Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) Read Online Free PDF

kindness in his expression, desperately hoping for some indication that he didn’t mean her harm. All she saw was confidence and calculation.
    “Good day, damsel,” he greeted.
    Naomi nodded, praying he’d simply pass her by. Averting her gaze and stooping her shoulders, she tried to move around him. His hand shot out and Naomi gasped. Her heart pounded and moisture evaporated from her mouth.
    “Good eventide, sir.” She struggled just to form the words with her dry tongue. His fingers encircled her arm with firm, unyielding pressure.
    “I’ve just come from Krak des Chevaliers. Was it there I saw you?” A smile parted the dark beard obscuring the lower portion of his face.
    “It’s possible, good sir. Please may I pass?” She kept her voice even, struggling to conceal the fear ravaging her composure.
    “Are you in a hurry to return to your duties? Can you not abide a few moments with a lonely stranger?”
    His grip on her arm became a caress. Even through the thin material of her long-sleeved chemise, she could feel the taunting brush of his fingers.
    “If it’s companionship you seek, there are women in the villages who are available for your pleasure.”
    He pulled her closer, his smile seductive. Naomi’s arms shot up between them, her hands pressed firmly against his chest. Surely he didn’t mean to take from her what others were willing to give! She was breathing too quickly. Her head spun and her vision blurred.
    “Why would I continue on to a village when you are just to my liking?”
    She yanked against his restraining hold. Blood pounded in her temples, drowning out everything but her fear. She couldn’t mistake the strength in his hold. If she couldn’t break the grasp of his fingers, what hope did she have of fighting him off? “Please, sir, I do not sell my favors.”
    “Good.” He laughed. “For I don’t intend to pay.”
    Sweeping her up in his arms, he deposited her facedown across the saddle. Naomi screamed and kicked and thrashed. He quickly mounted and dragged her across his lap.
    His large hand smacked her backside hard. “Be still. You’ll do me no good with a broken neck.”
    He kicked his steed into a gallop and Naomi had to struggle for each breath. His hard thighs jabbed her middle and each rhythmic lunge of the horse caused blood to pound into her head. She prayed for rescue—or death.
    When he stopped the horse a few minutes later, Naomi threw her weight backward before he could dismount. She hit the ground hard and her ankle twisted. Strangling on a hysterical cry, she turned and tried to run.
    “You foolish girl.” He sneered as he swung down from the horse. He easily caught her and shoved her to the ground. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”
    Tears trailed freely down her cheeks. “I do not share my favors,” she sobbed. He reached a hand toward her face and she shrank away. “Please just leave me here. I do not want this!”
    He grabbed her suddenly and forced her onto her back. Crouching over her, he ground his mouth against hers in a harsh abomination of a kiss. Revulsion rolled through Naomi’s belly. His knees forced her legs apart and she went wild. She jerked her head to the side and screamed, desperate to escape his brutal hold. He slapped his hand down over her mouth and began to shove her skirts up.
    Naomi put all her panic-empowered strength into the fight, thrashing and kicking, arching and bucking. The man easily restrained her. His palm remained over her mouth, preventing her from crying out again. If he thought she’d given up, would he remove his hand? Was there any chance someone would hear her?
    “That’s better,” he muttered as she forced herself to still.
    The pressure of his hand across her face eased and Naomi bit his palm as hard as she could. He rocked back onto his haunches with an angry curse. Naomi screamed and renewed her struggles. He batted her hands away and grasped the front of her tunic. With one vicious yank, he ripped it