Free Dark Wrath by Celeste Anwar Page B

her.  All she’d had to do was be the one bright moment in that hell,
the one person who offered him any kindness at all.  He would’ve believed
he was in love with her even if she hadn’t been so beautiful he’d been almost willing
to gnaw his arms off to get to her.
    He might have
been more than tempted if he hadn’t seen that she was as afraid of him as she
was fascinated by him.
    It made him
cringe inside to know that even after everything he’d learned about her, that was what had driven him to mark her, not the half formed lie he’d told
himself--that it would make it easier to find her later.  In his mind, she
was already his mate.  He had only had to seal it with his mark.
    He dismissed
those thoughts.  He wasn’t in love with her.  He never had
been.  That was only part of the mind fuck.  He’d lusted for
her.  He didn’t even feel that much anymore.
    Not much lust,
anyway.  Nothing he couldn’t handle.
    All he wanted to
do was to give her a taste of what they’d put him through, just enough to make
it as impossible for her to ever forget as it was for him.  Once he’d
toyed with her a while, she’d be begging to tell him where that son of a bitch
was and then she could go to hell for all he cared.  Living with it would
be more torture for her than a quick death.
    But living with
the expectation of death was only a part of what he’d had to endure and she was
going to get a good taste of it before he let her go.
    Let her think he
meant to kill her.  Let her get a good taste of what it was like to be
tied up and treated like an animal.  Before he was done, she would hate
him as much as he hated her.
    And that was what
he wanted.
    He felt so
nauseated at the idea that he thought for several moments that he would be
sick.  It pissed him off even more.  He had a weakness for the
woman.  He could deny it all he liked.  That wasn’t going to change
the situation.
    One way or
another, he was going to get the information he wanted out of her, though, he
decided grimly.  If she decided to make it easy on herself … he would just
wash his hands of her and call it a day.  The harsh truth was that getting
what he needed out of her was probably going to be more hellish for him, or as
much anyway, as it was for her.

Chapter Five
     
    J esse
thought he’d braced himself for what came next.  The moment he stepped
into the room with her, though, her delicate scent hit him like a ton of
bricks.  It made no difference that fear laced it, that he could see the
uneasiness in her eyes.  There was just a trace of desire in it, as well,
and that was all it took to send his own libido into overdrive.
    Gathering his
wits with an effort, he moved to the drawer where he’d placed the device and
removed it.  Her eyes widened when he held it up and flipped it on.
    “What are you
going to do with that?”
    He frowned,
studying the device.  “It took me a little while to come around to
this.  Thing is, chère, part of what made it so hellish in there
for me was that I was determined not to give them a part of me and they was
determined to get it.
    “Now wid you,
it’s different.  There’s only one thing you can give up that I want.”
    “I don’t know where he is!  I told you I didn’t!” Erin exclaimed, staring at the tubular
shaped object with a mixture of dread, embarrassment, and revulsion as he
settled on the bed beside her.
    “I’m thinkin’ if
you’re still singin’ the same tune come mornin’--well maybe you don’.”
    She jumped as he
stroked the thing along her neck and down to one breast.  The vibrations
from the device sent a surge of sensation through her.  Her nipples
puckered as blood surged into them.  She held her breath, trying to focus
on anything other than what he was doing, fearful that her body was going to
give her away at any moment.
    Relief flooded
her when he moved lower, but it was short lived.  She felt his fingers
stroking the hair on her mound, parting