was peeing in the woods.
“Is there any toilet paper?” she asked, although it was a foolish question. “I mean something to wipe with?”
He tipped his head to the side and studied her as though she were an animal in the zoo. He ripped a bunch of leaves from a branch and handed them to her without a word.
Leaves.
She squeezed her eyes shut and did what she had to do. But honestly, in that moment, she didn’t like the thirteenth century in the least.
* * *
She was a funny thing.
So confident and intelligent, but at the same time, so utterly clueless, as though she really did not belong in this place, in this world whatsoever.
As a child Dominic had been told stories about the fairies who visited from another realm to cause mischief, steal babies and occasionally mate with the human folk. If he’d had a whimsical bone in his body, he could have believed she was one of them.
But she was no fairy.
She was flesh and bone.
Human.
It had killed him watching her tug down her breeks, exposing her long legs and that delicious ass. He wanted to see her whole body, bare before him. Writhing.
If he had any sense, tonight he would strip her naked before he tied her up.
And hell.
What hell that thought unleashed in his gut.
She stood and fastened her pants—much to his regret—and then turned to face him. He tried to conceal his thoughts from her, but probably failed, because her eyes widened. Memories of the night before, holding her, kissing her, testing the exquisite weight of her breasts, howled through him. Her lips parted. Her tongue peeped out and hunger boiled.
Slowly, they approached each other, step by step.
He reached up and tucked a wild curl behind her ear. Lord she was lovely. Her eyes were clear, her complexion flawless. Her expression welcoming.
He bent his head, savoring the moment, savoring the anticipation of tasting her again.
A growl behind him made his heart stop
The little hairs of his neck stood on end.
He ripped his gaze from hers and whirled, keeping her behind him, shielding her from this menace.
An enormous, scarred beast stood in the shadows of the trees, its teeth bared, saliva dripping from its maw. A wolf.
Shite.
What had he been thinking, coming out into these woods alone? That he might steal a kiss?
Fool.
Wolves were a constant danger to hunting parties; the scent of blood drew them.
And Dominic had left his weapons in camp. All he had on him was a dirk.
Fear flickered in his breast. Not for himself. For her.
He at least had a chance.
She was utterly helpless before such savagery.
“Stay back,” he murmured softly, positioning himself to meet this threat. The woman did not obey him. She crept along behind him, clutching his arm. He pulled out his dirk and waved his arms wide to make himself look bigger.
The wolf was not impressed. It padded closer and closer still, licking its chops. It growled again.
“Be careful,” she said.
He dared an incredulous glance at her. Be careful? “Stay back,” he snapped. “I want you to run when I attack.”
“You’re going to attack ? That’s a wolf. And a big one too.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Throw it a chunk of meat.”
“In case you havena noticed, the only meat I have is still attached to my body.”
“Well you can’t attack it—”
But he didn’t have to. The wolf did the honors, leaping at him with a blood-chilling snarl.
They met in a macabre embrace. The force of the lunge knocked him to the ground. Sharp claws gouged at his leather jerkin and jagged teeth sprayed drool across his face as they snapped in a frenzy. It took all Dominic’s strength to hold it back. The only thought in his head was that he had to prevail… or she would die.
He could not allow that.
He could not let his failure be the cause of her destruction.
But it was clear. He was outmatched. His only hope was to take a swipe at the beast with his knife and hope he hit some vital spot. Trouble was, he needed
Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins