"The Summoning" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morgen Shelby)

The Summoning: A Northlanders Tale

Shelby Morgen







Prologue



Soft footfalls echoed across the innТs old wooden floor. Someone was following her. How had he gotten into her room? Why wasnТt she afraid? She should have been terrified. The dark presence looming behind her should have had her screaming for help. Instead she stopped, waited, watching the shadowy figure in the old-fashioned dressing mirror reach out to her.

Come back to me, my love. I need you.

The plea shook her. She hadnТt heard his voice, not precisely. Rather it was as if she could feel his words in her head. Could feel his pain.

Come back to me.

She was hearing voices in her head? This couldnТt be real. Could it?

Somehow Marylin felt she knew the man who had followed her back to her room. She recognized him now. He was the man sheТd seen on the ferry, the tall, mysterious stranger who felt so familiar. He wasnТt really a stranger at all. SheТd dreamt of him before. By day she was Dr. Marylin Henry, Professor of Ancient History. By night she was a wanton, living out that history in her dreams. She changed from dream to dream, once an Egyptian Priestess, surrounded by cats, once a slave in ancientRome .

Whoever she was, wherever she was, he was there. He was the Warrior who stood at her side. TheyТd fought side by side against invaders who slew in the name of their gods. SheТd been laid out on an altar in a Druid circle when the standing stones were still young. Their lives had never been easy, but somehow she knew he had always been there, and always she had loved him.

Tonight she was no ancient goddess. She was only Marylin, and he was the stranger whose dark eyes had haunted her on the ferry, yet he seemed even more real, as if history had finally caught up with them. He towered over her, this giant in black, but she felt no fear, only need, as she looked in the mirror. Remembered desire swept over her, stronger than time. She loved this man. She had loved him before. She would love him again. He was the one. He held the missing pieces of her soul.

She didnТt have to ask if he shared her feelings. She knew, without the words. Could feel it in his hands as they came to rest on her shouldersЧlarge, strong hands resting lightly, blunt, square fingertips trembling against her skin. His face was shadowed in the dim lighting, but still she could read the pain in him. Brushing her cheek over the back of his hand, she turned to face him, amazed once again at how small she felt in his presence.

His were a loverТs hands, holding, stroking, comforting, healing the ache in her heart. His kiss was a loverТs kiss, soft, then hungry, sucking her lip between his. Nipping, probing, demanding, he tasted her mouth.

Yes. Yes!He was the lover sheТd waited for! Her body blossomed under his touch, her breasts thrusting against his gentle fingers, demanding more. He brushed lightly over the curves of her breasts, her nipples stabbing at him, hard and wanting. She didnТt object when he turned her around, his hands slipped beneath her light cotton shift to skim it over her head. She would have helped him if her own hands werenТt so busy trying to puzzle out the fastenings of the strange black pants he wore.

She stroked him through the fabricЧsomehow she knew it was linenЧloving the way his cock responded to her, already hard and growing harder with her touch.

Her body was on fire, so sensitive to his every move that she twanged with each touch like the ping of a guitar string. Liquid fire pooled low in her belly, moving down, ready to consume him. Through the thin, fine-woven linen of his odd shirt her lips found his nipple, hard and tight, responding instantly to her gently swirling tongue. She felt more than heard his groan as he pulled her against his chest.

УBy the gods I have missed you,Ф he murmured. УSo long this time. ItТs been so long.Ф

Marylin trailed her fingers down until she cupped his balls, feeling them tighten even as his cock reached for her. УToo long.Ф She nipped at his shirt. УYouТre wearing entirely too many clothes.Ф

A chuckle rumbled through his chest. УMaybe you should do something about that.Ф

She would, too, if only she could figure out the damn pants. The shirt was easier. Although it didnТt have any buttons up the front, the opening at the neck was loose enough. She pulled the tails out of his waistband and skimmed her hands up his torso, enjoying the trip. He bent to her, letting her push the fabric over his shoulders. She paused there, exploring his face with kisses. Even the taste of him was familiar. Warm and salty and sweet with the taste of man. Her man.

It took him a moment to notice she hadnТt undone the cuffs, leaving his hands trapped. When he tried to rip the shirt to escape, she stilled his hands, pushing him back towards the bed. He lunged at her with his teeth, nipping at her neck in a show of possessiveness, a low growl sounded in his throat.