SnaredbySaber (4 page)

Then it flapped its mighty wings and rose
into the air—taking the woman and Saber with it.

The woman screamed again and wriggled frantically.
Saber didn’t blame her. Horror skittered through him as the bird soared above
the treetops, transporting them miles from the camp.

“Stop kicking!” Saber shouted above the
whistle of the wind.

A treetop, higher than the others, tore at
his boots and he tried to tuck up into a ball.

The woman didn’t halt her screaming but at
least she ceased her kicking. Saber’s arms ached from holding on, pain
throbbing through his shoulders. Where the fuck was the bird taking them? A
nest? Food for its chicks?

Saber tried to think, to plan.

The camp was no longer in sight. They’d
flown over a huge ravine and the trio of volcanoes on the west side of the
island was much closer now. A plume of smoke rose from one. Below, heavy forest
covered the land and to their right, a curving silver line indicated a river.
Fuck, even if they managed to escape, they were miles away from the resort.
Many days on foot.

Saber’s arms quivered, his muscles
screaming. He groaned.

“Let go,” the woman yelled.

Saber groaned again, determined not to leave
the woman alone.

A high-pitched shriek filled the air. Wind
whistled past Saber’s face. The woman screamed again, her cry full of terror.
Saber twisted and cursed.

Another big-ass bird was heading directly
for them—humongous talons outstretched and hunger in its yellow eyes.

Eva dangled beneath the bird, clasped in
its sharp claws. Dull pinpricks of pain ached at her ribs while her legs burned
and felt as if they might break off at the hip sockets because
he
—whoever
he was—refused to let go. Fear scraped its way up her throat as the second bird
cawed a warning and headed straight for them.

They were going to die.

Eva couldn’t see any other way out of this
mess.

The bird carrying them dived without
warning, and the man gripping her legs cursed as his legs dragged along the
treetops. He shouted, lost his grip on one of her legs as his limbs hooked in a
tree. A raw scream burned her own throat as panic had her struggling fiercely.

The second bird soared after them,
screeching a high-pitched challenge. Talons extended, it dive-bombed. The first
bird, handicapped by their weight was slow to react, slow to maneuver. The
collision between the two birds sent them all closer to the ground, and the man
clutching her legs gave a horrid moan.

Fear worse than anything she’d felt before seized
her body, squeezed the breath from her lungs. An icy chill encased her. She was
going to die.

The second bird came at them again. There
was a horrid midair thud and then they were falling, falling, falling.

Eva screamed, arms flailing to no effect.
Air whooshed by, branches whacked and gouged her torso and she hit the ground,
the collision smacking the breath from her body.

Above them the two birds continued their
squabble. Eva was terrified to move, terrified to check to see if her limbs
were intact.

“Lady, you all right? Can you move?”

“Eva,” she said, gasping for breath. If she
was going to die today, she wanted someone to know her name.

“Eva.” Her name was a testy snap. An order.
“We have to move in case the birds come back.” He was closer now, his hands
moving up and down her body.

She smacked them away but, goaded by his
urgency, Eva attempted to crawl under a bush. A pained groan escaped.

“No, not here. Farther into the jungle where
the trees are thicker.” A shriek from overhead hardened his face. “Move. Now!”

Eva scuttled like a Dalcon mousekit
trolling the market for rubbish. She practically dived into a bush, her pulse
almost drowning out the strident calls of the birds circling overhead. Tremors
racked her body until the flap of their huge wings and their
caw-caw
cries became distant.

Only then did Eva attempt to stand. Her
muscles and limbs protested but amazingly, she thought she was okay. Bumps and
bruises. She’d be sore tomorrow but it was nothing a little medical attention
couldn’t cure. She glanced around, took in the surrounding trees and plants. The
island didn’t look so picturesque after being dumped into the middle of the
tangled, colorful wilderness.

In her peripheral vision, she watched the
man stagger—the kidnapper who’d attempted to save her from the bird. What was
his game? Was he hired by the Dearbhorgaill duo? Either way, she couldn’t trust
him.

He gave a low curse and flung off his
shirt. She gawked as he removed his footwear and finally found her voice when
he yanked down his black trews.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked. “You
have rocks in your head if you think I’m having sex with you.”

“Did you just imply I’m crazy?”

“If the hat fits. I’m
not
having sex
with you.”

He paused again, his trews baring his
hipbones, and shot her a cocky grin. It transformed his carved face into something
mesmerizing. “I don’t believe I asked.”

Eva had to remind herself he was a
kidnapper and not trustworthy.

The harsh shrieks of the birds flying
overhead again had his expression returning to forbidding. The air seemed to
shimmer around him and, right in front of her eyes, he transformed into a sleek
black leopard.

Kidnapper, savior, kitty-cat. He just kept
revealing layers, each more confusing than the last.

His eyes were jade green, the same color as
the sea that washed the shores of Ione Island. She gaped and something flew
into her mouth. With a sound of disgust, she spat out the leggy bug and
spluttered, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. “Yuck. That was
disgusting.”

The big cat gave a bark that sounded
disturbingly like laughter, and Eva glared at it. “Not funny, kitty-cat.”

The cat’s tail lashed back and forth and
its mouth opened to reveal sharp white teeth. A low growl emerged from the
beast’s throat. Eva took a step back, and the cat-man barked out another rough
sound at her expense. Definitely amusement.

“Well, if you’re so smart, how do we get
out of here?” She attempted a shrug and a sliver of pain shot down her
shoulder. “
Ow
.”

The cat stared at her, and of course it
didn’t reply. Her skin tingled under the acute focus, and Eva scowled. She
slapped at another bug, noticed the rips in her nightgown, the way her left
boob was almost totally revealed. She tugged the fabric back into place but the
attempt was useless since the material dropped back to its previous position.

All the while, those vivid green eyes never
left her, but surprisingly she didn’t feel fear. Curiosity. Puzzlement. Yes. But
if he’d intended to kill her, she figured he wouldn’t have attempted to save
her from the bird.

“Stop staring. It’s rude. Besides, it’s
your fault I’m stuck in the middle of the forest in a ripped nightgown.”
Standing around wouldn’t save her ass, and he obviously didn’t intend to add to
the conversation.

Eva glanced both ways, slapping at a red
bug that landed on her bare arm. The forest appeared thinner to the right.
While she could see the sense of sticking to the trees in case the birds
returned, she’d end up covered in bites and scratched to pieces trying to force
a path through the thick wall of plants. Better to take the easy way and keep
checking for hovering birds.

Eva forced her aching muscles to action and
headed to the right, picking her trail through the heavy undergrowth. She
stumbled and limped over the rough terrain but at least it was progress. Way
better than crying “woe is me” and waiting for rescue.

“Where the devil are you going?”

Eva halted, turned around. The cat-man had
changed forms again and now stood in front of her. Naked. Every single striking
inch of him. Her gaze hit his wide chest, bulky yet very touchable.
Unaccountably, heat rushed to her cheeks. He bore a mass of sculpted muscles on
his tan upper body. The enticing definition extended down his torso, a muscular
ladder tempting her to touch. Preferably with her mouth. Lower still, his hips
were narrow and his cock…

She blinked and ripped her gaze away.

“Enjoying the sights?” His gravelly voice
held a hint of challenge.

A shiver zapped her, becoming a blaze as it
shot south. Her mind went on a holiday—a byproduct of thumping to the ground.
It had to be. That was the only explanation for her girlie reaction. It was all
too easy to imagine him whispering in her ear, his hot breath misting across
the whorls as he murmured sexual suggestions.

Whoa!
She was
getting way ahead of herself. But heck, his cock—it was growing before her
eyes.

Flying Finnian bats
.

His soft laugh jolted her, stopped her from
toppling deeper into disturbing territory. She gasped, the sharp intake of air
whistling through her teeth, and she jumped back several paces, away from
temptation.

But her gaze continued to drift. She was
looking at
it
again. But touching would be plain stupid. There was a
term for women who fell for their kidnappers.

He caught her staring again, chuckled
louder, and the joyous sound reminded her of Pryce. Her husband had possessed a
great laugh, one that invited everyone to join in with the joke.

No!
Focus,
you ludicrous lady lump.
It didn’t matter how pretty he was, how much she
craved physical contact or how her mind taunted her with the idea of having sex
with him. He’d kidnapped her, was likely on the payroll of the Dearbhorgaills.

Casey had assured her that sex with one of
the gorgeous resort employees would leave her relaxed, battle-ready and in the
perfect mindset to kick Lady Almeda Dearbhorgaill’s ass. When she saw her friend
again, she’d tell her she had been mistaken. Eva felt weak-willed and puny, and
that was from only
thinking
about touching.

“I know how to use it.” His words were a
seductive whisper, implicit with promise. His dark brows rose, the tilt of his
grin full of challenge.
Gamboling griffins
, one look at him told her
he’d be happy to demonstrate how his equipment worked.

“I’m sure you do.” She aimed for dry and
dismissive. “And maybe, if we were back at the resort in a nice comfy sleep-bed,
I’d consider playing with you. But right now, every muscle in my body is
screaming foul. I want a bath and clean clothes. Medi-serum on my cuts and
scrapes. Then I’m gonna contact the authorities and press charges against the
idiot who kidnapped me from my cozy room. Was it you?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.

“For the love of St. Bridget,
why
?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

As she’d thought. The dastardly
Dearbhorgaill duo hated her guts, hated her success, hated that she dared to
remain in the same city and rub their aristocratic noses in her achievements.
“I’ll pay you more to let me go. I’m a wealthy woman. I can afford to double
your fee. Besides, my friend will have raised the alarm by now. She’ll be
searching for me.”

“We need to get moving. You’re walking the
wrong way. We need to go that way.” He made a jerking motion with his thumb.

Eva had seen that expression before—one of
male smugness and supreme confidence. She didn’t waste her breath and turned
away from him to limp in the direction she’d chosen. This was an island. She’d
keep moving, maybe find a river or stream. Eventually she’d arrive at the coast
or maybe she’d come across a settlement, where she’d offer payment to anyone
who could get her off this island and away from the crazy cat-man.

Casey had said the island was a large one.
A pity she hadn’t bothered listening to the facts and figures her friend had
spouted, but she’d been busy trying to sort out the menus and arrange staff to
cover her absence.

She halted to ask, “How long will it take to
get back to the resort?”

“It’s a big island.”

She flinched when a golden long-tailed
animal shrieked and leaped from one tree branch to another in front of them.
The creature seemed more curious than ferocious, and her pulse rate slowed from
crazy fast to something resembling normal. She slid her gaze back to him. “But
other people live here, right?”

“I haven’t met them.”

Something in his tone, his expression, sent
a surge of fear through Eva. “Give me an estimate. A few hours to get to the
resort?”

“Did you see the ravine we flew over?”

“I was too busy screaming.” She needed to
get back to Dalcon soon. A few solar days at most. “How long? A solar day?”

He shrugged and picked up his trews.
Hellfire
harriers
, his ass was just as luscious as his front side. She tore her stare
away and studied her toes. Much, much safer. She was finding it difficult to concentrate
with the visual distraction. No doubt part of the Dearbhorgaills’ plan.

“How long?
Tell me
.”

He avoided her gaze. “A good while,
especially if we run into problems.” He pulled on his clothes, cursed a little
when he slid his feet into his boots. “Why do you think we should go this way?
It’s in the opposite direction from the resort.”

“You said there’s a ravine. The jungle
looks thicker that way.” She gestured. “There don’t appear to be any paths and
we don’t have tools. That reason enough for you, cat-man?”

“Saber.”

“Good. Now I know the name of my kidnapper.
Time’s a wastin’.” Eva limped down the path, the rocks and twigs on the ground
hard on her bare feet. Her ribs ached, her legs felt weak, but she forced her
limbs to move. She had to get off the island. It had taken long, long solar
months to maneuver her in-laws toward her trap. This might be her one chance to
expose them as liars and cheats.

Murderers.

Footsteps sounded behind her, the snap of a
stick forcing a tiny
eek
of alarm from her throat. Her hand covered her
thudding heart as she whirled to stare at him.

“Here, put these on. They might protect
your feet. You can take my shirt too.” He thrust the clothing at her, his
features impassive.

Grateful, she accepted the shirt and pulled
it over her head. She hopped on one foot and attempted to pull on the socks.
Saber steadied her until her feet were covered, then stepped back, giving her
space and a semblance of control. She eyed him with suspicion. “Thanks.”

Kind of weird thanking a kidnapper but good
manners never hurt.

“Let me go first.” Saber pushed past and
strode in the direction she’d chosen. Eva stared after him, scowling. He
slowed, glanced over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”

A raucous howl echoed in the distance, and
Eva scurried to catch up. Going off alone in this wilderness didn’t strike her
as a good idea. She’d wait until they hit the coast or returned to the resort
before unleashing her wrath. After that she’d head straight for the spaceport
and resume her normal life on Dalcon.

Sighing, Eva followed Saber through the
jungle. She climbed over tree branches. She squeezed past bushes. She winced
when sharp thorns clawed at her bare legs. Periodically, the jungle canopy
thinned before becoming dense again. Birds—small ones in jewel-bright
colors—flitted through the treetops, their squawks ear-piercing as they
squabbled over the fat red fruits growing high above their heads.