Born of Defiance

Gasping, she looked up into the face of Chrisen Anatole. “Let me go!”


He shoved her against the wall of her building. “No minsid whore turns down my contract. Who do you think you are?”

Felicia shoved her dinner at him and tried to run.

He caught her wrist and backhanded her so hard, she feared she might black out. He grabbed her dress, ripping it, and dragged her toward his transport. “I’m going to show you what happens to whores who don’t mind their place.”





Chapter 19





“M

ajor Batur!”

Talyn shot out of bed as he heard Aaron’s shout. A shout that was punctuated by Felicia’s gut-wrenching sobs. His heart pounding, he ran to the living room to find Aaron carrying her. He set her down on the couch and stepped back. Her face was red as if someone had struck her, and her dress was torn.

In that moment, a horrifying rage the likes of which he’d never known descended on him. Worse, it started that forgotten sensation of burning skin on his back.

He had to get control. Fast.

“Felicia?” Talyn pulled her gently against him.

Trembling and sobbing, she latched on to him and held him as if terrified.

Aaron swallowed hard. “I saw a male trying to pull her into a transport on the street. I only got part of the transport’s markings. Sorry.”

His back still burning, Talyn fought down his fury before he let loose something he couldn’t take back. “You saved her. That’s the most important thing.”

Aaron nodded. “I just wish I’d seen her sooner. One second more…” He met Talyn’s gaze. “I’m so sorry. I swear to the gods, it won’t ever happen again.”

“Could you call a medic for us?”

“Absolutely.”

“No,” Felicia said. “It’s okay. I’m not really hurt. Just scared.”

Talyn dipped his head to make sure she wasn’t being brave as he slowly got his body under control. “You sure?”

Nodding, she sniffed back her tears. “I lost our dinner, though. I beat him with it.”

Talyn rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about dinner.”

“I’ll make sure you have food delivered from the restaurant downstairs. Free of charge.”

He inclined his head in gratitude. “Thank you, Aaron. For everything.”

Felicia reached out to touch his hand. “Yes, thank you!”

Aaron bowed slightly. “Any time, mu tara. I’ll see to your food.”

As he left them alone, Talyn cupped her cheek in his hand. “What happened, baby?”

Felicia bit her lip, unsure of what to tell him. But the one thing she knew above all was that if he ever learned it was Anatole, he’d kill him. No questions asked. As much as she hated to lie, she could never let Talyn learn the truth. Not if she wanted to keep him from execution. “I don’t know. It happened too fast to see anything.”

“Lish…”

“I mean it, Talyn.”

“If it was Anatole, I will fucking kill him!” he snarled.

As he started to rise, she latched on to his arm to keep him by her side. “No! You don’t know it was him! You can’t go after him. They’ll kill you if you do.”

His gaze burned with a fury so raw, it singed her.

“Talyn… please! I can’t live if they take you again! We don’t know, okay?”

Tears filled his eyes as he pressed his forehead to hers and held her in a way that told her exactly how much he loved her. His hands shook as angst darkened his gaze. “Is that why you’re pulling your contract from me?”

“What?” she breathed.

He nodded grimly. “Your agency called yesterday to tell me. They wanted me to pick another companion.” If she lived a thousand years, she’d never forget the deep-seated hurt in his handsome features.

Never in her life had she wanted blood the way she did right then. After what Anatole had told her about Talyn and this… “I’m not breaking the contract, Talyn. I went to them to ask about buying it back.”

He flinched and nodded. “It’s for the best. I understand.”

As he started to withdraw, she cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. “I wanted to buy it back so that I can stay with you. Forever. I love you, Talyn. Only you. They told me a few days ago that they had accepted another contract for me, and that they were the ones breaking this one. I told them that I refused to do it. And I only went there today to find out how much I’d need to buy my contract out.” She pulled her link from her pocket and handed it to him. “You can see the e-mails for yourself, and the timestamps on them.”

He scowled at her. “What are you saying?”

“What I started with. I. Love. You. Talyn. I don’t want another male. Ever.”