Page 69 of Kidnapped By the Beast
Brandt growled, the sound deep and dangerous, but his big, warm hand kept stroking her hair, soothing her.
“I’m so sorry you went through that, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I never should have separated from you. I should have been there to protect you.”
The words made something ache deep in her chest. Protect me. Cherish me.
She’d never had a man do that for her before. Her ex, Greg, hadn’t exactly been the loving type and she hadn’t dated anyone else seriously since him. She’d stopped expecting to find someone who would love her—who would care for her like this. And now, here was this huge Kindred warrior, holding her close like she was the most important thing in his universe.
“It’s not your fault,” she sniffed, swiping at her swollen eyes. “I just…I never want to go through something like that again.” Her voice broke. “But…but it could have been worse.”
He drew back enough to look down at her, his brows lowering.
“How could it possibly be worse?”
Lexi shuddered. She didn’t want to think about it—but the memory was there, raw and ugly.
“Before you came, there was a girl beside me,” she whispered. “In the other set of stocks.”
The images rushed back in horrible detail—the woman’s purple skin glistening with sweat, her four breasts bouncing as men used her from behind. Her skirt shoved up, her legs forced wide. The line of men waiting, cocks jutting, shouting crude remarks as they crowded closer for their turn… It was all so vivid—God, she wished she could forget it!
“What happened to the other girl?” Brandt’s deep voice was a low growl.
Lexi swallowed hard.
“They didn’t put a belt on her—didn’t put a officer inside her. Instead they…they all lined up. The Terian men, I mean—a whole crowd of them. They just kept…kept fucking her.” Her voice cracked as she remembered the horrible sight. “One after another. Over and over again. That poor girl!”
She pressed her face into Brandt’s chest, trying to block the memory, but it wouldn’t go. She could still hear the wet slap of flesh against flesh…the way the men laughed when that poor woman sagged forward, too weak to hold herself up anymore. The way her cries had dwindled into silence and then unconsciousness.
“She finally fainted,” Lexi whispered, trembling. “Before they let her out. And then they just dragged her away like garbage. Like she was nothing. God, that poor thing! I don’t know what she did, but it couldn’t have been worth such a terrible punishment.”
Brandt went still beneath her. She lifted her head and saw his face harden, his golden eyes blazing with fury.
“How dare they,” he snarled. His voice was so deep it vibrated in her bones. “How dare they treat a female that way? Especially one who was helpless! Such torture is an offense against the Goddess herself!”
Lexi blinked at him, stunned. She’d expected him to be angry, yes—but this wasn’t just anger. This was righteous fury.
“You Kindred really do take women’s pain seriously,” she said softly, still a little shocked.
His big hand stroked her hair again, but his jaw stayed tight with anger. “
We believe every woman carries a spark of the Goddess inside her—a piece of the divine. That is why all women should be protected, cherished—never hurt, never abused.”
Something inside her melted at those words. She burrowed closer into his chest, her tears easing at last. Cherished. Protected. Valued as divine. She had never been any of those things before to any man. But here, wrapped in Brandt’s arms, she felt all three.
“Thank you for saying that,” she whispered. “And…thank you for healing me.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” His lips brushed the top of her head. “I’ll always heal you if you need me to.”
The promise undid her.
“Oh, Brandt…” She tilted her face up to his, and he kissed her gently on the mouth. The taste startled her—sweet and salty and familiar—her own taste.
A moan slipped from her throat before she could stop it. She licked her flavor from his lips, then kissed him deeper, hungrily.
Heat stirred low in her belly again.
God, I want you! I want you inside me right now!
But the words caught in her throat. She was still too hesitant, too unsure to ask for what she wanted.
