Page 35 of Passion's Wicked Torment

“Ray, get some rope,” said the younger man.

“Sure, Johnny-boy.” He hurried to the saddles, which had been deposited on the ground near the horses, and unlatched a coil of rope. He brought it over to Ambrewster and Johnny Torry.

They yanked off Kristin’s coat, then forced her arms up to a branch of a sturdy tree and tied her wrists together over the top of it. Her body was stretched taut, and her legs barely touched the ground. She tried to kick, but Ambrewster came up close to her and grasped her knees, holding them tightly together. He grinned menacingly, at her. His hand went to caress her bosom through her thick, black sweater.

“Let me go, you swine!” she hissed through gritted teeth. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but did not dare. McShane would probably hear if she screamed, and he might lose his temper and rush down in a blind rage to save her. His effectiveness would be ruined if he were in that state. He might come charging in like a bull, crazy with fury, and get himself killed— and not do Kristin any good either.

It was better to not provoke McShane into a mindless, futile attack. He must wait until he could surprise them the way he had originally planned. Kristin did not have to warn him as to their presence here, because they were on this side of the Gap just as Sean expected them to be, and he would see them from his vantage point when they rode forward at daylight. Which made Kristin suddenly wonder how Ambrewster had got here so quickly after she’d seen his horse at the stable in town. He had not passed her on the road. How had he got here?

Her thoughts were disrupted by the feel of Ambrewster’s hands at her belt, unlatching it. She began groaning as she struggled, but her resistance was useless. Her ankles were being held together by Johnny Torry, the younger of the Torry brothers. Ambrewster had her pants unbuttoned now, and he tugged and yanked them down her body to her ankles. His hands went to her underwear and, in a simple, swift movement, ripped them off.

“Oh, you bastard!” she cried, unable to control herself. The men stared at her naked loins and shapely legs, mesmerized with lust.

“I ain’t seen nothing looks that good in a long time,” said the younger Torry.

“I ain’t seen nothing that good never,” said Ray Torry.

They tied her ankles apart, to the bases of nearby trees. ?¾en their hands were all over her, rubbing along the inside of her thighs, squeezing her buttocks, gliding in under her sweater to fondle her breasts. Kristin cursed at them and cried out in shame. She writhed about within the confines of her tethers.

“Ray,” Ambrewster said, “she’s making too much noise. You go keep a lookout in the bushes. Make sure no one comes along.”

“Who’s going to be out riding at this hour?” Ray protested hotly, angry at being denied such a luscious treat.

“She was,” Ambrewster answered equally as hotly. He hated to be disobeyed.

Ray Torry glared at him furiously, but when he spoke, there was a beaten sound to his voice. “Why can’t you just gag her if she’s making too much noise?”

Ambrewster grinned lecherously. “I like the sound.” Then the grin faded. “But aside from that, it’s safer if we have a lookout. You go do it now, and I’ll have Johnny-boy relieve you in a couple minutes. Don’t worry, you won’t miss out on anything. You’ll get your share.”

“You see that I do,” Ray answered, picking up a rifle and starting out of the clearing.

“Wait!” Kristin cried out, surprising all three of them. She looked at Ray and wet her lips seductively, as if she were becoming excited by the groping hands all over her body. “You’re the best looking one,” she said to him in a low, teasing voice. “Don’t you leave. Please. You stay. . . .”

The hood smiled broadly, his ego inflated. Ambrewster glared at Kristin, frowning in bewilderment. He did not understand. There was no way he could know that Kristin was doing this to save McShane’s life. McShane must have heard her cries by now, despite her efforts to keep her voice down; they would carry for nearly a half mile in the still night. And he would probably be rushing down here in a rage. He wouldn’t know they had a lookout planted. He would be killed, she was sure, unless she could keep all three of them in the encampment, paying no attention to the surrounding woods.

Ray came up to her and put his hand on her naked belly. “You like me, do you, huh, dame?” He was grinning with pride. When Kristin nodded, unable to keep the embarrassment from her eyes despite her courage, he moved his hand down lower until he was rubbing over her womanhood. She sucked in her breath.

“I’m not leaving,” the older Torry said to Ambrewster. “She likes me.”

Ambrewster was furious but saw that he could not force the issue. Ray’s mind was made up, and to challenge him at this point would mean bloodshed. He turned to Johnny Torry. “All right. You go.”

Torry shook his head, his expression resolute

Kristin thought she had succeeded in her ploy, and she allowed herself a small measure of satisfaction, even though she knew it would mean agony for her as the three men ravaged her helpless body. But then Ambrewster grasped the rifle away from Ray’s hands and declared, “All right, damn it. I’ll go! But one of you relieve me damn soon, you hear?”

“No,” Kristin said. “Don’t go. I want ... I want all of you all at once.”

“Shut up,” growled Ambrewster. He turned and left the clearing.

This was even worse than it would have been if one of the Torry boys had gone, Kristin realized with despair. Ambrewster was the meanest and most cunning of the bunch. Either of the Torry brothers might have missed hearing footsteps in the woods, but Ambrewster would not. And now, to make matters worse, she had to put up with the horror of both these men attacking her at once, spurred on to even greater ardor by the encouraging words she had spoken.

“Boy, we got a hot number here!” Ray said, lifting the hem of her sweater up to the top of her bosom. She was laid bare now from her armpits down to her knees. The cowboy boots were still on her, her pants were bunched up at her ankles, and her sweater was bunched up around her upraised arms.

“Please!” she cried out. “Stop it! Don’t . . . don’t do anything to me.”

Johnny laughed. “She’s playing a game. She likes to pretend she doesn’t like it. Isn’t that it, doll?”

“I’m not pretending! I hate you, you scum! You filthy vermin!”

Johnny frowned. “Let’s see if you hate this.” He put his mouth to her breast and began moving his wet lips all over it, licking it, flicking her nipple with his tongue. At the same time, his brother, becoming excited at the way Kristin threw her hea

d back and groaned, got down to his knees and put his mouth on Kristin’s belly. He then ran his moist tongue slowly down to the wispy mound of her womanhood.

She went wild when his tongue and lips became active, sparkling flashes of uncontrollable sensation down in her loins. She was helpless against the tingling, surging pleasure that burned within her as the one man’s mouth sucked and licked her nipples, moving from one to the other, while the other man was down between her legs, doing things to her that no man had ever done before. Things she had never even dreamed could be done.

The pleasure grew in intensity, sending her into wild spasms. She was sobbing and groaning and panting for breath all at once.

Ray Torry became unbearably excited by hearing her cries and feeling her body shudder. He quickly got to his feet, stared at her with burning, lust-inflamed eyes and undid his belt buckle.

“Oh, noooo . . .” Kristin moaned, watching him. This would be the ultimate agony.

His pants were unbuckled now, but before he could push them down, something happened that abruptly shattered the mood, the air, the dawn. A rifle shot rang out. It was a sharp crack!” which reverberated through the Gap.

“What was that?” Ray asked, stunned.

“You idiot,” scolded his brother, leaving Kristin to go get his rifle. “You know damn well what it was. So pull up your trousers and get yourself a weapon.” Johnny was all business now that his services were called upon. He was a professional hit man who instantly snapped into his alert, sharp, single-minded attitude. His older brother was not quite so hardened a veteran, and Kristin saw a look of great disappointment pass over his face as he stared at her nakedness. Then he, too, snapped into his professional character and rebuckled his pants. He turned away from her to go do his duty.

Ambrewster and Johnny were at the edge of the clearing, hunkered down for protection, staring all around. They were trying to discover where the shot had come from.

Another shot rang out, splintering into the side of a tree a good five yards away. “Wherever he is,” remarked Ambrewster, “he’s a lousy shot. Or he’s out of range.”

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