Love's Savage Bonds Read Online Free

black  horse. Nature, red in tooth and claw indeed...
     
    She gnawed on those thoughts as her
mouth sought release from the stifling gag. Even if she were free to speak,
she’d not have risked her abductor’s wrath for the slight chance that she might
be heard by some potential rescuer, but shedding any discomfort at all would be
a blessing. Since returning from India, her skin had softened to the point that
the cord was chafing her wrists and ankles miserably, and no amount of bravado
would allow her to forget her peril.
     
    Was this what the ancient Celts had
done? she wondered as she bounced
madly, sprawled across the great leather saddle.  Seized the women they
desired, and carried them off... She tried to picture how she must look: slung
across the horse’s back, trussed like the Christmas goose, muzzled like the
family dog... wondering what Charles Redmond was making of the appearance of
his captive…
     
    What is the matter with you!?!  Catherine scolded herself. My
“appearance”? You're not being “carried off” as someone's bride-- you're being
kidnapped by a man who, by all accounts, is extremely dangerous! A man who has
a grudge against your husband... a grudge, she realized, that he might
choose to settle in some unspeakable manner, sending more shudders through her
helplessly bound  form. Remember, you’re Lady Catherine Redmond… and…
and…
     
    A particularly violent change of
direction slapped her face against the horse’s flanks, and she sagged, no
longer able to buoy herself with that thought.
     
    There is no more Lady Catherine, she found herself despairing.Such fancies
were for civilized drawing rooms. Here, in the wild and the dark, nothing
existed but muscle and sweat, impulse and desire… man and woman.
     
    **********
     
     
    After what felt like hours, the horse
came to a stop in front of what appeared in the darkness to be a small cottage.
     
    Once he had dismounted, Charles Redmond
reached up to lift his prisoner from the horse's back; though his huge hand had
been all that kept Catherine in place during their ride, she'd not been foolish
enough to attempt to escape by rolling off the horse, bound as she was: no
amount of bravery would protect her from a fall off the huge beast.
     
    Once more, he heaved her trussed form
upon his shoulder, and the exhausted and frightened girl was dizzied as she
fell across his back, her long, dark hair streaming down behind him. Catherine
was acutely aware of the position of her buttocks over his shoulder... and of
the gentle pressure from his hand, as he held her in place— it was more than
blood rushing to her head that was bringing a flush to her face now.
     
    He threw open the door to the small
cottage, carrying her inside.
     
    As best she could make out, upside down
and with the dark curtain of her hair obscuring her vision, it was the sort of
small shack that a gamekeeper or attendant might have maintained, with only the
barest of furnishings.
     
    Charles Redmond gave an easy shrug of
his powerful shoulders, and Catherine felt herself thrown down onto a rough
bed, which was placed up against the far wall. She landed on her back, and did
her best to scramble up to a sitting position, trying not to put too much
weight on her bound arms; the strain in her shoulders had begun to pass from
unbearable to paralytic. Nevertheless, she would show this ruffian that she was
not cowed.
     
    She glared up at him, sitting as
erectly as she was able, tossing her head, shaking the disarranged locks out of
her face, determined to hide the fear in her eyes.
     
    Dim light made its way through the
windows, and Charles Redmond was a huge, dark shape, framed in the moonlight,
standing over her. He stepped closer, and the cold light slashed across the
side of his pale face.
     
    Charles' eyes were wide, now, and
Catherine realized that this was probably the first time he'd had a chance to
get a good look at her, since first seeing her in the dim