Destined for Two Read Free Page A

you.”
    “Skylar wouldn’t have wanted you to do this. She would want you to move on and be happy.”
    “I am happy,” he said, and gave her shoulders a little shake. She opened her mouth to say something else, but he stopped her. “You came in here because you had that dream again.
    Stop trying to change the subject.”
    “Why don’t you want to talk about it?” she asked, her fingers gently plucking at the material of his shirt.
    “Because it still hurts too much,” he said.
    Surprised by his admission, she sat up and stared down at him. “You miss her so much, don’t you?” she asked as she brushed the hair from his brow. He clasped her hand in his, bringing her fingers to his lips. With a gentle tug, he pulled her back to his chest and held her tight.
    “Yes, poppet. I miss her. Even now, four years after her death, I miss her just as much as I did. Now,” he said as he laid his cheek against the top of her head and her hand against his beating heart. “Tell me about this dream.”
    10

    “It was the same one I always have. I wish I knew who the woman was. I don’t think she was my mother, but…I just don’t know and I don’t know who the people were that were chasing us. Are they still out there, do you think? Or is all this just the vivid imagination of a child long ago lost?”
    “I wish I knew, poppet.” He sighed.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Keenas followed Shorlack into the bar, Jorel close behind. His gaze wandered around the dark interior in surprise. Their queen worked here? Apprehension snaked down his spine. There were naked people here -- dancing on the tables and inside cages dangling from the ceiling. Two drunk men staggered across the room toward a dark corner where four naked women waited, urging them on with impatience. It’s not that he hadn’t been in places like this. He had, numerous times. But this… He would have never let his wife visit a place like this, much less work in it. Anger knotted his stomach at the very idea of other men touching the woman who was promised to him twenty-four years ago. They were married. She was his queen and whether she liked it or not, she would be leaving with them today.
    “Do you see her?” Jorel asked as he put his hands on his hips and studied the room around him. “Damn interesting place. Ever heard of this man Armande?” Keenas rolled his eyes. “Which question do you want answered first, Jorel?” Jorel waved his hand, but kept looking around the room. “Just answer them in the order they were asked, Keenas.”
    “Then no, and yes.”
    “What do you know about him?”
    “I’ve heard enough to know he’s the last person we would have wanted talking to Rhianna, much less raising as a sister.”
    Jorel shrugged. “At least he raised her as his sister and not his wife. There she is,” Jorel said with a nod.
    Keenas turned to look as well and had to remind himself to breathe. The picture Shorlack had shown them hadn’t done her justice. She was stunning. Her auburn hair was pulled to the side and hung over one shoulder in soft curls with a band of crystals holding it in place just below her ear. The deep blue pants and fitted vest hugged her tall, curvy figure as though she’d been poured into it. He struggled between lust and disapproval. Their queen should not be wearing things like that in public, but at the same time, he wished she wore less so he could better see the body beneath the tight material.
    She watched the room with a regal air of arrogance that surprised him for a woman raised as a commoner. Her gaze caught his and her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Her full red lips parted as they stared at one another, neither of them able to turn away. Long,
    11
    graceful fingers reached up to touch the puzzle piece that hung around her neck and in reflex, Keenas reached for his own.
    Turning to Jorel, he noticed that his brother had also been affected by the beauty looking down on them. If she wasn’t Rhianna, he’d run