Coming to stand beside the bed, he stared at her with that cold, ruthless look of his she was coming to recognize. It had been intentional, his walking through her. Proving a point. She could not impede him.
Slowly, his fingers moved to his waistcoat. The buttons sparkled and winked beneath his fingers as he undid them.
Once his waistcoat had been opened and he let it fall to the floor, there were more layers. His torso made a firm, broad shape under the fabric of his shirt.
He watched her the whole while. A thief s gaze. Canny and calculating.
By all the gods, he was undressing. Deliberately. Knowing that she watched him.
His laced shirt followed the waistcoat, making a soft white shape on the patterned carpet. His torso gleamed in the firelight, still slick with sweat from his combat practice. Scars marked him, not merely the one that twisted down his neck, but relics of other past wounds. She recognized the scars left behind from blades, but a strange circular one on his right shoulder puzzled her. There were odd new weapons now, weapons that exploded with fire and hurled balls of lead, piercing the body. Guns , shed heard them called. A person could be shot by a gun.
He had. During his military service, perhaps. Such an injury must kill most men. Not him. Someone had shot him, and he had survived.
This collection of scars was not what made her stare, however.
He followed her gaze to his chest. They both studied the markings winding across his flesh, over his heart, along his ribs and down his left arm.
Shed observed them on the other Hellraisers, these images of flame, promises of torments to come. Yet to see the markings upon Bram reminded her of all that hung in the balance.
When it covers you, the Dark One owns you completely.
His mouth twisted. I thought I was his already.
Until your flesh is entirely engulfed by the markings, theres yet hope.
To regain my soul. He stared at the images of flame a moment longer, his expression austere. To become the man I once was. The way his words frosted, this prospect didnt seem to be much of a prize to him.
The other Hellraisers, Whit and Leo, they found ways. They reclaimed their souls. Its not an impossible task. A current of dark energy rippled through the chamber, and she frowned, seeking its source. It hadnt come from Bram, but seemed to originate from somewhere in the house.
They had something I dontmotivation. He toed off his buckled shoes and peeled off his stockings, and then began to unfasten the buttons of his breeches.
Thoughts of mysterious dark energy fled. She watched with breathless anticipation as his breeches slid down, revealing the sharp muscles angling toward his groin, and then his cock. He was not as indifferent to her as he affected, for he was thickening, rising, as he stripped with her gaze upon him.
Cruel. Her voice was a rasp.
If necessary, yes. He pulled off his breeches, uncovering sinewy thighs.
Im not your enemy. We might be allies in this fight.
Having gone to war already,
Ive no desire to do so ever again. He flipped back the blanket, baring the mattress. He fixed her with a heavy-lidded look. A pity you havent a physical body. We might find intriguing ways of distracting one another while were tied together.
She was glad she had no body, for it would have been easily misled by him. Is that what you do? Distract yourself with bedsport?
As a strategy, its very effective. He reached up and pulled the tie from his hair. Freed from its binding, his hair fell around his shoulders, ink black. It was probably silky to the touch.
The Dark One looked into your soul and saw more need there. Thats how he workshe offers us what we think we want.
Now look at me. Nude, unashamed, he spread his arms. A man fulfilled.
You dont believe that.
And youve no way of knowing what I do or do not believe.
She drifted nearer. She could be cruel, too. I was inside your mind, your memories.
He dropped his arms, and for all his muscularity and strength, he seemed vulnerable. But it passed quickly, and he was beautiful and cynical once more. Im amazed boredom did not kill you all over again.
Frustration welled. Bram
Someone scratched at the door. He turned away and paced to a wooden cabinet. He pulled out a long robe of dark green silk. After shrugging into it, he stalked to the chamber door and threw it open, revealing a servant.
A strange wave of shadows descended, and she felt herself pushed back into the in-between mist. Glancing down, she saw her image fading, her hands so translucent as to be almost invisible. Her consciousness remained in the roomshe heard and saw everything, yet had no form.
Im not to be disturbed after I retire, Bram growled.
Forgive me, my lord. He insisted that I wake you. Its most urgent, he says.
Who?
Mr. John Godfrey, my lord. Hes downstairs, and if I may say, most anxious to speak with you.
Had she a heart, it would have seized in her chest. Only two Hellraisers remained, Bram and John. It was Johns dark energy she had felt moments earlier; the strength of his power enveloped the house and dimmed her own strength.