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in
shimmering waves. Her mother would have no doubt called his aura the deepest of
black, and Penelope swallowed past the rising tide of panic clogging her
throat.
    "You
refuse me, and you spread your legs for him? " He yanked her
bathrobe down and pulled her head sideways with a sharp tug to her hair. Bile
rose in her throat when he leaned in close and sniffed her. She shoved against
him with all her might and achieved absolutely nothing. He smirked and cocked
his head sideways in curiously jerky movements.
    "I
mean, if I'd known you like a bit of rough, I would have happily obliged."
He leant in and licked down her throat. He blocked her raised knee easily and
bit her shoulder, his suddenly taloned hands digging in into her hips. Feathers
tickled her nose, and Penelope held her breath as the truth dawned on her. Oh
she had been such a fool. He was the fucking eagle who'd been watching her for
days.
    "Let
me go, you jerk. How dare you spy on me? You had no right to invade my privacy
like that."
    His
laugh vibrated through her, and she screwed her eyes shut, willing herself not
to cry. Shifters were her living for fuck's sake, yet not once had she thought
that the stories she created in her head would become so sickeningly real. And
the eagle shifter pinning her against the wall so effectively was no handsome
and honorable hero, but a man intent on doing her harm. He forced his hand
between her legs, and Penelope screamed right inside his ear.
    He
winced and pulled away shaking his head. It gave her a chance to make a dash
for it, but before she made it out of the front door he was on top of her.
Penelope fell heavily, grazing her hands and knees, and she screamed again. The
answering roar from the
Loch
shook the ground,
and Euan rolled off her.
    "Oh,
this is just perfect. You, slut," he hoisted her up by her hair, "are
coming with me. I've been after lover-boy for ages, and you will be just the
perfect bait."
    "I'll
do no such thing, you freak."
    The
force of his punch threw her sideways, and she tasted blood. She scrambled to
get away, her movements too clumsy and uncoordinated after the blow to the
head.   Before she could even blink and
get air into her lungs, Euan grabbed her and dumped her over his shoulder. He
took off at a run. The last image penetrating her consciousness before she
blacked out was the huge sleek dinosaur type creature rising from the
Loch
.
    ****
    A
steady drip, drip, drip brought Penelope round with a start. She coughed and
splattered and spat the foul tasting liquid out with a curse. Her heart leaped
in her throat when she realized what it was. Arms and feet bound to a pole, she
seemed to be in some sort of cave. It was illuminated by candles, and daylight
was just about visible at the far end. The drip came from a huge expanse of
water that filled the inside of her damp prison. Liquid trickled down her back
from her wet robe, and she blew the sodden strands of her hair off her face.
The stench of petrol surrounded her, and she eyed the flickering candles
warily. Where in the world was she? And what did they want with her? Doric
would not come for her. Why should he? She'd been a mere plaything to him. If
he cared for her at all, he wouldn’t have left like he did, without an
explanation and having trashed her cottage.
    Damn it. She
would have to renovate again, if she ever made it out of here alive that was.
The pain in her heart matched the pain in her wrists and ankles, where the
ropes cut cruelly into her tender flesh. She had been such a goddamn fool.
    She
blinked several times to get her eyes to focus. It was gloomy inside the cave.
Her eyes burned like crazy from the petrol fumes, and without her glasses she
struggled to see much at all. Rats scurried underfoot, and Penelope bit back a
scream when several of the rodents brushed across her bare feet.
    "Hey,
boss, the bitch is awake."
    Penelope
whipped her head round in the direction of the American drawl. The voice
belonged to the shaven