Free Heart of Brass by Kate Cross Page B

“Forgive me,” he said.
    She fought him. He wouldn’t have respected her quite so much if she hadn’t. She struck at his face and chest, not with her nails or open palms, but with her fists. The woman knew how to throw a punch.
    He wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from hitting him again as the taste of blood filled his mouth. Then she began kicking at his shins, throwing him off balance.
    They fell to the damp grass with her on top. He rolled so their positions were reversed. Her legs tangled in her skirts and he held them with his own. He pinned one of her arms above her head with one hand, leaving him only his right to finish the job. Her other arm was pinned between them. Still she writhed and struggled beneath him. There was nothing seductive about her movements, but Five’s body reacted as though she lay beneath him willingly.
    He was there to kill her and his cock was hard. Christ Almighty, she drove him to depravity. When this was over he’d no doubt feel the shame of it.
    “Stop fighting,” he commanded. “This will go much easier for both of us if you just give in.”
    She stilled, and gazed up at him with eyes that were full of disappointment rather than fear. “You’re going to kill me.”
    “I have to,” he explained. He shouldn’t have to explain; she knew what she had done. “I’m sorry, but you brought this upon yourself.”
    Her expression hardened. “I never asked Erlich to try to rape me. I never invited him to put a knife to my throat.”
    Five went very still. There was so much sincerity in her words that for a moment, he almost believed her. “You’d say anything to save your own life.”
    “I don’t have to say anything at all,” she retorted through clenched teeth.
    Five wrapped his fingers around her throat and squeezed hard. Releasing her wrist, he came up on his knees and straddled her. It would be quicker—more merciful—if he used both hands. Her breath caught and she gasped for air, struggling against him.
    Sudden pain bowed his spine. He gasped as his limbs spasmed, snapping his teeth together as his fingers unclenched. His vision blurred. Blood spread its salty copper on his tongue.
    What the hell had she done to him? It felt as though he had lightning in his veins. He twitched, eyes rolling back into his head. She’d better kill him, because if he came back from this he was going to come for her again, and next time he would not be so kind as to simply strangle her.
    Then lightning struck him again, and he collapsed on top of her as everything went black.

Chapter 5
     
    Had she killed him?
    Arden squirmed out from underneath Luke’s incredibly— incredibly —heavy form. Once, she’d loved the weight of his body on hers, but not like this—not after sending enough electrical current through his body to bring down an elephant. She’d used the same device to kill Victor Erlich. Of course, she’d used considerably less power on her husband.
    He hadn’t expected her to simply lie there and allow him to kill her, had he? If so, the Company had truly wiped his memory, because he of all people should know that she was nothing if not resourceful.
    Now that she had him, what should she do with him? He was extremely heavy—more than he ought to be, so there was no possible way she could haul him to her carriage, or anywhere else for that matter. Even if she could, it was bound to cause a sensation if they were seen.
    What if Henry stumbled upon them? The cretin had already spoken to the family solicitors about having Lucas declared dead in absentia. If he saw his brother as he was now, he’d have him declared insane and hauled off to a private asylum, where they would drug Luke enough to quite possibly contain him, and that was if he were lucky. More than likely they’d declare him a traitor and execute him.
    It was foolhardy of her, but she paused for a moment as she knelt over her husband’s prone body. He wouldn’t be unconscious for long, and she