Embracing Silence (9 page)

“We’re almost there.”

Silence took hope from his words, counting from ten to one and then back up to ten again. Over and over, she repeated the exercise to calm herself and her breathing. Now that she was in no immediate danger of choking, she glanced around, orienting herself. They weren’t too far from the rebel base.

Tienan turned suddenly, heading down a dark alleyway. She caught a glimpse of several lights filtering from broken boards in several buildings and knew that groups of people and families were hunkered down in their fortified homes for the night.

Continuing past them, he made several more twists and turns before heading into a building whose entire bottom floor was open. Thick metal beams supported the upper two levels of the brick building, which looked none too stable.

Not pausing, he walked straight to the back of the ruins to a set of rickety steps. “Don’t do anything to upset my balance.” With that, he started straight up the steps, skipping some and stepping lightly on others. Silence closed her eyes and tried not to breathe. The man was insane. If they fell, they’d be injured, if not killed outright.

“You can open your eyes now.” Silence could hear the touch of amusement in his voice and hit his chest with her bound hands. Resting against him as she was, she couldn’t get much power behind the hit. He didn’t laugh, but one corner of his mouth did turn upward. For Tienan, that was as good as a smile.

It quickly disappeared, replaced by a stone mask of indifference. Now that they’d reached their apparent destination, Silence struggled in his arms. He pulled away the hand beneath her thighs, letting her legs fall to the floor.

She staggered, but he kept his other arm around her shoulders until she was steady. Reaching up with her bound hands, she yanked at the binding over her mouth. When it was loose enough, she spit out the cloth. Her mouth was dry.

“What the hell did you do that for?” She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Ignoring her, Tienan turned to a small table. She heard a telltale scratch and then a light flared before settling down to a slow burn. The dim light of the candle was barely enough to penetrate a few feet. She was sure that was intentional.

Tienan walked slowly toward her. The weak light was enough to remind her of just how big he was. His broad shoulders blocked out most of the light as he loomed over her. Swallowing was difficult, but she managed. “Why?”

He shook his head and kept coming. Silence backed up, her knees hitting a hard surface. She toppled back into a chair, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying out in fright. Tienan was trying to intimidate her and he was doing a hell of a job. But why?

Casually, he untied her hands, bring each one to rest on the heavy wooden arm. Quick as a flash, he cuffed them to the chair with leather bindings. This was beginning to feel all too familiar.

Crouching down beside the chair, he wrapped another binding around her stomach. His hands were warm as he pushed up her shirt so the strap rested on her bare skin.

Silence knew she could scream and yell and it wouldn’t matter. No one would come even if they happened to hear. People minded their own business. It was safer that way.

Adrian didn’t even have any way of knowing she was missing. She’d told several people she was going out on patrol with one group. Then she’d told a few other folks she was going out with a different patrol. By the time Adrian missed her, which he would, he’d have to wait for both patrols to return to find out for sure which one she was with. By the time he found out she wasn’t with either one it would be too late. Tienan would have done whatever it was he was going to do.

“Tienan.” She thought he might have flinched when she said his name but decided she was mistaken when he glared at her a moment later. Their eyes were level and she’d never seen his green eyes look so cold, not even when he’d first captured her.

Worry crept through her soul. What did she really know about his man she’d fallen in love with? Nothing. He’d said once he might kill her. Was he planning on fulfilling that promise now?

Catching her chin between his palm, he turned her head until she was facing him. He said nothing as he watched her. Silence had the feeling he was trying to see all the way into her soul.

His thumb traced the curve of her jaw, the tender caress at odds with the anger brewing in his eyes. The mask was still in place, but she could read the emotions stirring within him.

“Why?” He spoke so low she had to strain forward to hear him.

The restraints brought her up short and frustration gnawed at her.
Patience
, she reminded herself. “Why what?”

“Why did you betray me?”

Chapter Six

Tienan watched as confusion and then anger flared in her eyes. Silence tried to keep her emotions contained, but they showed on her face. She frowned and gave him the denial he expected.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t betray you.”

How he wanted to believe her. Even now, he wanted to free her from the restraints and whisk her over to the pallet in the corner and lose himself in her soft, hot depths. Only the memory of the nightmarish hours he’d spent eluding the security police stayed his hand. Someone had told them his location and Silence was the only person, besides Logan, who’d known where to find him. And Logan’s loyalty wasn’t in question.

His fingers tightened around her face and he forced himself to relax them, not wanting to bruise her porcelain skin. Which was stupid. He wanted answers and he’d do whatever it took to get them. But hurting Silence wasn’t the way to get what he wanted.

Even now he could sense the rise in her body temperature, see the way her nipples pebbled beneath her shirt. With her jacket hanging open, there was no way to hide her reaction to him. Silence wanted him.

Letting his hand slide down the side of her face, he wrapped it around the slender column of her neck. She swallowed but said nothing. Her eyes looked enormous against her pale skin. The long, black lashes touched her cheekbones when she blinked. So soft and beautiful, yet deadly.

The tips of his fingers trailed down her neck, eliciting a shiver. Fear or desire, he wasn’t quite sure. Probably a combination of the two.

Her lips parted and her chest rose and fell quickly as her breathing increased. Her hands clasped the arms of the chair, her knuckles white. Leaning forward, he caught the sensitive lobe of her ear between his teeth and bit it. Not hard enough to hurt her but with just enough force to remind her he was there. Then he released it and gently blew.

“Then how did the security force find me?” Not giving her a chance to answer, he swirled his tongue around the delicate shell of her ear. Silence rewarded him with a seductive moan of pleasure.

Planting a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses along her neck and jawline, he crouched between her legs, shoving them wide to make a space for himself. Gripping the hem of her shirt between his hands, he ripped the material. The sound echoed in the mostly empty space. Peeling back the edges, he stared at her bare breasts.

He loved the fact that she didn’t wear a bra. The small, plump mounds were unfettered and free. Her nipples were puckered into tight buds. Red, juicy berries just waiting to be tasted.

Capturing her breasts with his hands, he held them as he leaned forward and opened his mouth over one. He sucked her nipple into the wet cavern, using his tongue to press it against the top of his mouth.

Silence gasped, her entire body stiffening as he flicked his tongue leisurely around her nipple. Sweet. She was so damn sweet. He could eat her up from head to toe and go back for more.

His cock was fully erect and pressing against the front of his pants. It was painful, but he welcomed the pain. It kept him focused on the task at hand. Pulling back, he released her and then blew on her damp skin. Goose bumps rose on her chest and she squirmed helplessly, thrusting her chest toward him.

Running his hands over her ribs, he noted that she seemed slimmer than before. She was slender and couldn’t afford to lose any weight. Her delicate rib cage led to a tucked-in waist and flared hips. He made quick work of the buttons on her pants and tugged them down.

Silence stiffened. “This isn’t a good idea. You should stop.”

“This is a very good idea,” he countered, ignoring her request that he stop. He could smell her arousal, the musky perfume that enveloped him as he rubbed his cheek against her belly. She wanted him and he planned to take her.

Resolved, he tugged her pants down her hips, taking her thin panties with them. He had to move back so he could get them over her legs. They caught on her boots and he impatiently unlaced them, tossing them aside. When she was naked from the waist down, he stared at her. Kneeling before her, he had a perfect view of her pussy. Although the light was dim, his enhanced eyesight allowed him to see the slick, red folds.

“Your pussy is already wet.” Resting his hands on her thighs, he pushed them open until her legs were splayed wide. “Don’t move,” he commanded as he let his hands slide higher. He could feel the heat from her core. This at least was real.

Using his thumbs, he held her open, marveling at her sweet little clit just peeking out from its protective covering. Unable to resist the lure, he lowered his head and circled the bud with his tongue.

Silence moaned, her hips tilting forward. Strapped to the chair with her legs spread wide, she could barely move, but she did what she could.

“If I touch your cunt, you’ll drench my fingers with your honey, won’t you?”

“Yes.” Her reply was little more than an intake of breath.

“Hmm. Let’s see.” Keeping her spread wide with the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, he circled her slit with the index finger of his right. “Wet for sure. But how about inside?” Without further warning, he plunged his finger deep.

Silence stiffened, a tortured groan coming from her parted lips. Her body began to shake as he slipped his finger out and rimmed her. This time, he plunged two thick fingers into her core. Her cunt was hot and wet, squeezing his fingers tight. He wanted it to be his cock but for now contented himself with touching her, controlling her passion.

“Do you want to come?” he whispered as he withdrew his fingers. Silence moaned, her hips pumping forward as far as the belt around her waist allowed.

“Tienan,” she cried.

“Answer me, Silence.” He trailed his fingers over the tops of her thighs, avoiding her pussy. “If you want to come, then you have to ask for it.”

“I want to come,” she gasped.

He could tell she was so far gone, so on edge, she’d do anything for him. Now was the time to ask her about the betrayal. “Tell me what you want,” came out of his mouth instead. “Do you want me to eat your pussy? Or maybe you want me to finger-fuck you until you scream.” His fingers grazed over her heated flesh, teasing her clitoris but not exerting enough pressure for her to come.

She was sweating now, her skin covered in a light dew. Her breasts swayed with every breath she took and her nipples looked even redder and tighter than before. She was at the peak of arousal.

“Maybe you want my cock in your hot cunt.” Sitting back, he opened his pants, releasing his erection. His shaft was rock hard, the bulbous head red and angry and wet.

Silence watched, swallowing hard as she nodded.

“You haven’t earned my cock yet.” Standing, he moved to the side of the chair, thankful it was fairly low. The tip of his cock was level with her mouth. “Suck me.”

Silence was burning up. She’d almost died of a fever when she was twelve and she hadn’t been as hot as she was now. It enveloped her entire body, gripping her in heat that could only be extinguished by Tienan.

She frowned. Something was very wrong with Tienan. His accusations rang in her ears and beat at her heart. He believed she betrayed him, brought the military to his hiding place. The very thought of it cut deep. How could he believe such a thing?

Or did he? Would he be touching her with such care, bringing her such pleasure if he truly thought she’d delivered him to the security police?

The head of his cock nudged her lips, dampening them with the pre-cum that seeped from the tip, distracting her. She tried to order her scattered thoughts.

She’d denied it. He must have accepted her word. Their lovemaking was a reaffirmation of their relationship, whatever it was. Silence wasn’t quite certain. All she knew for sure was that she loved Tienan. Explanations would come later. Now she couldn’t think beyond what he was doing to her.