Free Embracing Silence by N. J. Walters Page A

question him, he’d tied her hands together and gagged her.
    Tienan was kidnapping her. Again.
    The world flipped upside down as he hoisted her over his shoulder. She should be terrified, should be fighting him. But she couldn’t. Deep down, she trusted Tienan not to hurt her. She hoped her instincts wouldn’t be the death of her.
    Breathing through her nose, she tried to ignore the jostling her body was taking as he climbed over rocks and rubble. She tried to talk to him but all that came out was a muffled sound. He smacked her sharply on the butt. “Be quiet or I’ll knock you out,” he growled.
    Silence squirmed as her ass stung. He hadn’t hurt her, but he hadn’t exactly been gentle either. Tienan put one large hand on her ass, holding her in place. The heat from the sting and his palm penetrated her heavy canvas pants, sending a shiver up her spine. Uncomfortable with the fact that his touch, any touch, seemed to elicit an erotic reaction in her body, she focused on where they were going.
    Squinting, she tried to place landmarks as he carried her through the darkened streets. Once, he had to wait in the shadows until a trio of men passed. His hand tightened around her thigh in warning, but she could have told him she wouldn’t make a sound. She didn’t recognize the men and wouldn’t try to gain their assistance even if she did. She wanted to know what the heck was going on with Tienan.
    Sweat broke out on her forehead the longer she spent draped over his shoulder. It was getting harder to breathe through her nose. Her stomach was beginning to roil and throwing up and choking was becoming a real possibility. She made a sound of distress in her throat. Almost immediately, Tienan flipped her down and cradled her in his arms. The ease and swiftness with which he did so was a sharp reminder of his strength and keen reflexes. The position eased the strain on her stomach. Silence concentrated on drawing in deep breaths of air through her nose.
    “We’re almost there.”
    Silence took hope from his words, counting from ten to one and then back up to ten again. Over and over, she repeated the exercise to calm herself and her breathing. Now that she was in no immediate danger of choking, she glanced around, orienting herself. They weren’t too far from the rebel base.
    Tienan turned suddenly, heading down a dark alleyway. She caught a glimpse of several lights filtering from broken boards in several buildings and knew that groups of people and families were hunkered down in their fortified homes for the night.
    Continuing past them, he made several more twists and turns before heading into a building whose entire bottom floor was open. Thick metal beams supported the upper two levels of the brick building, which looked none too stable.
    Not pausing, he walked straight to the back of the ruins to a set of rickety steps. “Don’t do anything to upset my balance.” With that, he started straight up the steps, skipping some and stepping lightly on others. Silence closed her eyes and tried not to breathe. The man was insane. If they fell, they’d be injured, if not killed outright.
    “You can open your eyes now.” Silence could hear the touch of amusement in his voice and hit his chest with her bound hands. Resting against him as she was, she couldn’t get much power behind the hit. He didn’t laugh, but one corner of his mouth did turn upward. For Tienan, that was as good as a smile.
    It quickly disappeared, replaced by a stone mask of indifference. Now that they’d reached their apparent destination, Silence struggled in his arms. He pulled away the hand beneath her thighs, letting her legs fall to the floor.
    She staggered, but he kept his other arm around her shoulders until she was steady. Reaching up with her bound hands, she yanked at the binding over her mouth. When it was loose enough, she spit out the cloth. Her mouth was dry.
    “What the hell did you do that for?” She wanted answers and she wanted