Free Eternal Destiny by Chrissy Peebles Page A

dressed for a picnic…and I’m in no mood for a honeymoon.”
    “Where are you taking Sarah?” Liz demanded, standing in the path of the horse.
    “As I said, we are taking a minute to breathe and clear our heads,” Victor said.
    “Then I’m coming along too. I love picnics, hanging out, and catching up with my sister on our long-lost years.”
    Victor shook his head vehemently. “This has nothing to do with you. It is strictly between me and my wife.”
    “What?” Liz asked.
    “It’s time Sarah got to know her husband a little better.” Victor wrapped the reins around his hands and took off to the right.
    “What’s that supposed to mean? Come back!” yelled Liz, as four Immortal knights held her back.
    “Living up to your tyrant image?” yelled William. “Just going around plundering whatever and whomever you please? You brute! No wonder Della didn’t want you!”
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 6
    The wind blew through Sarah’s hair as they raced through the forest, twisting around trees for miles. Victor pulled hard on the reins, and the horse whinnied. “Easy, boy.” He dismounted and tied the horse to a tree, then helped Sarah down.
    Trees rose up into the blue sky streaked with white clouds. Rays of sunshine sparkled over a tumbling waterfall. A butterfly fluttered toward her and landed on her arm, then flew off. Birds chirped noisily all around them as she breathed in the scent of blooming bushes nearby. “Wow! You weren’t kidding. This place is so beautiful and breathtaking, especially the waterfall you wanted me to see.”
    A breeze blew Victor’s untamed, dark hair into his face as he spread the blanket across the lush green grass and settled down upon it, patting it with his hand and beckoning her. “Come join me, my beautiful Queen.”
    Sarah’s gaze narrowed as she watched him with mistrust. Does he think he’s going to take me right here, right now? She was sure that in Victor’s mind, he had every right to consummate the marriage. It was legal and binding in his world. She had recited the vows of her own free will. Leaving with him by herself was a dumb idea, but it wasn’t as if she’d had much of a choice when he hoisted her onto his horse. I should have insisted that Liz come along. He was a mass of towering muscle and brute strength, but Sarah decided she’d get away from him one way or another. She wasn’t about to be manhandled—not even by her husband.
    “I’m not a lion,” he said with a smirk. “I won’t bite…unless you want me to.” The light reflected in his eyes in a million facets, destroying every bit of her focus. The pull between them was so strong.
    She lay next to him and propped herself on her right elbow. Her eyes met his. “Are we supposed to get hot and heavy right here in the middle of the wilderness with all the birds and the bunnies? You know, to make up for the wedding night you were denied?” She knew he might take it the wrong way and assume it to be an invitation, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t even sure it wasn’t one.
    “My wedding night was the loneliest, longest night of my life.” He gently stroked a strand of hair out of her eyes.
    Remorse flooded her heart. “I’m so sorry. If I could go back and do things differently, I would, but that is no reason to bring me out here, throw down a blanket, and pretend like it’s the ceremonial bed.”
    He smiled. “I didn’t bring you here to ravage your body. I just wanted to spend some time with you alone, so you can see I’m not the tyrant you think I am.”
    Sarah was glad to see he wasn’t such a Neanderthal after all. “I never said that.” Out loud.
    “Perhaps not in so many words, but I can sense your fear of me. Haven’t you figured out that I could never and will never cause you any harm?”
    “You won’t hurt me, but you’d have no problem keeping me locked up in your castle like a trophy. Listen, I need to find my friends—the same ones you put to sleep earlier