship and hurtling through space far, far away from Ankhar. Over the years, Kili had learned not to ask for too much more than what she absolutely needed.

    Her part of the plan began now, as soon as the lumbering guard managed to drag himself down the hall to the cell. Once Deacon had overpowered the guards and confiscated their weapons and a uniform coat, Kili would lead the way out of the jail and through the confusing warren of corridors to the exit. She would use the stable exit, so that if anyone did see them, they would assume she was being escorted out of the prince’s house and to the Shunned house for punishment. No one would ever think twice about Kishantiana earning another punishment.

    Shivering, Kili tried to tell herself nerves had made her shaky. She preferred it to the real explanation, which had a lot more to do with embarrassment. She had to use her years of training now to meet the rebel’s gaze, after the way she had behaved. After the things he’d done to her. If she let herself think about them, she would be useless to him. She needed to concentrate, for both their sakes, and putting their recent intimacy out of her mind would help her to stay clear for that much longer. Her nerves had grown jumpy enough without making everything more difficult for the two of them.

    She had every right to be nervous. Once she and Deacon made it out of the palace, they still had almost five kilometers to travel to reach the outpost he had mentioned. Much of the way crossed barren landscapes where darkness would offer their only cover. She hoped no keen-eyed