Fabric of Fate

Chapter Six

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.

Audrey wanted to cling to him, to wrap her arms around him and let him take care of her. And how stupid was that. She’d learned long ago that men were not to be depended on. Her father had left her mother and her years ago, all her boyfriends had left her at the first sign of trouble in their relationship or when they’d no longer needed her money or contacts, and her bosses used her talent and took the credit for it.

No, the only person she could depend on was herself. She held her body as rigid as possible, not wanting to lean against Abrah as he sat in the chair by the fireplace with her in his lap. But, oh, it was hard. The man radiated body heat and she was shivering from the cold.

Abrah angled her body so she was facing the fire, her back to his chest. The heat from the flames felt good against her skin. She shuddered and he swore. Before she realized his intent, he had the blanket open, exposing her front to the heat and to his view.

“What are you doing?” She batted at his hands and grabbed the ends of the blankets, trying to pull them back around her.

He yanked the blanket from the grasp with no effort at all. “I am getting you warm.” He ran his hands over her arms and in a brisk motion before moving down her torso and over her thighs. She had to admit she was certainly heating up fast.

And she wasn’t the only one. Abrah’s body was like a blast furnace. And he was also aroused. Incredibly aroused.

She swallowed hard as the memories from last night came pouring back. She’d touched his impressive erection last night and he’d had his hands all over her. She shuddered and her breasts grew heavy and her nipples puckered.

Abrah gave a low rumble of approval and covered her breasts with his hands. She’d never been this horny in her life. She wanted to give in to the moment, to let go and have sex with him but she needed answers.

“Where am I?”

He sighed, his breath ruffling her curls and warming her neck. “You are in Javara.” He plucked at her nipples making it difficult to think. Her skin was ultra-sensitive and alive beneath his touch.

“Where exactly is that?” She sucked in a breath, practically panting now. That wouldn’t do. She grabbed his hands and drew them away from her breasts. Immediately, she wished they were back there. Her pussy was damp and swollen, her body was totally out of control and that so wasn’t like her. “Did you drug me?” Outrage washed through her. Was this some kind of kidnapping rouse? “I don’t have much money but you’re welcome to what I have if you’ll let me go.”

He grew still behind her. She wished she could see his face but was also grateful she couldn’t. He was fierce when angry, and she had the distinct impression he was extremely pissed at the moment.

“I do not need your money.” Great, now he sounded offended.

“Look, big guy. I don’t really know who you are or where I am.” She grabbed the ends of the blanket and flung them around her. Even the slight weight of the blankets made her skin ache.

Abrah tuned her so she was lying across his lap looking up at him. “I am Abrah Dannon and you are at Dannon Keep. This you already know.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek and down her jawline. “You are in Javara. The tapestry brought you.”

It was her turn to frown now. “What are you talking about?”

“You mentioned a tapestry in the dream we shared and again last night.”

This wasn’t making any sense. “Sure, I found an old tapestry in a box of stuff in my closet, but what does that have to do with anything? I was holding the tapestry in my hands when I collapsed in my bedroom, but I still have no idea what that has to do with me ending up here.”

His arms tightened around her. “You are ill? You need a healer?” The concern in his voice was too real to be an act, unless he was one hell of an actor, her more cynical side pointed out.

“I’m fine.” She figured if she said it enough it would become reality. Besides, other than vitamins, good food and rest there wasn’t much else to be done.

“Why did you collapse?” Abrah obviously wasn’t satisfied with her two-word explanation and demanded answers.

She tried to move but his arms were like steel bands around her. He wasn’t hurting her but she wasn’t going anywhere either, not until he got answers.

“I got run-down because I was working too hard. But I’m okay.” She wasn’t about to tell him she might have had a panic attack. She still wasn’t sure she believed that, but she could easily believe she’d been working too hard and not taking care of herself because it was the truth.

A sudden thought occurred to her and her stomach dropped. “I’m dead, aren’t I? Or maybe in a coma?” Maybe she’d hit her head when she’d fallen in her bedroom. Stranger things had happened to folks. A head injury could be fatal.

He ran his hand over her leg and hip and settled it over the curve of her waist. “No, you are not dead. You are very much alive.”

Frustration ate at her, partly due to lack of information and understanding and partly due to growing desire. Being near Abrah, being held in his lap with his heat surrounding her was having a profound effect on her senses. She could smell the wind and rain on his skin mixed with the deeper, musky scent of male. Hear the way his breathing was getting deeper. Feel the hot brand of his cock through all the layers of cloth separating them. See the way his pupils dilated and his lips parted.

She wanted him. Badly.

“I don’t understand.” And she wanted to, had to. What had happened to her well-ordered life?

Abrah cradled her in his lap, watching her closely as he spoke. “As I said before, you are in Javara. The tapestry was created by a great sorceress and imbued with her magic and it has brought you here. Such has happened for many generations.”

“Magic?” Now she was concerned about his state of mind.

“Yes. Here women are scarce and are treasured by all. Brothers compete to win the right to marry a woman. Only one brother can marry her and claim her children as his own, but the other brothers get one night a week in her bed and vow to take care of her if her husband dies. There are no more than three brothers to a woman.”

“That’s all fine and good but what does this have to do with me?” Audrey didn’t buy the entire sharing-a-woman deal. But it was one heck of an original line. “What do you mean by compete?”

“Sexually.” That one word was like a stroke down her spine, settling in her pussy and making it pulsate slow and deep. “Both Heroc and I will pleasure you separately and together. That way you will know which one of us you prefer.”

Audrey was off his lap in a flash. The blanket slipped, exposing one nipple. She yanked it back into place but not before Abrah got an eyeful. He licked his lips and she almost moaned at the thought of having his mouth all over her body.

Focus, she ordered. “Thanks but I’ll pass. How do I get home?”

A great sadness seemed to settle over Abrah even though he didn’t move and his expression didn’t change. She had the stupid urge to go to him and comfort him, which was insane. The man was a virtual stranger who wanted her to have sex with him, oh, and with his brother too. How crazy was that?

Not as crazy as it should have seemed to her. She stiffened her spine, determined to get to the bottom of this. “Tell me more about the tapestry.”

He shrugged one massive shoulder. “As I said, it is magic, created by a sorceress. It usually comes once in a generation, bringing a woman from another time and place, one who has the ability to thrive in our world. Some of the women stay but others return to their own world. It has already brought an unprecedented four such women in my lifetime.”

She had the feeling she’d disappointed him somehow. Well, tough for him. She wasn’t exactly happy at the moment herself. “You mean this magic tapestry simply kidnaps women?” The idea was totally preposterous and delusional. Obviously, Abrah needed psychiatric help. Just her luck, she meets a hunky guy and he’s a sandwich short of a picnic.

“Not kidnap. No.” He stood and began to pace, his agitation obvious in the way he raked his fingers through his hair. “Three days.” He spun around to face her. “We have three days to convince you to stay then the tapestry will come and take you home if that is your choice. If you stay you will remain here forever.”

Fear leached all the color from her face. She couldn’t imagine being lost in another world forever. Not that she believed this tall tale Abrah was spinning, but if it was true it was downright scary.

“So I can go home in three days?” Best to focus on the most important detail.

He lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked so dejected she wanted to go to him and wrap her arms around him. She’d already taken several steps before she stopped herself. The chair was in front of her so she clung to the top of it, digging her fingers into the wood.

“Yes. In three days the tapestry will return and you can make your choice.” His head came up and he stared intently at her as if he was trying to see into her very soul. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.

He began to move toward her then, his large body fluid and silent. She took a step away but he kept coming. Like an animal on the prowl he tracked her every moment. His nostrils flared and his lips parted.

“But I will use that time to convince you to stay.” His words were so soft she almost didn’t hear them. She wasn’t certain if he was talking to her or to himself. Not that it mattered. His intentions were more than clear. He intended to have sex with her.

The oddest part was she wasn’t certain she’d mind it at all. He’d touched her skin, stroked her breasts and had his fingers inside her last night. What would it feel like to make love with him? No, it wasn’t love—it was sex. She couldn’t confuse the two. He didn’t know her any better than she knew him.

She licked her lips and stood her ground as he got closer and closer until he was standing right in front of her. She was shivering now but not from the cold. Her body was alive, every nerve ending in her body singing, yearning for Abrah.

What would it hurt? They were both adults. This was a time out of time. She was already on vacation from work. No one would miss her for three days. She could have great sex with him and then go home.

“You promise you’ll let me go in three days?” He flinched at her question and she wished she could call it back. He’d brought her to this strange place after all, why should she believe him about anything? Yet, oddly enough, she did.

“Yes. If that is what you want.” He cupped her face and lowered his head. The time for talking was over. She went up on to her toes, drawn to the overwhelming need she felt coming from deep within him.

Their lips met. She’d expected a more forceful kiss but his mouth was gentle against hers, coaxing her to part and accept him. She could do nothing less. Driven by a primitive urge she truly didn’t understand, Audrey let his tongue slide between her lips and welcomed him into her embrace.