Strands of Love by N. J. Walters Page B

sense. There was nothing in it for
them—certainly not money.
    Feeling slightly nauseated, Sam slid down the side of the
barn until she was sitting in the dirt. She lowered her head and sucked in a
deep breath. She really was in another world.
    Worry hit her hard. Would she ever see her farm, her home
again?
    “Sam?”
    It was only when she heard her name she realized the clang
of metal had ceased. She looked up to see both men staring down at her with
concern in their eyes. They really were in earnest when they said they wanted
her to stay here and marry one of them.
    Sam thought of the pledge Darian had already given her,
offering himself, his life and his brother’s, offering her love and devotion.
But he couldn’t love her. Neither of them could. They didn’t really know them
any more than she knew them.
    Her breathing was getting faster and it was getting harder
to take in enough air. Her vision dimmed.
    She was plucked off the ground and into a strong pair of
arms. Neither man seemed to notice her size and weight and carried her around
as though she weighed next to nothing. She knew without looking that it was
Jace who held her. Amazing how quickly she’d come to know each man’s touch.
    Darian stood beside his brother. “Breathe, Sam. Take a slow,
deep breath.” His voice was low and soothing. She wished she could tell him she
wasn’t losing her mind, just coming to accept what should be totally
unbelievable.
    She followed his instructions as best she could and was
grateful when her vision cleared.
    “Bring her inside,” Darian ordered, but she shook her head.
    “No. Outside.” She always did better outside than in. She
was afraid if they took her inside the castle walls might close around her.
“This is real,” she managed to get out. “All of it.”
    Jace’s arms stiffened around her. “You finally believe.”
    She nodded, not sure what else to say. It was all too
strange, like something out of a book or movie. Not the kind of thing that
happened to an ordinary woman like her.
    Darian took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “The
tapestry brought you here for a reason, Sam. The magic only brings a woman who
has the potential to thrive here. It’s up to you if you stay or go.” His
expression darkened. “There is only one chance. Three days and you must choose.
There is no changing your mind once it is done, so be very sure.”
    In three days—no make that two days if the time counted from
when she’d first found them on her land—she’d go back to her farm and they’d
remain here. She’d never see them again. Her heart ached and she trembled. She
had to go back. She didn’t belong in this world where the people lived like
something out of a medieval tale, except for the whole “sharing her bed with
two men” deal. She really didn’t think a ménage à trois had been commonplace
back in Medieval England, but who really knew.
    “I need to walk.” When she had something on her mind it
always helped her to walk. Back when they’d still owned horses, she’d ridden.
    Jace set her down, but she felt his reluctance, the way his
arms tightened briefly before he released her. “We will go with you.”
    She didn’t argue with him. She didn’t know this world and
what potential dangers lurked beyond the walls of the castle. Sure as she was
standing here, they didn’t train with those lethal swords for nothing. She
nodded. “Okay.”
    Darian touched her arm and nodded his head off to the right.
“If we go this way, you can see the fields. There is a lake just beyond.”
    The farmer in her was curious to see what they were growing.
“Lead on.”
    With Jace on one side of her and Darian on the other, the
three of them headed toward the lush fields and the men working them.
    Both men fell in beside her as they walked. She sensed their
awareness, the way they scanned their environment constantly monitoring it for
danger. That was something ingrained in them, totally natural, like