Just … wow.
Right on cue the front door opened and a man stepped out from the house, his shadow outlined in the swath of light cutting through the darkened portico. He stepped up to the car and opened Michael’s door for him. Huh. A castle, complete with a servant. Was he loyal, though? With any luck, Claire would be able to buy her freedom and the guy currently offering up a polite greeting might be her ticket out of there.
A few presumably polite words were exchanged between the two, too low for Claire to hear. She muttered under her breath in a dark and broody voice, “Get the dungeon ready, Jeeves. Extraheavy shackles for our prisoner.”
From the front seat Ronan burst out in a round of robust laughter. “It’s about time we had someone around here with a sense of humor.”
She shifted in her seat and leaned over the center console. “You think I’m kidding?”#p#分页标题#e#
Before Ronan could respond, her door was pulled open and Michael leaned down, his arm outstretched. Nothing like extending a gentlemanly hand after forcing a woman bodily into a car and kidnapping her. “Claire,” he said in that insufferably commanding tone. “Come inside.”
“I’m good where I am.”
His eyes flashed silver and Claire’s heart jumped into her throat. “Come inside, or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you inside.”
She folded her arms across her chest and relaxed back into the seat. No way was she going to make this easy for him. He could try to intimidate her all he wanted. Not even his crazy Riddick eyes were going to coax her out of the car. Fake fangs, weird contact lenses. Jesus, who are these guys?
Michael reached into the backseat and Claire wished for a moment that she hadn’t called his bluff. He latched on to her legs and spun her around until she was laid out on the seat. As slick as going down a waterslide, she was pulled across the leather upholstery and hefted in the air again as though she weighed nothing. A squeal of protest erupted from her throat as he deposited her on top of one massive shoulder, leaving her head to dangle over his back, her hair cascading almost to the ground.
“Put me down!”
“I warned you.” With each step, her breath was forced from her chest and she had no choice but to dangle there like a sack of potatoes or else rest her hands on his ass to brace herself. “I always follow through, Claire. If you insist on testing me, be prepared for the consequences.” She tried to ignore the solid mass of muscle carting her through the front door, the way his high-priced slacks hugged the very ass she’d just considered latching on to.
“Yeah,” she said through a huff of breath. “Well … if you don’t … put me … down…”—holy crap, she was going to pass out from all the blood currently rushing into her brain—“we’re going to have a very serious problem.”
“The slayers have found you. They won’t stop until you’re dead. I’d say we already have a very serious problem. Wouldn’t you agree?”
If this was a dream, Claire was more than ready to wake up.
CHAPTER
10
“I know it’s been a while, Mikhail, but you really need a refresher on how to deal with the fairer sex.”
Michael narrowed his gaze but didn’t bother to look at Ronan. No, his eyes were fixed on Claire, sitting ramrod straight on the plush, never-used sofa in the formal living room. She stared straight ahead, her golden eyes focused on nothing. Her arms hugged her body and her left hand fiddled with something bulky against her skin, hidden by the long sleeve of her shirt. Michael’s fingers twitched as he took in the sight of her hair, a glimmering cascade of gold that fell over her shoulder in silky sheets. Gods, how he wanted to run his fingers through that length.
“Ronan is right.” Alex bent close to Michael as though worried Claire might overhear. “This isn’t her world. This isn’t an adjustment that can be made in a matter of minutes. For all she knows, you’re a psychopath.”
Michael cast a sidelong glance at the human and arched a brow.
Alex shrugged and averted his gaze. “Of course we know you’re not a psychopath. All I’m saying is that you should try to be patient with her. Ease her into the situation.”
Michael let out a slow breath. As though tethering his soul had been a slow and gradual thing. Hadn’t he been thrown into this situation as well? Blindsided with the immediacy of Claire’s effect on him. Beside him, Ronan was perched at the bar, helping himself to the bottle of sixty-year-old Macallan. How could he be so cavalier after everything that had happened tonight? How could Alex? The Sortiari would be looking for them, adding another layer to an already-complicated situation. And rather than worry about their meager defenses, the two of them wanted to school him on chivalry?#p#分页标题#e#