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I take a grateful, gasping breath of air. The leader of the Aurelians interrupted his battle-brother before he could lose control – and, more than that, revealed the name of the mohawked warrior as he did so.

The fingertips freezes on my spine, and then I’m pulled to my feet.

Otho stands behind me, still quivering with need – his hand firmly on my back.

This time, though, his touch is one of silent dominance – not sensual exploration.

The leader of the Aurelians stares at the mohawked warrior, Otho. He receives a nod in response.

Seemingly satisfied, the leader of the triad then turns to me, as I stand there handcuffed and gagged. His eyes narrow.

“You’re coming with us.”

Then, I see what’s in his hand: A blindfold.

I’m already ball-gagged and bound. I can’t speak, and I can barely move – and now, they’re going to take my sight from me as well. I shake my head as hard as I can, letting out a drooling, gurgled moan of protest.

“It’s for your own good,” the leader of the Aurelians silences me. “If you knew where we’re going, you’d be tempted to escape. If you did that, I’d be forced to...”

His tongue runs across his lips.

“…punishyou.”

I swallow. It’s hard to do even that, with the gag wedging my jaws open.

The towering warrior stares at me, and I shamefully look down. I can’t even meet those huge, slate-grey eyes. If that first spanking the leader of this triad gave me was just a quick warning, I can’t imagine what he’d do to me if he caught me trying to escape.

The leader of the Aurelians steps forward and gently wraps the blindfold around my eyes. Everything suddenly goes black.

His touch is surprisingly gentle – although I stiffen as he lets his hand graze my cheek.

“You’re going to be okay, I promise you,” the Aurelian growls. “We’re only moving you so that there’s no chance of a rescue going wrong – and you, or anybody else, getting hurt.”

I gulp.

The warrior continues:

“It’s for your own good. My name is Brennan. The one with the ugly scar is Otho, and the third of my triad is Lazar. If I remove the gag for a moment, will you tell me your name?”

Otho’s hand leaves my back, and I feel him move away from behind me. His presence is so tangible that I can actuallyfeelthe hulking alien leaving the room – leaving me alone with Brennan.

I nod slowly, even though I can’t see a thing. I gasp and shiver when I suddenly feel Brennan’s finger trailing against my lip. Slowly, he pulls the gag out from between my teeth – long strands of saliva stretching from my lips as he removes it.

I gasp the moment the gag is gone – desperately sucking in a lungful of air.

‘Natali,” I pant. “I’m Natali. I won’t talk, I promise. Please – don’t gag me again.”

Brennan pauses.

“Alright, Natali – but there’s not going to be a word out of your mouth until I say so, understand?”

I nod desperately, feeling a surge of relief. I might not be able to see anything right now, but at least I can breathe easily. If there’s a chance, I can even scream out for help – although I suspect that might be a very bad idea.

The leader of the Aurelians, Brennan, has clearly figured out that rescue could already be on its way. This suggests these three Aurelian Warriors – as dangerous as they look – aren’t quite seasoned pros when it comes to kidnapping…

…but they aren’t complete idiots, either.

My gut tells me they aren’tusedto having to resort to kidnapping, at least – and if they aren’t used to it, they might be more prone to making mistakes.