Chapter 4
T he one thing to stop him
My brother immediately pulled up short on the steps to the greenhouse, only a few inches of glass separating us now.
Heat seemed to pulse from him, his whole body radiating it, his power extending miles on either side of him.
A huge crack appeared in the door, the glass so fragile that my brother’s steps were about to shatter the entire thing.
Godsdamn! I thought, in my panic going back to the curses of my childhood.
Little slivers of glass were flaking down on me.
“It’s about to come down,” I warned shakily, my palms sweaty as I gripped the blade.
My twin’s big body was frozen in place as I moved directly underneath where the glass was beginning to crumble.
For a moment I was paralyzed with terror as we locked eyes. His were as blue as they always had been, a bright vivid summer sky blue.
“Move out of the way, Temperance,” he ordered.
But I saw the way his eyes flicked to where I had dug into the door. I knew I was safe as long as he was afraid any movement would hurt me.
I ignored him, forcing my fingers to move over the lock. Another fine shower of glass fell on my head and I heard the low, unearthly sound Rhyder made and it raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
“Move, Temperance,” he growled, his voice raw and shot through with fear. “You’re going to get hurt.”
The men beside me shifted, restless.
I had to get out of there
They were edging toward me, men who had known me for years, ready to pick me up and hurl me into the arms of a violent, unhinged cult member.
My brother was motionless, his hands raised, hovering close to the glass as if he could prevent it from crumbling into a million pieces all over me.
“Back away from the door, sister,” he said. “Please.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw there was a side door open over the long lush lawn, and it opened onto their circular driveway, filled with cars. Then there was a main highway.
It was probably my best hope of escape.
“ You back up,” I said. “You’re going to make it fall on me.”
I was in a vulnerable position. All he had to do was wrench at the doorknob and the whole door would implode, spraying shards over me and making it easy for him to grab me.
But I saw his big shitkicker boots take one step back, and he waited on the bottom stair.
Craig the cowardly betrayer gasped beside me.
But it would be a mistake for anybody to see Rhyder’s movement as a sign of weakness.
I would have exactly one chance. As quickly as I could, I yanked the file from the door and ran.
It was easy to dart between the bodies of the guests as I heard the door shatter behind me.
I knew he couldn’t possibly make it through the crowd very fast.
My feet were out of my high heels, and I was already sprinting when my toes touched the cool grass.
But Rhyder didn’t try to get through the crowd.
He had backtracked and come around the other side of the greenhouse to intercept me.
“Temperance!” he growled, and I knew I had one chance. One fucking chance to get away from my brother.
I ignored him and concentrated on running, my arms and legs pumping so hard my chest ached with every ragged, desperate breath.
“Temperance!” he called again, but I didn’t look back, didn’t answer him.
My dress was tight, riding up over my thighs, but I’d always been a fast runner.
I could absolutely outrun Rhyder.
There’s only one problem , I remembered as I headed for the big circular driveway at a dead sprint.
My brother had never given up. Ever. Any time we were kids. I was faster, always able to outrun him, nimble, agile, able to leap over little streams, balance on the rocks Rhyder with his much bigger body couldn’t.
But he never gave up the chase . Ever. I’d run and run, feel like I was flying, my skirts swirling around me. But when I got tired, Rhyder would always be there, and if I was running away from him, he’d come up and grab me around the waist, rubbing his head into that crook between my neck and shoulder.
“ I win .”
Was he the same way?
How far would he go to chase me, in front of all his men, after he’d taken the cane for me?
A disobedient wife or concubine was a reflection on the Congregant who failed to discipline her, and could mean a loss of status. And a whore could be killed and her body tossed aside for even the slightest inconvenience.
I was too afraid to look back at him.
As my feet pounded through the soft grass, the panic rose in my throat, my chest tight, my breath coming in ragged little gasps.
I didn’t hear Rhyder behind me. Could I be so lucky that he’d given up, decided chasing me was too much trouble? That he didn’t actually care about taking me back by force?
Before I could change my mind, I flicked my head sharply back, my hair stinging my face.
Well, fuck.
I couldn’t hear him because he wasn’t wasting any breath on talking. Just running.
And fuck, he looked mad.
I wasn’t exactly in shape anymore, and I could outrun Rhyder, but I’d only have a small window to hide from him.
I ran with the sound of my brother’s heavy footsteps pounding in my ears.
My breath burned in my lungs, my arms pumping up and down as the hedges flew past.
I accelerated as I got closer to the parking lot, but what the fuck was I supposed to do when I got there?
My twin was way too close to hope to hide from him.
I could feel my brother gaining on me as my lungs burst. How much longer could I go?
The rough gravelly pebbles of the driveway dug into my toes and I sprinted toward all the cars parked for the party.
Fuck.
Suddenly I caught sight of Rhyder’s motorcycle.
Was he still a cocky asshole who didn’t even bother taking his keys out of the ignition because he knew no one would dare to mess with his things?
I had one chance to find out.
The rough concrete scraped my bare feet, but I focused only on his motorcycle.
The Congregants were so feared they didn’t even have anyone there guarding the motorcycles.
Were his keys there?
Shit, they weren’t there!
No, they were there , and I practically vaulted my leg over his seat with a gasp of relief.
I could hear my twin now as he hit the driveway.
“No, Temperance!” he called out sharply.
But I didn’t even look back, just twisted the key in the ignition.
It started immediately. Rhyder always kept his motorcycle in perfect order.
However, I hadn’t even driven a motorcycle since the day I was taken. I used to drive them all the time, even had my own motorcycle I drove under Rhyder’s overbearing bossy fucking supervision.
And of course his motorcycle was much bigger than mine.
“Don’t you fucking dare !” he bellowed again, and before I was taken I would’ve known this voice meant I was in trouble, but I only released the clutch and began to accelerate.
For one terrifying moment, the motorcycle wobbled wildly, and I was afraid I would crash to the ground before even getting started. But I remembered my brother’s instructions, and I bent low, shifting to compensate, and the motorcycle stabilized as I accelerated desperately.
I didn’t even know where I should go.
Where was I safe from my brother?
Where was I safe from his relentless pursuit, his frightening devotion?
Still wobbling a bit, I took off down the driveway, avoiding all the parked cars and carefully merging onto the city street.
But when I heard the harsh sound of another motorcycle behind me, I began to accelerate faster, my heart thudding in my chest.
He was following.
Rhyder always followed.
Always pursued.
Never ever gave me a moment of freedom.
I ignored how he felt behind me, it was only fear that crawled along my skin, not anything else. Made in the same womb, as Rhyder never let me forget.
It meant nothing.
He was like a burn on my skin, my fingers almost slipping off the handlebars with how much work it was to stabilize Rhyder’s huge bike.
My twin rode behind me, close enough so I’d know he was there and he wasn’t going to stop.
We rode like that through traffic, my brother matching my pace. Not riding close enough to make me speed up. But also close enough to know he was watching me.
I had hoped to lose him, but that was obviously not happening.
When we passed out of the heavy press of traffic and into one of the less-traveled streets past abandoned and burned-out factories, Rhyder moved.
He swung fluidly, carefully into the lane beside me, and when I looked over at him, my palms sweaty on the handlebars, my brother flicked his fingers over to the side of the road, and I saw his mouth move.
Pull over.
I set my mouth in a thin line.
I was going to throw my whole fucking back into escaping him.
So instead of pulling over, I took a side street, turning so sharply that the gravel and pebbles shot up under my tires.
Shit fuck.
That had been a mistake.
I could feel myself losing control as the bike hit the loose gravel and rocks and holy shit , I was about to hit the pavement at 60 mph and split my head open on the concrete , and the bike started to throw me sideways when I felt a strong hand on the back of my dress, yanking me away and through the air until I was set firmly down on Rhyder’s bike in front of him.
My brother turned and spun his motorcycle in a tight circle, driving one-handed so he could keep his other hand on me, his big fingers splayed across my stomach. Then he bent low to the handlebars, forcing my body so flat that I was squashed painfully against the console.
For a moment, I struggled against his grip, then I realized why I was getting practically flattened when I heard the first explosion, the crashed motorcycle behind us igniting into a fireball.
We sped away, and I heard another explosion as the crashed bike blew up with a terrifying boom, sending metal pieces and a wave of heat and flames toward us. Rhyder’s body surrounded mine protectively, and I heard the sparks from the explosion sizzling as they landed on his broad back, the frightening sound of pieces of metal hitting the motorcycle like shrapnel, but he made no complaint.
There was another shower over us of sparks and flame, and I smelled the burnt leather of his jacket. But his hand stayed on my belly, firm and unmoving, digging into my flesh and shielding me from the fire and flying metal.
The blood rushed hard in my ears with terror. My body was laid flat in front of him, and he finally moved both his hands to the bars, leaning on top of me to send the motorcycle flying so fast down the road the scenery blurred before my eyes. I felt my brother’s harsh breath on my neck, rolling with intimacy under my long hair, and I closed my eyes, only opening them when Rhyder pulled over just past a city bridge.
He smelled like leather and fire.
“Are you all right, Temperance?” he rasped, his hands feeling my shoulders and back carefully.
But not a spark had touched me, not a flicker of flame, not a scrap of metal.
“I’m fine,” I said shakily, my legs and hands still trembling.
My brother put one huge boot down on the ground. Then he flipped me face first over his big thigh and landed a hard, sharp slap on my ass.
“I never want to see you ever do something so dangerous again!” he shot at me through gritted teeth, his big arm pressing my chest forward so my ass was higher in the air.
One hand on my back had me pinned me tight, the other one spanked me again.
My brother was pissed.
“Let me go!” I shrieked, and I was subjected to the humiliation of seeing all the passers-by immediately cross the street to avoid us.
In the cities you knew to look the other way and never interfere with whatever a Congregant wanted to do to a woman.
And no one wanted to mess with anyone the size of my brother.
Growing up, I had gotten very little physical punishment in the Congregation.
Many years ago when I was very young my mother had been caught at a border gate trying to escape and been killed by the Elders. My father had been beaten so severely for his lack of discipline that he was permanently disabled and died only a few years after. That left Rhyder as the Head of House in charge of me until we came of age.
And he took any punishment meant for me on his own back and did not permit anyone to touch me. Even himself.
“Stop, dammit! Fuck, Rhyder! Get off me!”
But he landed blow after blow brutally on my ass, the sound echoing loudly in the quiet space.
“You could have been killed!” he shot at me, and I heard his teeth grind.
“Ouch!” I yowled.
My ass was really stinging now, the whole skin of my backside one throbbing wail of pain.
And in his rage I felt Rhyder yank down my panties to my ankles, completing my awful humiliation as he raised his hand high and landed another powerful, angry blow on my ass.
Crack!
I howled with fury, pain radiating across my whole backside and down my legs all the way to my ankles.
“Stop, you fucking psycho!” I shrieked, kicking ineffectively at him, white-hot bursts of pain in my vision.
Suddenly he flipped me around on the bike so I was sitting on the console facing him, his eyes scanning my face.
My ass hurt like a motherfucker as it collided with the hard metal of the console.
Godsdamn him!
In this direction, I was trapped between his big legs, and I struck out with my bare foot, connecting with Rhyder’s ribs.
When it didn’t have any effect, I kicked him again, as hard as I could, aiming for his chin.
He captured it easily, my foot looking ridiculously tiny in his bare hands.
“Sister,” he said, and even I wasn’t too furious to notice how he looked at me.
Starving.
“What do you want?” I snapped hysterically, the welts on my sore ass rubbing painfully against the seat.
“You know what I want,” my twin said, his fingers tightening gently on my dirty foot. “The same thing I’ve always wanted. You .”
I felt uncomfortably heated, almost crying with fury as I yanked my panties back up over my ass.
“Out here, guys don’t just claim their sisters.”
“We’re not staying out here, Temperance. I’m taking you back with me and never letting you out of my fucking sight ever again.”
“What about your wife?” I shot at him.
He looked blankly at me, his big thumb massaging the arch of my foot.
“Your wife?” I pressed. “Other concubines? What are they going to say if you bring me back?”
“A wife ?” he asked, like he didn’t understand the word.
“Yes, Rhyder,” I said impatiently. “you’re a big boy now. You’re almost 27. I know you’re old enough to have a wife.”
He looked at me like I had two heads and seven ears, then he gestured down to his crotch. “As if my cock could ever get hard for any woman other than you!”
I didn’t want to look down but it was impossible not to when my brother thrust his hips forward with a dirty carnal motion.
There was a thick heavy weight there, pressing between my open thighs now.
I swallowed convulsively. I could feel his cock on my bare thigh, thankfully covered by his thick work pants, but it still made my heart pound fast, the size and heavy power like the rest of my brother: implacable, unmovable, overpowering.
“You haven’t had sex?” I asked, scooting back on the bike until my ass hit the bars, hoping to shock him, maybe force him to accept that I was tainted by my time in the Unsaved cities.
Maybe he wouldn’t want me if I could convince him I was tainted.
“No, Temperance,” he said, reaching his big hands out to drag my hips closer, my dress pooling around my thighs as he ground me up against his cock, his thickness pulsing through the thin fabric of my panties.
I was practically fucking naked under there, the thick force of his cock pressing so hard against my panties I felt my pussy lips part slightly.
“I don’t have a wife. I’ve never fucked a woman. I was waiting for you.”
“Well, I’ve had sex!” I blurted out desperately. “I’m no longer Untouched! You can’t want me now!”
But he only glowered at me. “Not want you?” he growled, his big hands tightening so hard my hips stung, his powerful touch building like a bruise. “I could never want anyone else. I could never not want you.”
“I’ve had sex with all kinds of people!” I cried, with some slight exaggeration.
He only bent to my throat, his cock threatening to split the fabric of my panties, his breath raspy as he opened his lips to kiss my skin. “I wasn’t there to kill them,” he said as my nipples tightened involuntarily in the contact with his chest. “That was my failing. I’m the one that has to repent for that, not you. You did nothing wrong. I failed to keep you safe. I let you get taken. I take all the blame.”
He had ground me over his cock so hard I was all the way in his lap. His lips fell on my throat, sending prickles of heat across my chest. I tried to arch my back to get away from him, but he only put both hands around the back of my throat, pulling me closer so that his tongue hit the hollows of my neck.
“Fuck, I want you so much. I almost went mad those years you were gone.”
“Rhyder, no!” I protested, his finger dragging the bodice of my dress down, exposing the embarrassingly flushed and pink tips of my nipples.
“If I hadn’t been so prideful—” he groaned.
His beard rasped the sensitive skin of my tits as he kissed the swollen tips of my breasts. I felt his precum bead my thin panties as I put my heels on his legs, trying to shove away from him.
“Don’t be stupid, Rhyder!” I panted, wondering belatedly why I was defending him when he was kidnapping me. “You were out hunting for food! How could you possibly have known there was going to be a raid?”
“If I had been more faithful to the Allfather—” he began, but I jerked away, impatient and angry, pulling so hard that I tumbled off the bike, my cunt throbbing with pressure. “That’s stupid, and you know it!”
I stumbled off down the street, trying to wipe the memory of his cock at the cleft of my sex, but Rhyder was immediately after me.
Trying to get away from my brother was like trying to get out from the shadow of a huge mountain. You could run and run and all he had to do was stretch out an arm and it was all in vain. I had barely made it half of a block when he grabbed me. As I struggled, he picked me up and flipped me over his shoulder. Then Rhyder pulled out a walkie-talkie and barked orders for the bike that I had crashed to be picked up by his men. My brother was clever and deft, incredibly mechanically gifted, but if he thought he could fix what was undoubtedly a mass of blacked steel, he must be a magician.
I twisted this way and that, grabbed Rhyder’s belt, trying to get some leverage to work myself free from his back, but his hand was like an iron bar across my legs. With his other arm, he held up the walkie-talkie, and I grabbed his belt, pulling as hard as I could, trying to tumble off his back.
Then I saw that massive hand come back and tuck the walkie-talkie into his pocket.
“What are you doing?” he rumbled.
“Trying to get away,” I panted. “I’m not going back with you!”
Rhyder grunted in disapproval.
We reached the motorcycle and he flipped me easily up, my fingers popping off his belt loops, and he placed me squarely on the seat, standing so close that I couldn’t escape a second time, his thighs tightening around my own.
“Little sister, I’ve been hunting you since the day they took you from me. Over six fucking years . You think you have any other option than coming with me?” he said, his voice angry.
Heat radiated and pulsed from his body, that strange electric charge that always buzzed between us, almost like his blood pulled at mine with an invisible magnetic tether.
I fought the call of my own blood.
My twin
My tormentor
When I refused to look at him, crossing my arms over my chest, Rhyder put a hand on my chin, strong fingers forcing my face up.
His eyes bore into mine, bright blue, a frown crossing over the godlike planes of his face.
“Why did you change your hair?”
“I thought maybe it would be easier to hide,” I said, closing my hands into fists.
“Hide from who?” Rhyder bit out.
He was so close, his big body all I could see, the smell of his leather jacket invading my senses, the menace of that big cock pressing on my tits now.
“You,” I whispered.