Read Online Bride by Midnight by Linda Winstead Jones - Free Book Online Page B

remained linked to hers, though it was now... different.
    “Sorry,” he said, as he withdrew and very gently placed her on her feet.
    Reality came back to her as she smoothed out her skirt. Her body throbbed, her head swam, and she found herself... squirming. She wasn’t exactly sure why.
    “Why are you sorry? The fucking was not entirely unpleasant, and we are truly man and wife, as I requested. You have nothing to apologize for that I can see.”
    There was little light in the alleyway but there was enough for her to see that his lips twitched, as if there was a danger he might actually smile. “One day you will see,” he said, straightening his clothes and then hers, though she’d already made an attempt at the chore. “I imagine. And, dear wife, I would suggest that you not use the word ‘fuck’ so frequently.”
    “Why not?” she asked. “You used the word yourself, so I assumed it was the proper word for what we just did. Did I not use the word correctly? Was my pronunciation incorrect?”
    “Your pronunciation was stellar,” Blade said, a touch of humor in his deep voice. “However, it is not a word used by proper ladies. Your Father Kiril would have heart failure if he heard you say it.”
    She inhaled sharply. “It’s vulgar?”
    “It is.”
    “You should have told me so immediately,” she admonished.
    “I suppose I should have,” he admitted. He sounded much more agreeable than he had on their first meeting a short while ago, or even at the wedding, when he’d been so pleasant for Father Kiril’s benefit. In fact, he sounded downright pleased with himself. “I’m surprised you don’t know the word. It’s rather common.”
    She hesitated to tell him that her father had always protected her from the more common aspects of life.
    “You can use that word when we’re alone,” he said before she had a chance to prepare a response. “I rather like the sound of it coming out of your sweet, pretty mouth. You can whisper it into my ear whenever the mood strikes you.”
    “I can’t see how that will be necessary,” Lyssa said, as Blade took her arm and led her from the alley.
    “Many pleasant things are not necessary, wife.”
    Wife. Hmm. She rather liked the way that word sounded coming out of his mouth.
    They walked a short way down the road in silence. Lyssa deemed herself to be badly in need of a bath. The act of consummating her marriage had left her sweaty and sticky, and she was quite certain she smelled. She also felt as if Blade was still inside her, in a way she could not explain. Even though she had managed to get everything she wanted and needed on this momentous evening, she was horribly on edge, jumpy... skittish. And she was also convinced for some reason that they were not finished.
    “Will we live in your room or in mine?” he asked.
    Lyssa pursed her lips. What was done was done, but she hadn’t yet worked out all the details. “I suppose we will live together eventually, but...”
    “Not eventually,” Blade said. “Immediately. How else am I to gain your father’s trust so that he will take me into the palace with him on his next delivery?”
    “There are many deliveries to be made in the coming months. It doesn’t have to be the next.”
    “Yes, it does.” He grabbed her shoulders and spun her about to face him. “I’ve waited too long. I won’t wait any longer.”
    She wished she could see him better, but there was not enough light here. Not nearly enough light. “Why exactly do you wish to get into the palace?” she asked. She’d thought maybe he was just curious. There were many who simply wanted to see the imperial opulence for themselves, to walk among the fine ladies and gentlemen there, and look upon the jewels and paintings and sculptures. Perhaps he wanted a close look at the emperor, the empress, and their children. But as little as she knew about her husband, she seriously doubted that he was curious about such things. “You’re not going in