Surviving Passion Read Online Free PDF Page A

according to everyone she had ever met, so was she.Selena set her jaw grimly. He could be the most stunning man on the continent, but that would never change the dire threat that he posed to her safety. Her animosity towards him grew firmer with every passing moment. Her father had died trying to protect her from a situation like this. Selena sighed, feeling like a fool for literally being roped into this predicament. She had been doing so well.
    Their trek continued through variable terrain; rocky, grassy, and spotted with the occasional oak tree. They made camp nearby and the evening passed without incident. It was painfully difficult to fall sleep. Selena’s mind churned as she schemed over escape plans. There was no good opportunity so far. He’d kept her on a tight leash. She was grateful, however, that his store of dried meat was enough to sustain her comfortably. When she finally managed to rest, her sleep was deep again.
    The next morning, when they had finished eating, Dan brushed off his hands, walked over and knelt down in front of her.
    Selena tried to scoot back instinctively, but he caught her hands.
    “Relax,” he instructed, setting to work on the knots he’d tied around her wrists.
    Selena held still and kept her face carefully blank. She wanted him to untie her, but he’d done a good enough job in the first place that it was taking him a while to loosen the knots. The consistent contact of his hands on her skin made her feel strange. His touch was neither particularly gentle nor rough, she observed. That same mix of emotions she’d felt those few nights ago began creeping up on her, except the fear was on the same footing with the rest instead of leading the charge. She suddenly felt embarrassed and had to look away from his hands.
    After what felt like forever, he finished. Selena rubbed her wrists gratefully, but she wasn’t going to thank him for freeing them.
    “Don’t try to run, Selena,” Dan warned as he stood. “There’s no way I won’t catch you.”
    Selena didn’t respond. She had no intention of staying put, but perhaps she could hide the fact from him. What was the point of arguing? In fact, she even felt insulted that he was so confident of his dominion over her that he would dare to cut her loose.
    By late afternoon the next day, they had begun their ascent into the hills and already the landscape was changing from dry and shrubby to well-treed and shady. They reached the summit by evening. From the top, Selena could see hills ranging on and on to the end of the horizon.
    As they rode over hill after hill, Selena began wondering just how far away this place was that he was taking her to. She was beginning to worry that she wouldn’t be able to find her way back to the grassland through all these trees, seeing as she didn’t have much experience navigating through forests.
    “How long until we get to this place?” Selena asked, when she was brave enough to break their customary silence.
    “A couple of days,” he answered.
    Selena frowned with worry. She would have to try to lull him into thinking that she wouldn’t run, but if her act was too obvious, her chances would be ruined.
    “Do you have family there?” She inquired casually.
    “No.”
    Selena rolled her eyes with exasperation. It seemed his conversation skills were worse than hers. Either that or he was trying to be tight-lipped.
    “Dan!” she called impatiently.
    “What?” he answered, halting his mount and turning about.
    She took a deep breath now that his gaze was fixed upon her. “You’re right about pretty much everything you guessed about me. I’ve been alone for a long time and you know what? You are the first person I have spoken to in four years. Four years . Can’t you do better than one-word answers or would you rather I talked to myself?”
    He seemed a little taken aback by what she’d said and studied her a while before answering.
    “There are three families and a couple of young kids