Excerpt from Warrior's Bride

Time passed slowly as Izzy lay silent beneath her blanket of dark, cold night.  Her muscles ached with her confinement in the small boat.  Just when she could stand the strain no longer, a hazy gray light announced the dawn.

Careful not to make a sound, she climbed out of the boat.  Grasping the winch with both hands, she prepared to launch the vessel into the water. 

"Remove your hand," Wolf threatened from behind her, making no effort to disguise his annoyance.

Izzy spun to face him.  A soft cry escaped her as the force of her motion set her off balance. 

Wolf lunged for her but too late. 

With no one and nothing to stop her, Izzy fell over the side of the ship.

Water slammed into her back like the lash of a switch.  Pain streaked across her flesh with red-hot intensity, driving the breath from her lungs and blackening the edges of her vision. 

Icy cold water surged around her, sucking her down.  Thrashing her arms and legs had no effect on the force that drove her further into the darkness she hated so much. 

She flailed her arms, trying to fight her way out of the void, but the barrier was too solid, too strong.  Pain seared her chest as the need for air became all-consuming.  She tensed, every muscle becoming rigid.  She could not give in--giving in would bring certain death.  She could endure the pain, she had done so before and survived, but fear threatened where even pain could not. 

She had to relax, had to force away the despair that trapped her.  Izzy closed her eyes, allowing her muscles to go limp.  Her life could not end this way.  After all she had gone through, all she'd endured, to drown in the end seemed so unfair. 

The words had barely formed as thought when weightlessness replaced the heaviness of her limbs.  A warm arm snaked about her waist and pulled her up.  Buoyant and free, she broke through the surface of the water.  Wind touched her face and despite her desperate need for air, she could not breathe. 

Wolf held her cocooned in his arms, his warmth, his strength as the water rippled around their bodies.  Dark, angry eyes searched her own.  "Isobel!  For mercy's sake, breathe."  He shook her.  "Breathe.  Damn you.  Breathe!"

At his command she dragged in a shallow breath.  Her lungs clenched, then spasmed.  Pain radiated across her back as she tried to force more air into her lungs. 

He turned her in his arms then pulled her against the solid wall of his chest.  "You are safe," he whispered from behind her, his tone surprisingly calm.  "Take another breath."

Shouts from the ship carried back to them across the water.  "Man overboard."  Beneath her back she could feel the steady rhythm of Wolf's chest as it rose and fell with each breath.  "Drop the sails."  The beat of his heart punctuated each shout from aboard the ship.  "Launch the dory.  Be quick about it." 

She drew in a slow deep breath this time, then another, until the pain in her back receded, replaced by something else--something even more unsettling.  Warmth fluttered inside her, underneath her skin like a burst of radiant sunshine surrounded by a sea of ice.  She tensed at the contrasting sensations, determined to hide her reaction.  A wave rolled past, sliding against her chest and into her face.  She turned her head to avoid the full force, only to press her cheek into the sodden fabric of Wolf's clothes.  "Relax or you will drown the both of us yet."  His tone was firm, yet not unkind.

"I have no wish to die . . ."  Her teeth chattered with each word.  "I only want . . . "  She let her words trail off.  How could she explain what it was she wanted?  How could she describe the need that burned inside her to make her own choices, to have a say in the how her life unfolded?  Only one word came to mind.  "I want freedom."

The sky overhead continued to lighten around them.  The ship sat still in the water not far in the distance.  Wolf shifted her to face him, holding her by the arms.  Any warmth she'd gained from his nearness dissipated and an icy chill took its place.  Dark, cool eyes searched her face.  "Do you realize what it is you ask for?  Or are you so young and naïve that you have no understanding of what freedom might mean to you?"

"I know what . . . I want." 

"Do you truly?"

She bristled at his harsh tone.

"How will you survive without a protector, with no funds, with no food?"

"I . . . ."  She had survived worse, but she would not tell him that.  She had nothing of value that she could trade for funds--nothing except the one last remnant from her mother's own life.  Izzy felt the weight of her mother's necklace against her chest.  It was the only thing she possessed except her own will to survive.  And that will brought a lie to her tongue.  "You are right . . . I have nothing," she forced the words out through chattering teeth. 

The slapping of oars in the water filled the silence that fell between them.  She felt the heat of his midnight eyes rake over her.  "You have me." 

Saying nothing more, he pulled her hard against his body.  She swallowed roughly as all her senses became centered on the feel of his steely muscle against her breasts.  Time seemed to stop.  She smelled the salt on his skin, saw the beads of water glittering in his hair, dropping onto the sodden linen covering his broad shoulders.  This close to him, she felt small and insignificant and vulnerable and cold. 

As though reading her thoughts he drew her even closer, sharing the last vestiges of his own warmth with her.  "Thank you," she said, knowing the word did not express all she felt, but she would not give him anything more. 

Something reckless and sinful reflected in his gaze.  "You are welcome," he replied.

The sound of the oars cutting the water grew closer and the muffled voices of the men became more distinct with each beat of her heart. 

Wolf shifted her body slightly, bringing one hand up to toy with the loose strands of hair as he softly kicked his legs, keeping them both afloat.  She tried to pull away but he held her tight in the lee of his arm.  He curled the delicate strand about his finger, brushing the edge of her jaw before he cupped her chin, tilting her face up to his.  "I shall make you one promise if you will make me one in return."

"What promise is that?" she asked, unable to keep the breathlessness from her voice.

His gaze moved to her lips.  A mindless drumming filled her ears, her blood, as she brought her gaze to rest on the sensual curve of his lips.  "Remain in my care with no further attempts to escape and I promise to protect you by marriage and only marriage.  Anything beyond that will be up to you." 

He slid his hand from her chin to encompass her waist.  The pressure of his hands increased as he lifted her closer to his mouth.  The air was suddenly too still, the bird too silent, even the rhythm of the sea had settled into stillness as though the waves were afraid to interrupt. 

"Are we agreed?" he asked.

Her body trembled.  Her thoughts grew faint, aware only of his mouth hovering above her own.  A simple nod would bring her lips in contact with his.  Afraid to do anything more, she released a breathy, "Aye." 

Never had she felt so sharply in tune with the world around her, yet dazed and disoriented at the same moment.  Slowly, she brought her hands up to rest upon the bunched muscle of his chest.  His heart beat thickly beneath her palm. 

His hands tightened at her waist and he lifted her toward his mouth.  Her eyelids fluttered closed and she held her breath, waiting for the brush of his lips against her own.