Read AB for Free Online Page B

buttocks.
    “Is this what you’re looking for, poppet?”
    She screamed in silence…and then she gasped for sweet air as the heavy load was lifted
    off her backside.
    Sophia coughed, spitting blood and tears. She glanced over her shoulder, eyes darting,
    but the redcoats were already dead or unconscious, their heads knocked against a tree. She
    eyed the blood splattered across the bark with pleasure.
    Black Hawk stood over the limp carcasses, burly legs braced apart, fists clenched, chest
    heaving. She spied him through her tears, like a hazy dream, and she sobbed and laughed
    in both gratitude and pain.
    He looked at her. The rabid blackness in his eyes burned bright. Soon, though, the
    pristine blue pigment returned, and his sharp breathing mellowed.
    “Sophia,” he rasped.
    It sounded so sweet, the way he said her name. The low and familiar sound comforted
    her wild heartbeats.
    “I…I’m al right,” she stammered.
    She smeared the blood, the tears from her features. She was trembling, vicious shakes
    that rattled her teeth. She was sore, too. Every bone throbbed in agony from the brutal
    assault. She sat on the ground for a quiet moment, grasping for her wits, her breath.
    The leaves crunched under his sandaled footfalls as he advanced toward her, and she
    flinched.
    He stilled.
    “I won’t hurt you, Sophia.”
    She sighed. “I know…I’m just…”
    She hiccuped.
    He crouched instead. “I have to touch you.” He opened his fists and spread out his
    fingers in an unthreatening manner. “Let me see if your bones are broken.”
    She gathered her skirt and curled her legs together, wincing. “I’m al right.”
    But he cupped her ankle. “No, you’re not.”
    Softly he fingered her leg. She swatted at his hand. He grasped her wrist and moved
    closer toward her, hunkering at her side.
    “Your lip is bleeding.”
    She pushed him. “I’m fine, damn it!”
    Sophia staggered to her feet and wavered, muscles smarting. He captured her before
    she stumbled, his hold firm and yet tender. But she yanked her arm away from him.
    She wanted to weep. Three nights ago, his touch had been like balm, so comforting
    after so much solitude. However, now his touch was as sinister as that of the redcoats. It
    was al in her head, she knew it. He would not hurt her in such a vile way. But right then
    she couldn’t stomach the intimacy.
    She turned away from him and wiped the blood from her mouth, eyeing the lifeless
    figures sprawled in the dirt. Bile filled her belly. It seeped into every pore of her being.
    She gathered her shaky strength before she slammed her foot into one of the villain’s
    cods. She attacked the other limp form with frantic zeal, too.
    After she had wasted her energy on the redcoats, she retrieved the pistol and returned it
    to the satchel before she resumed her hike, heading for the cave.
    James followed behind her. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t even talk to her. He
    remained firmly at her back as she scaled the mountain range.
    At length, he said, “I can carry you.”
    She shook her head, her cheek swelling. She had enough strength to keep moving, for
    vim was stil coursing through her veins at a rapid rate. However, she appreciated the
    pirate’s company even if she wasn’t ready to accept his help. She didn’t want to be alone
    in the woods. There might be more redcoats skulking through the thick vegetation.
    The steady drum of crashing water soon whispered in her ears, and she moved toward
    the sanctuary in eager strides. She was covered in filth, and she squirmed in her own skin,
    yearning to cast off the layer of smut.
    Sophia paused at the edge of the lagoon. She gazed at the welcoming water, a blended
    array of sapphire blue and emerald green. A tal and narrow waterfall spilled from the
    rocky cliffs above the grotto, stirring the pristine pool, while sunlight danced across the
    rippled surface, causing the waves to shimmer like jewels.
    Sophia shuddered at the enchanting sight. She