by N. J. Waters
Those morbid thoughts disappeared when Abrah followed her down onto the bed. He pulled her into his arms and rolled her onto her back, all the while kissing her and running his hands all over her body. He made quick work of her sweater, pants and panties.
Something dug into her back and she yanked it from beneath her. It was the remains of her bra. It looked as though it had been burnt. “What happened to my bra?”
Heroc snorted with laughter and his eyes twinkled. “It is all Abrah’s fault.” He joined them on the bed and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
There was a story there for sure, but it would have to wait. “I love you.” She blurted the words out. “Both of you.” They had to know, had to understand why she stayed, why she’d overcome a lifetime of fear.
Both men stopped and stared down at her. Abrah spoke first. “You are everything to us.” His voice shook with the emotion behind his words. His hands were gentle on her face as he stroked his fingers over her cheeks. “No one will love you more than we do. No man could ever cherish you the way we do.”
“You have given us a great gift.” Heroc brushed a lock of her hair away from her forehead. “Thank you.”
Audrey smiled and laid a hand on each of their faces. “Thank you for the gift you’ve given me. Thank you for giving me something to believe in.”
Abrah groaned and kissed her and it was a long time later when they all finally slept.
* * * * *
Carn rose from his spot in front of the hearth and padded toward the bedroom door. It wasn’t closed all the way and he used his nose to push it open. He climbed up the stairs to the abandoned tower and went unerringly toward the center of the room.
The older woman stepped out of the shadows and laughed as the dog let out a loud woof. “Thank you my friend for playing your part.” She petted his broad, furry head and smiled with satisfaction. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Using the tapestry so much in such a short span of years was messing with the magic she’d spun into it all those years ago, making it a little unpredictable. Audrey was supposed to have ended up inside the keep when she arrived three days ago, not lost outside in a raging storm. Thankfully, Carn had been more than willing to lend aid and lead the Dannon brothers to their perspective bride.
The sorceress shrugged. She’d have to see if anything could be done about that. But now it was time for her to go. The tapestry shimmered next to her, the design on the front constantly changing, and then both of them disappeared, traveling once again through time and space.
Carn stood and stared for the longest time at the place where the lady had stood. Then he padded to the door and headed back down the stairs toward the warm fire, the room and the woman already forgotten.
Epilogue
“Why is it taking so long?” Abrah paced up and down the hallway, wearing a rut in the stone floor. Everyone in the keep was tense. It had been two long days.
“Tara says these things take time,” Heroc assured his brother even as he cast a glance at the closed door. “Especially with the first one.”
“Enough of this.” Abrah slammed the bedroom door open and stalked inside just as a cry of pain shattered the silence. He hurried forward and fell to his knees beside the bed.
Audrey’s hair was plastered against her skull with sweat. Her face was pale and her lips were red from where she had bitten them.
“My love.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips.
“You should not be in here, my lord,” Tara scolded him. She didn’t take her eyes off Audrey and he could see her growing concern in the deep grooves around her eyes and mouth.
“This is the only place I can be. I will not leave you again,” Abrah promised.
“Nor will I.” Heroc went to her other side, picked up a damp cloth and patted it over Audrey’s forehead.
She closed her eyes and gave another cry.
“You are almost there, my lady. Do not push. Not yet.”
Audrey nodded and gritted her teeth. As he watched, Abrah watched her enlarged stomach ripple. His child was in there waiting to be born. It had been almost two days now. Two days of pain and waiting. Abrah had never felt so helpless in his life.
His gaze met Heroc’s and he knew his brother felt the same. Ever since the day he had married Audrey, their lives had changed for the better. All of their people adored her. She’d spent countless hours learning to weave and then she had proceeded to create new dyes for the wool and design patterns for the cloth they wove that was garnering attention from surrounding lords and especially their ladies. Their new cloth had enabled them to trade for a wider variety of goods, bringing prosperity to all who lived at Dannon Keep.
The day she had told them she was expecting a child had been the best of his life, second only to the day they’d wed. Nine months almost to the day of her arrival she had gone into labor.
“Now, my lady. Push!”
Audrey gripped his hand and squeezed it so tight she cut off the blood flow. He grimaced but held on. She gritted her teeth and grunted as she bore down.
“That’s it,” Tara praised when Audrey finally stopped. “Again. The baby is almost here.”
Audrey panted for breath, her strength waning. Abrah wished he could do this for her. All he could do was watch helplessly.
Tara had one hand low on Audrey’s belly. “Push.”
Audrey grunted and pushed again, every muscle in her body tensing as she gave it everything she had. She gave a tired cry and then another wail echoed in the room. “It’s a boy.” Tara laughed as a tear rolled down her cheek. She carefully eased the babe onto his mother’s stomach. “You have a son, my lord.”
Abrah leaned down and kissed his wife’s forehead. “Thank you, my love.”
She smiled at him. “Is he perfect? I want to see him.”
Heroc kissed her forehead, a huge smile splitting his face. “Ten fingers and ten toes. And everything else he needs.” He waggled his eyebrows, making her laugh.
Abrah watched as Tara cut the cord and did what was necessary for both mother and babe. Within minutes he was holding the bundled babe to his chest. His son’s hair was dark and would grow even darker as he grew older. For now it was a soft tuft on the top of his head.
His son. Their son. The boy belonged to all three of them.
He handed the babe to Heroc and his brother’s eyes filled with tears as he stared down at the infant. This was the beginning of a new life for all of them. There would be more children and plenty of hope for them all.
Their lives had been joined together by fate, by the fabric of the tapestry. And together they were weaving a new life.
“Let me have him,” Audrey demanded. Heroc put the babe into her arms and she smiled down at him before looking at the men standing on either side of her. “I love you. Both of you.” She stared down at her son again. “All of you.”
Abrah’s heart swelled with love for Audrey and the new addition to their family and knew his brother felt exactly the same way.
About the Author
N.J. Walters worked at a bookstore for several years and one day had the idea that she would like to quit her job, sell everything she owned, leave her hometown and write romance novels in a place where no one knew her. And she did. Two years later, she went back to the same bookstore and settled in for another seven years.
Although she was still fairly young, that was when the midlife crisis set in. Happily married to the love of her life, with his encouragement (more like, “For God’s sake, quit the job and just write!”), she gave notice at her job on a Friday morning. On Sunday afternoon, she received a tentative acceptance for her first erotic romance novel, Annabelle Lee, and life would never be the same.
N.J. has always been a voracious reader of romance novels, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks all vie for her attention. And she doesn’t mind a bit. It
’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
N.J. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Dalakis Passion 2: Lucian’s Delight
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Dalakis Passion 4: Eternal Brothers
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Summersville Secrets 2: Heat Wave
Summersville Secrets 3: Lily Blossoms
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Tapestries 2: Bakra Bride
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Tapestries 4: Threads of Destiny
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Ellora’s Cavemen: Dreams of the Oasis IV anthology
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Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer ebooks or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Print books by N.J. Walters
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Print books by N.J. Walters