| ~LADY THIEF~ Lady Thief more than meets her match when the Butcher of Acre takes command of Castle Sanctuary. Despite her misgivings, Eiry realizes too late Lucian is the only man who stirs her heart and makes her yearn for his touch. Can she trust a man rumored to possess no soul? Will her courage and love save him from his own personal hell and help him become the hero she sees in him? |
| Leaving her chambers, Eiry pressed a cautious ear against his door. The restless noise was definitely coming from within. Cautious, she turned the doorknob and opened the door slowly. Peering into the dimly lit room, she saw his large bulk on the bed, thrashing about, tangled in the blankets. She slipped inside the room, breathing hard with fear. Eiry stood transfixed at what she saw. The hardened warrior she knew was entranced, fighting his inner most demons as the nightmares tormented him while he lay vulnerable in sleep. “Martine? Wake up,” Eiry whispered, her voice sounding hoarse in the chamber. Unsure what to do, should she go and get Derrick or try to wake him herself? Deciding he was in peril of hurting himself, she called out, “Lucian, you must wake up,” she spoke louder, afraid for him when she realized he was firmly entrenched in the nightmare. “Lucian,” Eiry raised her voice again but to no avail. He did not wake. A proud man during daylight hours, he now whined in fear, thrashing about the clinging blankets, fighting his demons. Her heart went out to him, wanting to ease his pain. Without thinking, Eiry touched his shoulder. Gasping when Lucian grabbed her by the arm, he yanked her onto the bed beside him. Rising above her, his eyes open and wildly looking around, seeing and not seeing her. One powerful hand pinned her shoulder down as the other wrapped around her throat, his long fingers slowly squeezing the life out of her. Terror gripped her and she fought him. When it only made him tighten his grip, she forced her body to relax. Calming down, she reached her shaking hands up to cup the hard planes of his contorted features, terrified for he truly looked evil. She rasped out, “Lucian, please wake up. Tis’ me--Eiry. Please look at me.” Shaking uncontrollably, Eiry tried to speak calmly to him, hard since he was slowly squeezing her windpipe. Burying her fingers in his long hair, she gently urged his head down to hers. As if coming out of a fog, Lucian heard a woman’s voice, soft and husky, calling out to him. The savage, dark features of a Saracen blended with that of Eiry’s. Tears of fright were streaming down her pale face. Lucian drew back in horror when he realized where his hand was placed. “Christ Jesus! Eiry, please forgive me.” He gathered her limp body to him, holding her close to his bare chest. Coughing, Eiry felt his strong arms wrap around her, pressing her against him. He was shaking violently from what he’d done. Swallowing, she was finally able to slip her arms around his waist, trying to comfort him. “I’m fine. Please, Lucian, calm down,” her voice croaked, unrecognizable from the bruising. “I almost killed you,” Lucian choked out, forcing himself to release her. Flopping onto his back, he covered his eyes in shame. Reeling from the torment deep in his soul, the guilt of almost killing an innocent woman overwhelmed him. To his eternal disgrace, he mourned, he had finally become the evil the world thought him to be. She wiped away her tears, sniffing as she looked about, unsure what to do until Lucian uncovered his eyes and looked at her. The anguish in those dark, fathomless eyes undid her. Eiry sat up and shifted closer to the traumatized man. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing his dark head to her pounding heart. Miraculously, Lucian threw his arms around her, clinging to her in desperation. Gently stroking his thick hair, she clung to him as he did her. All of a sudden, eyes, black as sin, met hers and his hard mouth swooped over hers, bruising her lips in raw, hot intensity as he kissed her. Never had she been kissed with such passion or desperation as his mouth moved over hers. She barely felt him shift her restless body more under his huge frame, devouring her as if he were a starving man. Perhaps they both were hungry from the utter loneliness of choices made for the sake of others. In her inexperience, she tried to release the wild passion burning inside her, growing inflamed by his hot mouth moving over hers. Taste and touch blurred into fire. The electrifying sensations his roaming hands incurred sent her moaning with the pleasure. His tongue teased her lips into allowing him entrance. Her mind exploded with the first feel of his velvet rough tongue caressing hers, urging her to use hers. Her pain was forgotten when she touched his tongue with her own, tasting wine and heat. Her world exploded with the raw, sensual, erotic feelings. Lucian was drowning in the sweet offering of Eiry’s lush mouth, melting into her safe, warm embrace. Being in her arms felt like coming home, a welcome he never received on his return from the Crusades. A mere dream, he sighed, not wanting to end. Wait! A deep shock of cold reality slammed him. This was no dream! |
