Page 64 of Sin of Silence

Shaun gave herself a brief moment to savour his gentle touch, closing her eyes and leaning into him, allowing his wildly masculine scent combined with a subtle and expensive aftershave to wash over her. She nodded her head and he cupped her cheek. Then he dropped his hand and took hers in a strong grip. He pulled her toward the couch, indicating she should sit with him.

They sat facing each other, Shaun’s legs tucked cross-legged beneath her. He watched her steadily, giving her the chance to tell him about the conversation.

Shaun began signing.It was bittersweet to hear her voice. I always miss her when I’m travelling but I’ve never felt this way before. As though I might not see her again. Our conversation had a desperation to it, like we were both saying goodbye in case it was the last time we talked.Tears began spilling from her lashes, but she kept signing, knowing her emotions were causing her to mix up the words, but not caring. Jozef would understand what she was trying to say.I can’t stand the thought that I might never see her again. She’s the most amazing woman and mom, and after my father passed, we leaned on each other. Now I need her more than ever and I can’t have her. It hurts so much.

When she stopped signing, Jozef gave her a moment to compose herself. She used the edge of her sleeve to wipe the wetness from her cheeks. A hiccoughing sob jumped from her throat and out of her mouth. She covered it with her hand, while Jozef watched her with a warm glow in his eyes.

When he'd made sure she was calm enough to watch, he spoke.I remember the sound of my mother’s voice. It’s the only thing I remember about her.His gaze was steady on hers and she understood that he was telling her something he’d probably never told anyone before.I can’t remember her face, or what her touch felt like, but I remember the sound of her voice. Not the words, just the sound. I think she used to like singing to me.

Tears leapt to Shaun’s eyes, but this time for a different reason. Jozef could understand her pain because he’d been separated from his mother too. It was strange, having a moment of shared pain like this with her captor. He was the cause of her pain, yet he was also the one making her feel better. He wasn’t making false promises either, telling her she would see her mother one day. She respected him more for not lying to her.

Fatima’s words about Stockholm floated through her brain but she shoved the thought aside. Even if she had Stockholm, she was helpless. She was navigating a new world with a new set of rules. Her old ones didn’t apply. If Stockholm helped get her through this nightmare, then so be it.

Yet, as she looked at Jozef, she began to realize that she wasn’t living in a nightmare. Not really. Sure, it was terrifying to be constantly surrounded by armed men, with the knowledge that one false move could get her killed, but she couldn’t exactly call her situation a nightmare. She was being waited on hand and foot, given anything her heart desired as long as it didn’t relate to her being set free. Although, none of those things really mattered to her, and she suspected she was going to become quickly bored with having such easy access to everything. It was Jozef who made her look forward to waking up each day, despite waking up in a mansion filled with intrigue and criminals. She could no longer deny it, she was falling for her darkly handsome kidnapper.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Shaun reached out tentatively and touched the scar on his throat. “When did it happen?”

He hesitated, as if deciding how to answer. She suspected this was a topic he didn’t enjoy talking about, which was why she hadn’t brought it up before. Now that he seemed more willing to share with her, she wanted to know about him. About the kinds of things that had shaped the man he was now.

Finally, he told her,I was stabbed in the throat when I was seven. I don’t remember anything except waking up in the hospital with my aunt and uncle by my side. They told me my parents were both dead.

Shaun frowned and scooted closer to him on the couch, leaning in to examine the scar. This close she wasn’t able to sign, so she whispered, “Whoever stabbed you would have damaged your trachea, causing vocal cord paralysis. This is why you can’t speak, isn’t it?”

Shaun had suspected, but she hadn’t put a lot of thought into why Jozef communicated nonverbally. His lack of speech could have been something he was born with, completely unrelated to the knife to his throat, or it might have been psychological.

Jozef nodded, his head brushing hers as she leaned in to look at him.

“Whoever did this was either really bad at aiming, or they weren’t trying to kill you,” she murmured, almost to herself. “If I had to guess, I would say you were stabbed, straight in, straight out with a short blade. Your attacker was trying to damage your vocal cords.”

She glanced up at him and realized how close she’d gotten when his velvet blue gaze met hers, their face only inches apart. “Someone was trying to keep you from speaking.”

A slight frown pulled at his brow, as though she was giving him information he hadn’t known before. She wanted to ask him if he remembered anything, but he already told her he didn’t and she didn’t want to push.

She touched the rigid scar on his neck, running her fingertips over it and then lifting her fingers to touch his scruffy chin. He needed a shave. His facial hair grew quickly and even when he shaved in the morning, he usually needed another by the time evening came around. The dark hair against his pale jaw was sexy as hell.

The air surrounding them became charged with sexual tension as Shaun continued to stroke her fingers down the side of his face. She shouldn’t be doing it. She was reaching out and touching the forbidden, and if she wasn’t careful the forbidden was going to get her killed. Yet she felt helpless against the swirling chemistry that came to life whenever they were near each other. Like oppositely charged magnets, they were drawn together, even if they were better apart.

Slowly Jozef dropped his head to hers, resting his lips on hers. He waited, giving her the power to decide. Blood was rushing through her veins and each breath she took stuttered in, then whooshed out. She’d never felt this way with anyone before. As though she was sitting next to the one person on the planet who could possibly complete her. The idea was so wildly disconnected from all her usual cool logic that she was left floundering in a strange new world with only Jozef as her anchor.

She reached for him, sliding her arms around his neck and wiggling closer to him on the couch. She tilted her head up, pressing her lips against his. He didn’t hesitate. He took her invitation, gripping her around the waist and dragging her onto his lap until her knees fell open on either side of his body. He gripped her hard around the back and slashed his mouth across hers, kissing her with brutal desperation. It was painful, but also fierce and exhilarating, as though they couldn’t contain themselves anymore.

The kiss progressed quickly until Shaun was dragging Jozef’s coat from his shoulders, her hands clutching at the muscles of his back, while Jozef gripped her thighs so hard she was positive she would bruise.

He pushed her back on the couch, never breaking their kiss, and leaned across her, his chest pressed to hers. Shaun finished yanking his coat off, then lifted her shoulders off the couch so Jozef could pull her shirt over her head. Then they were kissing again, their heated passion flaring higher and higher with each touch. Josef was gripping her with painful fingers one moment then shoving her back the next so he could strip her pants from her legs.

Shaun tried to help, but it was hard since all she wanted was his lips on hers. Every time he broke their kiss, she trailed kisses down his neck and chest before gripping his shoulders and dragging him in for another lip-lock. Her passionate enthusiasm was driving him crazy. She could tell by the way his hands shook as he tried to stop himself from grabbing her too hard and bruising her.

His care for her well-being melted her until she couldn’t remember a single argument against sex with the mob enforcer. Everywhere he touched burned so good she felt consumed by him. She couldn’t stop even if she wanted to.

Soon her clothes lay in an untidy pile next to the couch and Jozef’s hands were everywhere, worshipping every inch of her he could reach. Though his touches weren’t gentle, she'd never felt safer in his hands. He was in complete control and she trusted him to hold on to her. She wanted to give herself to him, feel him all over and inside her.

She reached between them and unzipped his jeans while he moved his hips so she could reach him. Her fingers were shaking, and her breath was puffing out in short gasps as though she were running a race. Dragging his belt through the loops, she opened his jeans and reached inside, touching him, circling him with her fingers, feeling the raw strength running through him as blood engorged his cock. She pulled him free, tightening her knees against his hips.

He took her wrist in one hand, pulling her away from his cock and dragging her arm over her head. He used his other hand to reach down between them, dragging his knuckles through the wet folds of her vagina, pulling a gasp from her. Her hips surged up in wild supplication. He rubbed his thumb against her clit, dragging cries from her as she writhed underneath him, waves of pleasure already rocking her body and she hadn’t even peaked yet.

Jozef pressed his fingers into her tight passage, filling her with excruciating slowness as she wiggled against him, trying to find a rhythm so she could get off. Jozef had other, more tortuous ideas. He gave her a heated look, his gaze capturing and holding hers while his fingers sought and found her g-spot. It was so intimate, having his eyes touch hers with such knowing, while his fingers played inside her vagina, pushing her higher and higher until she thought she would die if she didn’t come.

---