there was nothing but a soft gasp. The sobs cut off.
The smell of her salty tears in the air almost had him throwing the plate at her. The familiar smell, the soft scent of the weak woman, sent his mind whirling. Just because of that, he hated her. He hated her because she was ruining everything, because she was a pawn for Auro. Did the man honestly expect a woman like her to accept a bastard like Talon, with blood and wounds covering every part of his body?
He hadn’t had a bath in what seemed like years, only a small damp rag to wash up every week or so. He smelled as bad as the room did, and probably worse. How had she not noticed?
He looked at her through hooded eyes. The light was not bright enough to show him the repulsion he was sure she felt. Her legs were drawn to her chest, and he could make out the faint outline of her arms wrapped around them. Folds and layers of delicate, flowing cloth spilled into the one spot of light. Talon’s lip curled. Twisted bastards.
Talon straightened his shoulders, turning his back on her. The view that she got had another gasp coming from behind him. Against his will, the terrified sound had his lips tightening, hating Auro and Lyne for sending her in here, hating her for even being there, involved with them.
The plate was cool in his hand, the sliver of steak once again caked with dried blood. He looked at it fleetingly, and almost gagged when he saw that it was moving. Shoving the bile down and replacing it with anger, he threw the plate out of the window.
There was a tense silence. Besides the gathering flock of crows, there was no sound, not even a hitch of breath or a startled gasp. Talon barely spared her a glance before falling back against the wall, large frame trembling. He was furious. The small amount of exertion seemed to make him weaker than a beating from Auro.
His body was aflame with pain. The torture session with Auro and Lyne the night before had taken a lot out of him. He was so close to just breaking down. Talon would try to move, his arm would throb and he would start trembling. He would start to gag, and his diaphragm would go into a spasmodic jerk session. Talon would try to wrap his arms around himself, and his shoulder would scream with fire hot pain. The sensation would travel all through him before finally settling in the pit of his stomach.
He wasn’t weak enough that he would give the bastards the pleasure of vomiting. One of Lyne’s favorite past times was to watch him struggle to hold his stomach. The first time he had lost it... Talon shuddered, drawing his legs up to his chest. The fact that the female had a clear view of his family jewels didn’t bother him. He sneered into his arm, hoping it would serve to frighten her.
A faint sound drew his eyes to her. She was moving. The rustle of the clothes emitted a soft scent, precious as spring air and as sacramental as a woman’s body. A second later it was not just the movement of cloth, but the movement of the woman of herself.
He turned his head sharply from her, a snarl ripping from his chest. Her hand paused as it breached the edge of the light. A curl of silky black hair spilled into the ray. His hand clenched.
Jamie stared at the figure, hidden so mysteriously in the darkness of the room. His large form was curled defensively, his face turned away from her. Her heart thumped in her chest, the image of all the blood that had covered him coming back to her. Her eyes filled with tears as the animalistic sound faded from the room. Pushing her fear aside, Jamie moved until she was in the only spot of light.
Fear kept her from touching him, from going to him. It was everything she could do to even get that close. The things that the twins, Masters Auro and Lyne, had told her made her trepiditious, wary to go near him. The whole time that she had been thinking he would attack her, rape her and take advantage of her, it had been the complete opposite. They had commanded her to see to the beasts needs, believing that she would actually listen. At the time, she had been