Sin of Fury (13 page)

When he said nothing, she got
frustrated. And started ranting. “I think that you’ve been here for
a while. And that plate wasn’t for show — you just threw it out of
the window. And your back... Talon, it looks like someone took a
chainsaw to it.”

Her voice was broken, pained, at the
end. He said nothing to confirm, deny, or acknowledge. The fact
that she was even affected by pain that wasn’t her own shocked
him.

“
Why would you care?” he
finally grated, reaching out a hand for the cup. She knew his pride
would not let her help him. That is, until she saw the trembling in
his arm. A sympathetic look crossed her gentle features as she
handed him the cup, guiding it to his mouth.

Her hand was over his, her other
holding his chin back. He wondered what she felt, what drove her to
help him like she was. Auro would not have let her be so caring, he
knew. The water sluiced down his throat refreshingly

“
Because you’re going to
get us out,” she said, pulling the cup from his lips and standing.
His hand latched onto the hem of her gown, stopping her from
moving. Jamie looked down at him with wary eyes, grabbing the
material and pulling on it in her direction. “What?” she asked,
nervous.

“
Where are you going?” he
asked, tightening his grip on the skirts.

“
To get you
water...”

He dropped his hand, ignoring the
confusion in her eyes. Talon didn’t say anything as she walked
away, listening to the sounds of running water. There was a soft
sniffle. The water turned off, and she came back out.

Her face was clear of emotion, a now
full cup cradled in her hand. As she sat down beside of him,
something happened. Something frightening. Something...that he
wanted. A memory — or was it a fantasy? — assailed him. Jamie was
there, or at least a woman who looked dangerously close to
her.

In her arms a bundle was wrapped, the
soft wail bouncing from the walls. Her corset was undone, the dress
partially falling off of her shoulders. As much as Talon tried to
deny it, she looked beautiful — much like a goddess.

Talon was sitting beside her, not
lying, and he had a hand on her slim waist. The feelings rushing
through him caught him off guard. She was his wife, completely
devoted to him, in love with her as no other had ever been. The
look in her eyes as she stared up at him, a silent smile playing on
her lips, said that she felt the exact same as he did.

The babes wails calmed, and in the
silence it was serene. Fire played behind her head. The vision was
so violent and painful, yet so serene and heartfelt. Talon felt
like he was feeling an out of body experience, laying there in
front of Jamie yet in his mind, he saw their death.

Jamie’s soft hand landed on his
shoulder. He jerked, looking up at her with wide, panicked
eyes.

“
Talon?” she asked, peering
down at him. The fear that she had felt in front of him was gone,
replaced with concern. He took a breath, reaching for the cup.
Talon growled when she held it back.

She ignored him. “When was the last
time you ate?” Jamie asked, pulling back the duvet absently to look
at his sunken stomach.

And all of the cuts.

He saw her face pale and forgot about
his anger. Talon’s lips tightened, staring at her empty arms. There
was no babe there, her breasts were not as full, and her dress was
not sliding down her body.

Talon almost growled with frustration,
then covered it up by groaning, shifting on his side.

“
I think...” Her wane
whisper trailed off. “I think I’ll go start a bath for
you.”

He didn’t acknowledge her. The shuffle
of her skirts alerted him that she was standing up, as did the
weight of the bed lifting. Then she gasped, and the soft patter of
feet sounded before she was slamming the bathroom door behind
her.

Talon stared at the wall. Why had Auro
let this happen? Jamie... He growled softly, fisting his hand
around the thick material of the duvet. He definitely wanted the
woman. Her odd features were appealing to him, as hard as he tried
to ignore them. The image of them burning together, her features so
serene and happy as she gazed at him, came across his
mind.

That was definitely not a fantasy.
Auro and Lyne had known the woman would become a weakness. He
suspected that Jamie knew nothing of how cruel and sadistic they
really were, or she would not have hampered for Lyne on his
behalf.

What had happened between them? He
could recall, barely, Auro picking him up. The cold skin had seemed
searing at the time. Maybe because he had been in so much pain, or
because Auro really was cold enough to burn — Talon had no
clue.

Just the thought of Lyne’s hands on
Jamie’s pale skin caused his lip to curl in a sneer. He didn’t know
the woman, and deep down he hated her with a burning passion, yet
he couldn’t help but feel pity for her. Lyne must have put her
through torture to let her into this room, with Talon in
tow.

With ears that had always been more
enhanced than was right, he listened to Jamie. He could hear the
scrape of clothes, the soft thuds as things fell. His brows
furrowed, and he brought himself onto his elbows,
confused.

Was she changing? The thought left him
almost shocked, but the emotion quickly fled. The only time his
heart stopped or sped up was when Auro tied him. The only emotion
he could feel was anger. The only thing he knew was cruelty. Talon
remembered nothing of his life, and was glad.

It would only be more painful to know
what he had lost.

Jamie opened the bathroom door and
came out, hands in her pockets. “I could so order pizza right now,”
she said, mockingly proud. He stared at her, waiting for her to
elaborate.

He took in her new appearance. No
longer dressed in wanton clothes, she had on soft looking pants.
The shirt under her jacket looked equally as soft, much more
comfortable than her previous outfit had seemed.

Her hair was down around her face. The
change of hairstyle made all the difference. Her face, pale and
unblemished, had stress lines. Her forehead wrinkled too much, her
eyes were too solemn, her lips too straight. Her bangs were on
either side of her face, the long curls framing it.

She looked like a dark seductress,
despite the air of depression that radiated from her.

Talon pulled the duvet higher around
his body, shifting his legs. He didn’t think she needed to see him
as hard as a rock. A dark flush crept up his cheeks, and he was
grateful she didn’t notice.

“
I filled the bathtub for
you,” she said uneasily, shifting on her feet. They were bare, the
only skin she left exposed. He looked at her face, clearing his own
of all expression.

Her little feet pattered against the
ground as she came to his side, nervously touching his shoulders.
It was like a chain-reaction. He tensed, she flinched. He growled,
she squeaked. He stared, she fidgeted.

When they finally made it to the
bathroom, the sheer disbelief that this was actually happening came
over him in a rush. Her hands were soft, gentle, as they helped
lower his trembling form into the warm water.

Right then, as he stared up at her,
with her hair falling around her face, pale features worried, he
knew he couldn’t let her attach herself to him. It made him angry
that things had to be that way, but it was best for the both of
them.

He might be over analyzing things, he
might be thinking things through too hard, but the attraction he
felt for her was strong, and by the way she stared at him when she
thought he wasn’t looking led him to believe that if he let her,
with her soft heart and kind eyes, she would become more to him
than an accomplice.

Jamie listened to the harsh grunt that
came from him, biting her lip. Her face was heating to drastic
heights.

The man had a body to die
for.

He was taller than she expected. More
toned that she would have thought. It was obvious that he was
malnourished, but plain that he had had an amazing form before this
had happened to him. His skin was not as gray as it had been, and
his voice, even though it was still violently harsh, had softened
because of the water.

Jamie tried to look away, she really
did. But as her eyes strayed over his back, the profile of his
nicely rounded but, and then around to the front... She gasped,
slapping a hand over her mouth and turning around.

He was huge. He was hard. He was hung
like a fucking horse. The parts of her body that had touched his
body came to life, fire flowing through her once again. The same
exact fire that had attacked her when she had been cleaning him now
flowed through her freely. If she climbed into that tub with him...
Her head shook.

“
Jamie,” he said, his voice
unfeeling.

“
What?” she squeaked,
tightening her hand over her mouth. The thoughts in her head scared
her. She could just picture him, his body covering hers, his deep
voice at her ear. She bit her lip, shoulders hunching. Jamie was
never going to help a naked man into a tub again if this is what
happened.

There was a silence, and then an
uneasy, “Get out. Sit down.” Her face flamed even worse when she
realized that he might have noticed her condition. She grabbed the
old shampoos from the counter and set them on the edge, avoiding
even looking at him, and practically ran from the
bathroom.

She fell into the bed, heart
racing.

At least he wasn’t trying
to kill her anymore, she thought. Jamie stared at the canopy above
her, just now noticing the matching vector designs that the
bedspread held. She wasn’t going to question why they had stacked
the room as if people actually lived here — and as if they
wanted
them to like their
stay.

Despite her better judgement, she
found herself listening to the sounds in the bathroom. Not that
there were any, she thought, face falling. Just the soft slosh of
water that barely even counted as interesting.

His dark eyes entered her mind, and
then the memory of Auro looming over him, his back bloody and dark
from all of the hits. It amazed her that he hadn’t killed her yet,
shocked her even. But it gave her hope that he would be willing to
help her escape.

She couldn’t get too close to him. The
slow attraction was getting worse. Maybe it was just seeing him
naked that was doing it, but either way she refused to give Auro
and Lyne what they wanted — and something that she couldn’t give
willingly.

Thoughts of Chris entered her mind.
The mental and physical scars that he had given her hadn’t been
forgotten, nor did she think they ever would be. Her hands turned
white as she clutched the duvet, pain and memories running around
her head. She had forgotten the pain in her shoulder, so focused on
Talon that she paid no mind to anything else. Her face had settled
into a dull ache, and if she didn’t jostle herself, she didn’t
notice it.

Jamie wondered what he thought of her.
He must have some opinion about her, she thought nervously, looking
at the bathroom door again. He has to, or he wouldn’t have stopped
from lashing out at her. Jamie knew that he was close on the edge,
could see it in his eyes. But she knew that as tortured as he was,
he wasn’t going to hurt her — yet. Right now, he relied on her and
she was going to keep it that way until the time came for their
escape.

A loud curse came from the bathroom.
Jamie was on her feet in a second, rushing to the door. She didn’t
even steel herself for the site of his naked body before pushing it
open. “Are you okay?”

Jamie froze in the door.

Talon has his arm up, over the edge of
the tub. His legs were drawn up, bent at the knees. Her pounding
heart quickly slowed. She was relieved. Jamie thought he had been
doing something unmentionable, or at least getting
attacked.

Instead, blood seeped down his arm in
agonizingly slowly drips. She went to him, grabbing the towel as
her feet carried her to his side. His arm was propped still, his
damp hair resting on his forehead while his head lay back against
the tub, eyes closed.

He turned his head to the side, away
from her. “Bleeding,” he said simply. Yet the sound it carried held
so much pain and anger, she felt the blast of it from where she
stood. Jamie swallowed before walking forward. It was like taking
care of a wounded tiger.

One second he’ll be nice, the next
he’ll be snapping your head off.

Jamie knelt at his side. “This wasn’t
bleeding a second ago,” she said uneasily. The quaver in her voice
went unacknowledged, along with the soft touch of her hand on his
arm.

His breathing was ragged as he turned
away from her completely. Jamie tried not to take it personally.
She told herself that he was only doing that because he was naked.
But Jamie knew. He had been naked the whole time in that cage, it
wasn’t that he was virtuous or trying to save her eyes from the
site of him.

He had made it blatantly clear that he
wanted her to fear his marks, that he wanted her repulsed by him.
Jamie set the cloth down, staring at his back. The marred skin was
definitely the work of professionals. Scars were deeply set, cuts
were open and looked like they didn’t plan on closing any time
soon, bruises were yellowing and some were fresh, the dark purple
surrounded by blood red marks. His neck was strong, thick, his nape
covered with damp strands. She swore his shoulders was the size of
a truck, his skin hanging off of his frame.