Thief of Hearts Read Online Free PDF

to stretch his cramped legs. He'd eaten and slept a good deal in the two days since his release from prison, but he still felt a strange core of weakness, as if something deep inside hadn't healed yet. He was halfway to the ladder, his only thought to pace a few times between it and his cabin, when he heard the clang of footsteps, descending. Damn! A sailor's gumboots appeared in the companionway. The cabin door beside him was closed. Was it locked? No. He pushed it open, passed inside, and closed it behind him.
    And halted, back against the door, frozen motionless. By the light of one oil lantern he saw a girl, lying in a bunk along the cabin's right wall. For a long time he just stared, almost in disbelief, because the sight was so incongruous, he could count on the fingers of one hand the times he'd sailed a ship with a woman aboard. Then the truth dawned on him: This girl was Nick's wife. Nick's widow.
    He went closer, holding the slack chain in his hands to silence it. She was small, hardly bigger than a child. Was she sick? Her face was almost as white as the pillow. She had reddish hair, or maybe light brown, the light was too dim to see. He remembered her name was Anna. Her delicate eyelids fluttered, and for a second he thought she would wake. But she didn't, and he realized she was dreaming.
    He should go, it was wrong to watch her like this; her face looked naked, too exposed, he ought to leave her alone. A tiny smile played at the corners of her mouth, and the sweetness of it pushed back his resolve. How pretty she was. He stared, entranced, until her smile faded and a little cry of fear sounded deep in her throat. Nothing after that, no expression except the fragile flickering of her lashes, but he worried for her. He went nearer, hovered over her.
Don't be afraid, Anna
, he thought.
    She was walking in afield of lilies. The sun shone bright and hot, but the lilies were cool, icy-white, and luscious. Nicholas was holding her hand, walking beside her. She felt lit up inside with happiness. He stopped once and turned her in his arms, kissing her with reverence and passion. Then they set off again across the cool white lilies
.
    From all around them came a sound that frightened her. There was nothing to see but distance, but from somewhere a harsh braying whine was growing louder, scaring her, making her skin feel vulnerable. She wanted Nicholas to stop and turn around, to run back with her across the pale lily field, but he wouldn't stop. She saw a rent in the clouds over their heads, and the nose of a knife blade slicing through. The howling whine was like a saw, deafening now as the blade descended
.
    She opened her mouth to scream. A low-pitched, fierce, commanding sound issued from her throat, louder than the whine, louder than anything she'd ever heard. The very air turned to sound and swirled with strong, vibrant color. Her lungs felt empty and purified. Without surprise, she watched the blade turn to silver smoke and dissolve among the clouds. Nicholas came toward her, his eyes shining with gratitude and love
.
    She awoke, and he was there. Kneeling beside her, his eyes so intent, his face so dear. She reached up to him with both arms, and he came to her. Something between a moan and a sob trembled in her throat as she clung to him, holding herself against him.
Nicholas. Oh, my dear
. Her heart ached with the fullness of her love. She tightened her arms around him, shuddering with relief and gladness, and lifted her mouth for his kiss.
    Afterward, Brodie would think back to that moment, that instant in time when he should have let her go, and he would remember why it had been impossible. It wasn't because she was lovely, or because her body under her thin gown was supple and delicate and exciting, or because the fragrance of her soft hair beguiled him. What made him return her yearning embrace and kiss her with such tenderness was simply that she wanted it so. Her need was a tangible thing, urgent and