Love's Call Read Online Free PDF Page B

every fiber in his being wanted to pull her in his arms, but he couldn’t. She’d recede even further from him. Even though her expression was the most open he’d seen it. He couldn’t overwhelm her like that.
    “Did he rape you?” Roduch demanded. He bit back a groan as she winced.
    Cheeks very red, Avril looked down, took a breath and met his gaze. Her jaw was tight. “Yes,” she whispered. “Ever since I was fourteen.” The toughness in her expression faltered. Tears cascaded again, and he couldn’t take it anymore.
    Roduch slid onto the bed and pulled her into his arms as gently as he could. “Dammit,” he whispered.
    She didn’t wrap her arms around him, but Avril didn’t yank away, either. She buried her face against his tunic, but sobs reached his ears as they racked her slight frame.
    He held her, rubbing her back tentatively at first, then with more soothing pressure when she didn’t protest. She was so tiny and perfect.
    How could someone hurt her?
    Roduch didn’t tell her not to cry. Avril deserved the reprieve the tears might bring. Instinct told him she never cried over what happened to her. Her mask, her inner toughness, wouldn’t allow it. She needed to grieve, as sure as she would’ve if someone had died.
    He bit back curse after curse, plotting the murder of the man she called husband. The bastard would die. And it wouldn’t be pleasant. A dull sword, hell, maybe just a shovel and a stake. His bollocks would be the first to go.
    Avril’s tears were hot on his skin as her arms shot around his neck, and she pulled herself even closer to him.
    After tucking her under his chin, he rested his cheek against her dark curls, inhaling her scent. Small, firm breasts pressed into his chest, and he threatened to lop off his manhood if it so much as stirred.
    “You’re safe with me, I promise,” he whispered against her hair to distract his thoughts—and his blood—from diving into forbidden territory.
    Blessed Spirit, he wished he was holding her under different circumstances.
    Avril’s body shifted against his chest, as if she’d taken a breath, and she met his eyes. His fingers itched to wipe her tears. However, he didn’t want her to pull away from him, so Roduch kept his hands still.
    “Will you really kill him?” she whispered.
    “I would kill anyone who dared hurt you,” Roduch said.
    A vow.
    Does she understand?
    Avril gasped. “Why?”
    Roduch stared, his tongue thick. He couldn’t very well tell her of his visions. Magic was commonplace, but what would she think if he admitted he’d been dreaming of her for turns? Even if she had magic, she’d think he was daft.
    “I will always protect you.”
    Her cheeks went crimson again. Avril sniffed and swiped at her nose. She closed her eyes as if she was trying to gather her thoughts.
    He beat her to it, words tumbling out of his mouth. “How old are you? You don’t even look old enough to have a husband.”
    Making no move to leave his embrace, her lips twitched, and his heart skipped. It wasn’t like the brilliant smiles in his visions, but it was start.
    “I’ve been eighteen for two months, but I married when I was four and ten.” Her voice shook, and she made a fist against his chest.
    Fourteen? Married at fourteen ?
    He would kill the bastard. His blood simmered and he tamped a growl so he wouldn’t scare her. “Four and ten is not legally old enough to marry.”
    “It is when your parents arrange it.” Her eyes narrowed.
    For the first time, her voice had an angry edge. Good. He wanted her angry instead of weeping.
    “They forced you?” he whispered.
    Her eyes welled up again, and Avril bit her lip, nodding.
    Roduch waited for her to compose herself. “You do not wish to stay married?”
    “I have a choice? No one…has ever asked me that.” Avril sniffled and shook her head. “No.”
    He swallowed the breath of relief he was about to release. She couldn’t know just yet what her answer had meant to him.