Hostage to Pleasure

“A fresh, intriguing, and thought-provoking mythology and a very appealing cast of characters . . . I look forward to the next installment from this talented writer.”—BookLoons

“A must even for those uninitiated in the paranormal genre. The story ends much too quickly, and the author’s magical writing conjures up sensual images and intense emotions that linger long after the last word is read.”—Romantic Times





Berkley Sensation Titles by Nalini Singh

SLAVE TO SENSATION

VISIONS OF HEAT

CARESSED BY ICE

MINE TO POSSESS

HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE





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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.





HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE




A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley trade mass-market edition / September 2008



Copyright ? 2008 by Nalini Singh.



All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form

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eISBN : 978-0-425-22325-3



BERKLEY? SENSATION

Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

BERKLEY SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.





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I grew up lucky—in an extended family where the written word was everywhere. This one’s for all of you who gave me a book as a child, took me to the library, or saved a well-loved story to share. Thank you for those priceless gifts.





CHOICES


When, in a desperate attempt to save their people from the twin scourges of murder and insanity, the Psy race decided to embrace the Silence Protocol and eliminate emotion from their lives, it was by no means an easy decision. Blood was shed. Innocents and guilty alike died. Hearts were destroyed, and the pain of it split the PsyNet into two.

But perhaps the cruelest aspect of Silence was that it forced people to choose. Acceptance or rebellion, parent or lover, sister or child. There was no middle ground. Those left inside the Net would never again reach out to the ones who walked away. And the exiled would live forever with the heartbreak of knowing that those they loved were being taught to devalue love itself.

It hurt.

Like a bruise that would not heal, pulsing with the pain of memory, of loss.

Now, in the year 2080, the hurt has faded, the choices have been made, and those in the PsyNet live a life of cold Silence. Love is no longer something they understand, much less desire. Because to love is to be flawed.

And the Psy do not allow the flawed to live.





CHAPTER 1


To survive, you must become more Silent than the Council, your heart ice, your mind a flawless prism. But never forget—prisms bend light, change the direction of what is known, generate fractures of beauty. Ultimately, prisms create their own truths.



—From a handwritten letter signed “Iliana,” circa June 2069