Awaken to Pleasure - By Nalini Singh Page 0,27

from behind a tree and dragged me into the bushes. His hand was on my mouth. I couldn't breathe or scream." Her voice shook.

"He pinned me against the tree, out of sight of the path, one hand on my mouth, the other around my hands. Then he let my mouth free but before I could scream, he gripped my throat. I thought he was going to choke me to death."

Jacksonknew she was crying silently and there wasn't anything he could do but hold her. No wonder she couldn't bear a sexual touch. She'd been bruised again and again, at the very time that her developing sexuality would have been at its most vulnerable.

"He started whispering about what he'd like to do to a ripe young thing like me. All the things he said ...

they were sick and disgusting." Her hand clenched onJackson's shirt. "He groped my ... breasts while I tried to get him to break his chokehold."

"You got away?" He needed to know that because if she hadn't, he couldn't do anything about the pain she'd suffered. He was a man used to taking control but this time, there was nothing he could do. His sweetTaylorhad been brutalized by a man who'd had no right to be near someone so pure and innocent.

"He stopped touching me and started to undo his pants. His grip loosened for just an instant, but it was enough. I kneed him in the groin and took off."

Thank God she was a fighter. "Did he come after you?"

"Yes, but when I was at school they started this program in my neighborhood. People who were usually at home and were judged good people by the community were asked to have their letterboxes painted bright yellow. That meant they were safe houses."

He remembered hearing something about a similar campaign. "You found one?"

"I knew there was one just around the corner. By the time he caught up, I was halfway up the drive. For a while, I thought he'd follow me but then the door opened and Mrs. Willis took me in."Taylorsmiled at the memory.

Mrs. Willis had been the only good thing to come out of that day. The kindly widow had made her stay and drink several cups of tea until she'd stopped sobbing. "She rang the police. The man was hanging around nearby - probably thought he'd get me when I left." She could still remember the bone-crunching, nerve-flaying fear she'd felt that day.

"Did he staylocked up this time?"Jackson's body was taut against hers.

She found herself trying to comfort him . "For a lot longer. I think he got hurt in jail. He never came back."

He didn't back off under her soothing but his tonegentled . "Was he the only one?"

"Yes. But the whole time, I kept thinking that one day it could just as well be Nick taking the brunt of some man's anger." The blinding fear had been a mother's for her child. "From then on, when our mother went out, I left with Nick and spent the night at Mrs. Willis's house."

"You care for this woman."

Her nod was sharp. "She treats me like a daughter."

"Do you keep in touch with her?"

"Yes. But, her health isn't so good anymore." Her voice was less than a whisper. Unlike her mother, this Mrs. Willis meant a lot to her. "I worry. That neighborhood isn't the greatest but she refuses to move."

Jacksonmarveled at her. She'd told him of a terrifying experience, one that she must've been constantly afraid would be repeated, and all she was worried about was an old woman's health. He would ensure that her savior received the best care, because he was in Mrs. Willis's debt for saving her from unbearable suffering.

"Taylor?"

She looked up, lingering traces of memory turning her blue eyes cloudy. "Yes?"

"Thank you for telling me." For trusting me, he thought, with bittersweet joy.

Her smile was forced. "You needed to know." She swallowed and he could see that she was gathering the courage to say something. He waited. When it came, it was so unexpected that he just stared.

"Did you just ask me if I was going to keep a mistress?" he repeated, dumbfounded.

She sat up in his lap, arms folded. "What's so silly about that? I won't be providing ... what you need and you're a man." Her tone was belligerent.

He tried to tell himself that she knew only one kind of man and it wasn't personal. He shouldn't feel so hurt because she could be so blase about