Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 92771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
She heard Brother Emmett warning her to go and she hurried toward the door but stopped when seeing that every monk bore a cross made from ash on his brow.
Who had blessed them? Who was trying to protect them? Keep them safe?
A shadow of a man suddenly fell over her, and she looked to see the shadow raising a sword ready to swing it at her, and she screamed. Before the sword could strike her, she was grabbed by the arm and yanked away.
“Wake up, Shade, wake up!”
Shade’s eyes popped open to find herself in Quint’s arms.
“You saved me,” she said, clinging to him, fearful he would let her go when she desperately needed his strength.
“From whom?”
“The Monk,” she said, resting her head on his chest. “Don’t let him get me. Please don’t ever let him get me.”
“He’s already got you and he will never let you go,” Quint said.
“Wake up, Shade. It’s a nightmare, nothing more than a nightmare.”
This time Shade’s eyes opened, and she did find herself in Quint’s arms, his hold tight around her and she stared at him speechless. It was a nightmare. It meant nothing. Quint wasn’t The Monk. He had no scars, wore no scowl, but there was a rage in his eyes, but it wasn’t anger… it was passion.
CHAPTER 6
“You had a nightmare,” he said, fighting the urge to kiss her and fighting with himself to let her go. He hadn’t felt such a powerful desire for a woman since his wife. There were a few women, not many, since her death but he couldn’t recall their names or their faces. It was almost a year after her passing before his need returned. He regretted it once the deed was done and much time passed before he felt the need again. That time, however, he prepared himself. He thought of nothing but quenching his need and the outcome at least satisfied him.
Shade was different. Something more than just satisfying a need stirred in him when he looked at her, touched her, kissed her, and while he wanted to pursue it, it also troubled him.
He kept hold of her, having no intention of letting her go just yet. “Tell me about it.”
Shade was too lost in the passion that swirled in his blue eyes. It was potent and seductive. So much so that she actually felt that he desired her, which sparked her own desire. Or was it her own passion that laid dormant for so long that had her thinking that way? She was far from knowledgeable about intimacy and passion. Was finding him appealing enough to flare her desire? Or had her body been so deprived of such knowledge that since it was finally awakened, she ached for it?
She watched the passion in his eyes fade, replaced by concern and that only fired her own desire more that he cared enough to be concerned about her.
He ran his fingers faintly across her brow and down along the side of her face. “Was the nightmare so upsetting that you continue to linger in it?”
“I saw them,” she said softly, recalling how her grandmother would urge her to voice her nightmares so they could be released and disturb her no more.
“Who?” he asked, settling himself in the bed and pulling her along with him to rest comfortably in his arms.
She cuddled against him, his warm, muscled body offering protection and strength if only for a bit. “The dead monks.”
“Tell me more,” he encouraged.
Shade didn’t hesitate, anxious to be free of the nightmare. “They were all dead from several stab wounds as if one would not suffice, except for Brother Emmett. He was still alive though lingered near death. He warned me it was too late and that I should hurry and go. I ran and the shadow of a man appeared. He raised his sword and was about to strike me when I woke.” She shook her head. “I woke in your arms but not really. I was still in the nightmare. I told you that you saved me from The Monk.”
“I would never let him hurt you, Shade,” he said, hugging her closely.
“That’s not what you said to me. You told me he already had me and that he would never let me go.” She shivered.
He pulled a blanket over them. “All the talk we did about The Monk and your friend Brother Emmett was enough to give you a nightmare. None of it is real.”
Shade kept herself tucked against him. “Someone blessed them. I saw a cross inscribed on each of their brows. It was made with a mixture of ash and blood.”
“Perhaps the men blessed the monks before burying them. Did your step-da mention it?”
“Nay, he never said a word about it. I wonder if it is true and that The Monk blessed them, but if he did that, if he wanted to save their souls, why kill them in the first place? Unless he is nothing more than a madman.”