Free Untouchable by Linda Winstead Jones Page A

She raked her foot along his strong leg and swayed up to meet his body more fully with her own. Dreams could come true. The seemingly impossible might become reality, and she would gladly do whatever was required to make it happen.
    “Well, there is a way, but it is a bit unsavory and I’m afraid it might not please you.”
    “Anything which would keep us together would please me,” she confessed. “Anything.”
    “Anything?” Vyrn raked his hands down her sides and then gripped her hips.
    “Anything,” she whispered.
    “There is a way.” He did not often look squarely at her, but at this moment he did. His eyes were not closed, as they sometimes were when they made love. He did not turn his head to the side, as if distracted. No, tonight he was looking at her .
    Tari nodded. She had always known there would be some way for them to be together permanently.
    “I will need your help,” he added.
    Again, Tari nodded. “You shall have it. Whatever you need. Whatever it takes for us to be together forever . . . I will do it.” She had always heard that no woman should utter the words first, but they were on her tongue and in her heart, and they burst forth. “I love you, Vyrn. I love you.”
    He did not respond in kind, but he loved her in his own way, and before too many moments had passed she did not care that he did not speak the words aloud.
    “M’LADY,” Alix said with strained patience, “I cannot alter the terrain or the weather in the name of your comfort.Much as I would like to do so,” he added without sincerity.
    Princess Edlyn pursed her lips. As they neared Arthes, she became more and more demanding, more and more difficult. With luck and a change in the weather, they’d arrive in the capital city in two weeks, perhaps a day or two more. If the weather and his luck did not improve, they’d be lucky to reach Arthes by the deadline.
    Alix was now certain that the emperor would not choose the princess as his bride—Jahn was no fool. It was very possible that Alix himself would be called upon to wed Edlyn in the name of diplomacy. No matter what the plan, no matter that Jahn insisted on choosing his own bride, one simply did not return a princess.
    “Perhaps there is a more gentle route,” she suggested. “The hills, the constant up and down, it all makes me very dizzy.” She placed a hand on her head as if to demonstrate her ailment.
    “A more roundabout route would make the trip weeks longer.” They did not have weeks. They were traveling at a snail’s pace as it was, primarily due to the princess’s demands for comfort.
    “I do not care . . .” she began.
    Alix felt a rush of anger, and he interrupted harshly. “You spoiled little twit! If I hear one more word of complaint from you, I’m going to lash you over a donkey’s back, gag you, and race the horses all the way to Arthes, where I will gladly dump you in my unfortunate brother’s lap!”
    She blinked several times and backed up slowly. “How dare you . . .”
    “Good Lord, no wonder your father is forced to send you to another country to wed. No man who spends more than two minutes in your company would willingly agree to a lifetime of misery as your husband.” Alix knew what he was saying was wrong. He knew the Tryfynian guards were moving closer, ready to defend their princess if necessary. He knew the words which spilled freely from his mouth were not entirely his own, and yet he could not stop. “If I could save poor Jahn from the horrors of making your acquaintance, I would do so.”
    Edlyn did not cry, that was not her way, but she did pale and move farther back, as if trying to escape him one tiny step at a time. Her mouth moved as if she had an argument ready to fly forth, but no words emerged.
    “Your tent is ready,” Alix said tersely. “I suggest you retreat there and stay until morning. If I hear one more word of complaint, one more whining demand, I’m not sure what I might do.”
    She turned swiftly and