Page 68 of A Wolf's Treasure
Her only hope was that her father had been in a hurry when he took Duncan’s mind, and she would be able to reach him before it was too late.
Chapter 22
Duncan heard a voice far off in the distance. A voice he recognized. He strained to hear it again over the taunts of his tormentors, fighting the bonds that held him. When it faded away, he cried out, unable to think past the pain, knowing he would never hear the voice again.
And then he did.
Melodic and sweet, it called to him like the morning song of a bird, awakening something deep inside of him and pulling it upward out of the hell he burned in.
Claws and teeth tore at his skin as the horrendous things they chanted grew louder in his ears.
His wolf huddled deep within him, afraid, as hands gripped his cock and balls, rubbing him raw, forcing him to respond as things were done to him. Sick things. Horrendous things. Things he never would’ve thought were possible.
Duncan felt himself sinking into the terrifying quagmire of his own mind. A very small part of him knew that’s all it was. It was all in his head. But the larger part of him felt everything, suffered everything, and knew he would never escape this hell again.
Through the haze of noise and heat, something soft touched his jaw and he caught a whiff of primrose.
But that couldn’t be. There were no flowers here. Only the stench of rotting flesh.
The voice came to him again. Barely rising above the others. Calling his name. It faded in and out of the growled slurs and foul language, a dapple of sunlight dancing through the tree branches to warm his soul.
Something soft and wet touched his lips and instinctively he tried to turn his head away. It took him a moment to realize it wasn’t the rough, sandpaper texture of a swollen tongue.
They were lips, soft and sweet, and they were kissing him.
Desperate to get away from the repulsive mouths licking and sucking every inch of skin on his body, he forced himself to focus on those lips and those lips alone.
He knew those lips. Knew that taste.
His wolf flicked its tail and pricked its ears.
“Duncan, come back to me. Stay with me. No one else is here. It’s only you and I.”
“Yer wrong,” he told the sweet voice. His voice caught on a sob. “Yer wrong. I can hear them. I can see them. Och.” The breath he inhaled was ragged. “I canfeelthem.”
“No,” the voice whispered against his lips. “No, wolf. It’s only us. You only hear me. You only see me. You only feel me.”
He tried. Truly, he did.
“Fight them, Duncan. You need to fight them. I can’t do it for you.”
For a long time, forever it seemed, he reached for her, only to be torn away and beaten down by fists and claws and repulsive words. His stomach revolted at their touch and tears wet his cheeks. Violated and ashamed, he recoiled from the demons, pulling into himself until he could no longer hear their gravel voices or feel the burn of their tongues and teeth.
“No! No, Duncan, come back. You have to come back to me or I’ll lose you.” Something soft touched his ear. “And I’m not going to lose you! Do you hear me, wolf? You have to come back.”
The salty scent of tears filled his nose. So strong he could smell it over the rot. His own? He didn’t know. Something warm and tender touched his chest, and he couldn’t control the cry of pain as it stroked over his raw skin with feather-light touches. Butoch, he ached so for that touch and did not want it to stop. Not ever. Not even when it traveled down his stomach to his cock.
“No! No! Dinna touch me!” he cried. But she ignored him, and suddenly that tender touch was wrapped around him, easing the soreness there.
And then the touch changed. Hot and wet, it stroked him with soft caresses, chasing away everything but the feelings…
Duncan groaned and closed his eyes. His hands buried themselves in silky curls. A shudder wracked his body as the pain ebbed away to be replaced by pleasure. Cool, damp air caressed his raw skin. He could no longer feel the burn of the hands and teeth and tongues that handled him like something without care or feelings.
Sweet lips moved up his torso, kissing away the pain and fears. A soft voice whispered loving things in his ear. Sexy things. Things that made him growl with hunger instead of cringe with fear and disgust.
“Come back to me, Duncan. I need you.”
Slowly, he opened his eyes to a rainbow of colors that lit up a wee, bonnie face surrounded by a fall of dark curls. “Ryanne?”
