Free Saved by the Monarch by Dana Marton

Queen is very ill.” From the way her eyes widened, he knew that she understood what he meant. “Arpad could be taking the crown soon. His death would cause a disruption. Chaos, even if it’s temporary, would play into the hands of our enemies. All they need is a crack in the wall of tradition, to make peoplewonder if the monarchy really is necessary. Arpad is the charismatic one. People have been preparing for him to be king for a long time now.”
    “They might not swear allegiance to you as readily?” She rubbed her hands together. Their gloves were wet, so they had both taken them off.
    “No. If civil war broke out…they might not accept me as their new king.”
    And, God help him, he did not want to be king. He was happy as a soldier, happy to be protecting his country and his family without having to be involved in politics. But if the unthinkable happened, he would do what was expected of him.
    “I haven’t spent nearly as much time in the public eye. I spend most of my time on the base. I’m a through-and-through military man.” Since it looked like she could barely bend her fingers, he took her hands between his own to warm them.
    She didn’t protest. Which meant she had to be about freezing to death. Her comments in their conversation were coming increasingly slowly. He knew what that meant, along with her eyelids that were beginning to droop. Hypothermia wasn’t that far off. He held her close and prayed for the end of the storm so he could get her off the mountain.
    She leaned forward, presumably to rest her head on her drawn-up knees, but it didn’t prove comfortable, he supposed, because she ended up leaning against his chest. Her hair slid aside and revealed the graceful arch of her neck.
    He could feel a shiver go through her, and couldn’thelp thinking that she wouldn’t be here if not for him. She would be at the Ramada, sipping cocktails at the bar with handsome men hitting on her by now. He erased that last part from his mind when he found that it prickled. Then he dipped his head and let his lips touch her neck.
    “Hey, you said no more kissing.” She turned slowly with an accusing glare that was a faint shadow of her regular fiery self.
    “Just checking your temperature.”
    Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t look like she had the energy to argue with him. “I’m freezing.”
    He held her tighter. “Try to think about something else. Like the dragon video game that you’re making. I didn’t know girls were into video games.”
    “I’m not a girl. I’m a grown woman.” She shot him some weak indignation.
    “Certainly so. Would never make that mistake. Heard you roar and all that.”
    A moment of silence passed. She had to be in worse shape than he’d thought. She wasn’t even rising to the bait.
    “You could put a prince in. You could pattern him after me. Handsome and valorous.”
    She gave a muffled groan and, after a moment, said, “She has a dragon.”
    “A pet dragon?” He considered the possibilities.
    “A dragon friend.”
    “She could do things with a prince that she can’t do with the dragon.”
    She shot him a dark look, but the corner of hermouth twitched up. “It’s not an X-rated game. It’s for elementary school kids.”
    “A shame,” he said, and was aware that they had moved even closer to each other for heat.
    Her lips were inches from his.
    The air thickened around them. Her gaze flew to his, filled with alarm and something else. It was the something else he wanted to investigate.
    But a deep rumble sounded above them before he had a chance to do anything.
    Her look changed to one of panic, and she burrowed her face into his neck as the cave shook around them. “What is that?”
    The rumbling got louder. Right on top of them.
    “Avalanche,” he said, powerless to do anything but watch as snow slid over the opening of the cave from above and buried them, sealing them inside.
     
    H ER BODY SHOOK ALONG with the side of the mountain as Judi