Enslaved by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

strong jawline. He had a straight nose and a small mole near his left temple, and his irises…they were the most mesmerizing blue she’d ever seen. Light, not rich—like the summer sky on a clear morning.
    Handsome. The word came out of nowhere. Ricocheted in her head. If he didn’t have that dead look to his eyes, she’d think him good-looking. And if she’d seen him anywhere else—like on the street back at her home in Seattle—she’d likely have been attracted to him for purely physical reasons.
    His head swiveled in her direction, and his gaze pinned hers with an intensity that pierced the core of her. She sucked in a breath even as the pull toward him intensified. The one that stirred the darkness inside with excitement.
    “You’re staring at me.”
    “I just…” But she didn’t have a valid comeback, because she was. And who was she kidding? She was attracted to him now, regardless of the vile things she knew about him. Because of the vile things she knew about him.
    She looked quickly away, but didn’t let go. Not even she was that stupid. Another shiver raced over her skin. “Where do you think this goes?”
    “I don’t know,” he said again as they bounced along with the current. “But until it opens up, all we’ve got is each other.”
    That wasn’t exactly a comforting thought. But that darkness inside her leaped again just the same.
    They floated downstream in silence. If he was cold, he didn’t show it, didn’t even shiver, but every time she did, he dragged her even closer, as if trying to warm her. Below their feet, the ore on the bottom of the river glowed bright, illuminating the small tunnel around them like daylight awash in a blinding green. There was more ore here, she noted, as if the kobaloi hadn’t mined this area.
    The rock ceiling was only a foot above their heads. And for the first time Maelea wondered how the hell the tunnel back at the colony had given way in the first place, landing them here. But before she could ponder too much, a crashing sound echoed from ahead, dragging her from her musings.
    Gripping Gryphon’s shoulders, she shifted in his arms to look. The river seemed to pick up speed, and the ceiling was gradually climbing.
    “ Skata, ” Gryphon muttered.
    “What?” It wasn’t his curse that brought every muscle in her body to attention, it was the way he tightened his arms around her that told her something was coming.
    “Don’t let go of me.”
    “Why would I…?”
    Her voice trailed off when she saw the rapids. A flurry of undulating whitecaps broken only by the occasional green glow from the riverbed. The current grew faster, the sound of rushing water louder. Maelea tightened her arms around Gryphon’s neck and held on as they passed through the first rapids, grunting when her body smashed into a rock and pain shot up her spine.
    “Hold on!” Gryphon yelled above the roar of the water, gripping her around the waist with one arm, pushing away from the rocks with the other.
    They bounced downstream, slamming into rocks with their backs, their sides, fighting to keep their heads above water. Gryphon grunted, loosed his hold on her waist. And then he slipped beneath the water with a gasp.
    “Gryphon!”
    Maelea floundered in the water as he let go, sputtered and kicked as hard as she could so she wouldn’t go down too. Just when she was sure he’d drown, his head popped up three feet in front of her.
    He twisted back her way, held out his arm. “Grab on!”
    She didn’t miss the blood trickling down his forehead, but she didn’t have time to think much of it. A roar grew louder in the distance. The green glow that had illuminated their way so far faded to nothing. Darkness closed in as she kicked and finally reached his hand. His solid body slammed against hers then he pulled her tight.
    “What is that?” she asked, heart pounding, body shaking from both adrenaline and the bitter cold.
    He listened for a second, gritted his teeth, and