Willing Sacrifice Read Online Free PDF Page B

terrify her.
    Brenya knew why, but she refused to tell. She said that some things were best left forgotten.
    Grace forced herself to move close to Torr again—close enough to feel the heat his body was giving off. Dirt and dried blood marred his skin but did nothing to take away from his animalistic beauty. Like a sleek predator’s body, his was made up of muscular contours meant for speed and power. Every breath lifted his chest, creating the illusion that the tree image on his skin was swaying.
    The green leaves were strange, but somehow oddly familiar.
    A flicker of an image formed in her mind. A bright golden light shone down on her, shielded by a canopy of green leaves. She could feel cool grass tickling the backs of her bare knees, hot tears sliding over her temples and a deep, throbbing ache pounding in her cheekbone. Sadness and shame filled her soul, along with a burning need for escape—escape that she knew would never come.
    Torr’s hot hand settled on her bare arm, making her flinch and step back out of his reach.
    “Settle, child,” came Brenya’s calm voice from the corner of the room. “All is well here and now. You are safe.”
    His palm was still outstretched. A look of concern drew his dark eyebrows together, but she saw beyond that to the hurt that her insult had caused him. He looked . . . betrayed.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, unable to look at him. There was too much shame riding her, reminding her of just how weak she was. “I’m a little jumpy sometimes. Just ignore me.”
    But he didn’t ignore her. Instead, he stood up from the bed and took both her hands in his.
    His touch was gentle, but there was no mistaking his strength. His fingers surrounded hers, both rough and supple. Restraint vibrated through his touch, and it took everything she had not to jerk away. His thumb glided over the back of her hand, sending a familiar shiver racing along her arm.
    Shock made her look up at him. Way up.
    A little spurt of dizziness hit her, and even that felt familiar. There was something about this man that unsettled her and left her reeling.
    She started to pull away, but his grip tightened just enough to tell her wordlessly that he wasn’t ready to let her go.
    He cradled her hands against his chest and stared into her eyes. His heart picked up speed, pounding hard and steady against her palms. Vital heat poured into her, forcing her to stifle another shiver. As close as he was, she could smell his skin—a rich mingling of scents she couldn’t name but knew as well as the feel of her own skin.
    His scent made a blizzard of feelings erupt in her brain, so thick she couldn’t possibly tell one from another. Pain, sorrow, joy, love, hope—too many emotions for her to do more than groan against the weight of them all.
    She swayed on her feet. Torr grabbed her bare shoulders to hold her steady, and the strength of his grip was strangely comforting.
    She didn’t like anyone touching her, and yet for some reason this man’s firm grasp didn’t terrify her.
    Grace stared up at him, trying to figure out what it was about him that left her so unsettled. She stepped away, rubbing the skin where his fingers had just been. “Do I know you?”
    Brenya spoke before he could shake or nod his head. “Torr has never been to Temprocia before.”
    She’d saved Grace’s life. She’d nursed her back from the brink of death at great personal cost to herself. Never once had the older woman lied to her. She’d kept plenty of secrets, but had never lied. At least not that Grace knew.
    Still, something was going on here—something strange.
    “Is that true?” she asked Torr.
    He gave Brenya a long, cold stare before finally nodding.
    Brenya pushed to her feet, her movements slower than usual. “I must go now. You will be safe with this man. He will not hurt you.”
    Grace wasn’t so sure, but she wasn’t about to stop Brenya from getting the rest she needed. Come nightfall, the whole village relied on