Embracing Silence (8 page)

Tienan’s muscles ached. He’d been crouched in the rubble of the building across from the warehouse for hours. But he wouldn’t shift his position. Any kind of movement could alert the sentries posted along the walls. They were hidden from view, but they were there. Tienan could feel them. He’d also caught a glimpse of them his first day here.

The small pack by his feet contained a ration of dried meat and some water. He’d eat when the sun went down. His eyes flicked briefly toward the sun, but his body remained still. He figured he had less than an hour before it started to get dark. Plenty of time to watch for Silence.

His eyes burned with the need for sleep, but rest eluded him these past nights. Every time he closed them, he dreamed of her. His sweet Silence with her large, violet-blue eyes and kissable lips.

Sweat trickled down his back, but he ignored the discomfort. He could still feel her soft skin beneath his palms, her slender body taking him as he drove into her again and again.

Swearing softly, he shifted slightly to try to alleviate the growing pressure on the front of his pants. His dick had a mind of its own and remembered all too well the way Silence’s pussy had gripped it tight.

Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard. Days later, he could still smell her unique fragrance, taste her exotic honey on his lips. His eyes blinked open and he narrowed his gaze at the compound across from him.

Lies. All of it lies. And why not? He’d kidnapped her and held her captive for several days. Why wouldn’t she turn him in to the security force? If anything, he figured she’d bring Adrian and the rebels down on him. But maybe she’d been ashamed of the way she’d given her body to him and hadn’t wanted anyone else to know. Handing him over to General Caruthers would make that possibility disappear forever.

He refused to believe that the emotions swirling within him were anything but anger. There was no room for disappointment or disillusionment. Silence had betrayed him. There was no other possibility.

As though his thoughts had drawn her, Silence appeared in the entrance of the building. She looked left and right as she hurried away from the compound, keeping to the shadows. He couldn’t actually see if it was her, but he
knew
it was. It was in the way she moved—careful and deliberate. She seemed to map out her path in her mind before she took it to get maximum speed while retaining her place in the shadows.

She was good. But he was better.

Reaching down, he lifted his pack and slid it over his shoulder. Dusk was moving in quickly as a light layer of fog began to blanket the outer city. Moving swiftly and silently, Tienan slipped from the building, following Silence.

Twice they came across packs of roving outlaws that roamed the streets when the sun went down. His heart thundered in his chest at the thought of Silence being captured by them. They would rape and kill her in a heartbeat.

He had to force the muscles in his arms and shoulders to relax. He would kill them all to save her if he had to. No one was going to harm her but him. He ignored the contradiction. Silence was
his
.

But true to her name, she was quiet, waiting until the threat had passed before moving forward. He frowned when she turned down a dark alleyway. She was headed back to the ruins where he’d held her.

Curious now, he followed, keeping a wary eye on his back trail as he did so. It wouldn’t pay to get careless. Silence crept through the downed beams and over the rubble until she got to the door of the basement. It was closed now.

She hesitated but squared her shoulders and slowly pulled the door open. It made no sound as she pushed it aside. He’d oiled the hinges himself to keep them from making any unexpected noise. Silence disappeared into the dark void. Night had almost fallen and only a faint shimmer of light followed her into the basement.

Tienan could see almost perfectly, but he knew she could not. Skirting several piles of rubble, he stopped at the top of the stairs and listened.

“Tienan?” His skin tingled at the sound of her voice and his cock flexed, a reminder of his weakness for this woman.

He heard her sigh. It was so soft, he thought he might have imagined it. He sensed her coming and moved back, secreting himself behind several blackened pillars. She stepped out into the darkness, a slender creature that he could break with his bare hands. His fingers flexed, curling into fists. His knuckles turned white beneath the pressure. He stared at his hands. He’d never doubted his resolve before. It was what had kept him alive this long. But he feared what he would become if he punished Silence as she deserved.

As he watched, she walked around in a circle, which grew larger with each turn. She was obviously searching for a trail. But whose?

He clenched his jaw tight. Maybe she’d found out he’d slipped through the net the police squadron had cast for him. Perhaps she was back to find him so she could make sure they got it right this time.

Determination filled him. He would have answers.

He ghosted around the ruins coming up behind her. She stiffened, slowly raising her gaze from the ground. “Tienan?”

He froze, cursing the connection she seemed to have to him. No one, not even Logan was able to sense him the way Silence could. He ground his back teeth together to keep from calling out her name. She seemed to be alone, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

She shook her head and trotted toward the end of the alleyway. She was on the move and he was right behind her. Turning right, she hurried back toward the rebel compound. He wasn’t having that. It might be days before she stepped outside its protection again and Tienan couldn’t wait. His body burned for her, his mind was tortured by her motives.

Picking up speed, he came closer to her. She glanced over her shoulder several times but didn’t stop. Silence moved so quickly, he would have missed her if he didn’t have such acute vision. Ducking into a building, she hid from sight.

Smart girl. She knew someone was tailing her, but not who.

Playing the odds that she’d wait a while before she moved, he circled the building and found another way in. It was slow going because he wasn’t familiar with this particular place, but using all his senses, he crept into position. She was a few feet in front of him now, hunkered down behind a partial brick wall.

Tienan surged forward. At the last second, she whirled around, throwing up her hand. He saw the flash of metal and knew she had a weapon. Closing his fingers around her wrist, he squeezed. A low sound of pain broke from her lips, but he didn’t let up until the knife fell the ground at her feet.

He loosened his grip then but didn’t release her. It had taken him too long to get his hands on her. There was no way he’d risk her slipping away again. “Going somewhere?”

Silence froze, then did the unexpected. She didn’t scream, didn’t struggle. Instead, she threw herself into his arms, whispering his name over and over.

He was forced to release her wrist and wrapped his arms around her instead. Her short hair tickled his nose as he leaned down to inhale her fresh, womanly scent. There was no perfume, no artifice, simply clean skin. But it was more potent than the finest aphrodisiac.

Even as he cursed his weakness, he gave himself permission to indulge his needs and hold her close to his heart. She sank against him, her small breasts pillowed against his chest. Placing his hand on her ass, he pulled her closer, cushioning his erection against her cleft.

For a brief second, he allowed himself to forget her betrayal and savored the feeling of belonging to someone, of having someone who only belonged to him. Then she spoke, shattering the silence.

“Where have you been? I thought for sure the security force got you.”

“I’m sure you did,” he replied evenly. It was hard to do, but he forced her away from him. Keeping his touch impersonal, he patted her down, searching for concealed weapons.

She shoved his hands away. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

He pocketed a knife he found strapped to her belt before bending down to retrieve the one he’d made her drop earlier. When both of them were safely stored away in his pack, he grabbed her wrists and bound them together with a short length of rope.

“Tienan?” He could hear the worry and doubt in her voice as she struggled to get away from him.

Knowing he had to keep her quiet, he took out a piece of cloth he’d cut from an old T-shirt and swiftly gagged her. Her eyes widened and she began to fight in earnest. He subdued her easily, reminding her of his superior strength. The look of betrayal in her eyes fired his anger. How dare she act as though she were the injured party.

Leaning down so close their noses almost touched, he stared into her eyes. “What am I doing?” She nodded vigorously. “Why, Silence, I thought it was obvious. I’m kidnapping you.”

Silence could hardly believe what was happening. She’d been in hell the past few days, buried in the depths of despair that Tienan had been taken by the General’s troops. She’d berated herself daily, telling herself she should have done something to warn him. Better to die fighting with him than to live with the guilt and remorse of letting them take him.

Still, nothing could have prepared her for this.

She’d decided that she’d cried and grieved enough. The time for action had come. Silence needed answers and the only way she was going to get them was if she went out and found them herself.

Adrian had been watching her like a hawk the past few days, but she’d managed to slip out of the compound when he’d been called away on pressing business. Silence was determined to find Tienan’s tracks and uncover the truth about what had happened to him. Deep in her heart, she didn’t believe he’d been captured. She couldn’t. If she imagined him being tortured and killed at the hands of the General, she’d go mad.

It hadn’t been easy making her way back to the building where she and Tienan had spent so much time. She’d been a prisoner at first, but it had become so much more. At least for her.

She thought she’d sensed him several times. A tingling sensation had crept down her spine. It reminded her of the days when she and Tienan had played cat and mouse around the outer city. She’d looked for any sign, any clue that it was him, but finally dismissed it as wishful thinking.

After a while, it got too great to ignore. Like a warning bell clanging, she knew someone was following her. Ducking into a building and hiding seemed prudent. Her plan had been to wait and see who was shadowing her and take action from there.

The hairs on the back of her neck had risen and instinct had her pulling her knife and whirling around to meet whatever threat was there. Shock had held her immobile when Tienan grabbed her wrist and squeezed until she’d dropped her weapon. It had been almost a carbon copy of their original meeting. Except this time she knew him.

All the agony and pain she’d been through over the past few days fell away as she threw herself against his chest. He’d caught her, holding her close against him. Silence had said a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening, giving thanks for Tienan’s safety.

Then everything changed.

He’d pulled away and not just physically. She’d felt his emotional withdrawal as well. Before she could question him, he’d tied her hands together and gagged her.

Tienan was kidnapping her. Again.

The world flipped upside down as he hoisted her over his shoulder. She should be terrified, should be fighting him. But she couldn’t. Deep down, she trusted Tienan not to hurt her. She hoped her instincts wouldn’t be the death of her.

Breathing through her nose, she tried to ignore the jostling her body was taking as he climbed over rocks and rubble. She tried to talk to him but all that came out was a muffled sound. He smacked her sharply on the butt. “Be quiet or I’ll knock you out,” he growled.

Silence squirmed as her ass stung. He hadn’t hurt her, but he hadn’t exactly been gentle either. Tienan put one large hand on her ass, holding her in place. The heat from the sting and his palm penetrated her heavy canvas pants, sending a shiver up her spine. Uncomfortable with the fact that his touch, any touch, seemed to elicit an erotic reaction in her body, she focused on where they were going.

Squinting, she tried to place landmarks as he carried her through the darkened streets. Once, he had to wait in the shadows until a trio of men passed. His hand tightened around her thigh in warning, but she could have told him she wouldn’t make a sound. She didn’t recognize the men and wouldn’t try to gain their assistance even if she did. She wanted to know what the heck was going on with Tienan.

Sweat broke out on her forehead the longer she spent draped over his shoulder. It was getting harder to breathe through her nose. Her stomach was beginning to roil and throwing up and choking was becoming a real possibility. She made a sound of distress in her throat. Almost immediately, Tienan flipped her down and cradled her in his arms. The ease and swiftness with which he did so was a sharp reminder of his strength and keen reflexes. The position eased the strain on her stomach. Silence concentrated on drawing in deep breaths of air through her nose.