Free Embracing Silence by N. J. Walters

hand on her ass, he pulled her closer, cushioning his erection against her cleft.
    For a brief second, he allowed himself to forget her betrayal and savored the feeling of belonging to someone, of having someone who only belonged to him. Then she spoke, shattering the silence.
    “Where have you been? I thought for sure the security force got you.”
    “I’m sure you did,” he replied evenly. It was hard to do, but he forced her away from him. Keeping his touch impersonal, he patted her down, searching for concealed weapons.
    She shoved his hands away. “What are you doing?” she whispered.
    He pocketed a knife he found strapped to her belt before bending down to retrieve the one he’d made her drop earlier. When both of them were safely stored away in his pack, he grabbed her wrists and bound them together with a short length of rope.
    “Tienan?” He could hear the worry and doubt in her voice as she struggled to get away from him.
    Knowing he had to keep her quiet, he took out a piece of cloth he’d cut from an old T-shirt and swiftly gagged her. Her eyes widened and she began to fight in earnest. He subdued her easily, reminding her of his superior strength. The look of betrayal in her eyes fired his anger. How dare she act as though she were the injured party.
    Leaning down so close their noses almost touched, he stared into her eyes. “What am I doing?” She nodded vigorously. “Why, Silence, I thought it was obvious. I’m kidnapping you.”
     
    Silence could hardly believe what was happening. She’d been in hell the past few days, buried in the depths of despair that Tienan had been taken by the General’s troops. She’d berated herself daily, telling herself she should have done something to warn him. Better to die fighting with him than to live with the guilt and remorse of letting them take him.
    Still, nothing could have prepared her for this.
    She’d decided that she’d cried and grieved enough. The time for action had come. Silence needed answers and the only way she was going to get them was if she went out and found them herself.
    Adrian had been watching her like a hawk the past few days, but she’d managed to slip out of the compound when he’d been called away on pressing business. Silence was determined to find Tienan’s tracks and uncover the truth about what had happened to him. Deep in her heart, she didn’t believe he’d been captured. She couldn’t. If she imagined him being tortured and killed at the hands of the General, she’d go mad.
    It hadn’t been easy making her way back to the building where she and Tienan had spent so much time. She’d been a prisoner at first, but it had become so much more. At least for her.
    She thought she’d sensed him several times. A tingling sensation had crept down her spine. It reminded her of the days when she and Tienan had played cat and mouse around the outer city. She’d looked for any sign, any clue that it was him, but finally dismissed it as wishful thinking.
    After a while, it got too great to ignore. Like a warning bell clanging, she knew someone was following her. Ducking into a building and hiding seemed prudent. Her plan had been to wait and see who was shadowing her and take action from there.
    The hairs on the back of her neck had risen and instinct had her pulling her knife and whirling around to meet whatever threat was there. Shock had held her immobile when Tienan grabbed her wrist and squeezed until she’d dropped her weapon. It had been almost a carbon copy of their original meeting. Except this time she knew him.
    All the agony and pain she’d been through over the past few days fell away as she threw herself against his chest. He’d caught her, holding her close against him. Silence had said a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening, giving thanks for Tienan’s safety.
    Then everything changed.
    He’d pulled away and not just physically. She’d felt his emotional withdrawal as well. Before she could