Page 8 of War King's Treasure

“Yes! I love to ride. I was allowed to bring my favorite horse with me when I came.”

“I love to ride also,” Jo told her. “Rory can’t because big brother doesn’t want her in any danger.”

Rory growled.

“He loves you.” Jo nudged Rory when she didn’t comment.

“I know. He just drives me crazy, and I’m barely into this pregnancy. Besides, I bet Theo will be even worse when you’re pregnant.”

“Please, I have that man wrapped around my finger,” Jo said with a grin.

“I think it’s the other way around,” Rory challenged with a laugh.

“About that ride?” Nori reminded them.

“Eat,” Jo ordered as she stood from the table. “I’ll take care of everything. Meet me at the stables when you’re through.”

Nori watched her stride out of the room before turning back to Rory.

“You’re not going to try to run away, are you?” Rory asked.

“Of course not,” Nori lied because she wasn’t sure what she was thinking. She just knew she needed space from Gavin. Time to come up with a plan to make him not want her. That was it! She’d come up with a way to make sure Gavin Montrose, War King of the Dread Lands, regretted choosing her for his bride.

Chapter Four

Gavin sat atop his horse, watching Nori as she left the keep at a steady canter, side by side with Jo. Cris followed behind with an entourage of men, including warriors who’d fought for Gavin, as well as his brother, Theo.

“Your wife is up to mischief,” he told Theo, though he kept his gaze on his bride.

She sat her horse well, riding with an ease that showed she was more than just comfortable in the saddle. Jo said something to her that had Nori throwing her head back and laughing. Then she leaned low, nuzzling the stallion beneath her and making Gavin jealous of a damn horse. The next thing he knew, she was flying. Woman and beast one as they flew across the earth.

“My wife lives for mischief, and yours rides like the wind itself.”

Gavin nodded in agreement with his brother. “Where do you think they’re off to?”

“Jo’s been restless since we got here. She doesn’t like to stay in one place long. Even before she met me, Jamie couldn’t keep her at his castle. She was always roaming.”

“That would drive me crazy,” Gavin admitted.

“I wouldn’t change anything about her. I never would have caught her and made her mine if she’d stayed where she was told.”

Theo was madly in love with his wife. It healed something in Gavin to see his brother so happy. Their lives had been hell in more ways than one. Their brutal father had shipped them off to an even more brutal male tasked with making soldiers out of them. The men’s actions had honed more than just the muscles under Gavin and Theo’s skin. They’d honed them into hardened weapons and nurtured a soul-deep hatred. Gavin’s one regret was he hadn’t been the one to kill his father. He’d owed it to his mother, a beautiful and kind woman, who’d died long before she should have. He’d failed to protect her.

“We won’t accomplish anything while they’re out of sight. Neither of us will be able to focus. We should follow them.” Theo nudged his horse, and Gavin stayed beside him, keeping a good distance between them and the women but staying close enough to hear the beat of the hooves ahead of them. They’d gone less than a mile when Theo spoke again. “Jo wants a baby.”

Gavin glanced at his brother. “You’ll make great parents.”

Theo didn’t say anything.

“You’ll make a great dad, Theo. You have to know that.”

“Do you ever wonder if any of his rot is inside us somewhere, waiting for something to make it grow until it consumes us and turns us into him?”

“In you? Never,” Gavin swore. “You’re the only reason goodness still exists in me.”

“He did a great job of fucking us up,” Theo growled.

“Not just us,” Gavin said. “Rory, too.”

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