Free UNDER BY DURESS by Kayla Stonor Page B

gone for good. “Actually, it’s exhausting being responsible for someone.”
    “Well, it’s usually only for an hour or two. Not full on like this.”
    “That’s true.”
    Tahima locked the leg irons back over his pants, grabbed his cuffs and pulled him to his feet. He helped her slip his boots back on. The leather had cracked in the sun, but they were dry enough inside. She picked up his shirt and pointed him towards a tree with the stun gun. “Left arm first.”
    She released his hand. “Lock the cuff around this branch.”
    He huffed, but didn’t bother arguing. She held out his shirt so he could push his hand through the sleeve. When his hand popped through she caught it and inspected the chafed skin. “I’m going to put a bandage around that.”
    He nodded, holding his wrist out for her as she wrapped the bandage around and tied it off. She checked his head and arm while she had the first aid out. Both wounds were healing nicely. She tried not to look at the red marks she’d inflicted with the belt.
    Heat warmed her cheeks at the memory. Desire washed through her, but it wasn’t inflicting the punishment that had turned her on. It was his acceptance of it.
    “I’ll do the other arm in a moment. I want to wash off in the cave.” She collected her clothing.
    Rossini gestured to the cuffed branch. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    The cave was cool. Having taken so long to recover from the swim, Tahima had no intention of taking another dip. Instead she splashed semen from her insides and inner thighs as best she could. She scraped off the water and patted herself dry with her T-shirt before dressing herself.
    Rossini was waiting patiently, but he’d obviously been thinking. “Not behind my back, Tahima. If I was going to harm you I could have done it a long time ago. We’ll make quicker progress.”
    She unlocked the cuff from the tree, stun gun against his ribs. “Fine. But one hint of trouble . . .”
    “Warning duly noted.” He meekly replaced his wrist in the cuff and they repeated the whole process on the other hand.
    Tahima did up his buttons very slowly, tucked his shirt into his pants, and then pressed the stun gun against his crotch. “Don’t make me regret this, Rossini.”
    He moaned. “I wouldn’t dare . . .”
     
     

 
     
    ~ Chapter Seven ~
     
     
     
     
    “What are the odds of meeting another bear?” Rossini asked as Tahima helped him to negotiate a particularly steep drop.
    “Long. It’s rare to encounter them. Two in one day would be really unfair.”
    She checked her bearings. They had been walking two hours and were making much better time now Rossini’s hands were cuffed in front of him. They were definitely on the right track. Gramps had used to help her down this slope when she was a kid. The forest tended to look the same, but as long as they stuck to the trail she would recognize the shortcut down.
    “Where have you climbed?” he asked.
    “Mainly Shenandoah National Park. I climb walls when I’m in the city to keep fit.”
    “New York City? Is that where you work?”
    “Yes.”
    “So are you on vacation?”
    “I’ve taken three months leave to sort out Gramps’ lodge. Going to renovate it and then rent it out.”
    “You don’t want to live here?”
    “I love it here, but it gets lonely. I like people around me.”
    “Family?”
    “A brother. He lives abroad.”
    “What does he do?”
    Tahima glanced at him suspiciously. “Why do you want to know?”
    “I’m not going to have him knocked off, Tahima. Any more than I would you.”
    “But you could if you wanted to.”
    Rossini stopped dead. He looked genuinely upset. “No, not even if I wanted to. That was my father’s way. Not mine.”
    She didn’t answer and they plodded on for another mile in silence. Rossini was obviously smarting from her accusation, so it didn’t surprise her when he picked up the conversation where they’d left off.
    “Have you any idea how hard it is to prove