Table of Contents
Praise for the novels of Lora Leigh
Leigh draws readers in to her stories and takes them on a sensual roller coaster. Love Romances
Leigh writes wonderfully straightforward and emotional stories with characters that jump off the page. The Road to Romance
Fraught with tension from the first page to the last... a love story of the deepest kind with a very emotional and sensual base. Combine all these elements together, and [youre] guaranteed an intriguing story that will have you glued to the edge of your seat.
Fallen Angel Reviews
Blistering sexuality and eroticism... bursting with passion and drama... enthralls and excites from beginning to end.
Romance Reviews Today
A scorcher with sex scenes that blister the pages.
A Romance Review
Thrilling... explosive... a perfect blend of sexual tension and suspense. Sensual Romance
An emotional read. The Best Reviews
Hot sex, snappy dialogue, and kick-butt action add up to outstanding entertainment. Romantic Times (Top Pick)
Ms. Leigh is one of my favorite authors because she creates new worlds that I want to visit and would move to if only I could.
Erotic-Escapades
The writing of Lora Leigh continues to amaze me... electrically charged, erotic, and just a sinfully good read!
JoyfullyReviewed.com
Wow! This was one hot... romance. The lovemaking is scorching. Just Erotic Romance Reviews
Berkley titles by Lora Leigh
DAWNS AWAKENING
TANNERS SCHEME
HARMONYS WAY
MEGANS MARK
NAUTI DREAMS
NAUTI NIGHTS
NAUTI BOY
Anthologies
SHIFTER
(with Angela Knight, Alyssa Day, and Virginia Kantra)
BEYOND THE DARK
(with Angela Knight, Emma Holly, and Diane Whiteside)
HOT SPELL
(with Emma Holly, Shiloh Walker, and Meljean Brook)
Tippytoes, for everything youve done,
thank you.
PROLOGUE I
Iraq
Five Years Ago
Little American whore. The kick was harder this time, aimed at the tender flesh of Chayas stomach, driving the breath out of her and causing her to send a tortured cry through the small cell she had been tossed into.
Her cry. She knew it was her scream, strangled and agonized, but it no longer sounded familiar to her. Reality had receded the day before, and it hadnt yet returned.
She had been dragged from her car just outside Baghdad, blindfolded, and shoved into a van. And that had been a walk in the park compared to the hours since.
How much easier would it be, whore, to simply give us what we need? The muzzle of a handgun caressed her cheek. You could die then. Quickly. There would be no more pain. Wouldnt that be nice? No more clamps attached to tender parts of your body. No more electricity. No more kicks. All you need to do is tell us who contacted you. Tell us the information they have.
The voice was an insidious whisper inside her head as she felt herself crying. Curled in on herself, shuddering with sobs.
Oh God, please dont let them hurt her anymore. She could feel the bruises along her body now, the swollen tenderness of her nipples, the fragility of bones that couldnt take much more abuse without breaking.
They hadnt broken her yet. Had she managed to convince them she didnt know? That she was unaware of the illegal weapons pipeline they were buying their guns and explosives through? That she knew nothing of the information she had been sent to retrieve about the spy within Army Intelligence providing access to those weapons?
And what did she do with the information that only one person had known where she was headed and why?
So easy, a voice crooned, and she focused on the accent. It wasnt Iraqi, she knew Iraqi. It wasnt Afghani. There were tonal differences in the voices, even when speaking the same language. She knew the difference. This voice was a whisper of something else. Someone else. She knew this voice.
Another blow landed and a scream tore from her as the toe of the boot connected with her ribs. Terror washed through her like an oily, dark wave of suffocating heat. They would break them next. If her ribs broke she wouldnt have a chance of escape. Naked, bruised, and hurting, hell yeah. She could escape given half a chance. But if they broke her ribs? If they caused internal bleeding? She would never make it.
Maybe we will get to keep this one awhile, the voice mused, laughter filling the tone. I think maybe she enjoys our caresses, yes?
No. No. She shook her head, dry heaves shaking through her, torturing her as the spasms ripped through her body.
You do not like our touch? False sympathy filled the voice as he bent to her again. Maybe we use you and fill your belly with seed. We take your brat then and place it in a pretty stroller filled with explosives and park it in front of your White House. Who can resist a babys cries, eh?
She fought to breathe.
Reality. Reality was birth control that had been administered before this mission. Reality was backup, somewhere. Her team didnt want to lose her or the information she had, but they could only rescue her if they knew she was missing. If the officer she had discussed the trip with had reported that she hadnt returned.
Reality was, she was beginning to suspect that officer may well be the leak they had been searching for in Army Intelligence.
Reality. She had to hold on, just a little bit longer. She had to find a way to escape, a way to get that information back to her superiors despite the disillusionment and the betrayal that seared her soul.
She felt a hand on her thigh, moving along the back of her leg, fingers touching her, probing.
Rage and terror blazed through her mind. Kicking out she fought to avoid the touch, tried to hurt or to maim, to piss him off enough to keep him away from her. She would prefer to be kicked. She would prefer the broken bones.
Tell us, Greta. The voice sighed then, resignation in his tone as she heard the shuffling around her. Raping you would not be a pleasant experience for some reason. And raping you broken and unable to fight holds even less appeal. But if you do not give me what I need, I will spread you out here and I will let these guards use you. They will use you over and over again, until your body is so defiled that even your own people will know nothing but disgust for you. Is this what you want?
The false gentleness in his tone built the fear inside her. He was going to do it. She knew he was. She had known all along that he would take this step. What better way to torture a woman? When the electrical clamps to her nipples and clitoris hadnt worked, he had gotten more inventive. His men hadnt raped her, but the painful device he used had.
She couldnt bear more pain.
Such a beautiful woman. He sighed.
Saudi. The accent was Saudi. She couldnt see him, her eyes were so swollen now she doubted she could see daylight if she was in it. But the accent, the voice.
Nassar, she whispered, dazed, sobbing. You betrayed us, Nassar?
And it only supported the fact that the man she suspected of betraying the Army was a traitor. Her husband. Nassar was his friend. His contact. And so, obviously, his coconspirator.