A shiver of anxiety snaked through him at his brother’s tone, but he was too exhausted to respond. The world narrowed to the line that wore his hands to the bone, the wrenching strain and the eddying sound of Adrian’s voice. He needed to stop before his arms wrenched from their sockets. ‘Dumped?’ Declan’s voice was a husk of sound. She wants someone rich and successful like you, not a failure.
‘It’s not like there’s anything to live for.’ Adrian’s voice was so soft Declan wasn’t sure if he imagined it. The words slurred, warped by the frantic throb of Declan’s pulse and the searing pain in his hands. One turn of the wheel in front of an oncoming truck and it’d all be over.’ ‘Won’t …’ Declan fought to dredge up words in a throat scoured dry ‘… fall.’ ‘You know, it’s not so bad.’ Minutes later Adrian spoke again, his voice barely audible over the thundering of Declan’s blood. It felt as if his spine might snap or his shoulders dislocate from the strain. His shoulders and neck locked in agony as he took their combined weight. Setting his jaw, he grabbed the rope and hauled, blocking out screaming pain as the rope lacerated hands already raw. ‘Don’t lie, Declan.’ĭeclan shot him a reassuring look. He’d hoped to regain their closeness and persuade Adrian to open up while they climbed. But Adrian had seemed so brittle, Declan hadn’t pushed. If only he’d called Adrian’s bluff when he’d threatened to climb solo. His throat shredded raw with each breath. A cascade of crumbling rock splattered his face. His lungs hammered from his last attempt to haul them up.Ĭraning his neck, he looked up to where they’d fallen. Already Adrian’s panic had dislodged one of the pitons securing them to the cliff. The wind was rising and his brother’s nerves were shot.
They were suspended a hundred metres above an isolated canyon.
‘YOU can’t save us!’ The hoarse cry echoed in Declan’s ears and he tore his gaze back to Adrian, dangling below him on the rope. PRINCE OF SCANDAL PASSION, PURITY AND THE PRINCE SCANDAL: HIS MAJESTY’S LOVE-CHILDĭid you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit Undone You can e-mail Annie at or write to her at PO Box 1041, Warners Bay, NSW 2282, Australia. They live with their two children amongst the tall eucalypts at beautiful Lake Macquarie, on Australia’s east coast. She is happily married to her ever-patient husband (who has never owned a dromedary). Despite her office-bound past she has managed a few interesting moments-including a marriage offer with the promise of a herd of camels to sweeten the contract. And there’s nothing she loves more than a great romance. After years preparing government reports and official correspondence she decided to write something she really enjoys. About the AuthorĪNNIE WEST spent her childhood with her nose between the covers of a book-a habit she retains. Or so bereft.įire scorched his skin-fury and guilt. To take her, with all the pent-up desperation of a blind man groping for the light. How compelling the need had been to take more. Remembering what had happened the last time he’d touched her. Her light scent swirled around him.įurious as much at his awareness of her as at her words, he lifted a hand to grab her, then stopped at the last moment. ‘You’re scared of someone else seeing you vulnerable.’ Declan’s head shot round, following the sound of Chloe’s voice as she moved closer.