Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (20 page)

“
You’re crazy!” she yelled,
taking a step back and balling her fists as if she had any chance
of fighting him.

In one swift move, he pinned her
against the cold concrete wall, her arms outstretched, his hands
wrapped tightly around her wrists. “I would advise you to hold your
tongue,” he hissed in her ear. “I have put up with more than my
fair share from you. Nobody talks to me that way—nobody—and if you
cannot control that lashing snake of yours, I shall have it
removed.”

Her heart
pounded hard, and she took a deep breath. “Right back at ya, buddy!
Nobody talks to me the way
you
do.”

He lowered his head, and his eyes
narrowed. “You are disrespectful, obviously the spawn of your
father.”

She had no idea who he was talking
about, but she couldn’t resist the jab. “Guess I’m a chip off the
old block.”

“
Maybe this is the reason
why he doesn’t want you back.”

Her
temper flared even higher, for he’d hit a soft spot.
How dare he poke around in my business like
that?
“My
real
father would never abandon me,
you nutcase.”

“
You
might want to
consider being cordial
toward
me. Do you have any understanding of
the power I hold over you?” The dangerous undertone in his voice
didn’t go unnoticed. “I control whether you’ll get one ounce of
food or a drop of water, whether you’ll see the light of day or if
you’ll live to see tomorrow.”

No man, royalty or not, had ever
treated Sarah in such a way. She clenched her hands into fists, yet
again, and pressed her back against the wall to put another inch of
space between her and King Victor. “Yeah, I got it. Life and death
rest in your hands.” Her gaze wandered to the open cell door the
same moment when the king loosened his grip. She held her breath,
sensing her chance to escape. Without another thought, she spun
around and darted for freedom, but before she could take another
breath, she felt his stern grip on her upper arm. “Let go of me!”
she snarled.

King Victor swung her around to face
him.

Her hands balled into fists, and she
pounded his chest. “Get your hands off me, you brute!” she yelled,
her voice echoing.

“
Where do you think you’re
going? I suggest you save your energy for our wedding night.” He
pulled her close. “I can see I need to make an appointment with my
blacksmith.”

Well,
well, isn’t he funny, remembering my chastity belt comment? The
jerk!
“In your dreams.”

“
I know you’re looking
forward to it, but calm down, Princess. We have our entire lives to
spend together.”

Sarah struggled in his arms as he
chuckled. She could tell he was loving every minute of it. “This
Gloria’s father wouldn’t meet your demands. He doesn’t even care if
his daughter dies. Therefore, if you kill me, what’s it going to
prove?”

“
You’re right. It’s best we
stick with option one. Your father might not care if you’re dead,
but he will fume with rage knowing I have fathered his
grandchildren, tainting his precious bloodline. Shall we have six,
eight, or ten children, Princess? There shall be no revenge better
than the pitter-patter of my sons’ feet flowing with your father’s
blood.”

“
If you use me like
that—and remember I’m not who you think I am—your gene pool is
going to need a ton of chlorine. I’m not any kind of
royalty.”

“
Chlorine?”

“
Never mind.” She shook her
head. “How many kids did you just say you want? What do I look
like, some kind of breeding machine?”

“
Let’s just hope they don’t
inherit your smart mouth. I’ve let it slide until now, but once we
have exchanged vows, you shall control your tongue—or I will
control it for you.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “And what if I
don’t? What if I say whatever I want, whether you want to hear it
or not?”

“
Trust me, you do not want
to find out,” he said.

She glared at him, throwing daggers
with her eyes. “What’re you going to do, lock me in a dungeon and
throw away the key?”

“
Let me know when I can
call for the priest,” King Victor said. “We will need to inform him
whether he will be performing a wedding ceremony or last rites.
That, my love, is your choice.”

Sarah’s head shot back in defiance.
“I’ll never marry you. It’ll never happen—not even if a million
stars fell from the sky.”

“
No?” He ran a finger down
her cheekbone.

Her breath caught in her throat as she
pushed him away. “No.” She put as much conviction into her voice as
she could muster, but somehow, it barely made its way out of her
throat.

“
We’ll see about that,”
King Victor said with a smirk. “Enjoy your stay. If you get too
cold, just remember my bed’s nice and warm and waiting for you.”
With one last glance over his shoulder, he slammed the cell door
with his boot, trapping her in the confined space.

Chapter 4

Sarah had
plenty to think about in the drippy silence.
Will he really kill me if I refuse to go through with the
wedding?
She shivered as a cool breeze blew
across her face.
How long does that idiot
plan to keep me down here anyway?
He’d only
left minutes ago, but the distress of being alone with her thoughts
crept up on her, putting her in an emotional chokehold.
Where the heck is Frank anyway? I wonder if he
made it out safely or if those Sasquatches attacked him.
She hoped that since he had the tranquilizer gun
on him, he’d managed to escape.
If not,
I’m afraid he’s seriously hurt or…
She
shook her head, eager to get rid of the images rolling before her
eyes. Booted footsteps echoed down the corridor, jolting her back
to reality. She held her breath and clenched her hands just in case
she got the chance to attack and get the hell out of
here.

A knight held up a large ring of metal
dungeon keys and unlocked the door. After it creaked open, he took
a step inside. Obviously tired of waiting, Mr. Whack Job had sent
his messenger boy.

Can’t a
girl have time to think about spending the rest of her life in some
medieval nightmare? What, is Kingy Poo that desperate for an
answer?
She jumped to her feet and put her
hands firmly on her hips. “Tell your idiot King my mind’s made up.
The answer is a big fat no. I’m not going anywhere with him, now or
ever.”

The knight’s voice came out muffled
from behind his visor. “What? I slayed a dragon, swam a moat full
of crocodiles, and this is all the thanks I get for coming here to
rescue you?”

Sarah clasped a hand over her mouth as
a spark of recognition hit her full force.

“
Did I mention the getaway
vehicle is parked right outside the gate?” The knight held up the
tranquilizer gun. “And what kind of knight would I be without
this?”

“
Frank!” Relief flooded
every fiber in her body.

He lifted
his visor and
smiled.
“At your service, madam.”

She threw her arms around him, her
heart racing. “I never thought I’d be so happy to see you, of all
people. How the heck did you get in here?”

“
You mean past the big,
hairy gorillas out there?” He lifted a brow. “Meh, they were
nothin’.”

“
I’d usually be sick of
your cockiness by now, but all things considered, I’m just glad
you’re here.” She smiled as she took a step back, regarding his
steel attire.

“
Wow,” Frank said. “Maybe
you should get kidnapped more often. See what happens when you let
go of all that anger?”

“
That’s a combination of
gratitude and stress, not forgiveness. Don’t go getting
excited.”

“
Ouch.” He pretended to
grab his heart.

“
Anyway, get me out of
here.” She peered at the open door, her eyes scanning the empty
space to the left and right as her brain considered the best
possible way out.

“
Wait…it’s gonna be a
minute. I’m with this rebel dude who hates the king. His name is
Jules. We have to wait for him to signal that the coast is clear,
and then I’ll escort you out as a prisoner. Armed knights are
swarming the place.”

“
I thought you took care of
them.”

Frank shrugged. “I did…sort
of.”

“
Hmm. So what you really
mean is that you sneaked in here.” Sarah threw her hands in the
air. “Well, that’s fantastic. Let’s sneak back out then. You said
the vehicle’s parked outside. How’s that possible?”

“
Well, about that…” Frank
laughed. “Technically, it snorts, but at least it doesn’t create a
smog problem. I’m your knight in shining armor, right? It would
only be proper that I ride you off into the sunset on a white
steed.”

“
A knight
on a white horse?”
Gosh, could this day
get any weirder?

Frank winced. “Well, technically, the
horse isn’t white, but you get the idea.”

“
This isn’t some romance
novel or fairytale, so can you just drop me off at the nearest bus
station?”

“
Well, well, aren’t you
quite the little comedian? Do you know how much work I put into
this rescue mission?”

“
Yes, Frank, and thank you.
How’d you know where I was?” Shaking her head, she waved her hand.
“Never mind. This isn’t the time. Let’s just say I appreciate it.”
She eyed him up and down, knocking on his decorative etched
breastplate. “You look like a walking tank, or maybe some kind of
ancient Terminator.”

“
Careful now. This is just
a loaner from a friend I just met.”

“
And he trusted you? I
mean, you did crash my car into a pole a few months
ago.”

Frank peered out the door. She caught
the nervous flick of his tongue as he licked his upper lip. It was
a telltale sign, even when he didn’t want to show his nerves. “If I
remember correctly, you couldn’t drive because you were tipsy from
too much champagne. You locked lips with me while—”

“
No, I don’t remember it
that way at all,” she lied. He’d looked so handsome in that tux
that she couldn’t help it. “Anyway, you can rehash your misguided
fantasies later. For now, what’s up with all of this? What the heck
happened to us?”

“
You tell me, ‘cause I
never gave up on our whirlwind affair.”

She
inhaled sharply. “I’m not talking about the relationship we
so
don’t have. I’m
talking about this place. What is it? What happened? Where the heck
are we?”

“
Well, I wasn’t given a
handbook, but I’ve been doing a lot of research. Uh, it seems
we…uh…”

She smiled, knowing all too well that
they’d entered some kind of portal, but she couldn’t pass on
hearing Frank admit it. “I’m all ears.”

He averted his gaze as though the mere
thought of what he was about to say embarrassed him. “Against all
logical explanation and my better judgment, I must admit that we’ve
somehow slipped into another dimension.”

“
What?” she asked with her
hands on her hips again. Those words could put a serious dent in
your reputation, not to mention book sales. How can the greatest
skeptic of all time admit to something so ridiculous?”

His face twitched, and he shuffled his
feet, trying to avoid her gaze. “Trust me when I say it isn’t
easy.”

“
I’m not too floored. After
all, I wrote a long article on how these beings use an
intra-dimensional portal to gain access to our world. Don’t you
remember asking me in front of hundreds of people at a conference
if Chewy could use warp speed to get back to his world? And don’t
forget all the cracks you made on my colleagues.”

Frank’s cheeks turned red. “Uh, the
details of that are a little fuzzy, I’m afraid.”

She knocked on his metal chest. “You
remember. Just admit it.”

“
Sorry about that. When we
get back, I’ll apologize to your team.”

“
You’ll buy them dinner
too. Flowers would be a nice touch, and chocolates with a nice card
attached admitting that you’re an idiot.”

His jaw dropped. “Dinner, flowers, and
candy? Are you kidding? There are thirty people on that team of
yours.”

Sarah shrugged. “Sucks to be you then.
Speaking of my team, where are they?” A shadow crossed his face,
and her heart fell. “Did they come through the portal or are they
back in California? If they came in after us, we should find them
and make sure they’re okay.”

Frank smirked. “Yeah, I know you wish
you could squeeze everyone to your bosom, but it’s kind of hard to
do with a herd of Bigfoot on your butt.”

She
pressed a palm to her chest, fighting the anxiety building up
inside.
What’s wrong with being a
nurturer, of wanting to take care of people?
She wished she’d done the same for her
sister.