Free An Illicit Temptation by Jeannie Lin

Chapter One
    Tang Dynasty China, 824 A.D.
    Pretending to be a princess wasn’t any hardship. Dao
hadn’t grown up in a palace, dressed in silk and jewels. She didn’t miss her cot
in the Chang family’s servant quarters. Now there were no more clothes to mend,
floors to sweep, chamber pots to empty. The only thing required of her was that
she recline inside a gilded palanquin while the wedding procession made its way
through the steppe toward the Khitan central capital. She even had an army of
her own attendants to wait on her. No hardship at all…another day of it and she
would go mad.
    Dao stabbed her needle through the eye of crane she was
embroidering. The afternoon was lazy and warm as the palanquin rolled over the
wild grass of the northern plains, lulling her to sleep with the rhythm. It
seemed that was all she did on this journey: embroider or nap.
    With a snap of her wrist, she pulled the curtain aside. A
square of sunlight opened up revealing the endless green of the steppe and
cloudless sky beyond. Khitan tribesmen on horseback surrounded the procession to
serve as her escort. She was in an exotic land and she was squandering the
experience in meager glances through this tiny window.
    She searched among the riders. “Kwan-Li!”
    Kwan-Li was tasked with bringing her to Khitan to be married to
the khagan, the chieftain over all chieftains of this land of nomadic tribes.
The khagan was without a wife so the two empires had negotiated for a peace
marriage.
    Kwan-Li was astride a horse at the head of the procession and
absorbed in conversation with one of the tribesmen. Despite his
responsibilities, she didn’t have to repeat herself before he broke away to ride
up alongside the window. Princesses gave commands and others obeyed. Dao still
felt a foolish little thrill whenever it happened.
    Kwan-Li was tall and looked more like an imperial soldier than
a statesman. He wore the traditional deel , the heavy
folded tunic favored by the nomads, except for his was fashioned from a vibrant
blue brocade. A broad yellow sash wrapped around his waist, highlighting a lean,
masculine frame. His features were strong, almost harsh, with a distinctiveness
that she couldn’t quite place.
    “Princess An-Ming,” he acknowledged, his expression stern.
    The court had also seen fit to bestow an imperial name upon
her. It meant Bright Peace and she quite liked it. The name sounded very
princesslike to her ears unlike her own name, which simply meant Peach. She was
so very tired of being plain.
    “I want to ride,” she said.
    He blinked once. “Now?”
    His eyes had the sharpness of an eagle’s with gold flecks
within them that caught the sun.
    “Yes, now,” she said simply, pleasantly.
    The procession continued to move along. He kept pace with her
as he took in the caravan of wagons transporting gifts from the imperial court
as well as an army of attendants to take care of her every need.
    “It’s nearly time for us to stop and rest, isn’t it?” she
asked.
    She could see from the uncompromising line of his jaw that it
wasn’t.
    “The princess might find it more suitable to practice at the
end of the day when the sun is low,” Kwan-Li suggested coolly. This is what a
refusal sounded like from the very proper diplomat.
    “I’m not afraid of a little sunlight. Have a horse ready for me
when we next stop for rest.”
    Dao let the curtain fall back in place, ending the discussion.
When she stepped out of the palanquin an hour later, the Khitans were tending to
the horses while her attendants erected canopies set on bamboo poles to shield
the party from the sun while they had their tea and refreshments.
    A tent was erected for her privacy. Moon, her personal
attendant, helped Dao change out of the light silk hanfu into the sturdier deel . The tunic was long, reaching almost to her
ankles, and was lined with fox fur at the collar. Dao tried not to fidget as she
watched Moon secure the clasps. Not two months ago, Dao had