Page 121 of Hell Fae Captive

Or that was what his tone had suggested when he’d commented on it going dark.

“I thought it meant you’d died,” he added softly. “I… I didn’t expect the feelings that evoked. And I left my rooms. So I had no idea that it was just the portal until I returned.” His focus shifted to his thumb as he stroked the pulse point of my neck. “I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t even have you here.” His grip tensed a little with the word. “But it feels like a second chance.”

“A second chance for what?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper. This all felt so intense. Sounreal. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. How to even beginprocessingit. This new Ajax was nothing like the arrogant one who had captured me, or the asshole who had taunted me in the cells.

This version of him…

Terrifiedme.

Because he was almost personable. Almost likable. Almost too alluring.

He shook his head. “I don’t even know, Cami. It’s just something I’m refusing to ignore. You’re alive and I want you to stay that way.” His gaze met mine. “I can’t free you. I can’t even really help you. But I can try to train you.”

His attention shifted downward to the scraps of my dress. They truly left nothing to the imagination, especially as I was lying on my side and my boobs were practically falling out of the top.

But I didn’t dare move to fix it.

Mostly because I still didn’t trust the sinful part of me not to do something stupid like purposefully remove the fabric.

“I can offer you a shower, too,” he said, his voice thick as his gaze remained on my chest. It was almost like he could hear the temptress inside me purring suggestions in my ear. “Clothes as well,” he added. “And food, too.”

“And your bed?” I added, glancing around us. “Is that why I’m here?”

His dark hair fell into his eyes, making him even more enticing as his lips quirked up at one side. “Would you rather be on the cell floor?”

“I would rather you tell me what’s happening here and why I’m suddenly in your room and not in the cell or in my dorm,” I admitted honestly.

He considered me for a long moment. “Lucifer has not given permission to release you from the dungeon, but he didn’t technically say you had to stay in a cell. So we opted for my room as an alternative.”

We?“You and Melek?” I guessed.

He slid his hand away from my nape, returning it to his abdomen as he tucked his opposite arm under his head. “He seems to have taken a liking to you.”

I mimicked his position and startled as I found the book beneath the pillow. When I glanced at it, Ajax frowned. “What is it?”

At first I thought he was asking me about the book, but when I lifted the pillow to reveal it, it was nowhere to be seen.

Strange.

I swore I’d just felt it there.

“N-nothing,” I stammered, my brow furrowing as I tried to settle again.

Only to feel the book once more.

I peeked under the pillow to see its leather spine, but when I lifted the fabric away from it entirely, the book vanished.

Huh.

“Cami?” Ajax prompted, a hint of concern in his voice.

I shook my head, clearing it. “I… I can go back to my cell,” I offered, uncertain of what else to say. “Melek likes his games. And I don’t really want to play.” Even if the bed was super comfortable.

Ajax’s explanation also suggested this hadn’t been approved or sanctioned by Lucifer.

Which meant I would likely end up in more trouble when he found out.

“It’s for the best if I just go…” I started to roll from the bed, but my legs gave out as I tried to stand on them, and I found Ajax’s sturdy arm wrapped around my middle. He dragged me back over the mattress, his heat a blanket of masculine warmth that set my blood on fire.