Enslaved by Elisabeth Naughton Read Free Book Online

from her lips. He turned her around again so her back was once more plastered against his front and whispered, “Okay, nice and slow. Your fate and the fates of those in this tunnel are in your hands now. Understand?”
    She nodded again, swallowed beneath his hand, then cautiously stepped forward.
    And in the silence, he told himself that if he was too hard on her, if she was afraid, it was a good thing. Because she should be scared shitless. There was no telling what might set him off or what he’d do next.
    Gods, please don’t let me kill her. Just let me get away.
    “Good girl,” he managed, reassuring both of them at the same time. “This will be over soon, Maelea. Just do as you’re told and in a few minutes, we’ll both be free.”

Chapter Four
    He knew her name. That shouldn’t have surprised Maelea, but it did. And it pushed that frustration and fear even closer to the forefront.
    Her body trembled as they moved down the pitch-black tunnel. The voices were gone. She couldn’t even hear footsteps anymore. She wanted to scream out for the sentries to come back, to find her, but knew if she did, Gryphon would make good on his promise.
    Tears of anger burned the backs of her eyes. Images of what he’d done to Nick, of what Nick had described he’d done to Titus, swam in her mind. She bit her lip beneath his palm, reminded herself that any kind of unexpected reaction from her would only lead to his being trapped…to his doing something drastic, like injuring either her or those sentries. Like killing them all.
    There were worse things than being a prisoner, she told herself. He’d said he just needed her to get out of the tunnels. She had to believe he’d hold to that promise. Once he was free, she’d be a burden—something to slow him down. He’d want to get away as fast as possible. There was no other reason for him to keep her.
    They turned a corner. Her elbow knocked into rock and she bit down harder on her lip to keep from crying out, tasted blood against her tongue. His hand slid from her hip to her elbow and rubbed until the pain dissipated. And at the soothing and way-too-comforting touch, warning bells went off like giant red flags waving in the wind.
    Oh yes, there’s a reason he would keep you around.
    Every muscle in her body tightened as his hand moved back to her hip, his fingers digging into the pressure points of her groin to direct her movements. She suddenly became aware of his powerful thighs brushing her hamstrings, of his hips pressing up against her backside. And she remembered all too well how his fingers had grazed the underside of her breasts when he had her pinned in that cramped space only moments ago, how heat had radiated from his body to hers, how he’d hardened—even if only slightly—behind the fly of his jeans.
    No. He couldn’t possibly want her for that.
    Why not? He’s a monster. Like Hades. You feel the darkness of the Underworld inside him.
    Anger and an increased need to escape vibrated within her. Options raced through her mind. Dammit, she’d lost her backpack in the orchard. She had no weapons now. Nothing to use to even attempt to overpower him. How was she going to get away?
    She had to get away.
    They rounded another corner. A light burned ahead. He jerked her back into the darkness, even tighter against him. Near her ear, he whispered, “Shh…” and his hot breath sent gooseflesh all over the skin of her neck. A sensation that was both terrifying and electric. “Don’t move.”
    Voices echoed ahead—several—in the central opening of the cave where the tunnels all joined together. Hope erupted in her chest. He’d never make it past them. There were too many. There was no choice for him but to surrender.
    “He’s got to be in here,” a male voice said—Nick’s voice. “I want two in every tunnel and the rest of you here when he shows himself.”
    Boots clomped. Metal clanged. The sounds grew closer. Someone was heading their