The Awakening

Excerpt:
He stared deep into the depths of her eyes, amazed they weren�t pure brown as he�d first assumed. Nay, they were alive with gold flecks that seemed to dance as she stared back at him. �I�m afraid I can�t do that.�
Her chin lifted defiantly, and she went stiff in his arms. �I won�t succumb to your queen�s will.�
�I�m not asking you to.�
�Then release me.�
�You know that�s not going to happen, Riana,� he replied quietly. �I am taking you to Agrave. What you do once we arrive at Pengryffin Castle is up to you.�
The idea of Riana being trapped within walls of Agrave�s stronghold disgusted him. Pengryffin was as ruthless as the queen who called it home. Agrave surrounded herself with all manner of Unblessed, as well as whatever creatures she managed to dredge up from hell.
This time, when Riana pushed away from him, Warrick let her go. Best there be some distance between them or else he�d not be able to fight his attraction for the stunning Artanian noblewoman much longer.
�I don�t want to survive your barren world. I just want this nightmare over.�
Warrick sympathized with her. He�d have preferred to stay dead two hundred years ago. �Unfortunately, we don�t always get what we want.�
She backed away from him, returning to the far corner of the tent. �If we did, I would have died with my people as I should have.�
Why the idea of her being dead bothered him, Warrick didn�t know. Death no longer mattered to him�not his own and certainly not someone else�s. Yet imagining Riana of Huntington lifeless irritated him.
�You�re not meant for death. Now come here before the cold proves me wrong.�
�No.� She shook her head, that mass of hair falling around her shoulders. �I�d rather sleep on the floor than next to you.�
Riana drew her legs up and encircled them with her arms. Resting her cheek on her knees, she watched him cautiously. As well she should. Though he was having a moment of compassion, the truth was, this was the first time Warrick had felt such a thing toward a living soul in centuries. He doubted this momentary weakness would last long.
After a long battle with himself over whether or not to leave her where she was, Warrick rose from the bed and marched over to Riana. She jumped to her feet and put her arms out in a wasted attempt to fend him off. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back to his pallet. Digging her heels into the floor only served to trip her. Warrick caught her and lifted her. She screamed and kicked her feet wildly. Her feeble strength was no match for his, and he carried her effortlessly. He dropped her onto the pallet, following her down. In one fluid motion, he covered her with himself and pinned her wrists to the pallet.
Riana tried to wiggle out from beneath him, but all she managed to do was further whet his desire for her. Did the woman not realize how her body rubbed against his?
�Riana, I�m going to warn you but once. All I intend to do is sleep, but if you fail to stop with your struggles, you�re going to wake a side of me you don�t want to see.� She stilled instantly. The only movement she made was her rasping breathing. �Now sleep before I change my mind and do something we�ll both regret.�