Read Mackenzie's Pleasure for Free Online Page B

the
    cot. Again there was the chill of the blade, this time against her ankles, and another small tug,
    then her feet were free, and involuntarily she curled into a protective ball, her body moving
    without direction from her brain in a belated, useless effort at modesty and self-protection. Her
    thighs squeezed tightly together, her arms crossed over and hid her breasts, and she buried her
    face against the musty ticking of the bare mattress. She couldn't look up at him, she couldn't.
    Tears burned her eyes, clogged her throat.
    "Have you been injured?" he asked, the ghostly whisper rasping over her bare skin
    like an actual touch. "Can you walk?"
    Now wasn't the time to let her raw nerves take over. They still had to get out
    undetected, and a fit of hysteria would ruin everything. She gulped twice, fighting for
    control of her emotions as grimly as she had fought to control the pain. The tears spilled
    over, but she forced herself to straighten from the defensive curl, to swing her legs over the edge
    of the cot. Shakily she sat up and forced herself to look at him. She hadn't done anything to be
    ashamed of; she would get through this. "I'm okay," she replied, and was grateful that the
    obligatory whisper disguised the weakness of her voice.
    He crouched in front of her and silently began removing the web gear that held and
    secured all his equipment. The room was too dark for her to make out exactly what each item
    was, but she recognized the shape of an automatic weapon as he placed it on the floor
    between them.
    She watched him, uncomprehending, until he began shrugging out of his shirt. Sick
    terror hit her then, slamming into her like a sledgehammer. My God, surely he wasn't—
    Gently he put the shirt around her, tucking her arms into the sleeves as if she was a
    child, then buttoning each button, taking care to hold the fabric away from her body so his
    fingers wouldn't brush against her breasts. The cloth still held his body heat; it wrapped around
    her like a blanket, warming her, covering her. The sudden feeling of security unnerved her
    almost as much as being stripped naked. Her heart lurched inside her chest, and the bottom
    dropped out of her stomach. Hesitantly she reached out her hand in an apology, and a plea.
    Tears dripped slowly down her face, leaving salty tracks in their wake. She had been the
    recipient of so much male brutality in the past day that his gentleness almost destroyed her control, where their blows and crudeness had only made her more determined to resist them.
    She had expected the same from him and instead had received a tender care that shattered her with
    its simplicity.
    A second ticked past, two: then, with great care, he folded his gloved fingers around her
    hand.
    His hand was much bigger than hers. She felt the size and heat of it engulf her cold
    fingers and sensed the control of a man who exactly knew his own strength. He squeezed
    gently, then released her.
    She stared at him, trying to pierce the veil of darkness and see his features, but his
    face was barely distinguishable and blurred even more by her tears. She could make out
    some details, though, and discern his movements. He wore a black T-shirt, and as silently as he
    had removed his gear, he now put it on again. He peeled back a flap on his wrist, and she caught
    the faint gleam of a luminous watch.
    "We have exactly two and a half minutes to get out of here," he murmured. "Do what I
    say, when I say it."
    Before, she couldn't have done it, but that brief moment of understanding, of
    connection, had buoyed her. Barrie nodded and got to her feet. Her knees wobbled. She
    stiffened them and shoved her hair out of her face. "I'm ready."
    She had taken exactly two steps when, below them, a staccato burst of gunfire shattered
    the night.
    He spun instantly, silently, slipping away from her so fast that she blinked, unable to
    follow him. Behind her, the door opened. A harsh, piercing flood of light blinded her, and