N. Walters - Fabric of Fate

Audrey didn’t understand these men who haunted her dreams. Behind her, Heroc nuzzled her neck. “You should rest now.”

She didn’t argue when strong arms lowered her to the bed. Her earlier exhaustion was back with a vengeance. She was so tired she was almost sick with it. Her eyelids were heavy so she let them fall shut. The covers rustled and two large male bodies stretched out on either side of her. Heavy blankets were piled over her and she sank into a deep sleep, a feeling of safety and well-being enveloping her.

Abrah glanced from the sleeping form beside him to his brother and sighed. “It is going to be a very long night.”

“Do you think we did the right thing or should we have taken her?” There was worry in Heroc’s voice. Abrah wasn’t certain if they’d done the right thing or not, but it was the only thing they could have done.

“I do not know. She still believes this is a dream. The storm and cold stripped her energy and reason. I did not want to take advantage of her, did not want her to wake in the morning and feel shame or regret.”

Heroc nodded. “You are probably right. But that does not help me at the moment.”

His brother’s wry reply made Abrah chuckle. “You can always take matters into your own hand if you need to.”

“I think I’ll take my chances in the morning.” Heroc grinned and then closed his eyes, wrapped his arm around Audrey and drifted off to sleep.

Abrah stared at the ceiling for a very long time, wondering if the gods had blessed them or cursed them. By the time the fire died down, he still had no answer so he closed his eyes and welcomed sleep.

Audrey woke slowly and stretched. Her body ached all over and she groaned as her muscles protested all movement. Why did she hurt so much? She opened her eyes and blinked. Fear spiked through her when she saw her surroundings. Where was she?

The room certainly wasn’t her bedroom. In fact, it didn’t look like anywhere she’d ever been. A memory from the night before niggled at her brain. “It was only a dream,” she whispered. The storm, the men who found her and brought her home, the way they’d loved her body into oblivion.

“Ohmygod.” It was real and she was…naked. Audrey grabbed the covers, yanking them firmly against her neck. She was stark naked and the mattress beside her was still warm, which meant someone else had been in bed with her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real. She had to figure this out.

“One step at a time.” Ignoring her stiff muscles and bruised limbs, she slid out of the bed, dragging one of the thick woven blankets with her and wrapping it around her body like a toga. The stone floor was cold and the chill seeped in through the bottoms of her feet, making her toes curl. A fire crackled in the hearth but it obviously hadn’t been going long enough to take the icy feel off the room.

A window off to the right beckoned and she stumbled toward it. If she could get her bearings she’d be okay. The heavy wooden shutter was latched so she pushed up the bar. The wind blew the shutter inward, slamming it against the wall.

Wind and rain immediately pounded Audrey, but she ignored it and peered out over the countryside. And that’s what it was—countryside. The area was completely rural. She could see several more stone buildings and a scattering of smaller homes with thatched roofs in the near distance. Rain soaked her skin and dampened her hair but Audrey couldn’t make herself move.

She had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten here.

She turned away from the window and examined the room more thoroughly. The huge four-poster bed she’d been sleeping in dominated the space. A large trunk sat at the end of it, while two smaller chests flanked the top of the bed like bedside tables. A mantle made of a solid piece of thick, heavy wood sat over the hearth and a table and two welcoming chairs sat in front of it. There was no clothing lying about, no knick knacks, no little items to say who lived here.

Audrey whirled toward the corner of the room and found the door she knew would be there. She hurried to it and pushed her way inside. There was the tub from her dream last night, the one Abrah had put her in. She bit on her bottom lip to hold back a moan.

There was no sign of her clothing but there was a basin with water, along with a primitive indoor toilet. She made use of both. As she sluiced water over her face she silently repeated a mantra in her head. This can’t be happening. It’s only a dream .

She was very afraid no matter how many times she said the words they wouldn’t be true. She peeled back the blanket to stare at her body. There were several bruises on her legs and arms and one on her hip. But other than some sore muscles she seemed surprisingly fit from her ordeal.

Wind howled from the other room. “Crap.” She’d left the window wide open. That wasn’t going to help take the chill off the place and she was already freezing.

She rewrapped her blanket around her and hurried back to the bedroom. It was much easier to open the window than to close it. The wooden shutters were heavy and the wind was strong. She threw her whole weight behind one of them and managed to get it closed. The trick was keeping it there while she got the other one shut.

She huffed and puffed and broke a sweat, but didn’t give up. A particularly heavy gust pushed the shutter and she stumbled back with a shriek, knowing she was going to land on her ass on the floor.

Heavy arms caught her and set her aside. Two seconds later the window was closed and barred, shutting out the storm. “Are you all right?”

Audrey blinked and shook her head. Okay, so she’d been expecting to see one or both of the men from last night, but the reality of the situation was more overwhelming than the memory.

Abrah Dannon was huge. He had to be at least a foot taller than she and probably outweighed her by almost a hundred pounds, all of it solid muscle. He was wearing soft, brown leather pants that clung to his thick thighs like a second skin. His shoulders were encased in a long-sleeved tunic, which fell to the top of his thighs. Heavier leather boots covered his feet.

His long hair fell down his back and those two skinny braids framed the sides of his rough-hewn face. His mouth was drawn into a frown of disapproval and his thick, dark brows were furrowed. He didn’t look happy.

“Why are you out of bed? Why did you open the window?”

Audrey stumbled back, wishing she was wearing more than a blanket. It was hard to feel confident and assertive in little more than her skin and a piece of cloth. Still, she’d faced down multimillionaire businessmen and prima donna actors on more than one occasion. She drew herself up to her full height and stared up at him. “What am I doing here and where exactly am I?”

He took a step toward her and she took a step back before she could stop herself. Really the man could give lessons in intimidation tactics and the sad thing was she didn’t think he was even trying. This seemed to be his normal demeanor.

She was so screwed.

She braced her legs to keep them from moving backward. She had to face this the same way she had everything else in her life—head-on. She shivered and his frown deepened.

He stalked toward her and it took every speck of courage she possessed to keep from fleeing. But where would she go? She had no idea where she was.

Abrah swooped down and lifted her off her feet. “You are cold.” It was an accusation and it made her grin in spite of herself.

“I don’t seem to have any clothing to wear,” she pointed out. Her heart was pounding but she wasn’t afraid of him, not really. She knew deep in her heart he wouldn’t hurt her. No, she was more afraid of her reaction to him.