Defending Destiny (The Warrior Chronicles) Read Free Page A

by making that list. Draw the devil and he appears. Way to go, idiot. Now open your eyes, take a deep breath and face the man you conjured.
    Daisy opened her eyes and turned to face him. Starting at his boots, she took in his frayed jeans, clinging tightly to what she knew were well-defined thighs, past his narrow waist to his black Dropkick Murphys concert t-shirt that fit way too well. She continued from his shoulder-length ink-black curls to his tightly set jaw ticking with irritation, past his sterling-silver gray eyes more stormy now than clear to the top of his head.
    Daisy stopped there and giggled. Her eyes widened as his narrowed. She slapped a hand over her mouth and couldn’t stop herself from giggling again. She wasn’t prone to fits of childish laughter as a general rule, but all the rules flew out the window when Magnus walked into her life. The unrestrained emotion bubbled inside her and she couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking with her mirth.
    No horns. The devil forgot his horns.
    Magnus lost all of his narrow-eyed emotion, crossed his arms over his chest, and said with the patience of a tired parent dealing with a misbehaving toddler, “Get out of the pool, Daisy. Now.”
    His exaggerated patience bothered her, as did his flat tone. He-who-must-be-obeyed had spoken, and it was up to her to snap off a salute and an emphatic Yes, sir. Not going to happen, big guy.
    Massive hands shot under her arms, yanking her unceremoniously out of the water and depositing her on the pool deck a foot or so in front of Magnus. The moment her feet found the concrete, he let her go. Daisy was struck once again by how formidable Magnus was in person. He was tall and he was large, and he moved with the efficient grace of swimmer or a ballet dancer. There was no wasted movement, no trudging about like giants were supposed to do. Never one to be intimidated by size and summoning a bravado she didn’t feel at the moment, Daisy moved a step closer to him. Magnus raised a brow. A nod to her courage? Perhaps. Or maybe he was just letting her know he was toying with her before he decided to pounce. Did nothing rattle the man? His demeanor suggested not.
    “Why are you here, Magnus?”
    “To get you.” No tone, just fact. Urrgh.
    Magnus’ gaze ran slowly over her bikini-clad body with what she could only interpret as contempt. Her suit seemed so staid and downright conservative compared to what the women at the other end of the pool, who now only had eyes for Magnus, were wearing. Under the heat of Magnus’ stare she felt naked. Exposed. Vulnerable.
    Daisy’s chin shot up and she pushed her shoulders back, exposing more of her less-than-impressive chest, and she cocked a hip at him, wrapping her fingers around her hipbone. How dare he look at her like a preacher eyeing a pole dancer. She didn’t deserve his disdain. Her suit was small, but tasteful. And if memory served, and it did, Magnus was no preacher wandering into a den of iniquity.
    Daisy opened her mouth to give him hell. “How—”
    Magnus cut her off by throwing a towel in her face. “Cover yourself.”
    She wiped her face with the towel and emptied her heart of its heat. Daisy learned long ago the best way to deal with Magnus was to show no emotion. He’d surprised her, and the remnants of affection she once bore for him had flooded through her before she could get them in check. That was all, she told herself. Really.
    By the time she’d wrapped the oversized towel around her waist, she’d replaced the lava in her veins with Arctic ice. Daisy smiled up at Magnus the way she smiled for the camera: neutral, placid, and completely devoid of deep emotion. “Nice to see you, Magnus. Thanks for the visit. How’s the family?”
    Magnus jerked back, almost imperceptibly, but it was enough to tell Daisy she’d chosen the right tack if she didn’t want him to think he could push her around like the child she’d once been. “Don’t push me, Daisy,” he