Enticed by Ecstasy (Wicked Treasures) Read Online Free PDF Page A

far.   But she couldn’t stay.
    Abby decided she would move as slowly as she could.   She didn’t know if it would work, but running would only make whatever was out there attack that much sooner.
    She only got three steps away when the growl stopped her. Abby slowly turned to find bright yellow eyes glaring menacingly at her.   The head of the hyena came out of the darkness and into the faint light of the torch to bare its teeth as it slowly approached her, crouched and ready to spring.
    With her blood now ice in her veins, Abby could only stand frozen in terror.   There was no way she was getting away.   She wasn’t fooled by thinking there was just one hyena, because they always traveled in packs.  
    How many more were out there hunting her?   And did she really want to know?
    Abby parted her lips to call out to Channing or anyone who might be listening.   The hyena before her growled again.   She took a hasty step back, which prompted the animal to take several steps toward her.
    “Don’t move.”
    She drew in a shaky breath at the sound of Channing’s calm voice.   The odds had turned in her favor.   Or so she thought until three more hyenas moved out of the darkness.
    Abby shifted her back against the house so that none of the animals could attack her from behind, and that’s when she saw Channing out of the corner of her eye.   He stood at the edge of the porch, water dripping from his hair to fall on his bare chest.
    She waited for him to tell her what to do or where to run, but he simply stared at them, as if daring the hyenas to approach his home.   Abby just wanted inside where there was a wall between her and the predators.  
    Of all the foolish things she had done, this was the worst.   Walking alone, at night…in Africa.  
    As one the four hyenas crouched lower.   A scream formed in her throat, and in the next heartbeat, all four animals sprung toward her.
    She raised her arms to cover her face, her body tensed for the impact.   But nothing happened.   She lowered her arms to find Channing had thrown himself between her and the animals that were now attacking him.
    There was no way his men could reach Channing in time.   Abby tried not to panic as she looked for some kind of weapon, anything to get the beasts off him.
    She had never seen someone move as quick or lethally as Channing.   It wasn’t until a hyena screamed that she realized he wasn’t without a weapon.   She spotted the wicked-looking knife in his hand as the torch light glinted off the steel.
    Despite how well he was doing, Abby wasn’t going to just stand there. And then she saw it through the open window, Channing’s rifle.   She scrambled up the steps, tripping along the hem of her gown as she did, and ran through the double doors to his bed where the rifle leaned.  
    She had never fired one before and didn’t want to chance hitting Channing.   There was a loud thump against the house, and as she ran to the window, Channing was no longer on his feet. She aimed the rifle up in the air before she pulled the trigger.   The butt of the weapon slammed into her shoulder with enough force to knock her backwards a few feet and leave her shoulder numb from the impact.  
    For a moment, everything stilled and then the hyenas ran off into the night.
    Abby dropped the weapon and lifted her skirts as she rushed out of the house and to Channing.   Her heart leaped into her throat when she saw him slumped against the side of the house, blood coating his arms and chest.
    “Channing,” she whispered as she hesitantly touched his face.
    His eyes were closed and his head lolled to the side.   “Bloody hell,” she whispered.   “Nothing ever prepared me for this.”
    Before she had a chance to call for help, men ran around the house, their rifles raised and shouting.   Some had torches as they ran into the night to search out the hyenas while others came toward Channing.
    “What happened?” one of the men