“I don’t even know what to say to you, Vanessa, but I never planned to marry you. Yes, we had a fling a few years ago, but I never would have made you my wife, even if Adara hadn’t come into the picture.”
“Of course you would have. I was groomed just for you, to be everything you could ever want. Now, it’s all ruined.”
She leapt from the chair and grabbed for her gun. But Chris was prepared for her. Gripping her waist, he easily restrained her, though her claws were flying.
Xander came rushing into the room, and Chris pushed Vanessa over to him so he could deal with her. He’d wasted enough time speaking to this insane, vicious woman. He needed to get to Adara, who had to be in the only bedroom in the cabin.
When he pushed through the door, the sight before him made his stomach drop. Adara was on the floor, tied up and gagged, and curled into a ball in one corner.
He had to tamp down the rage he was feeling. He had to assure her that she’d be all right. And most importantly, he had to get her to safety.
“Adara?” He crept forward so he wouldn’t startle her.
Fear was bright in her eyes at first, but when she realized it was Chris coming toward her, she instantly began trembling in what he assumed was relief.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” he told her as he bent down, untied her, and took off her gag.
She said nothing, but as soon as she was free, she wrapped her shaking arms around him and sobbed in his arms.
“Did they . . . touch you?” he had to ask. He didn’t want to know whether the worst had happened, but he had to know how hurt she was.
“They drugged me, and they hit me a few times, but that was all,” she whispered. He searched her face, finding no bruises. He was afraid to even touch her, afraid of hurting her further.
“I’m so sorry,” he had to say again. Carefully, he lifted her in his arms, holding her snugly against him as he moved back out to the main room of the cabin.
“We need to hurry, Chris,” Xander whispered.
“Wait,” Adara said, struggling to be set down.
Chris placed her on her feet. “What is it? If there’s anything here, we don’t need it.”
She approached the woman, who was now the one bound and gagged. “Bitch!” Adara said before reaching back and, with a mighty blow, instantly bloodying the woman’s nose.
“Now we can go,” Adara said, and she started shaking again.
They made it back to the caves and then through the caverns and tunnels without any further incidents, the trek seeming endless now that their adrenaline wasn’t quite so high.
Chris didn’t draw his first full breath until they stepped into the long-unused palace dungeons, where the tunnels began.
“Lock Emanuel up,” Xander said. “And keep the guards out. I don’t know who else is on his side, and until I do, I want no one to know he’s here.”
“Agreed,” Bryan said, leaving the gag and blindfold on Emanuel and locking him into a cell. They would deal with him later.
Chris left his brothers and took Adara up to their suite, and straight to the bathroom.
“May I help you with anything, Your Highness?” Adara’s maid asked.
“No. Leave us.”
Chris locked the doors and drew Adara a bath.
“Oh, Chris, I was so frightened. I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.”
“I felt the same way, baby,” he said. “I don’t ever want to lose you.”
His throat hurt with the emotion rushing through him.
“I knew you’d come for me,” she whispered, her eyes so trusting that it nearly broke him in half.
“Always,” he promised.
He kissed her gently before he began stripping her clothes away. There were a few bruises on her arms, one on her side, and another on her thigh. The thought of anyone harming her sent even more rage through him, but he managed to control it. That wasn’t what she needed to see right now.
He turned to leave, thinking she might want a private bath, but two words of hers stopped him.
“Please stay.”
“Forever,” he told her.
And forever was what he intended.
Chapter Fifteen
They both should have been exhausted after the events of the day, and it was after midnight. So they knew they should get out of the tub, but they just didn’t want to leave. Chris sat behind Adara, running his hands gently up and down her arms, her sides, her breasts, her legs, coating her skin with soap before the lapping water washed it away.
The longer they sat there together in soothing silence, the calmer she became. This was right; this was where she belonged. With Chris, right here, right now.
“Make love to me, Chris. I need you,” she said, turning her head to look up at him.
“We shouldn’t right now, Adara. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal,” he replied, though she felt his manhood spring up against her back.
“And all I could think about was being with you again. Please,” she begged. She pulled his head down, and grabbing his lips with hers, poured out her passion through that kiss and showed him with her body how much she loved him.
He drew her around and put her on his lap as he deepened the kiss. His arousal was so close to doing what she wanted and needed, and yet so far away. She groaned into his mouth.
He broke away from the kiss. “Not in here. Not this time,” he said, and stood up with her body cradled in his arms.
He set her on her feet, then dried her off. The friction of the towel ignited even more flames inside her.
Chris also dried himself quickly before lifting Adara in his arms again and car
rying her to the bed. After sitting her down there, he gazed at her possessively, his eyes flashing with passion and so much more.
“The thought that I might lose you almost killed me,” he said before dropping down and kneeling before her.
“I felt the same. All I wanted was to see you one more time,” she said, emotions clogging her throat.
“I need you, Adara, I love you.”
“I love you, Christopher, and I so need you, too.”
His eyes lit up with wonder and excitement, and she knew she’d made the right choice in telling him how she felt.
“I’ll show you what you mean to me,” he said. And he brushed his lips against hers.
She moved her hands from his well-defined shoulders, bringing them slowly down his chest and to his abs. He was so smooth and solid. The cool air whispered along her skin, but it couldn’t put out the fire burning between them.
He skimmed her satin skin with those amazing fingers, sending ripples of delight all through her. She grew bolder and started to return the favor, caress for caress. He groaned in pleasure.
She reached his hip, grasped his arousal, and rubbed it feverishly.
“Slow down, darling,” he told her. “I have my limits.”
He kissed her deeply, exploring the contours of her mouth. Then he moved his lips down her slim throat and nipped at her pulse while she brought her hands up and ran her fingers through his hair. Her whole body was aching for his possession.
But he swiped his tongue across her peaked nipples and then blew warm air across the tender buds. She arched off the bed and moaned. She was so hot, so wet. And she was done with foreplay. She ground her hips against his in urgent invitation.
“Patience” was all he said as he continued down her body. She couldn’t protest — what he was doing was melting her.
He finally reached her thighs and spread them apart gently. “You are perfect. You awe me,” he whispered, and he licked the sensitive skin on her stomach.
He moved his lips inexorably down. He slid his tongue against her folds and her swollen clitoris, and inserted a finger into her aching core. The sensation was so intense that she nearly shattered right then. She tried to pull away — she wanted him inside her. But he didn’t let up. He started moving faster, and the rhythm of his hands and mouth sent her off into a perfect storm of ecstasy.
