Embracing Silence Page 3

  “Who are you?” she demanded. Her voice was little more than a croak. Her throat was slightly swollen and fear made it close even more.

  “Who are you?” he countered. She circled slowly. He sounded as though he was on the other side of the room. She damned the shadows that made it impossible for her to track him. There should be some indication of his movement—a stray sound, a breath, a wavering of the air. But there was nothing.

  The man was a phantom.

  She took a step back and hit the edge of the table. The candle teetered and fell to one side, its flame flickering before being extinguished. Darkness descended. Silence got a sick feeling in the pit of her belly. She had no idea how to get out.

  Moving forward, she tried not to make a sound as she headed toward where she’d first sensed him in the room. It made sense that the entrance would be somewhere around there.

  As before, there was no sound, no telltale giveaway, but she sensed him as he moved in behind her. Before she could react, his hands wrapped around her wrists. He didn’t squeeze them, but his fingers pressed some pressure points. Her hands opened and her knife fell to the floor, clattering on the dirt and stones.

  He bent her elbows, crossing her arms over her chest. Because of the way he held her, his arms were crossed over her chest too. He surrounded her totally, much like the darkness.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice was little more than a murmur in her ear. His breath ruffled the hair on the back of her neck, tickling the sensitive skin.

  Silence licked her lips almost afraid to ask, “What do you want?”

  The heat from his body seeped into her back, warming her. He was so warm and she was so cold. She wanted to lean against him and soak up his heat, but she held herself erect and as far away as his grip would allow. There was no safety, no solace to be found here.

  “What’s your name?”

  She thought about it and then decided that telling him might be in her favor. Maybe he knew her brother. It was possible Adrian’s name might get her out of here alive. “Silence. My name is Silence.”

  He chuckled and the raspy sound stroked over her skin sending goose bumps down her arms. “Very apt. You’re an excellent tracker.”

  “Obviously not good enough,” she countered, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone. Her entire life, it was the one skill she had that separated her from others. It had given her a place of respect within the resistance movement.

  “No.” He rubbed his chin over the top of her head. “Not good enough.”

  The matter-of-fact way he said it made her feel like more of a failure and that made her angry. Anger was a much better emotion to focus on than defeat. She could use anger to her advantage. “Who are you?” She figured if she asked him enough times, he just might answer her. And as long as he was talking to her, he wasn’t killing her, which was definitely a plus in her book.

  “Why were you following me?” He pulled her back against his body, leaving no space between them. He shifted his arms lower on her chest, his wrists grazing her nipples, which stiffened from the unintentional caress. Or was it intentional? She didn’t know.

  Heat washed through her, driving away the chill. She felt off balance by her reaction to this stranger. He was dangerous and a killer, of that she had no doubt. Why the hell was her body reacting so strongly to him? It must be some kind of Stockholm syndrome. Adrian had told her about the phenomena as part of her training on the off chance she was ever captured. Captors tried to build an emotional connection with their prisoners in order to get them to cooperate. The problem was, this man hadn’t done anything of the sort.

  “Silence?”

  She shrugged, or at least tried to. It wasn’t easy with him wrapped around her. From what she could tell, the man was solid muscle without an ounce of give in him. “You’re a stranger in the area. You’re not one of us and that means you’re probably from the inner city.”

  “Ah.”

  Now what did he mean by that?

  “So you were sent to kill me.”

  It wasn’t a question. “Obviously you have enemies, if you assume that?” Curiosity was what had gotten her into this predicament and it hadn’t abated in spite of her current situation. If she managed to get out of here alive, the more she knew about the man, the better.

  “Hmm. If you weren’t sent to kill me, why were you following me?”

  She tried to move, but his hold just tightened. He wasn’t hurting her, but there was no way she was getting free. Not in this position. Her only option was to talk to him and try to lull him into relaxing. Maybe then she could break free.

  And do what? a voice in the back of her head demanded. He’d be on her before she could take more than a few steps. “I was trying to find out who you were, where you lived and what you were doing here.”

  “Why?” He shifted his hold, grasping her two wrists in one hand and placing his free hand on her stomach.

  Butterflies danced in her belly, whether from fear or something else, she couldn’t tell. She ignored them. “Because information is power.” Adrian had quoted that sentiment to her so many times, it came out of her mouth without her even thinking about it.

  “So it is.” He lowered his hand, letting it slide over her bellybutton and lower.

  She whimpered and tried to pull away from his touch. That drove her back tighter to his chest. Something long and hard pressed against her butt. Oh damn, he had an erection. Memories of long ago when she’d almost been raped swamped her. “No,” she whispered, fighting his hold. “No!” Yelling, she struggled, kicking and thrashing. She wouldn’t let him rape her. She’d rather he just killed her.

  He picked her up in his arms and before she could figure out what was happening, her back was pressed against a cold, hard wall. He was in front of her, his strong legs trapping hers, his hands holding hers above her head.

  A sob broke from her throat. Then another. She took a deep breath, trying to control them. She had to think. Had to escape. Her pulse was pounding in her ears and it took her a while to realize he was talking to her.

  “Shhh,” he crooned next to her ear. “I won’t hurt you.” He said it over and over.

  Although she didn’t really believe him, his voice calmed her. Eventually, she caught her breath. “Why are you doing this?”

  She felt him shrug. “Damn if I know.” He held her two hands over her head with one of his. His free hand cupped her chin, holding her steady. “There’s something about you that calls to me.” His fingers were warm and strong as they traced the contours of her face. “You’re not beautiful in the classic sense, but there’s something about you, a beauty that radiates from within. Maybe it’s the way you’ve tracked me these past few weeks, never giving up. I feel as though I know you.”

  His words mesmerized her. She hadn’t been able to give up searching for him. No amount of reasoning or threats from Adrian had stopped her.

  His hands feathered through her hair. “Your hair is dark, like mine, but shorter.” He paused. “Do you cut it yourself?”

  “Yes.” She knew her hair was a ragged mess, but she didn’t care. She had more important things to worry about than if her hair looked good.

  “I thought so.” She sensed his amusement and it made her angry again. Angry was good, it helped keep her wits about her.

  “So where does that leave us?”

  He sighed and his breath feathered over her lips. “I don’t know.” His mouth touched hers, the briefest and lightest of caresses and it sent a blast of heat pulsing through her entire body.

  Silence swallowed hard and asked the question she dreaded. “Are you going to kill me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Chapter Three

  Silence woke and immediately knew her captor was gone. For the past two days, he’d kept her locked in this room, returning at times to watch her from the shadows. They talked from time to time but neither of them had shared much with the other. Still, there was something intimate
about spending hours on end with someone.

  They slept together too. He insisted on it. The pallet she was lying on was thick enough to keep most of the dampness from the floor from seeping into her bones. His large body did the rest. The man radiated more than enough heat to keep them both warm.

  Her body was becoming attuned to his in a way she’d never experienced before. He had a hard-on almost all night long, but true to his word, he never did anything about it.

  As strange as it seemed, Silence was beginning to trust him in an odd way. He’d said he wouldn’t rape her and she believed him. He’d also said he wasn’t sure if he was going to kill her. She believed that too. If he changed his mind, he’d let her know what was coming.

  It had taken her almost a full day in his company to figure out who he reminded her of. Adrian. He had that same take-charge, hard-ass attitude her brother did. This man was a leader, not a follower.

  She had yet to see his face. He seemed to prefer the darkness, having no trouble maneuvering in the room without light. Still, she was grateful he’d leave a candle for her to light when he left to do whatever it was he did when he was wasn’t here with her. Her weapons had disappeared, but the table and chair remained.

  Silence had paced off the entire perimeter of the room, exercising constantly for warmth and as a way to pass the time. Her captor fed her regularly and had set up a bucket in the corner for a makeshift latrine. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than it might have been.

  Adrian would be frantic by now and have searchers out all over the outer city looking for her. She regretted the worry she was causing him. She’d gone over the room about a hundred times, but there was only one way out and that was through a wood and steel door that locked from the outside.

  She’d chipped away at the hinges of the door with a chunk of rock she’d found in the corner of the room but had barely made a dent with it. Her best chance for escape was to either overpower her captor or to convince him to let her go. Neither option was promising.

  The first time she’d tried to sneak out in the middle of the night, he’d caught her before she’d made it off the pallet. The second time she didn’t get any farther either. Nor the third. The man had the instincts of a predator. If she moved as much as an inch during the night, he was awake and watchful.

  Then they’d both lie awake for hours in the dark. Silence would try to remember he was her enemy. But it was becoming more and more difficult as time went on. He held her tenderly, cradling her head on his chest. He rubbed his hands over her arms and back, warming her and soothing the muscles she’d strained in her first escape attempt.

  Her bruised throat was back to normal. He supplied her with plenty of water and had even scrounged up some tea, instructing her to heat the water over several candles until it was hot.

  Through it all, he’d kept his identity a secret. That gave her hope she might get out of this situation alive. If she didn’t know who he was then he had no reason to kill her. At least she hoped not. In fact, she was counting on it.

  Rising from the pallet, she carefully made her way over to the table and fumbled until she lit the two candles that sat there. Now that she had some light, she used the bucket in the corner, making sure the lid was on tight when she was done. Then she washed her face and hands using the tepid water in an old battered metal bowl he’d procured from somewhere. She rubbed the coarse cloth over her face, wondering what today would bring.

  The candles flickered on the table, illuminating a tin plate with a slice of bread and a piece of meat sitting on it. Silence ate both, trying not to wonder where the meat had come from. It was cold, but it filled the emptiness in her belly.

  When she was done, she paced around the room. Hours passed and she sensed it was getting close to her captor’s arrival. He was fairly regular with his comings and goings. The opening and closing of the door made barely any noise at all but she heard it all the same. Swinging her gaze around, she stared at the corner where the door was hidden by a small alcove.

  As much as a part of her wanted to keep her captor’s identity a secret, another part of her wanted—no, needed—to know who he was and what he looked like. This was the first time she’d heard him entering the room. Usually he slipped in when she was pacing and the only notice she got that he’d arrived was the candle being extinguished.

  Silence licked her lips, her mouth gone dry. Was he going to let her see him? If so, what did that mean? Maybe it wasn’t her captor at all. Her stomach dropped and she automatically fell into a fighter’s crouch, knees bent, arms loose, ready to defend herself. She wished she still had her knives.

  “There are people scouring the outer city for you.”

  She relaxed the moment he spoke, recognizing the low, raspy tones. Ignoring the way his voice made her skin tingle, she scowled at him. “I told you Adrian would search for me.” She’d made a decision her first full day as a captive to tell him about her adoptive brother in hopes it would encourage him to release her. Since she was obviously still here, it hadn’t worked.

  “So you did.” He strode forward and the dim light of the candles illuminated his size. The man was at least six inches taller than she, his shoulders incredibly broad. He was wearing a pair of combat boots and dark leather pants that clung to his thighs and emphasized the rather impressive bulge in the front. A tight, short-sleeved T-shirt was tucked into the waistband of the pants. His leather jacket was slung over his shoulder. She’d known he was big and strong. After all she’d lain next to him the past few nights. But somehow he looked even larger, harder in the light.

  She let her eyes drift higher. Trepidation filled her. She wanted to see him but was almost afraid to. His jaw was chiseled, his chin strong and stubborn. Full lips turned up slightly at the corners. He wasn’t smiling. She had the feeling this wasn’t a man who smiled often, but he was amused.

  Her captor wasn’t merely good-looking. He was devastatingly handsome. His features were strong, his nose straight. Silky, black hair hung to his shoulders and a pair of brilliant green eyes studied her from beneath thick lashes.

  Silence knew her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t seem to close it. The man radiated sex appeal.

  “Are you done?”

  His laconic tone jolted her back to reality and she realized that while she’d been studying him, he’d been checking her out. Not that there was much to see. She was slender, her breasts were small and she was ordinary, at best. Of course, he’d seen her before when she’d been unconscious when he’d first captured her.

  Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples puckered into tight buds. Her core contracted and she almost moaned at the power of the need she felt for this man. She was hot and wet between her thighs. Ignoring the way her body responded to his, she nodded. “I’m done.”

  One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Like what you see?”

  She shrugged. “You’re handsome enough.” There was no way she would let on she found him sexy as all get out.

  “I can smell your arousal.”

  Impossible! He had to be lying. Her cheeks heated and she knew her face was getting red. “You keep telling yourself whatever you need to,” she taunted.

  He prowled closer, looming larger with each step he took. Tossing his coat on the chair, he moved behind her. He didn’t touch her as he circled her, inhaling deeply. “It’s like warm honey and a hint of spices and musk.” The heat from his body surrounded her like a warm blanket. Her knees weakened and she stiffened them to keep from falling to his feet in a heap of wanton need.

  He was behind her, for which she was grateful. There was no way she wanted to face him. Crossing her arms over her chest to hide her stiff nipples from his eagle eyes, she said nothing.

  A touch, as light as a feather, stroked over her nape. “So fragile, yet so strong.”

  She couldn’t move if her life depended on it. With just that simple touch he had her shackled as tight as though she were wearing chains. She longed to lean back int
o his touch but didn’t dare. The power he had over her was frightening. “What’s your name?” she blurted out. “You know mine. It’s only fair.”

  He chuckled, his breath warm against her ear. “No one ever accused me of being fair, sweet Silence.” His teeth closed over the lobe and he tugged gently before releasing her. “Tienan. My name is Tienan.”

  She said his name over in her head several times. It was a strong name. It suited him.

  “Say it,” he ordered.

  “Tienan,” she whispered.

  He groaned and wrapped his arms around her from behind. His erection pressed into the small of her back, a vivid reminder that he was all male. “I want you, Silence.” His lips pressed dozens of kisses over the back of her head and down the side of her neck. “I want to strip you naked and lick you from head to toe.”

  Silence moaned as her pussy clenched. Her mind might be telling her she was making a huge mistake, but her body made no secret of the fact it wanted him. Bad.

  His large hands gently pushed her arms down by her sides, his palms slipping under the hem of her shirt to caress her stomach. Her tummy quivered, her insides turning to jelly.

  “Then I want to eat your juicy cunt until you scream with pleasure.”

  Breathing was getting harder with each passing second. She felt lightheaded. Her body ached from head to toe and her fertile brain could more than imagine what he was proposing. She could see the two of them on the pallet, naked, their bodies entwined.

  No, she’d be on her back, her legs spread wide, his face buried between her thighs, licking and sucking. She moaned as hot cream slipped from her core, coating her pussy.

  “You like that idea, do you?” One of his hands shifted higher until he was cupping her breast. “Small and firm and perfect.” His thumb circled the hard nub, which puckered even tighter. “Just like you.”

  She was panting now. Never had she felt arousal like this, hadn’t even known it was possible. Tienan was incredible, each touch perfectly placed, as though he could read her body and mind and know exactly what turned her on.