Sin of Fury by Avery Duncan Page B

had she not
noticed?
    He looked at her through
hooded eyes. The light was not bright enough to show him the
repulsion he was sure she felt. Her legs were drawn to her chest,
and he could make out the faint outline of her arms wrapped around
them. Folds and layers of delicate, flowing cloth spilled into the
one spot of light. Talon’s lip curled. Twisted bastards .
    Talon straightened his
shoulders, turning his back on her. The view that she got had
another gasp coming from behind him. Against his will, the
terrified sound had his lips tightening, hating Auro and Lyne for
sending her in here, hating her for even being there, involved with
them.
    The plate was cool in his hand, the
sliver of steak once again caked with dried blood. He looked at it
fleetingly, and almost gagged when he saw that it was moving.
Shoving the bile down and replacing it with anger, he threw the
plate out of the window.
    There was a tense silence. Besides the
gathering flock of crows, there was no sound, not even a hitch of
breath or a startled gasp. Talon barely spared her a glance before
falling back against the wall, large frame trembling. He was
furious. The small amount of exertion seemed to make him weaker
than a beating from Auro.
    His body was aflame with pain. The
torture session with Auro and Lyne the night before had taken a lot
out of him. He was so close to just breaking down. Talon would try
to move, his arm would throb and he would start trembling. He would
start to gag, and his diaphragm would go into a spasmodic jerk
session. Talon would try to wrap his arms around himself, and his
shoulder would scream with fire hot pain. The sensation would
travel all through him before finally settling in the pit of his
stomach.
    He wasn’t weak enough that he would
give the bastards the pleasure of vomiting. One of Lyne’s favorite
past times was to watch him struggle to hold his stomach. The first
time he had lost it... Talon shuddered, drawing his legs up to his
chest. The fact that the female had a clear view of his family
jewels didn’t bother him. He sneered into his arm, hoping it would
serve to frighten her.
    A faint sound drew his eyes to her.
She was moving. The rustle of the clothes emitted a soft scent,
precious as spring air and as sacramental as a woman’s body. A
second later it was not just the movement of cloth, but the
movement of the woman of herself.
    He turned his head sharply from her, a
snarl ripping from his chest. Her hand paused as it breached the
edge of the light. A curl of silky black hair spilled into the ray.
His hand clenched.
    Jamie stared at the figure, hidden so
mysteriously in the darkness of the room. His large form was curled
defensively, his face turned away from her. Her heart thumped in
her chest, the image of all the blood that had covered him coming
back to her. Her eyes filled with tears as the animalistic sound
faded from the room. Pushing her fear aside, Jamie moved until she
was in the only spot of light.
    Fear kept her from touching
him, from going to him. It was everything she could do to even get
that close. The things that the twins, Masters Auro and Lyne, had
told her made her trepiditious, wary to go near him. The whole time
that she had been thinking he would attack her, rape her and take
advantage of her, it had been the complete opposite. They had
commanded her to see to the beasts needs, believing that she would
actually listen. At the time, she had been thinking
nervously, How cruelly perverted could you
get ? But she had also believed what they
said to her. The minute she stepped into the room, she had thought
they were right.
    Her throat convulsed as it struggled
to swallow, nervousness making her queasy. Her hands were numb,
clenched tight in her lap. The penetrating gaze of the man in front
of her almost had her vomiting all over again. Was he like Auro and
Lyne? she asked herself, feeling bile rise in her throat at the
thought.
    No, he couldn’t be, or he
wouldn’t be here. They