THE OFF WORLD COLLECTION (Short, Steamy Science Fiction Romances) (Off-World Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

struggle as he scooped her into his arms and slung her over his shoulder. Dashing along the walkway, he darted into a depression between the stone walls, where a low doorway had appeared, though she knew there had been no sign of one. At least, no apparent sign.
    Her kidnapper bent double, clearing the arch without bumping her against the stone. Then he shoved the thick stone door shut behind them, throwing them into complete darkness, for the rocks here did not glow. Never slackening his pace, he pounded down a narrow passage, half crouched, carrying her weight as if she were no more than a sack of feathers. She could see nothing, hear nothing but his harsh breathing and the drumming of his booted footsteps. Yet the spicy scent of his body filled her nostrils and made her giddy.
    “Rohan! I can run on my own feet, you know.”
    “Quiet,” he commanded. “We are still in danger.”
    Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. What if he knew? What if he had only come to claim his child? The idea tore at her. But then, she wondered, would he be bouncing her along on his rock-hard shoulder if he had known of the pregnancy?
    He didn’t stop until they emerged from the mouth of a hillside cave. When he set her down, she looked to see that they were on the other side of the shimmering silver river that ran past the fortress, separating it from the forest of ironwood trees. The trees rose, arrow straight, toward the sky, and they stood at the edge of them, far enough back to be hidden by their graceful overlapping branches from view of the guards walking the parapets of the fortress.
    While Rohan struggled to shove the large rock across the entrance to the tunnel, muscles straining as he inched it into place, Elena looked with wonder at her surroundings. The deep, dark forest was absolutely forbidden territory to her people, and she doubted any had dared venture into it. Truly, it was a fairyland. Through the fernlike leaves of the great ironwood trees, red light filtered downward, giving everything a warm glow, and beneath her feet, a carpet of tiny, star-shaped white flowers spread across the forest floor. Defying the cold, they shimmered in the muted light like snow and filled the air with a sweet perfume.
    For the first time in months, Elena breathed deeply, breathed the scent of freedom.
    Rohan, too, was breathing hard from his labors when he turned to her. Having obliterated all signs of their escape route, he lifted a large hand to touch her cheek, to brush back the blond hair that had fallen across her eyes.
    “Did I hurt you?” he asked urgently.
    She shook her head, staring up at him.
    “I thank you for not calling out to the soldiers,” he said in a rough voice.
    Her chest tightened as she realized he wasn’t sure he could trust her. “I would never do that. But, Rohan, if they catch you, they’ll kill you.”
    “They will not catch me,” he said with all the arrogance she remembered.
    “But they’ll be looking for me. They won’t let the---“She stopped abruptly, feeling her stomach clench, waiting for some sign that he knew about the child.
    He merely went on as if she hadn’t interrupted. “Your Council of Guardians does not know about this tunnel. Now I have given away the secret to you.” His face was tense, strained. His arms were stiff at his sides, the way he had looked the last time she had seen him.
    She held herself stiffly, too. After all the long, lonely months, she had given up hope of ever seeing him again. She surely never would have imagined that he’d kidnap her. But why had he done it?
    “What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes searching his. “Why did you come back?”
    To her astonishment, he dropped to one knee in front of her, crushing some of the flowers, releasing more of their heady scent. She had never viewed her warrior from precisely that angle, and it was a strange experience.
    “For you,” he growled. “I came back for you, if you will still have me.”
    She