Falcon's Captive. Vonna Harper
his throat shut down surprised him. He’d been about to lay her future out before her, but he didn’t know what use Tau and Sakima might put her to, what they needed her for.
She twitched, pulling his thoughts onto what he was doing to her. Because the poison numbed as well as paralyzed, holding her nipples this tightly might not cause her much discomfort, but he had no doubt she resented what he was doing.
He’d still been an untested warrior when Lord Sakima had told him that the time would come when he’d be rewarded with a sex slave. He might not spend much time with any of the slaves, but that experience would be more satisfying for him if he first reminded her that her body belonged to him, not her. Experience had taught him that the man who’d become his father in many ways was right so why did what he was doing to his captive make him feel slightly ashamed of himself?
And why was he releasing her breasts?
At first she stared at him as if she didn’t comprehend what he’d just done. Then her eyes closed. He assumed that her brief unconsciousness was her way of regathering herself, probably in preparation for resistance. Judging by her reactions so far, he suspected it wouldn’t be long before he was dealing with a wide-awake and determined prisoner. The last thing he needed was for her to injure herself trying to get free.
Placing a hand on her flat belly so he could judge her responses, he looked around for the pack he’d shrugged out of just before diving into the lake. He spotted it among some rocks a short distance away. After pressing his hand against her stomach again, he scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the pack. Snagging it, he retraced his steps and again dropped to his knees.
Good. She hadn’t moved, and her eyes remained closed.
Digging into his belongings for what he needed, he studied the creature who’d come into his world. There was a warrior quality to her well-muscled arms and legs. Although her physique paled in comparison to his, he’d never seen a female in such well-honed physical shape. There was something about her long neck and broad shoulders that had him looking forward to caressing them at his leisure. Strange. Always before his interest in a female captive had begun and ended with sex.
Ah yes, sex. Her legs were modestly together, but with her left knee slightly bent, it wouldn’t take much to spread her. That done, he’d take his time studying her pussy.
Her fingers twitched again, and her lids fluttered. Brought back to reality, he checked to see that he’d pulled out the leather and rope he needed to properly restrain her. When he’d first added the restraints to his pack, he’d shaken his head at what he was doing because for the first time as a warrior, his task was to capture, not vanquish. But if this was what his leaders wanted, he’d do everything he could to comply.
The rope, even darker than her tanned flesh, would contrast with it, which was why he picked up a limp arm and wrapped the strands around the wrist closest to him. Then, despite his desire to do nothing more than study her, he rolled her onto her stomach and pulled her arms behind her. Within a few seconds, he’d secured her wrists so only a finger’s width remained between them.
Now what?
4
Knowing she couldn’t fight him released some of his tension, but before turning her so she looked at him, he twice fed rope around her waist and then tied her wrists to the makeshift belt. Double-restraining her probably wasn’t necessary, but acknowledging what he’d done might go a long way toward convincing her who was in charge. Besides, he liked the way her arms looked with her elbows bent.
After positioning her on her back once more, he scooted away a little so he could study what he’d done. Having her arms behind her had forced her to arch her back, which prominently displayed her remarkable breasts.
The last time he’d touched them, he’d been rough and masterful as befitted his stature. Now, despite the demands his cock was making on his ability to concentrate, he lightly ran his fingers over the smooth flesh. Women were remarkable creatures, soft where men were hard, filled with moist, sleek passages a man could die in.
He didn’t like that that made him feel weak, damn it! She was a Wilding, a lesser being equipped with a primitive mind in sharp contrast to her magnificent body. It wasn’t fair! An animal-like creature should be ponderous and slow or so fragile he could easily snap her bones.
Still gliding his fingers over her breasts, he glanced around, half believing he’d spot Wilding men sneaking up on him. Surely the men wouldn’t allow her to walk about naked and alone.
Alone?
Maybe they’d deliberately sent this female out to seduce him.
Pondering the possibility, he again stared down at her. Her black eyes were open, but unlike the first time, they weren’t filmed in incomprehension. Judging by the way she studied him, she understood exactly what had happened to her.
It shouldn’t be like this! The poison wore off slowly. It didn’t suddenly melt away.
Warned by the hatred she made no attempt to hide, he expected her to start fighting. Fortunately, he was out of reach of flailing legs—legs he should have already restrained.
Not taking his eyes off her, he picked up a short length of rope. She strained upward, lifting her back off the ground. Impressed by the way the tendons stood out at the sides of her neck, he thanked the spirits for the hand they had in his saving her life. Even with her body full of fight, he felt close to her. There were just the two of them on this deserted stretch of land in a country he might never understand or feel comfortable in. He had no doubt that this resolutely silent woman had no intention of giving up. In addition, she didn’t appear to be at all ashamed of her nudity. Quite the opposite: unless he was mistaken, she was proud of her body.
“You can try fighting,” he said, wondering if she understood a word he said. “But it won’t do you any good.”
Her cheeks and throat glistening from the strain of keeping her shoulders off the ground, she continued to glare at him. She was a wild animal, and more. Savage and sensual at the same time. What would his shaman and lord do with her?
“What are you thinking?” he asked. “Maybe you believe I intend to keep you for myself, but if you do, you’re wrong. You have value beyond a man’s need for a woman’s body, value the Ekewoko leaders know how to make the most of.”
He waited for her to react. When she didn’t, he continued.
“Do you know what I’m saying, wild one? I’m speaking the common language of travelers but maybe it makes no sense to you. Maybe my words are beyond your comprehension.” He reached out as if to touch her, only to withdraw his hand when she tried to scoot away. “My shaman says that Wildings are little more than animals. If that’s true, you are valuable for only one thing.”
Fury flashed in her eyes and, although she settled back down, he sensed no lessening in her resolve. Her reaction also told him a great deal about her comprehension.
“I saved your life. If I hadn’t come after you, you would have drowned.”
“You tried to kill me.”
Hearing her voice for the first time caused a lightninglike current to slam into him. Her voice was low for a woman, soft and yet resolute. “So you understand what I’m saying. Maybe I underestimated you.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“No, I didn’t.” The current continued to tease his nerve endings, prompting him to caress the rope he was holding in order to have something to do. “If I’d wanted you dead, you would be.”
“Your arrow—”
“Had been treated with the sap from a bush with the ability to paralyze.”
A blink was all she gave him in the way of a response, but he had no doubt she was waiting him out, studying him to see what he was going to do. Without the use of her hands, she had no option but to react to his actions; but what would happen if she was free?