Captured (The Captive #1)(48)
“Wait! What?” she gasped.
“We have to go Aria! Now!” he snapped impatiently. “Get dressed before he gets back.”
Horror flooded through her. Go? Now? Leave Braith? No, no she couldn’t. Not after last night, she could never leave him after last night. “No Jack, no I can’t.”
“Aria…”
“No, you don’t understand Jack. I can’t leave, I simply can’t.”
He seized hold of her cheeks, thrusting his face into hers. “You don’t understand Aria. This is our only chance at escape, if we don’t leave now then you will remain here, and your father will come for you and he will die. Now get up, and get dressed.”
She gaped at Jack, then at the clothes, then back at Jack. Her mind spun, her heart was thrumming. She couldn’t leave Braith, she couldn’t. She loved him! And though she wasn’t completely sure, she thought he might have said he loved her too last night. But it was all so hazy, so distorted and confusing, and it was all so wonderful that she could barely contain her excitement over it. Until the horror of this situation, right here and now, came surging back to the forefront.
“Aria…”
“No Jack, no. I want to stay. I can’t leave him, I don’t want to.” Jack’s eyes widened in surprise, the blue flecks in them were more clearly visible as he gawked at her. “Jack, please…”
“You cannot stay here Aria, I can’t let that happen. No matter what, your father will come after you.”
“No.” She seized hold of Jack’s hands. “Not if you tell him I’m dead Jack, that I’m gone.”
“Max…”
“Tell Max the same thing.”
Jack’s jaw clenched, his nostrils flared. He was staring at her as if he didn’t recognize her, staring at her as if he didn’t have a clue as to who she was. And truth be told, she didn’t really know who she was anymore either. All she knew was that her heart was with Braith and she could not leave him. “Max is here Aria, he knows you’re alive. He’s keeping lookout right now.”
Her eyes widened, her gaze darted rapidly around the room as she searched out Max, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Disappointment filled her; she wanted to see her friend again, at least once more. She wanted to make sure that he was ok, but she couldn’t leave.
“Then tell them I’m happy Jack, because I am. I… I…” She broke off, her fingers clutched at the blanket. She heaved a soft sigh before she turned back to Braith’s brother. “I love him Jack.”
Jack’s eyes widened, he sat back as his mouth dropped in horror. “Aria…”
She seized hold of his hand as she leaned forward. She was desperate for him to understand, desperate for him to hear and believe what she was saying. She knew what Jack was now, but she was surprised to realize that she still trusted him; that she still believed in him, and he was the only one that could help her right now. “I know it makes no sense, but I do love him and I want to stay with him.”
Jack’s gaze turned pitying. “Aria…”
“Please Jack, I…”
He seized hold of her face, his hands lightly cradling her cheeks. “He has a fiancée Aria.”
Her words broke off, sputtered, and died. Horror curdled through her, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. She could only sit there and stare at him, her mouth open, and her heart no longer beating as something within her curdled and died. “No, not possible, he… No.”
“Yes, Aria. They’ve been betrothed for over a year. They are getting married in six months.”
She couldn’t breathe; she was choking on the air she so desperately needed to get into her lungs. Strange sounds were coming from her, they weren’t human. She didn’t feel human anymore as her heart shredded, her chest constricted, and a moan of pain died within her. Jack held her as she rocked forward, unable to fully comprehend his words, unable to function through the agonizing pain consuming her.
“I’m sorry Aria, I am so sorry, but you can’t stay here. She’ll have you killed as soon as the wedding is over and he won’t be able to save you. He’s my brother, but he will never go against my father. It’s the curse of the first born I suppose to be the one reared to one day rule the roost, and to do as expected. Now, you have to pull yourself together, we have to get out of here.”
He pulled her out of the bed, depositing her on her shaking legs. “Don’t make me have to dress you Aria.” She shook her head numbly, tears streamed down her cheeks as she grasped hold of the clothes he thrust at her. She could only gaze numbly, brokenly up at him. She hated the awful pity in his eyes, hated the fact that she looked so weak and pathetic right now. “We have to go, get dressed.”
Jack turned away. Her hands shook as she pulled the slip over her head. She was still wearing the crazy undergarments from yesterday, but she was shaking so bad she knew she would never be able to get them off. He was engaged? He was engaged! They were the only words running through her head, the only thing she could concentrate on. He was engaged and he had never even told her. He had slept beside her, held her, kissed her, and he had fed off of her. He had used her, and all the while he had known that he had a fiancée. She had never kidded herself with dreams of a future for them, but she had never expected this betrayal. If he had told her, she never would have allowed things to go this far, she never would have allowed him to touch her and hold her. And she sure as hell wouldn’t have allowed him to feed off of her.