Page 12 of Wicked (Dark Delights #5)

Shadrach

When Isaac’s body finally slackened, Shadrach slumped in relief. His broken rib throbbed in pain—and not the fun kind. His head had healed, at least, and Isaac’s weight was an afterthought as he caught his breath, waiting for the bone to realign and heal. Bad breaks tended to take a minute or two.

Nearby, Luke sank to the floor, wiping the sweat from his brow, and Alex was sitting up, rubbing his chest. Talon still stood near the weapons table, looking thunderous.

His shirt was ripped across the chest, but the wound itself looked shallow.

It would heal the old-fashioned way, so shallow was good.

“He’s fucking crazy,” Malachi declared. “That was nuts.” He dropped to his knees beside Luke. “Are you okay?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah. Alex?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Knocked the wind out of me, that’s all. Talon?”

Talon brushed a hand over the slash on his chest. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Cold black eyes fell on Isaac. “He’s got to go.”

A jolt went through Shadrach. He gently pushed Isaac off and sat up. “What?”

“He’s too dangerous.”

“You said?—”

“I know what I said, but he would’ve killed any of them to get out of here,” Talon said, pointing to the humans.

“Can you blame him?” Ira said. “We’re holding him hostage. Nobody’s given him any food or water. He probably thinks he’s as good as dead already.” He wagged a finger at Shadrach. “I told you you needed to take care of him. No wonder he’s crazy desperate to get away!”

An unfamiliar feeling made his stomach drop.

Ira was right. Shadrach was supposed to see to the human’s needs, and he hadn’t.

He’d thought starving him was a better strategy than torturing him, but all he’d done was convince Isaac he’d have to do something drastic to save himself.

His desperation was as much Shadrach’s fault as anyone’s.

Whatever they shared during the dream, Isaac didn’t know it was real.

He didn’t know the real Shadrach was the one asking for his trust.

“Take him back to his cell,” Talon ordered coldly. “Tie him up. And then I’ll spend a little time with him.”

The back of Shadrach’s neck prickled. He’d never wanted anything less. “Talon,” he began, searching for calm, “I don’t think?—”

“No, you don’t think!” Talon roared, and Shadrach’s jaw tightened. “You’re the reason he got out! Someone could’ve been killed!” He gestured wildly toward Alex and Luke, still sitting on the floor.

Alex rolled to his knees. “Talon.” He reached for him, and Talon helped him up. “I’m okay. We’re all okay.”

Tucking Alex under his arm, Talon’s glacial gaze found Shadrach’s. “Take the traitor to his cell.” His voice was dangerously soft. “And leave him to me.”

Shadrach wanted to snarl, and he didn’t understand why.

He wanted to bare his teeth and place himself directly between Talon and Isaac.

No one should be allowed to touch this human but him.

No one else should be allowed to catch the scent of his blood or hear the melodic cadence of his voice.

Before he knew what he was doing, his tense body was moving to step between them even though Talon hadn’t advanced.

Talon was, in fact, looking down at Alex, listening to him murmur softly about them all being okay.

He stopped, turning away before Talon could see the aggression in his stance and expression. What was he doing? Did he really want to fight Talon for the right to be near Isaac? He was only a human. They were all the same… weren’t they? He shouldn’t care.

“Fine,” he relented. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care.” Because he didn’t . Shadrach knelt beside Isaac and gathered the man into his arms. “I’ll go tie him back up—and find him something to eat,” he added at Ira’s glare.

“No,” Talon said, stepping closer. “You wanted him desperate enough to talk. Well, he’s desperate right now. When he wakes up, I’ll get started on him.”

Unease quaked through him, and this time when he looked away, he found Ira’s knowing gaze. His warm brown eyes stripped Shadrach’s defenses away, leaving him raw and vulnerable. Ira knew exactly what he was feeling somehow, and Shadrach had never felt more exposed.

Scowling at his own reactions, he picked Isaac up and carried him away without another word.

The storage room door wasn’t quite enough to filter out the conversation taking place without him.

Talon was arguing with the humans about how best to torture Isaac, and Shadrach clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached.

He carefully placed Isaac in the chair—which would’ve been a lot harder without supernatural strength—and tied his wrists once more behind his back, connected to the back rungs of the chair.

Then, he crouched down in front of the human to inspect his wounds.

The head wound seemed to be the most grievous one. There was a head-shaped crack in the mirror where Talon had slammed Isaac into it. Blood spilled down the left side of his face, matting in his hair, but his pulse and breaths were steady. Concussions were bad for humans, weren’t they?

Shadrach patted his cheek. “Wake up, killer. I need to make sure Talon didn’t do permanent damage.”

Isaac groaned, his face twisting into a grimace as he tipped his head back and opened his eyes. “Fuck. I…” His green-gold eyes found Shadrach, kneeling between his legs, and sucked in a quick breath of surprise. He tugged at his bindings and then slumped in defeat.

“Sorry, killer. Can’t let you go yet.” He could help with the wounds, though, and having his blood would give him a better chance against whatever Talon was planning.

He drew a pocket knife from his pocket, noting the way Isaac went rigid at the sight.

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.” Digging the knife into the tip of his finger, he held it up to Isaac’s lips. “Open up.”

“What? Hell no.” His nose scrunched, his eyes lingering on the black bead of blood on Shadrach’s finger, hovering in front of him.

“It’ll heal your wounds.”

Isaac’s gaze transferred from the blood to Shadrach’s own. “What? ”

Rather than repeat himself, Shadrach shoved his finger into Isaac’s mouth and clamped down on his jaw. “If you spit that out on me, I’ll open up an artery and drown you in it, I swear to your fucking god.”

Isaac didn’t spit out the blood, but he did bite down hard on Shadrach’s finger as he swallowed, his tongue brushing the wound.

“Good boy,” Shadrach crooned, this new, pleasant pain dancing behind his eyes. Much nicer than the broken rib.

Isaac’s eyelids fluttered at the praise. Interesting.

When he finally drew away, Isaac was blinking in surprise.

“Feel better?” Shadrach asked.

“I feel… great.” He blinked rapidly, shifting as though testing all the places that had been sore.

Shadrach smiled, his thumb brushing Isaac’s bottom lip and only realizing after the fact that he shouldn’t be touching him like that.

He expected to feel teeth around his thumb for his brazenness, but instead Isaac’s eyes met his.

The rope between them wound tight, thrumming with tension.

Shadrach inhaled a lungful of his sweet-and-salty scent, layered under fresh sweat and hot blood. It was dizzying.

At long last, Isaac’s lips parted, and he adopted a frown. “You came into my dreams last night.”

“I did.”

His jaw jutted out. “Don’t do it again. Stay the fuck out of my dreams.”

Shadrach arched one brow. “I don’t think you’re really in a position to make demands, do you?”

He saw the moment Isaac’s frustration boiled over, and the man lashed out, kicking at Shadrach’s kneecap with one foot. Shadrach danced out of the way, chuckling darkly.

“Ah-ah-ah,” he said, wagging a finger. “I think I’ll take my leave now. Talon wants a word.”

He turned to go, but Isaac’s panicked voice called him back. “Wait, wait!”

Shadrach paused, glancing over his shoulder at him.

“In my dream… How long were you there? The whole time?”

He turned around slowly. “Mostly. I missed a little of the beginning, I think.”

“So.” He stopped, shifting in his seat. “What happened between us after I stabbed you…”

Heat bloomed under his skin as he remembered the way Isaac had rocked up into his fist, shaking and pleading.

His desire was evident on his face, and Isaac’s cheeks flushed in response.

His throat bobbed, and the rope between them wound tight once more, urging Shadrach to close the distance between them.

He was helpless to resist, drifting closer.

“Yes,” he said softly, “that was real.”

Isaac’s eyes swam with uncertainty. When Shadrach was close enough, he reached out. Isaac flinched, but when his fingers gently brushed Isaac’s jaw, sliding down to curl around his throat, his lips parted. This time, when his throat bobbed, Shadrach felt it against his palm.

“Why?” Isaac rasped. Looking up at him like this, Shadrach could almost imagine they were in the middle of a far different activity, one that would be much more enjoyable for both of them.

He didn’t know how to answer that. “There’s just something about you… ”

Isaac licked his lips, and it took everything Shadrach had not to bend down and taste him.

“I may not have a lot to live for,” Isaac said baldly, his gaze darkening, “but I don’t want to die here.”

Shadrach’s brows dropped into a scowl. His thumb stroked the hinge of Isaac’s jaw, awed by the human’s strong pulse. “You’re not dying here, killer. I won’t let that happen.”

“What if I don’t tell you what you want to know? You keep me tied up indefinitely?”

Shadrach reluctantly let his hand fall away, and he missed the warm sensation of Isaac’s skin immediately. “Then why don’t you just answer our questions?”

“I can’t .” Isaac hung his head.

“You can.”

“Sloan—”

“Isn’t here,” Shadrach growled. “They can’t hurt you here.”

“But you are,” Isaac rasped.

Something unpleasant slithered through Shadrach’s gut. It took him a moment to identify it as guilt.

“I told you to trust me,” he said softly.