Free Cowboy & the Captive by Lora Leigh Page A

swallowed tightly, steadied her voice and whispered, “Luc, don’t do this.”
    There was no mercy in his expression. If anything, he appeared harder, more determined than ever.
    Tension thickened in the room. It became heavy with his sexual tension, with her fear.
    “Undress.” She flinched as his voice hardened. The wolf that lay in the corner of the room whined in confusion.
    She wouldn’t do it. Melina straightened her shoulders, knowing she would lose the fight to come, but she wouldn’t stop fighting. She shuddered at the thought of how he could still her defiance, though, how it had been stilled once before, and she wanted to scream out in fury.
    Melina held back her screams. She would need the energy for those later, she feared. She backed farther away from him, watching him carefully as she fought to breathe. She could feel the hard throb of her heart in her chest, the blood pounding through her veins and the cold sweat that covered her body. She hated fear. Hated the weakness it brought and the sense of vulnerability that seemed to only intensify.
    “No.” She gripped the front of her shirt in defense as she defied him. He wasn’t a man that would take that defiance easily.
    They had gone for her shirt first, during that night of horror and pain in the cells. They had torn it from her body and then ripped the loose jail issue pants from her hips as she fought to cover herself. Every time she said no, the blows had only grown worse. But she hadn’t stopped, not until she lost consciousness, not until the pain had become so great that she knew death itself had come to rescue her. But it hadn’t. She had lived. And now she lived with the memories as well.
    She was going to be sick. She could feel her stomach roiling, feel the fear washing over her as she stared back at his stony expression. It was a nightmare that she wasn’t certain she could survive.
    He took a step toward her and Melina jumped back, barely aware of the whimper that escaped her throat, or of Lobo’s sudden, soft growl. But Luc stopped then. His piercing eyes went to the animal at the side of the room, before moving slowly back to her.
    Melina swallowed tightly, forcing back the bile rising to her throat. Luc was tall, strong. Stronger than any man she knew. If he tried to force her…
    “Catarina, I won’t hurt you,” he suddenly breathed tiredly, though his look was too intense, too knowing now for her to find any comfort.
    He moved instead to his dresser and pulled out a dark T-shirt. “Take this to the bathroom and change. You will be sleeping in this bed. With me. Don’t even doubt that. But I would never take anything from you that you don’t willingly give me.”
    She was shaking. Melina hadn’t realized how hard she was shaking until she heard her teeth chatter as he came closer. She bit her lip, fighting the need to run, to flee as he advanced. She couldn’t scream, she couldn’t trust herself to utter a sound, afraid that if she did, the memories she had fought so hard to keep contained would pour out of her like bitter acid, scarring them both.
    “Here.” He pressed the shirt to her then caressed her cheek as she flinched away from him. “Get ready for bed, Catarina. Now.”
    She snatched the shirt. “My pajamas,” she whispered as she fought to speak without stuttering. “Will you get me a pair? In my room.”
    The fleece bottoms would provide much more protection, more warning if he decided to change his mind. She needed that confidence more than she needed anything right now.
    “No, Catarina.” He shook his head, causing her chest to tighten in dread. “You have to learn to understand I won’t hurt you. We’ll begin tonight. No pants. Now go change. You have five minutes, and not a minute more.”
    She stared up at him, sensing the crisis had passed, though her mind refused to accept it. He seemed to surround her, to take up all the air in the room, all the freedom of movement.
    Skirting around him,