Read Online Her Highness, My Wife by Victoria Alexander - Free Book Online Page B

aside the odd sensation of loss, stepped away and nodded, fighting to ignore a yearning that threatened to overwhelm her.
    “Shall I call for you, then? Here?” At once he was as composed as if nothing had passed between them.
    “No,” she said quickly, her outward manner as serene as his. His expression tightened. “Of course not, Your Highness. You couldn’t possibly wish to be seen leaving with someone of my menial position in society.”
    “Nonsense, my lord.” Where did the man get such ideas? She heaved an exasperated sigh. “I do not want to be seen with anyone. Only a few of my most trusted advisors know of my plan and I wish it to remain that way. This is not precisely a proper sort of adventure.”
    “No, I suppose not.” He shrugged as if it were of no consequence. “I shall wait for you, then, at the cottage.” He nodded and turned to leave.
    Without thinking, she started after him. “My lord. Matthew.”
    “Yes?” He turned back.
    “I just…” She had no idea what she wanted to say. But she couldn’t let him go. Not now. Not yet. Not with this tension between them. She stepped closer. “I…”
    “Yes?” he said again.
    “I do appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
    “Do you?”
    “Very much so. Particularly given how you feel about me.”
    “And how do I feel about you?” His expression was unfathomable.
    “It is obvious that you are still angry with me.”
    “Is it?”
    “Yes. It is also apparent that you don’t fully believe what I am trying to do.”
    “I have made no secret of that.” He studied her curiously. They were but a long stride apart. “Is there anything else? Any other observations you wish to share? About my feelings ?”
    “No. I do not…” She stopped and considered him. “Yes. In truth, there is.” She straightened her shoulders and met his gaze directly. It was past time to issue a challenge of her own. “I quite believe you would like to kiss me.”
    “Would I?” He laughed. “What makes you think so?”
    “Everything about you.” She swept a wide gesture in his direction. “Your manner. Your so-called conditions. The words you do not say as much as those you do.” She cast him a smug grin. “The very
    look in your eye.”
    “The look in my eye, you say? How interesting. But perhaps you’re right. I daresay I’ve never kissed a princess before.” She started to protest, but he raised a hand to silence her. “Not knowing she was a princess, at any rate. I do recall once kissing the companion to a princess.”
    She rolled her gaze toward the ceiling. “You are annoying, my lord.”
    “Flattering of you to say so yet again. But I would much prefer to discuss your earlier observation.” In one swift move, he stepped close and pulled her into his arms, gazing into her eyes. “Is this the look you were speaking of?”
    “Yes.” She stared up at him. “That is it exactly.”
    “I see.” He drew his brows together thoughtfully. “Do you think I should do touch, known for far too long only in her dreams.”
    He murmured against her skin. “I shall not fall in love with you again.”
    “Nor do I expect you to.” Her words were scarcely more than a sigh.
    “And should you fall in love with me”—his mouth trailed down her neck—“I shall be compelled to break your heart.”
    “I can expect no less.” Her hands clutched at his shoulders and she shivered with the delight of his lips at the base of her throat. “Indeed, it is your turn to do so.”
    “As long as we understand one another, Your Highness.”
    “Oh, we do, my lord, we do indeed.”
    His lips met hers again, and for a long moment she knew nothing in the world save the joy of at last being again in his arms. Finally he released her, slowly, with a reluctance she prayed wasn’t entirely due to lust. She stepped back and struggled for a semblance of composure. “Until tomorrow, then.”
    “I should be going.” He paused as if he wished to say something