Read Online Fabric of Fate by N.J. Walters - Free Book Online Page A

Abrah’s voice was strained and Heroc knew his brother was holding his passion in check by a thread.
    Heroc tossed aside the cloth and followed his brother into the bedroom, watching intently as Abrah carried her to the bed. Carn padded behind them, taking up his usual place in front of the hearth.
    He’d taken the time to turn back the covers after he’d stoked the fire. The room was warm but not warm enough. “We need to use body heat.” Abrah nodded and placed the woman in the middle of the mattress.
    Heroc stared at her, devouring her oval face, full lips and high cheekbones. She looked very familiar. His hands stilled on the laces of his pants.
    “Abrah.” His brother continued to strip off his damp clothing, but raised his eyebrow in question. “I recognize this woman.” Heroc wasn’t sure his brother would believe him or not, but he couldn’t hold in the truth. “From a dream.”
    “I recognize her too.” Abrah yanked his tunic over his head and dropped it on the floor.
    Heroc’s heart began to race. Was it possible they’d shared the same dream? With the woman currently lying in Abrah’s bed? In the dream she’d said the tapestry had brought her. Had that happened in truth? He certainly wasn’t dreaming now, but then again, his dream had felt incredibly real too. Heroc didn’t know what the truth was and didn’t care. All that mattered was getting her warm and saving her life.
    He kicked off his boots and whisked away his pants. His tunic followed and he crawled into bed beside her. Abrah climbed in on the other side and pulled the thick furs over all of them.
    Heroc rested his hand on her flat stomach. Her skin was still chilly to the touch and so he began to stroke up and down her torso and over her thigh, willing his warmth into her body. She had to live. Heroc would not entertain any other outcome.
    Audrey knew she had to be dreaming. There simply was no other explanation for what was happening to her. A giant dog and two men had found her, brought her to a stone castle and popped her into the bathtub after stripping her naked. She should have been appalled by what was happening but she was too miserable to care.
    Her entire body ached and she was beginning to think she’d never be warm again. Ice seemed to encase her bones, chilling her to the very core of her being.
    The mattress dipped and one of the men climbed in beside her. The light flickered in the room and she frowned. Why did this place seem familiar? The mattress dipped again and the other man joined them in the bed. She knew she should be outraged. She was naked after all. But she was cold and they were so very warm. Their large bodies radiated heat. She wanted to snuggle next to them and soak it all in.
    Lethargy filled her, surrounded her, until she floated in a bubble, distanced from her surroundings while still somehow a part of it. The sensation was strange, yet oddly comforting, as though she were removed from all feeling and emotion. She was safe here. Nothing could touch her.
    She frowned as one of the men rested his hand on her stomach. It felt heavy and real. But this couldn’t be. This wasn’t her bedroom and she’d certainly never had two handsome, naked men in her bed. She’d certainly remember if such an event had ever taken place.
    Somehow these men weren’t strangers, or at least she didn’t think they were. They were familiar, like she knew them from somewhere, but where?
    Although it wasn’t easy to keep her eyes open, she studied them in the dim light emanating from the crackling fire. They both were very large men with broad shoulders and huge biceps. They wore their black hair long, but one of them had a single skinny braid on either side of his face. The shape of their faces were so similar she knew they had to be related—brothers or cousins.
    The one with his hand on her stomach had a slightly crooked nose and, when he smiled at her, recognition hit like a sledgehammer in the gut. He was the man from