Read Online Two Knights of Indulgence by Alexandra O'Hurley - Free Book Online Page A

off-putting to feel so out of control when he was around the woman, but it
was starting to occur even when she wasn’t in the vicinity.   Britt had every right to be wary of
them.   They were strangers to her,
strangers who had taken her out of her world and dragged her into theirs
without truly taking the time to determine if it were the best course of
action.  
    Yet, her reticence wasn’t what had angered him.   He’d seen the way the woman’s gaze had often
gone to Matthias.   She was enamored with
his friend.  
    Nicolas felt the jealousy rage through him.   He wasn’t an envious man, especially when it
came to Matthias.   The man had laid down
his life for Nicolas more times than he could count.   Matthias had lived a near celibate life,
refraining from using women as Nicolas had over the years.   In all rights, she was Matthias’ due.  
    So, why had he been imagining planting the axe in his
hands deep into Matthias’ skull with each and every plunge?   It made him sick to his stomach that the
sight had come to him, but it had come.   There had to be something wrong with him for him to even consider the
errant thoughts in his mind.   Matthias
was his closest friend, his brother.   They rarely argued and never, ever fought over a woman.
    Yet, Nicolas wanted her with a need he could barely
contain and that wouldn’t be ignored.   He
had sensed her slight interest when they’d been in her bedroom.   He’d seen her shiver as he’d touched her ear,
knew she felt it, too.   Even then, he’d
felt the surge of her power rush into his fingertips, and he needed more.  
    He propped another round on the chopping block and
adjusted it before splitting it evenly into three pieces.   Each drop of the axe took a little of his
anger away and half an hour later, he had nearly gone through a whole cord of
wood.   They had plenty to get them
through for a week or more.   The spring
thaw could be smelled in the air even now, so there was no threat to make him
chop more.
    Yet he couldn’t stop.   He needed to exhaust himself so he could think more rationally.   He had no right to feel the way he did.   Matthias was his friend, his brother.   Hell, the man was almost a father to him.   Matthias had been there to show him the way
when Eustache had come in and forced him into fostering.   Without Matthias, Nicolas was sure he’d be a
much harder man than he already was.
    Seven hundred years later and he was still a
hothead.   He wore his emotions on his
sleeve instead of being the calm, collected man Matthias was.   If he couldn’t control himself around her,
he’d push her away.  
    Hell, she only had eyes for Matthias, so was there any
point in worrying about pushing her away?   And considering their life of constant battle, it wasn’t even a
possibility she could become a part of their world.   His attraction to her had to be forgotten.
    Another thirty minutes passed, and his arms began to
feel like rubber.   Firewood was stacked
high.   They’d stay warm for a while.   One last round lay in the rubble, and he
lifted it to the block before wiping sweat from his brow.   He dropped the axe into the wood, and the
splinters flew, driving a large shard into his leg.   He bellowed a curse and yanked the wood
out.   Blood flowed freely, as he must
have cut into a vein.   Wrenching off his
shirt, he wrapped it around the cut to prevent it from littering the floor once
he went in.   He then hobbled back to the
house to clean it up.
    He rushed in and quickly moved to the bathroom,
propping himself on the edge of the bath.   Nicolas kicked off his shoe and pulled off his sock before dropping his
foot in the tub.   He turned on the warm
water and cleaned the mess.
    “What happened?”
    Nicolas turned to see Britt hovering over his shoulder
and looking at his wound.   “A wood
splinter pierced my leg.”
    “Let me look at it.”
    “It’s nothing.   It’ll heal in no time.   I just
need to