Free Captured by Victoria Lynne Page B

scrambling onto all fours as she lurched away from him. “Dammit, Blake!” She heard his low growl, then felt his iron grip around her ankle as he pulled her down once again. Devon had never struck another human being in her life, but now her survival instincts surged to the surface. She turned and swung as she fell, her fist landing solidly against the side of Cole’s head. His grip loosened for a fraction of a second, enough time for her to pull free and lunge down a grassy ravine.
    He was right there after her, grabbing her about the hips this time. But the momentum of her lunge, combined with the sheer force of gravity, propelled them forward. They tumbled down the steep slope, their bodies locked together as they rolled and slid. When they finally lurched to a stop, Cole’s body lay flat atop hers.
    Devon instantly renewed her attack. She pummeled her fists against his back and shoulders and bucked her hips in a desperate attempt to break free. When that didn’t work, she twisted and squirmed beneath him, letting loose a string of curses. He pulled back so that he was straddling her, caught her wrists in one hand, and effortlessly pinned them above her head. “That’s enough!” he snapped.
    Devon drew in deep, heaving breaths, feeling as though all the air had been choked out of her lungs. It didn’t help. Rather than cool air, she was engulfed instead by the heady, masculine scent of Cole’s body. He leaned over her, his legs locked around hers hips in a position that had originally been necessary to restrain her movements. Now it felt undeniably wanton. Captain McRae seemed to become aware of it at the same instant. Their eyes locked, and they both went suddenly still.
    It was an opportunity Devon couldn’t afford to miss. The vulnerability of her position, combined with the overwhelming superiority of his strength and the utter uselessness of any attempt to resist him, was finally driven home. He had accused her only moments ago of trying to seduce him. She realized now she had nothing to lose by actually attempting it. Summoning all her courage, she arched her hips against his and forced her most seductive smile, despite the fact that she was trembling inside.
    “I’ll give you anything you want,” she said. “I’ll do anything you want. Just promise you’ll let me go when you’re done. That’s all I ask.” In desperation, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Please,” she choked out. “Anything you want. Just let me go.”
    When still he didn’t reply, but continued to stare at her with his cold, fathomless eyes, panic and despair gripped her. It was suddenly all too much. Her arrest, her trial, the drunken insults of Sergeant Coombs, the icy contempt of Captain McRae, the ship explosion, her clumsy attempt at seduction… Her nerves were strained to the breaking point, and she simply couldn’t take any more.
    Her eyes blurred with tears as her body went limp. She dropped her arms from around his neck and did what she swore she’d never do: she threw away her last vestige of pride and pleaded for her life. “Please listen to me,” she cried. “I didn’t murder that man‌—‌he was already dead when I got there. I wasn’t working for Captain Sharpe. I didn’t know about the papers in my trunks until it was too late. I swear it. Please, I’m telling the truth.”
    Cole froze above her. For a fraction of a second, his rugged expression softened as her words seemed to penetrate his cool exterior. But the moment didn’t last. He rolled off her and studied her in a detached, contemplative silence, then finally spoke. “That was a pretty performance, Blake. But I suggest you save your maudlin outbursts and crude offers for the guards at Old Capitol. They’ll have more time on their hands to enjoy them than I do.”
    Devon gasped as red-hot fury uncoiled within her. His words instantly renewed her fighting spirit. “You son-of-a-bitch!”
    He shrugged and rose to his