Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
I love you so much. Sonia hadn’t thought herself capable of loving anyone ever again. She was so certain she couldn’t feel. That she would eventually go completely numb. Frozen was what she wanted – no, needed. So far, that hadn’t happened.
Gatita picked her way through downed trunks and vegetation, moving through the brush with care. Behind them, they heard an ominous crack, a tree limb breaking. Were the male leopards pursuing them already that close?
If they find us, Sonia, will they kill us?
I hope so. That was the simple truth. I don’t want to be tortured by Nikita. I think he’s angry enough to use us to teach everyone a lesson about what happens when someone runs from him.
When Joshua turns us over to Nikita, show him me. He will keep us prisoners, but he won’t kill us. Gatita sounded certain of that. Together we will find a way to escape.
He’d put us in a cage. He might even skin you and use your fur for a rug. I wouldn’t put it past him. She would never be able to stop Nikita from harming the leopard once he knew about her.
We would have to take that chance if he decided to kill you outright.
Gatita had taken them far from the house into a part of the swamp Sonia hadn’t yet explored in her human form. She was present when Gatita went running, but she didn’t always pay attention. Now she wished she had. Gatita crouched low and entered a tunnel made by a smaller animal. Perhaps a fox? It smelled like fox. The labyrinth was narrow and very low. Gatita dragged herself through it, following the twisting trail that took them very close to the river. Before Sonia could stop her, the valiant little leopard jumped into the water.
Sonia’s breath hissed out. She had to stay alert, as did Gatita. The bag around the leopard’s neck was waterproof and everything inside had been double protected against water except for her weapon. She’d thrown that in carelessly, a stupid, stupid mistake. It would have taken seconds to secure it, but she’d been panicked.
The leopard swam through the river, staying close to the shore. Sonia expected her to swim toward the island, but the cat avoided the other side altogether.
They will expect that.
Of course they would. You’re so smart, Gatita. Thank you for helping me. The panic and shock she experienced at the betrayal were beginning to recede enough that her brain was starting to work. The problem with that was now she had to cope with the intensity of her pain. It was brutal and she wanted to retreat into a catatonic state, but she didn’t have that luxury, not with Joshua and the others on her trail.
Gatita moved a little faster, but still stayed at a safe, steady speed. Running would get her out of breath and she couldn’t sustain it for long. Swimming was equally as difficult. Already, she was beginning to breathe hard, her sides heaving with every breath she drew.
Almost there, Sonia encouraged her.
It was a good thing that Gatita had been running every night in the swamp. Not only had she explored extensively, but she was in good shape. She had to be. The males were larger, and if anything Joshua had told her was true, they were kept in fighting shape. She didn’t want Gatita to have to fight them. She wasn’t about to let that happen. Better her getting torn apart than her leopard.
It wasn’t Gatita who had fallen in love. Sonia felt another rush of pain, of bile. She’d sat across from Joshua, doing everything he asked. She’d wanted to have that egg inside her. Not just because of the pleasure it had brought her, but to see his face. She’d liked watching him watch her. The sensual lines had deepened, his eyes had darkened and become heavy-lidded with passion. She knew what she did to him and it felt powerful and wonderful. Sexy as all get-out. She’d done that to herself.
Joshua had made certain every step she’d cooperated with him had been her choice. She’d loved him all the more for that. He’d made it clear he would stop if she didn’t like something he did. He’d made her feel safe and loved. All along he’d been playing her. A sob escaped and bubbled in her mind. Hurting. It was more than hurting. It was agony.
She had to stop, not think about it. Not think about him. Nothing had been real. It was all a ruse, including after dinner, when he’d made slow love to her. When he’d touched every inch of her skin so reverently. She should have known.
Nikita had said it. She just had refused to believe it. Girls like her were for fucking, not marrying. She was trash. That’s what Nikita had meant. Evidently, Joshua had read that in her as well. Bastien was a good man. He’d looked right past her to Molly. Molly wasn’t like her, the type of woman one fucked and then threw away.