Lords Of The Dark Fall - Fabian Read Free Page B

predators to pick clean. He was pathetically grateful when he’d finally mounted and wrapped his arms around her to reach for the reins.
    At last, after a thousand years of uncertainty, something positive. She was small and foolhardy and far too insolent. But she was a lifesaver and worth her weight, in the finest gold.
No
, he thought, resting his broken arm on the softness of her breasts. She was worth far more. This was a gift he would never be able to repay.
    * * * *
    The male of the species never ceased to amaze her. And not in a good way. By the time they reached the farm, she was wearing Fabian like a second coat. Barely conscious, he refused to relinquish the reins, lolling over her and becoming heavier with every passing moment. Tig steered Cafino with her thighs and knees, although the beast would have probably been able to find its way home blindfold.
    She pulled the animal up, well clear of the picket fence marking the edge of her property and surveyed her domain with a practiced eye. The house, the outbuildings, the fields beyond. The main road looked clear of traffic. Squatters were the biggest problem. If they got in, she could kiss goodbye to the farm. And in these lean times, if she lost this, she had few assets left to earn her living.
    “What’s wrong?”
    Fabian tensed around her, pulling her in almost protectively, until she gave the all-clear.
    “Just checking I haven’t picked up any unwanted guests in my absence. I pay my protection money, but you never know.”
    “You pay for protection?”
    She laughed and shook her head. “How do you think I manage to live out here and survive intact?”
    Fabian murmured his understanding. “It looks peaceful enough.”
    “It is.” She urged Cafino forward, taking care to navigate the boulders her father had placed to stop wheeled vehicles approaching from the blind side. “My ex wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”
    “What’s an ex?”
    “Ex husband,” she said, distracted by the sight of her home. In a world as bleak as this, there was no place like it. She ought to embroider a plaque and place it over the hearth saying just that.
    “You have a husband?”
    The incredulous tone took her aback. In the split second between her words and his reaction to them, he’d tightened his hold on her, almost as if he expected said husband to appear and challenge him to an ownership battle. Or perhaps he meant to use her as a shield?
    He had no idea how vulnerable his position really was.
    “
Had
a husband. Married the local warlord. Thought it would offer my family the chance of a normal life. Didn’t work out. But he’s not a bad guy, given his past.” She hooked her leg over Cafino’s neck and slid from his back. “Gives me a good discount on the protection tribute, otherwise I’d never be able to afford it.” She grinned up at Fabian, who still looked stunned at the news. “And he makes sure my pottery gets top price at the best markets. I make dishes, mugs, jars. If you can eat or drink from it, I’ll make it. Got a small workshop and kiln out back.”
    “Oh.”
    “Well, I’ve got to scrape a living somehow. Can we dispense with this?” She held up her bound wrists. “Strikes me as a little redundant in the circumstances.”
    Fabian opened his mouth to reply. He narrowed his eyes, as if trying to remember why she was wearing a shirt on her wrists, swayed twice and then slithered wordlessly from Cafino to land in an unconscious heap at her feet.
    “Well, I guess that answers the question.” Tig regarded him with the pity he’d begged for earlier, shaking her wrists to free them. She kneeled beside Fabian and placed a hand on his chest. Breathing deep and even - a good sign. The blanket had loosened, exposing the kind of hard, flat stomach men acquired from years of training. His massive biceps and well-muscled thighs told the same story. He groaned and opened his eyes. Tig ran her fingers over what was left of his thick, dark hair,