Dreams of a Dark Warrior Read Online Free PDF

through.”
    With a snarl, Aidan shot to his feet, then lurched toward a nearby tent.
    “Go to your lonely bed, old man!” Brandr cal ed.
    Brandr and I are going to cross swords one day, Regin decided. Then she leapt from one limb to
    another, settling in a tree outside Aidan’s tent. From there, she could spy the dimly lit interior through the outer flap.
    Inside, he angrily ripped off his tunic, displaying broad shoulders and a brawny back that tapered down
    to narrow hips. As he moved, his muscles flexed beneath smooth tanned skin.
    Magnificent male. She hissed out a shaky breath at the sight.
    He kicked a shield on the ground, then knocked a tankard from a table. He was like the approaching
    storm, his ire building as he began to smash his belongings—weapons clanging, wood splintering.
    Regin tilted her head in wonder, frowning at the mortal’s rampage.
    When the storm gave up its first bolt above, he froze. She thought she heard him mutter, “Lightning.
    Lightning ?” Out of the tent he staggered, clearly the worse for the liquor, and headed away from the camp.
    Regin dropped down and silently fol owed as he made his way out of the forest into a nearby field. He
    stopped before an ancient rune stone—an upright slab of rock more than ten feet tal , carved with glyphs.
    They were numerous in these Northlands, each created to be a direct path to Wóden’s ear.
    He faced the stone. “You give me lightning this eve?” With every word, his voice grew louder, until he
    was shouting: “To remind me of what I have lost?” He launched his mighty fist against the rock.
    Regin’s jaw dropped at the blasphemy.
    Aidan punched it again, bloodying his hand. “To remind me of what I cannot find?”
    With his every word, she felt his pain. It washed over her like a flood, temporarily numbing her desires.
    She’d never known hurt like this—a torment not of the body but of the mind.
    Of the heart?
    She’d never known he would come to this.
    As if pul ed to him by an invisible force, she eased closer. When he drew back his bloodied fist again,
    she stayed his arm with a touch.
    He went stil , but his whole body seemed to be thrumming. Regin’s was as wel ; her own lightning lit the
    sky from her turbulent emotions.
    Slowly, he turned to her. With a shaking hand, he reached for her cloak. She didn’t think he even
    realized he spoke aloud: “Be her, be her, gods, let it be her. ”
    He unfastened the garment, let it drop to her feet, then sucked in a breath at her uncovered face. His
    bloodshot eyes now glowed gray as they flickered over her features. Brows drawn together as if he were
    pained, he held up a lock of her hair, threading his fingers through it. “So fair.”
    A light rain began to fal , misting their skin, but he seemed not to notice as his gaze dipped to her body.
    Rocking on his feet, he rasped, “Gods, ängel . I dreamed of you like this. Every night.” Then he frowned, muttering to himself, “Stil in reverie. That was the choicest spirits.”
    “’Tis no dream, warlord—”
    One strapping arm shot out to circle her shoulders; the other was a band around her arms and torso,
    dragging her against him. She felt him groan from deep in his chest as their bodies met.
    The closest she’d ever been to a man.
    “You’ve returned to me. No longer must I worry for you, out in the world alone,” he said, his voice
    breaking lower with emotion. “You were just a little girl. Without my protection.” He nuzzled her hair,
    inhaling with another groan. “But you’re a woman now.” His erection pressed against her bel y as he
    growled, “ My woman.”
    The bare skin of his chest was smooth against her cheek and felt so hot in the rain. His scent
    surrounded her, enticing her as much as his muscles rippling al around her. When he rubbed his chin
    over the sensitive tip of her pointed ear, her claws curled, readying to sink into his body and pul him ever closer.
    Yet then he drew his head back, suspicion