Fabric of Fate

Chapter Eight

Heroc savored the feel of Audrey beneath his lips and his hand. She was everything he’d ever wanted—intelligent, sensual, kind and giving. Her reaction to the loss of his family had been genuine. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one.

He still couldn’t believe she was alone in her world. What was wrong with the men there? They didn’t deserve such a treasure. Didn’t know what to do with it. But he did.

He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue over her lips and through the slight opening. She tasted of tea and bread and cheese. Of desire, hot and potent.

He had wanted to kick Abrah’s ass when he’d stalked out of the room after making his cutting comments. He’d made Audrey cry and the memory angered him. But he understood his brother better than Abrah understood himself, knew Abrah wanted her to stay so badly he was afraid to reach out and take what was in their grasp. The tapestry had not yet returned and, until it did, Heroc planned to do everything in his power to convince Audrey to stay.

To that end, he fed her, comforted her and talked to her about his life here in Javara. He wanted to hear all about her world and what her life was like there, but that would have to wait. The quickest way to build a relationship with her was through touch and sexual desire. Heroc wasn’t about to miss the opportunity that had presented itself.

She needed a gentle touch after the shock she’d had. It was only last evening she’d almost lost her life to the storm. He shuddered at the thought of finding her near lifeless body lying in the dirt. Thank the gods for Carn and his canine senses.

Audrey made a slight whimpering sound and he tightened his grip around her, continuing to kiss her, to explore her sensual mouth. The fire crackled in the hearth warming the air around them. The wind continued to whip up outside, but in this room only the murmurs of lovers and the occasional gasp could be heard.

They were cocooned in a time out of time. Heroc gave thanks for the inclement weather. It would keep news of Audrey’s arrival from spreading to other families until it was too late. She’d either be returned to her home or claimed by one of them before any other castle knew of her arrival. That might be selfish of him, but he didn’t care. Audrey had come to them and it was with them she belonged.

He released her breast and tugged the blanket from her grasp. She clung to the fabric, her knuckles tightening until they turned white, and then she slowly released it. He broke the kiss, wanting to examine every inch of her.

Bruises still smudged her delicate skin, ranging up and down her arms. There were a few on her stomach, but what concerned him more was how slender she was. “Have you been ill?”

She shrugged and glanced away, peering into the fire.

He caught her chin between his fingers and tugged her gaze back to him. “Tell me.” It was a demand, one he couldn’t stop himself from making. The thought of her being ill was more than he could bear.

She absently rubbed her chest as if it hurt. “I had some minor health problems and ended up home in bed. Nothing serious.”

Heroc felt certain she was downplaying what was wrong. “How long ago?” She must have been sick a long time to be so skinny.

“A few days.”

His jaw dropped and he quickly shut it. “Should you be out of bed? Does anything hurt?” He wasn’t sure what to do and wondered if he should send Abrah for their healer.

She touched his jaw, her fingers sliding along the thick cords of his neck. “I’m fine. Just a little tired and undernourished. The doctor told me to rest and take better care of myself. I was actually taking a few days away from work when I landed here.”

He frowned, wondering if there was more she wasn’t telling him. “That does not explain why you are so slender.” He rubbed his hands up and down her ribcage.

She looked uncomfortable beneath his regard but she answered him. “I’d been working hard for a long time at my job. I hadn’t been taking good care of myself.” She offered him a smile that fell flat. “I got too caught up in getting ahead and making money.”

“This money is your means of barter?”

“Yes.”

“Having a lot of it is important in your world?” Heroc couldn’t imagine anything being more important that a female’s health. Where would the next generation come from if all the women were ill?

“Too much so.” She sighed and he could sense her struggling to find the right words. “I live in a world where I have to work to get money so I can buy shelter and food and whatever else I need. Our society is a fast-paced one, always pushing harder and faster. If you slack off work there is someone waiting to take your job from you. If that happens you can end up hungry or homeless.”

She laughed, but Heroc could hear the bitterness beneath it and it hurt him. He hugged her to him, cradling her head on his shoulder. “Our worlds are very different. Money does not matter so much here.”

She raised her head. “Then how do you live?”

He smiled at her, more than happy to tell her about his home. “Dannon Keep and the lands surrounding it give us everything we need to survive. The castle itself is small compared to some but it is well built. We are more isolated than most but that means there is not much threat from others. The lakes and rivers are filled with fish, the forest and mountain teeming with game. We raise some animals ourselves and till the field for the rest. We have orchards filled with fruit and keep bees for honey.”

“You and your brother do all that?”

He laughed at the amazement in her voice and reached out to tuck a lock of her curly hair behind her ear. “No. We are the lords of the keep. We have many families that live here and we all work to bring prosperity to the land.”

“Wow.” She frowned and he rubbed the lines between her eyes. Her eyelashes fluttered downward when she blinked and he admired her long lashes. “Your world seems much like mine about six hundred years ago, except for the lack of women, that is.”

He did not wish to talk about this barbaric world she hailed from any longer. Heroc could not imagine any man letting his woman work herself into ill health or allowing her to end up homeless or hungry. Unthinkable.

The time had come for action, not talking. Heroc shifted Audrey, turning her so she was facing him, her legs straddling his lap. She clutched his shoulders for balance as he untangled the blanket from her lower body and tossed it to the floor.

“Let me love you. Let me show you what it could be like if you stayed.”

Audrey didn’t know what was real anymore. Abrah was a thorough lover who seemed to know her body better than she knew it herself. He was a driven lover, but self-contained, intense. Heroc was more open, easier to talk to. She’d found it easy to answer his questions and found they’d prompted some of her own.

It had become more apparent with every passing second that this world was indeed real. There was no way she was in a dream this long and vivid. Perhaps she was in a coma but she honestly didn’t think so. However it had happened, she had to accept the fact that she truly was in this strange world of Javara with these two incredible men.

Heroc trailed his hands over her back, bringing her attention back to the here and now. The new position in which she sat exposed her totally to his gaze and his roving hands. She was naked. Again. That seemed to be the norm since she’d arrived here. She should feel awkward at best, outraged at least, but strangely enough, it was starting to feel normal.

The warmth of the fire penetrated her back and buttocks and the heat radiating from Heroc warmed her front. He ran his fingers through her hair, watching it twine around his thumb.

“Your hair is beautiful. Alive.”

It had always been the bane of her existence, especially when she was a teenager, but there was no doubt that Heroc thought it was special.

“Thank you.”

She felt suddenly shy with him and lowered her gaze. She wasn’t used to getting compliments and certainly not while she sat naked on a man’s lap. He was still totally dressed, garbed in what she was coming to think of as his usual garb of leather tunic, pants and boots. That seemed to be what men wore here, much like they’d wear jeans and a T-shirt back home.

“What is wrong?”

He was attuned to her change of mood and rubbed his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to comfort her. He really was quite an amazing man.

“I’m naked,” she blurted out and could feel her cheeks heating. She’d thought she could be mature and blasé about the situation, but obviously not.

“You are self-conscious?”

She nodded.

He smiled. “Then we will fix that.”

She assumed he would put her aside and find her something to wear, or at the very least snag the blanket from the floor and wrap it around her. Instead, he leaned back and grabbed the hem of his tunic and yanked it over his head.

His chest gleamed in the firelight. Like his brother, his stomach was flat and hard with ridged muscle running down each side. His biceps were enormous.

“Better?” He caught her hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing one finger after the other until he’d covered them all.

Flutters began low in her belly and her skin tingled. “Much better,” she assured him. How could it not be better for her to see all that prime male flesh?

Audrey had made love to Abrah not long ago. Last night both men had touched her intimately. She knew she was going to make love with Heroc too and that didn’t seem as strange as it would have only a short while ago. This world was different from her own, the expectations totally skewed.

Why shouldn’t she enjoy it while she was here?

Because you are getting too attached to the Dannon brothers and allowing them to become attached to you. Audrey ignored the voice of reason when it piped up. She’d been reasonable her entire life, not making waves at work, doing what was expected. And where had it gotten her—a panic attack and a midlife crisis.

She was going to go with the flow and do what she wanted to do for a change, consequences be damned. She’d almost died in that storm last night. Now she wanted to live, to taste life at its fullest.

Heroc cupped her nape and kissed her, holding her steady as he ate at her lips and tangled his tongue with hers. The man could certainly kiss, and he explored her mouth thoroughly, leaving no crevice untouched. She tightened her thighs around his, losing herself in his taste, his growing passion. She ran her hands over his shoulders, arms and chest, feeling the taut muscles, the tension.

Her hands slipped lower and she traced a finger along the waistband of his pants. He groaned into her mouth and pulled away, his chest expanding and contracting quickly as he sucked air into his lungs. His eyes weren’t truly green like Abrah’s, but more a bluish green that reminded her of the ocean off a tropical island. There was such heat in those eyes that she felt scorched by his gaze.

“Touch me lower.”

She knew what he wanted and obliged. There was no mistaking the hard, heavy bulge pressing against the placket of his pants. Even through the material she could feel the heavy pulse, the heat, the sheer power of him.

He plucked at the laces and quickly freed himself. His cock fell into her waiting hand and she marveled at the length and girth of him. He and Abrah were certainly impressive. Her experience might be limited but she knew superior male flesh when she saw it. Or, in this case, held it.

She wrapped her fingers around his erection and pumped.

Heroc groaned and quickly tugged her hand away. “Too much.” He shifted his legs, widening them. The action threatened her balance and she fell back. He caught her easily and gave a low, rumbling growl as he leaned down and captured one of her nipples between his lips.

Oh, the heat from his mouth was marvelous. His tongue lapped at the straining bud and teased the area around it. She gripped his hair in her hands and tugged him to her other breast, wanting to feel the wonderful sensations there as well.

He laughed, a low sensual sound that made her pussy clench. What was it about these brothers that turned her on so quickly? She’d been without a man for years and honestly hadn’t missed it. But Abrah and Heroc seemed to know exactly what to do to turn her on. Or maybe she was simply different here. More relaxed. Focused on herself and not on work.

Heroc licked the underside of her breast and nuzzled her cleavage. She was breathless with growing need. “The bed,” she gasped.

“Too far.” He tunneled one hand between her thighs, touching her intimately. She was wet, her folds slick and plumped. He gave a hum of approval and worked two thick fingers into her core.

She cried out and grabbed his shoulders for support, digging her nails into his muscled flesh. He tightened his arm around her back while he explored her sex with the other. His thumb pressed against her clit and she cried out. Her pussy tightened around his fingers, trying to draw them deeper even as he withdrew them.

“Heroc,” she wailed. She wanted him. Didn’t want to wait any longer.

He lifted her easily in a display of amazing strength and positioned her over his waiting cock. “Guide me into your body.”

She gripped his shaft and positioned it against her opening. He lowered her and his cock head pushed inside, stretching her. But there was no time for her to become accustomed to him. Heroc didn’t stop lowering her until he was all the way inside her.

“So tight,” he groaned, burying his face in the curve of her neck. She agreed with him but couldn’t manage to talk.

She panted and waited for her body to accept him. He nibbled at her neck and she arched her back when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. The action drove her pelvis against his and her clit rubbed over his taut flesh. Audrey moaned and did it again.

Heroc sat back, gripped her hips and began to lift her. He raised her several inches before pulling her back down onto his swollen cock. It felt incredible. This position kept her open and vulnerable and left him totally in control. Audrey didn’t care. She closed her eyes and focused on the hard thrust of his cock surging into her pussy, the flutter of her inner muscles as he withdrew and the tightening as he pushed inward again.

She balanced herself as best she could, using his shoulders for support. He angled her body and her clit rubbed against his pelvis every now and again, the uneven rhythm maddening.

Heroc’s thrusts got faster, his breathing harsh. She could feel him swelling inside her. She leaned inward, rubbing her breasts against his hard chest, the slight smattering of chest hair tickling her nipples.

Her lower body clenched hard and she cried out. Her orgasm swept over her and she rode it out, savoring every stroke of his cock. Her pussy spasmed, clutching at his shaft. He yelled her name and came, the hot pulse of his release flooding her core.

Audrey collapsed against his chest and he banded his arms around her, holding her upright. Both of them were breathing heavily and her heart was pounding. She concentrated on taking one deep breath after another.

Her release had taken everything out of her and she was content to loll against Heroc, nestling closer to his warmth. Her skin gradually cooled and she shivered.

Heroc stood and his cock slid from her body, leaving her with an empty feeling she didn’t particularly like. He lifted her easily into his strong arms and carried her to the bed. She didn’t protest when he set her on the mattress and disappeared into the bathing chamber only to return moments later with a warm, damp cloth. He cleaned between her thighs, but she was beyond being embarrassed and allowed him to have his way.

The weight of the journey, her ill health, her mental exhaustion and her physical encounters with both men had left her feeling like a wrung-out dishrag. She tried to open her eyes but found it difficult. He was frowning down at her. “Sleep.”

There was nothing else she could do. She still had so many questions she wanted to ask him. And she wanted to see beyond the walls of this room. And she would. After she’d rested for a few minutes.