SnaredbySaber Read Online Free Page B

voice scarcely recognizable, she gulped, frantic for air. His
hands shifted, grazed her breast. She lashed out with her fist, wriggled,
kicked, sobbed. “No. No, no, no !”
    “Fuck.” The man’s grip tightened and he
twisted what felt like rope around her wrists.
    “No!” Panting, she lashed out with her feet.
“Please don’t do this.” Terror crawled over her. Her pulse thundered in her
ears. Fast. Choppy. She lashed out again and almost wriggled free. “No, let me
go! Please, please. Don’t hurt me!”
    She backed up on the sleep-bed, toppled off
the mattress, hit the floor with a spine-jarring thump. Unable to break her
fall, her head struck the tiles. Pain speared through her skull, stunning her
for an instant.
    He was on her in a trice, his weight pressing
her down before she could gather her addled wits.
    She felt a cloth pressed against her nose.
Pungent and unpleasant, the scent brought tears to her eyes. Couldn’t get away.
Couldn’t hold her breath. Stark panic loomed then, but it was too late. Had to
breathe.
    She slumped, edges of black sliding over
her vision.
    Lights out.
    Nobody home.
     
    “You done?” Saber’s voice ripped through
the darkness. His nostrils flared and he stiffened. “Who’s bleeding?”
    “She bit me,” Felix said in an aggrieved
tone.
    Unexpectedly, a laugh escaped Saber. He
flicked on the light and saw his brother sitting on the floor with the
unconscious woman. She was bleeding too. “You hurt her. I told you not to hurt
her!” For an unexpected second, Saber wanted to rip the scantily clad woman
from his brother’s arms, cradle her protectively in his own.
    Sweet baby Jesus, he had to get past his…his…infatuation
with this woman.
    He didn’t want another woman, didn’t need
one after Lori.
    He clenched his hands into fists, the prick
of claws bleeding through the tops of his fingertips shocking him even more.
What the fuck?
    “I didn’t do anything. All I did was hold
her so she wouldn’t hurt herself . Why is she bleeding?” Felix asked in
alarm upon seeing the woman’s head. He brushed aside her blonde hair and probed
the wound. “Honestly, I didn’t hit her when she bit me. I heard a thump. She
must’ve hit her head when she fell off the sleep-bed.”
    “Bring her. We’ll treat her injuries on the
way. Hurry before we attract attention.” Saber waited until Felix picked up the
woman and carried her from the room before he flicked off the light. He tried
not to notice the generous swell of her breasts as Felix passed. He tried not
to notice the length of her bare legs beneath the bit of pale-blue silk she was
wearing.
    He tried to focus on Lori, the woman he’d
loved and lost.
    He failed on all three counts.
    “She’s okay,” Felix said when Saber joined
him at the rear of the vehicle. “The bleeding has already stopped. I’ve sprayed
the area with anti-infection serum.” He strapped her into the rear of the
vehicle, checked her pulse and nodded. “I’ll stay with her, just to make sure
the bleeding doesn’t restart.”
    Saber gave a clipped nod and closed the
rear door for his brother. He jogged around to the cockpit and strapped in,
trying to get past his rush of guilt.
    No choice.
    Saber started the shuttle, and moments
later, when they were clear of the resort, he hit vertical climb and punched in
the coordinates for the camp. Instead of setting the vehicle to automatic pilot,
he operated it in manual, needing something to concentrate on other than his
zigzagging thoughts. He’d failed Lori, but he wouldn’t fail everyone else who
depended on him.
    By the time they reached the captive camp
on the far boundary of their land, daylight had broken. Saber landed the
vehicle and powered down. He opened his door and leaped out, the tweet and
chirp of birds and insects an assault against his ears. The vivid flora on this
island attracted bugs and beasties by the truckload. They seemed to thrive in
the fragrant tropical heat.
    Saber wiped