Page 64 of Tied to Hope
Brie’s desire was to fully embrace this gift that they were giving her, so she closed her eyes and refocused her thoughts.
As she plotted out a new version of her fantasy, she found it amusing that she hadn’t really changed since her days at the Training Center. She still needed her fantasies to be detailed, and the people who populated them had to have interesting backstories.
Rather than filtering herself, Brie allowed her imagination to run wild…
I’ve lived alone with my parents ever since we left the safety of Pennsylvania to stake a claim in the West. We’d lost my oldest brother to dysentery during the arduous trip, only to lose my other brother to a snakebite once we’d arrived.
He was off hunting for jackrabbit when a rattler bit him. I will never forget his horrifying scream as he died in my father’s arms…
This place has cost us everything that mattered to us, but I’ve been determined to help make something of this farm to honor my brothers’ memories.
Through blood and sweat, and against all odds, the three of us have created a thriving farm and a future for ourselves. But, my pride in our accomplishments is tainted by the fact that I have no one of my own—and it’s beginning to weigh heavily on my soul.
My parents have agreed to hire help so I can start life of my own but, just when my dreams are within my grasp…
Our homestead is targeted by a raid.
My father sees the men on horseback first and orders me to run back to the house and hide.
Instincts kick in and instead of running into the house, I run past it, making a beeline for the safety of the creek.
I don’t hear screams or war cries—only silence and the crackling of burning wood as I shake uncontrollably in my hiding place. Soon, the smoke swirls in the air around me. I send up silent prayers for my parents, terrified they might already be dead.
After what seems an eternity, I’m certain the warriors are long gone and emerge from the safety of my hiding place to check on my parents. I’m frightened of what I will find.
As I climb the embankment, I suddenly stop cold.
There are two warriors on horseback staring straight at me as if they’ve known I was hiding there all along.
Even though I know there is no escape, fear takes over and I turn to bolt. I hear the men jump off their horses and hit the ground, and it spurs my flight instinct. With the agility of a deer, I spring up and weave my way through the brambles next to the stream, but it is not enough and soon I feel their hands on me.
I scream as I fall to the ground. One restrains me with the weight of his body while the other secures my wrists above my head. I struggle against them, afraid for my life, and cry out for help that I know will never come.
When I meet the gaze of one of my captors, the intensity of his stare makes me mute. It’s as if he can see into my soul.
I’m defenseless when he leans down and bites me on the neck as the other presses his lips hard against mine.
I do not know what kind of dark magic they possess but, for some unfathomable reason, my body responds to their dual embrace. The bite relaxes me while the kiss draws out an internal fire I have never known.
I whimper, scared that they will take me here.
But, they do not.
Instead, they release me. One ties my hands behind my back, while the other lifts me up and carries me to his horse.
I look back at my home as they start out. I am relieved to see my parents holding each other as they watch the house and our barn burn to the ground. I try to cry out to them, but the warrior swiftly covers my mouth and growls a warning.
The raiding party has claimed our livestock and burned down our homestead but, mercifully, my parents are alive.
Unwilling to jeopardize their lives, I stay silent as the warrior kicks his horse, sending us off in the opposite direction…
Now that Brie was in the right headspace, she opened her eyes, accepting the intense gaze of Rytsar’s bodyguards as she waited for her warriors to return.
When the two reappeared, she saw they were dressed only in leather pants, their muscular chests enticingly bare.
Brie glanced at them, biting her lip nervously. She was finding it difficult to hide how completely turned on she was. Her nipples stood at attention and were clearly on display through her thin, wet clothing.
The two men spoke to each other in low tones of Russian as their eyes traveled brazenly over her body. Brie had to translate everything they were saying in her head, which added an interesting element to the scene.
