Page 24 of A Princess, Stolen (A Kiss of Revenge, Blood, and Love #1)

“Nothing will happen to you here on board. I promise,” he said roughly. He seemed tired as if he had fought a long battle. Maybe it had been exhausting negotiating for my life.

I couldn’t help but breathe a deep sigh of relief, infinitely glad that I was safe for now.

No, it was more than that. He had just promised me.

I thought about what Troy had told me about the promises in his family.

He only promised something when he was certain he could keep it.

I looked at him through the bars. “Thank you,” I replied softly even though I didn’t have to be grateful.

They were the culprits, not me. However, a promise was a promise and more than I expected.

He nodded, his gaze still fixed on me. “You look terrible,” he said after a while.

“Thank you for that too!”

He smiled, and like at the gate in Louisiana, it was a fleeting smile; flying across his face, lighting up his sea-gray eyes making him appear frighteningly defenseless.

For a few seconds, it seemed as if we were back in Baton Rouge at the property fence, only this time, he was on the winning side and I was dirty and hungry.

“What did you do to Pan?” he asked, leaning against the opposite wall, his feet crossed, his arms folded across his chest. His defenselessness was wiped away.

“Nothing…why?”

“He seemed so absentminded.”

I blinked. “Didn’t he tell you anything?”

“Men like him don’t talk much. He sits at the bow and stares out at the sea like a heron.”

I found that notion strange. “Pan asked me what I did to you. Everyone asks me what I’ve done to people, yet I’m just here tied up. I can’t do anything.”

“Oh!” Nathan snorted. “Then I must have seen a mirage on deck.”

“You know what I mean.”

Suddenly, he grew serious, his face free of mockery and anger, and I realized how much I still liked it.

I had no idea if he could be described as beautiful and his photo would certainly never make the front page of the New York Times like Lawrence.

And if it did, it would be negative headlines.

He was not a shining star, not a model type; his aura was somber in nature, just as the sea in the fog could be dark and gloomy, yet magical, especially in the moonlight.

“Your situation is critical,” he said now. “Naturally, most don’t want to release you, but nobody wants you dead even if you might believe that or think some do. These are good men. I chose them myself.”

I remained silent, although his good men made me want to object. Instead, I said, “Chosen. From where? From what?”

He ignored that. “You only saw everyone in the dark, though now you know a few faces up close. We don’t even need to discuss Taurus’ bull tattoo because you’ve proven that you’re not stupid. You also saw Troy and me. And Pan…”

“But Pan wasn’t my fault.”

“It’s not about blame, it’s about the plan, Willa. It must not fail, cannot, that’s a priority, number one on the list.”

He called me Willa again, which was probably a good sign and it sounded nice coming from him. Deep, warning, and urgent. Nevertheless, I asked, “And my life? Where is that on your list?”

He came closer to the bars. “I did not make that decision lightly. It will demand a lot from me—from you too, by the way.”

I swallowed. It was difficult to hear those words and not be afraid especially because I was hanging on a bar as if being crucified as well as freezing and hungry. “What does your decision demand of me?”

He did not take his eyes off my face. “You will find out when the time comes.”

“That’s unfair.”

“No. It’s a precautionary measure.”

“You won’t gouge out my eyes so I cannot dra…so I cannot describe you to the police?” I quickly corrected myself and a deep shock ran through my limbs.

He clicked his tongue angrily. “I may seem uncompromising to you, but I’m not cruel.”

I didn’t reply as I awkwardly tried to find a comfortable position.

“Don’t complain, you brought this on yourself.” He nodded his chin at my bound hands. “And don’t be alarmed, but I’m coming in now to search for the spot in the wall you claim you used to cut the rope. If you show me, it’ll go faster.”

I didn’t want him to find Mom’s ring, so I said nothing and watched him for a while as he felt around the wall, at least, as much as I could.

He was thorough and didn’t miss an inch. “So, do you want to tell me what you did to Pan?” He was at the wall behind me; I would have had to be an owl to see him.

“I only told him about my mom,” I said.

“Pan said you deliberately coaxed things out of him that he hadn’t told anyone before. He said you were a witch.”

“So, he did talk to you about me.”

“I didn’t deny it. I simply stated that men like him don’t talk much. Pan is an honest man. Always says what he thinks.”

“Indeed.”

“And did you deliberately coax something out of him?”

“No, but sometimes I sense what other people feel.”

“Oh?” Nathan appeared in my field of vision and turned his attention to the wall next to me so that I could watch him, but basically, he was watching me.

He kept glancing over at me. There was something glowing in his eyes, but I couldn’t read it, it was too subtle or maybe he was hiding it well.

“And, what do I feel?” he finally asked.

I recalled his anger when I confronted him with Tucekilemeur . Dangerous territory, so I said, “Back in Baton Rouge, you seemed angry without me knowing why. But you were also generous. You gave me the ribbon and wanted to comfort me. You were sad because of Lea.”

He stared at me unimpressed. “That’s long over. That doesn’t convince me.”

“You don’t hate me,” I replied softly. “You’re not indifferent to me.” Obviously, I had learned that from Pan, but it was also in his eyes. He may have wanted to despise me but he couldn’t.

He waved me off almost too casually. “Far from it. I couldn’t be more indifferent to you.

” He returned to his work, radiating anger like a heater.

Was I wrong or did he merely feel exposed?

Or was I simply wishing that he cared about me?

That was crazy! When we first met at sea, he behaved like a bastard.

He scared me and enjoyed it. He ripped my dress.

I quickly glanced down at myself and found the spot. A ruffle was torn, the tulle and silk falling apart because a piece was missing. “You take a lot of things without asking.”

He didn’t turn toward me. “What does that have to do with my feelings? Besides, I told you back then that I stole my food from farmers, didn’t I?”

“You kissed me without asking. You abducted me to get my dad’s money.”

“Should we have asked you politely, princess? Besides, you had a choice.”

“Excuse me?”

“Excuse me?” he mimicked woodenly. “Here we say, what or huh… Excuse me? Who talks like that?” He laughed and shook his head in amusement. “You didn’t have to come any closer back then…” he said, responding to what I said previously.

Now, for the first time, he admitted that he was the boy from Louisiana. “You said you still had something for me.”

“Whether you’re a girl or a dock whore, you’re all the same—always wanting presents, always curious. That’s why you came closer.” Now he was kneeling on the floor, feeling along the bottom few inches of the white wall.

I felt myself blushing because he was comparing me to a prostitute, to a dock whore. I didn’t want to know what experiences he had had with women like that. “Should I have let you shoot my father?" I asked, unable to hide my indignation even though I was veering off the topic.

He still had his back to me, his hands flat on the wall. “There was a choice. There still is. Yours or your father’s life. Don’t tell me you didn’t realize that…”

“I love my dad, there was no choice!”

He didn’t say anything after that, but I could see from his halting movements that he was annoyed by my answer.

Probably because he couldn’t say anything in response.

He probably didn’t love anyone anymore, still, I thought about Lea.

He was attached to her. As much as a person can be attached to someone .

When he stood after a while, he leaned casually against the wall and looked me over. “While we’re on the subject, what else do you know about me?”

“You are violent, uncivilized, and ruthless. Anything but a gentleman.” I have no idea why I wanted to provoke him since I was in such an unfavorable position.

He simply shrugged. “Okay.” He came toward me. “Anything else?”

“No!” My heart suddenly started beating faster.

“I’m going to tell you something about yourself,” he said, putting a hand on the bars.

Standing beside me, he was much too close, so I had to look to the left to look at him.

“You lied. The walls are as slippery as your father’s machinations; there are no nails or thumbtacks.

There are no sharp edges at all, not a single one, at least not one that you could have reached.

So…how did you do it? There’s nothing in the bathroom that you could have pocketed and used. ”

I didn’t want to tell him. The ring was too precious. It held no monetary value for me, only sentimental significance.

“Did Troy give you anything?”

“No, of course not. Why would he?” I asked quickly, blinking several times.

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?” I asked, confused.

His nostrils flared. “Stop that, damn it!”

“Stop what?”

“Stop blinking! You do that all the time.”

“It’s a tic, I always do it when I’m nervous,” I said even though I didn’t need to justify myself.

“A tic? You’re driving me crazy with it.” He put a hand to his forehead and shook his head, muttering something that sounded like a prayer or a curse, or both. “Is there anything else strange about you?”

I used to see ghosts .

“Can you feed on air? You’ve been refusing food for days.”

I’m allergic to nuts and egg whites .

He looked at me intently, and suddenly, I realized how miserable I was. How tired I was. My shoulder joints ached, my fingers were numb, and I was freezing. And I was so hungry.

“Jesus, you’re more stubborn than a herd of mules, damn it!” Nathan took a few deep breaths without taking his eyes off me.

I bit my lip, and for a moment, he stared at my mouth.

Something strange happened to his pupils.

They enlarged becoming vast, dark lakes—lakes of mist in the night.

Without asking, he grabbed my left braid.

“I would have sworn an oath that you had thrown the ribbon away.” He was still standing to the side, looking at me intently.

I leaned my head against the bars in silence and prayed that he wouldn’t discover the ring. It was stuck higher up and his hand was nearer the end. “You said it was a gift and gifts should never be taken off.”

“That’s right.” Like the other day on deck, he abruptly let go of me as if suddenly I had extended a thorn and injected him with a paralyzing poison.

He entered the corridor through the bars.

“Tell me how you got free and I’ll untie you immediately so you can eat without being tied up.

You can also take a shower. That’s a fair deal, I think. ”

I thought nothing was fair here, but I said nothing. Only when he had almost reached the end of the corridor where I could no longer see him, did I shout, “And you are not indifferent to me. Even if you tell yourself that, it is not true!”