Free Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) by Erica Stevens Page A

within the forest. She told him about her father, whom she
loved dearly, and her brothers Daniel and William. She told him of
things she had been too frightened to tell him about before, when
he had not known that her father was the leader of the rebels. She
didn’t know much about her mother, she had been killed when she and
William were children. Her father didn’t talk about her very often,
it was too painful for him, but when he did talk of her Aria
listened intently, eager to learn anything she could about the
woman that she had never known.
    Though Braith listened intently to her,
he did not say much about his life. His mother had also died when
he was young, but young to him had been a hundred and seventy five
years. He didn’t speak of his father much, and when he did, Aria
got the feeling that he didn’t like him, and that they didn’t get
along. He barely mentioned Caleb, or his sisters, he spoke a little
more of Jericho, and though she caught the underlying tension in
his voice, she also caught the only hint of fondness she’d heard
toward any of his family when it came to his youngest
brother.
    She enjoyed listening to him talk, and
thought she could do so forever. Even though she knew that was
impossible, she decided to pretend that just for tonight, they
could have forever. It was wonderful to be his equal for a change,
and not his slave. The moon rose high in the sky, and was beginning
its downward descent when he stood. “You must be tired.”
    She was tired, but she didn’t want to
go to sleep. She didn’t want this night to end. She could sleep
tomorrow when he was gone, and she was alone again. “I’m
ok.”
    He slipped his hand into hers, pulling
her against him. His hand wrapped around the back of her head as he
cradled her gently against him. She held him for a long moment,
simply relishing in the feel of his hard body against hers, simply
relishing the feel of being in his arms again. She gasped, shock
racing through her when he bent and scooped her easily into his
arms. She stared down at him in wide eyed wonder as her fingers
lightly stroked the nape of his neck. His eyes were intense and
burning as he watched her for a long moment before striding easily
from the room.
    He navigated the dark hallways with
ease; until he reached a door that he thrust open. He didn’t bother
with the light switch as he strode over and placed her lightly upon
the bed. Aria watched him as he moved around, drawing the curtains
shut and blocking out the light of the fading moon. Her heart
hammered with excitement, her mouth was dry as uncertainty claimed
her. She didn’t know what was going to happen, what he expected, or
what she was even willing to give to him. She wanted to pretend
that they had forever, but they didn’t. Yet, it was Braith. Even if
she never saw him again, she knew she would never love anyone the
way that she loved him. This was more than likely their last night
together, if she was never going to see him again, didn’t she want
to give him everything she could?
    He was as silent as a ghost as he came
back to her, slipping onto the bed beside her. He pulled her
against him, kissing her softly. All doubts and fears vanished; she
didn’t want to think, not now. And he made it so very easy to
forget everything, except for him. His hands stroked over her face,
her hair, as he pushed her gently upon the bed. His eyes were
bright in the dim light of the room. He stared at her for a long
moment, his hands lightly holding each side of her face.
    “You are beautiful.”
    Though it may not be entirely true, she
felt beautiful when she was with him. She felt as if she were the
only woman in the world, and in some ways, to him, she was. She was
the first woman he had seen in years. She lowered her lashes as
tears burned her eyes, she didn’t want to think about anything
else, but she couldn’t help it. This was it. This was all she would
have of him.
    “Arianna?”
    She lifted her eyes to him,