“What? Oh, it’s you,” Riley squeaked in surprise then relaxed in his arm. “Thank Jesus you made it out of there.”
Cyprian stared down at Riley, as her hands ran over his chest looking for injuries. The feel of her delicate fingers on his overheated skin, soothed the deranged beast gnawing at his gut.
“What happened? Are you injured?”
He didn’t think Riley had run from the viewing gallery in fear, but seeing her walking alone made him wonder.
“No. I’m fine. I got snatched up and shoved into someone’s coat.”
No wonder I couldn’t see her.
“Who?” Cyprian demanded.
“He let me go. Either he didn’t mean me harm, or got cold feet. Can we get out of here? Please.”
Riley was pale, as she looked around the vestibule in distress. Cyprian glanced at all the activity to see what was bothering her. The guards had secured the viewing gallery and were letting patrons remove their injured from the wrecked room. The scene was rather grisly.
“Riley what species was this male. If he hid you, he wasn’t rescuing you out of the kindness of his heart. He meant to keep you.”
Cyprian wanted to find the bastard, and have a little discussion about taking things that didn’t belong to him
“I was smuggled in a coat,” Riley replied tersely. “It’s over. I don’t want to think about it anymore,” she pleaded with wide dark eyes.
“It’s okay. You are safe now,” Cyprian said soothingly as he brushed a violet tendril of hair back from her face.
He needed to let it go. Riley was shaken by the incident. He doubted she’d ever experienced battle, and she’d been subjected to more trauma than most people could withstand. It killed him that he couldn’t make this right, by removing the threat.
Cyprian swiftly moved past the clean-up, toward the suite. He calmed as he walked with her safely nestled in his arms.
“You found her,” Vintor said, as he jogged up to them.
“I’m heading to our room. Tytus hailed me. We’re good for a while,” Cyprian relayed.
“Mave contacted me as well. He asked about Adeoda.”
“And?” Cyprian asked.
“We were separated in the mess. I’m going to go join the crew as they check out some competition.”
“That’s good.” Cyprian nodded at the excuse Vintor had given Mave. “Let him know I found Riley. We won’t be joining you.”
“Understood.”
Cyprian made it back to the suite and set Riley down in the bedroom.
“Are you certain you aren’t injured, Little Manx?”
“I’m freaked out, but fine.”
Cyprian ran his hands along Riley’s delicate shoulders as he looked her over. She was a tough female - too tough. He worried Riley might be hurt, and was unwilling to acknowledge it. He sniffed, and didn’t scent her blood. The pungent scent of her distress had also subsided to a manageable level.
Thank Kali.
That was when Cyprian caught the scent of someone else, radiating off Riley. With all the other smells in the large corridor, he hadn’t noticed it before. Smelling another male’s scent on her skin instantly pushed Cyprian over the edge.
I know this scent. A rumble rolled through Cyprian’s chest.
“You said the male tucked you into his coat, so you didn’t see who it was,” Cyprian stated, his eyes narrowing on Riley.
“The man hid me in his coat, then let me loose.” Riley again avoided admitting she knew who the male was, but her fear spiked.
Cyprian not only wanted to remove the scent of another male that clung to her, but he hated that Riley lied about knowing who abducted her. What twisted the knife, was who she was protecting. Did she prefer that bony male? Why did Aculus steal Riley, only to release her? Something was going on.
“You aren’t telling me everything, Little Manx.” Cyprian moved in close, pressing his lips against her ear. “You know how I know?” Cyprian continued without letting Riley answer. “I can scent your nervousness, and I can smell the male,” he snarled, his anger mounting. “Why do you insist on telling me these half-truths?”
“Perhaps it’s this whole master slave bit, that puts me off,” Riley snapped. “But congratulations Colombo, you figured out Aculus rescued me from the gallery. I insisted he let me go, and he did. Not everyone wants to own me.”
“Don’t deify that male. He competed for you the same as I did. You know what that means,” Cyprian snarled. “I don’t believe he just let you go. What are you leaving out?”
“I didn’t say anything because of this. I knew you were going to freak out. Oh, and if we’re discussing secrets, let’s discuss your friend, who you trust so much. Did you know Vintor murdered Adeoda in a washroom?”