A Warrior's Heart (Shields) by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online Page A

undergarments as well.
    With her hair still hanging wet and tangled about her, Jayna hurried to put on the clean clothes.   She smoothed her hand over the soft material of the gown.   The wide, trailing sleeves, and deep hem held a floral pattern that matched the color of the gown.   And once she wrapped the braided belt twice around her waist, then let its length land nearly to her feet, she felt like a queen.
    How long had it been since she had dressed as a lady?   How long had it been since she had acted like a person of her station should?   The years had passed by in a blur because she had been focused on one thing...Gabriel.  
    Just for a moment, one instant in time, she wanted to forget the past and the revenge that ruled her world.   She wanted to forget the Great Evil.   She just wanted to be Lady Jayna, a woman who searched for her future.
    She sighed and slowly walked from the chamber.   It was her own chamber that she sought, for there she could sit before the fire and comb out her hair as she tried to forget the past.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    Gabriel barely had time to wash up and change before supper.   The food was more than delicious at Stone Crest, but sitting at the long table with the men he called brothers and their wives was becoming harder and harder.   It just drove home how alone he was in the world.
    As he hurriedly descended the steps he recalled that Hugh had asked to speak to him before the evening meal.   Time had gotten away from Gabriel as he checked the armory.   Whatever it was, he knew Hugh would speak to him later.
    It wasn’t until he started toward the dais that he noticed a woman in the chair beside his.   For an instant, he was sure he recognized the woman.   He slowed his steps and studied her face.   It was the face of an angel, one so beautiful and graceful that it couldn’t possibly be real.  
    Her golden blonde hair was parted down the middle and hung over her breasts in two thick plaits.   As he made his way toward the dais, he saw the welcoming smile she bestowed upon anyone that passed near her.   Her lips were full and her mouth wide, erotic lips that he suddenly yearned to feel on his skin.
    Gabriel stopped and tried to swallow.   He couldn’t get closer to her yet, not when he hadn’t had his fill of looking at her.   He needed to see more of her creamy skin, unmarked by a blemish.   He needed to see her gently arching brows lift gracefully at something Val said.   He needed to see her striking hazel eyes crinkle at the corners as she laughed.
    He knew her.
    “Gabriel?”
    He jerked and turned his head to find Hugh at his elbow.
    “Is everything all right?”
    Gabriel nodded, unable to find his voice, and angry at Hugh for breaking into his examination of the woman.
    “She is quite beautiful isn’t she?” Hugh asked softly.
    Gabriel made himself turn his back to the dais as he looked to Hugh.   “Who is she?”
    “First, tell me why you were staring at her as if you know her?”
    “Because I think I do.”
    “What?” Hugh asked, bewilderment widening his eyes.   “How?”
    Gabriel sighed and ran a hand down his face.   “I don’t know.   It’s just when I first saw her...I felt as if I knew her.”
    “Could she have been someone you bedded?”
    Gabriel flattened his lips as he shook his head.   “I may bed my fair share of women, but I do remember their faces.   She’s not one of them.”
    “You haven’t been at Stone Crest long enough to have forgotten her, and if I take her at her word, she just arrived her today.”
    “Maybe she simply looks like someone from my past,” Gabriel finally admitted.
    Hugh clamped a hand on his shoulder.   “Has any more come to you?”
    He shook his head, unwilling and unable to speak more of a past he feared more than death itself.   “Mina waits for you.   Come, we must eat.”
    “Her name is Jayna,” Hugh said before he could walk away.   “Mina welcomed her, but