Sin of Fury by Avery Duncan

as she
suspected he was going to. The possessiveness that he expressed to
his brother was frightening, but a godsend.
    Jamie almost shoved him away, but
those furious black eyes stole into her thoughts. Swallowing, she
let him sit beside her on the plush bed. His arm wrapped around her
tightly, his hand dangerously close to the underside of her breast.
Bile rose in her throat, mind racing for ways to get out of this.
Why wasn’t Auro bursting in, sword at the ready —?
    The door slid open softly, the knob
tapping the wall. Jamie almost fainted with relief. Even though the
delicate tap sounded more like a bomb, her shoulders still
slumped.
    “ Lyne, I must speak to
you.”
    Auro floated into the room, eyes like
frost as they drifted over her. She wrapped her arms around her
waist, avoiding his eyes. There was such hate, such aberration in
them. Jamie was grateful that he had come in when he had, though. A
second later and Lyne would have been over her in a
heartbeat.
    Lyne reluctantly dropped his arm from
her shoulder, turning liquid crimson eyes his way. Jamie almost
gagged when Auro stepped forward to place a gentle hand on his
chest, his intent clear. Lyne’s features changed
dramatically.
    “ Ivan,” he snapped, though
his eyes held his brothers. “Take her to Talon.”
    A large hand came out of nowhere,
latching onto her arm. She went willingly, turning away from the
passionate brothers. Her stomach churned as he took her from the
room.
    “ You’re lucky you aren’t
dead right now,” he hissed at her ear, hand wrapping around her arm
impossibly tight. She held in her wince, turning her chin up at
him.
    “ You’re lucky you can still
have kids,” she returned quietly, the steel in her voice only
making him incensed. He yanked, dragging a groan from her as the
throbbing in her shoulder returned.
    “ Just wait until that man
is done with you,” he sneered, raking his eyes over her body.
“There won’t be much left.”
    Jamie swallowed, not
replying.
    The room she was pushed into several
minutes was the same as the one she had been in before. Expansive
cream walls were the same, the carpet as spotless as it had been.
The only thing wrong was the bed. Laying on the spread, still as
stone, was the man. She tried to remember what Lyne had called him,
but shrugged it off when she saw him move.
    Ivan left, slamming the door behind
him.
    Relief coursed through her. She forgot
about the danger he possessed, how he could — and probably would —
snap her neck. If Jamie was going to rely on him to get them out,
then she might as well take care of him.
    Her feet carried her to the bed, a
feeling of deja vu coming over her. She could see herself, an apron
clutched in her hand, soft leather shoes tipping over the floor as
quietly as she could... He was there, laying, armor next to the
bed. His hand was holding his head, a day's growth of stubble
making him look like a rogue.
    The site of dark red blood snapped the
vision from her mind. Her cheeks flushed brightly. It had almost
seemed as if they were man and wife, close as no other could be.
She shook the feeling off, sitting on the bed. His back, bruised
and damaged, was to her, his bare legs drawn to his
chest.
    As Jamie stared at him, her heart
started to break.
    She bit her lip, noticing his head
wasn’t even on a pillow. His skin was dark, scarred, rough-looking.
Hand shaking, she started to reach for the pillow closest to him,
her other hand slipping under his neck.
    At the light touch, her breath
stopped. Not because it was frozen cold, or because it was so
thick, but because of the sharp tingles that ran up her arm. Jamie
stared down at him, confused, frightened, but still lifted his head
up.
    She peered over his shoulder, her
suspicions confirmed. He was asleep. Feeling braver now that he was
unconscious, she stood and tugged the heavy duvet back, pulling it
from under his body.
    Slowly, Jamie covered him with the
blanket. Immediately, shivers had him