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hand, she didn’t need to be afraid of a dream. “It’s another dream. Just like last night. You’re one of the warriors.” She didn’t know why it had taken her this long to figure it out. Probably because it had been so dark in the other dream.
    He stilled when she said the word dream. She could feel the sudden tension in him. “Dream?”
    Reaching out, she patted his chest. Really, she couldn’t resist a quick touch. Who knew when the dream might come to an end? “I fell asleep with the tapestry again.”
    He struck with the swiftness of a predator bringing down prey. Her hands were captured in one of his and extended over her head. He lowered his body over her as his head moved closed to hers. She was trapped, unable to budge an inch. The indulgent male was gone, replaced by the implacable warrior.
    Swallowing hard, she stared up into his hard face. He frightened her as much as he had last night. There was a barely leashed power about him that was scary. The ease with which he’d overpowered her made her tremble. Stiffening her spine, she gritted her teeth as she pushed against him. “Get off me, you big oaf.”
    He appeared to be carved out of stone. There was no give at all in his hard body or his severe features. “Tell me about the tapestry.”
    Being held down like this, she was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Jane could feel the sweat beading on her forehead as it got harder for her to breathe. Her eyes widened as she gasped for air. She began to struggle against his grasp.
    Rolling off her, he pulled her up and into his lap, cradling her against his massive chest. “Just breathe,” his low voice crooned in her ear. “You are safe.”
    Jane wasn’t so sure about that, but she just didn’t have the breath to contradict him. Concentrating on getting air into her lungs, she sucked in a mouthful of air. “I’m okay,” she told him as she gripped his forearm for support.
    Ever so slowly, she eased out of his lap, surprised when he let her go. He didn’t take his eyes off her, but she relaxed slightly when he made no move towards her. “Okay,” she began. “A tapestry about so big.” She motioned with her hands to outline a two feet by three feet rectangle. “With a castle and three warriors on it. Or maybe it was four. It changed sometimes. I bought it at a thrift store.”
    “This cannot be.”
    “Well, I’m telling you, Zaren. It was Zaren, right?” Not giving him time to confirm it, she hurried on. “I did buy it. And I had a dream last night about it, so this is just another dream. But this one is even stranger than last night. I think I’ll wake up now.”
    Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around her waist. “Wake up. Wake up.” She was afraid to open her eyes. She could still feel the warm grass under her bottom and feel the slight breeze on her skin. She definitely wasn’t home in her bed. Grabbing the skin of her arm with her fingers, she pinched it tight. “Wake up!” she yelled.
    Strong arms enveloped her and startled her eyes open. “This is not a dream. You are a miracle! The prophecy is being fulfilled again in this lifetime.”
    The awe in his voice stilled her. “Prophecy?” Jane wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. It sounded religious, even cult-like.
    “The tapestry brought you to us. You are destined to be the bride of the House of Bakra. My brothers and I will compete for you and you will choose your husband.”
    “You’ve got to be joking?” This could not be real. Things like this just didn’t happen in real life and especially not to an ordinary woman like herself.
    Cupping her face in his hand, he smoothed his thumb over her cheek. “You are our destiny.”
    Zaren was serious. His entire demeanor screamed it. Oh boy, was she in trouble. She needed to think. “What kind of competition?”
    The corners of his mouth turned up in a sensual smile and his eyes heated. She could feel that gaze warming her entire body. This man was lethal.