He stepped down, and I had to suppress a whimper of fear. I forced myself to think of Brian. He didn’t have a demon to heal what his captors did to him. And without Adam, I didn’t have the first idea how I could save him. I had to do this, had to endure it no matter how scared I was.

Adam’s hands skimmed my back. I flinched away from the touch, but he was just spreading the edges of the shirt wider, exposing more skin. He traced the outline of my tattoo with his finger, stopping at the waistband of my pants.

“Nice,” he said.

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the wall, praying for strength.

I heard his footsteps behind me, heard cardboard sliding against cardboard, then the crinkle of tissue paper. I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut and swallowed hard on a dry throat. When I heard him coming back, my head spun for a moment. Unfortunately, I didn’t pass out. I wondered what would happen if I did.

Would Lugh order Adam not to hurt me? I had no idea. All I knew was that Lugh didn’t seem to have any interest in taking me over at the moment, which might have meant he was happy to let Adam have his fun.

“This one’s a new toy,” Adam said, and I heard the slithery sound of leather brushing over the floor. He was getting breathless again. “An eight-footer. I just barely have enough room to use it in here, and then only if I’m very careful. I special-ordered it before God’s Wrath attacked Dom. I don’t dare use it on him now. These long ones are a bitch to control.”

I really, really didn’t want to hear this.

“I probably won’t make contact with the first couple of strokes,” he continued. “I want to get a feel for it first. If I hit you, it’s accidental. I’ll let you know when I’m going to do it on purpose.”

Wonderful. “Just do it and stop gloating,” I snapped, my nerves too raw to contain the protest.

“I’m not gloating, love. I’m just telling you what I’m going to do. But I take your point. I’ll get on with it.”

I nearly screamed when the whip cracked the first time. It was so loud, so terrifying. I felt a brush of air over the skin of my back, but as he’d said, he didn’t make contact. Sweat drenched my body, and I bit my lip until I tasted blood. I wished I could just hit fast-forward on this little part of my life.

The whip cracked again, and again wind whistled over my skin. Adam made a satisfied sound.

“Brace yourself, love,” he said. “This one’s for real.”

My hands tightened convulsively on the chains. The whip sang through the air and drew a path of fire across my shoulder blades. I dragged in a frantic breath and tried to press myself into the wall, as if I could somehow escape through it.

Another crack, and this time I felt like a knife had sliced through the skin of my lower back. Something tickled, and I realized it was the drip of blood. Before I had a chance to process that thought, the whip struck again.

This time, I did scream. I couldn’t help it.

I honestly don’t remember much after that. It’s one of those memories that my mind does its best to protect me from. I don’t know how many times that whip cut through my flesh, though I know it was a lot. I screamed myself hoarse in no time flat, then was reduced to scratchy whimpers.

My knees gave out long before it was over, and I hung by my wrists, my shoulders shrieking in protest.

When it got so bad I was tempted to pray for death, Adam finally stopped. I willed myself to pass out, but I didn’t.

Moments later, he was on the footstool with me again, one arm wrapped around my waist, holding me up as he freed my wrists. When I would have collapsed, he scooped me up and carried me to the black bed. He set me on my feet beside it, supporting me by my shoulders.

“Lie on your stomach, love,” he said softly, and he guided me down.

The sheets were silk, I noticed irrelevantly as I buried my face in the pillowcase and tried to contain the agony. The world swam around me, a dizzy, nauseating mess.

Adam’s voice came to me from what seemed like a great distance. “Don’t fight it.” His fingers stroked over my hair. “Let yourself go. Let Lugh fix things. It’ll be over soon.”

His voice was strangely soothing. I felt myself go fuzzy around the edges. With unspeakable relief, I let myself sink into the darkness.

CHAPTER 21

I awoke lying facedown on an unfamiliar bed. My back felt like it was on fire. I whimpered, and a gentle hand stroked over my hair.

“I’m healing it as fast as I can,” Lugh said, and even in the short time it took for those words to leave his mouth, the pain lessened by a degree.

My face was buried in a wonderfully fluffy down pillow, and I didn’t feel inclined to move or speak. Little by little, the pain faded. His hand slid down from my head to brush over my bare shoulders.

It was only then that I realized I was naked.

I raised my head, turning it just enough to see that a crimson silk sheet covered me from the hips down. But I could feel that silk against my bare butt, and nothing covered the top of me.

Lugh’s hand continued down the center of my back. I’d have jerked away, except it’s hard to do that when you’re lying on your belly and you don’t want to flash someone.

“Is it necessary for me to be naked?” I asked, trying for cool aplomb.

I expected either a flirtatious or a smart-ass comment in reply. Instead, I suddenly found myself wearing comfy cotton knit pajamas. The top was a barely-there camisole with spaghetti straps, but it covered everything important.

I cautiously pushed myself up and turned over. My back felt fine. Lugh fluffed a couple of pillows and laid them against the headboard, a quilted affair covered in the same red silk as the sheets. I took the hint and sat with my back resting against the pillows, hugging my knees to my chest.

The pain was gone, but my whole body felt weak and shaky. I had a feeling that evil black room would feature prominently in my nightmares for years to come.

“As long as you are hosting me,” Lugh said, reading my thoughts, “ you will have no nightmares.”

I appreciated that more than I could say.

“That was a very brave thing you did,” he continued.

I snorted. I’d practically peed my pants in terror, and I’d screamed my lungs out. Not exactly my ideal of courage.

“You can be afraid and still be brave.”

I nodded my agreement, though I wasn’t sure I was convinced. It wasn’t like I’d had much of a choice, not unless I was willing to let Brian die a slow death without even trying to save him. I met Lugh’s eyes.

“Was it brave, or just plain stupid? I mean, will Adam really help me? Because if I went through all that for nothing, someone’s gonna die.”

He didn’t quite smile, but I could see his amusement nonetheless. “I think perhaps you understand demons a little better than either you or I realized. I don’t know if there’s anything else you could have offered that would have reached Adam. But you did reach him, and he’ll keep his word.”

Thank God! But I had to disagree with Lugh’s assessment. I might have figured out how to reach Adam this once, but I couldn’t say I came close to understanding him.

“Now,” Lugh continued, “I believe you and I need to talk about this rescue attempt you’d like to make.”

“Oh?” I sounded suspicious even to my own ears.

His eyes crinkled around the corners, but it was only a brief flash of humor. “It’s going to be dangerous.”

“No shit.” He gave me a quelling look, and I held up my hands in surrender.

“I could stop you from trying. I could tell Adam to keep you under lock and key.”

My stomach knotted and I sat bolt upright. “No! You wouldn’t-”

“I said that I could, not that I would. But if I’m going to allow you to endanger us both, then I must set a condition.”