22 Nights Read Online Free PDF Page A

expression hardened. “You do share some blame, in that case, but the fact is, the general took your virginity and did not marry you. For that alone he deserves to die.”
    Bela pursed her lips. She had hoped it would not come to this, but she couldn’t let them kill Merin under false pretenses. If anyone killed him, it would be her. “That’s not entirely true.”
    “You said he took a husband’s rights!”
    Bela shuddered. That was a memory she could not forget no matter how she tried. “He did. He also married me, before the act was done, if you must know all the details.”
    Tyman’s sword dropped away, and Merin lifted his head and looked at her. On his knees, bound, angrier than she had ever seen any man. He was still pretty, far prettier than her, but in this light she could see the years that had passed written on his face. A crease here, a toughness there.
    “I did not marry you,” he said tightly.
    Idiot man! Such lies would lead to his death, if he were not careful.
    Bela remembered that night much too clearly, and there was no denying it now. “According to Turi custom, we are very much married, General.” It was the perfect marriage, in her mind, even though she had managed to keep her wedded state a secret until now. Merin was an absent spouse and she had her freedom. If her parents ever insisted that she needed to marry, if they ever tired of waiting for her to choose a mate and tried to force one upon her, she could inform them that she already had a husband. The marriage could be undone if there were no children, but not without both husband and wife present and participating in a ceremony not quite as simple as the marriage.
    Her plan had been perfect. Until now.
    There was stunned silence in the room, and her mother had gone so pale Bela was afraid the older woman might faint. Bela looked down at Merin, who seemed more angry than afraid. His eyes were so dark they looked more black than brown, so deep they seemed to be a bottomless pool of vitriol. She stared into them for a long moment before saying, “Welcome home, husband.”

Chapter Two

    MERIN glared at Bela. As if it wasn’t humiliating enough to be in this position, bound and on his knees, inches from death, she had to complicate matters by lying. Why? Since she’d threatened to kill him already, he doubted her efforts were meant to spare his life.
    He could’ve fought back long before now, taking down at least two or three of the Turis before they got him into this position, but he hadn’t wanted to kill or even wound anyone. His job here was one of peace, and it would be a bad start to take his sword or his fists to one of the chieftain’s sons.
    That did not mean he would let Bela lie to save him.
    “I believe I would remember marrying you,” he said.
    She sighed and lifted her hands, palms up. Yes, she had grown up very nicely, filling out just a little in the breasts and hips. Her face was slightly more angular than he remembered, but was still perfectly proportioned and remarkably striking. That thick brown hair should be ordinary, but thanks to a glint of dark red it was not. Her mouth was a bit wider than was considered perfect, he supposed, but it suited her face, as did those perfectly arched dark eyebrows and the calculating eyes beneath. The gown she wore was simple, and it hugged her curves with a softness that was unlike the dresses of those women who lived and partied in the imperial palace.
    She had given him a night he would never forget. And he had tried to forget.
    “Do you remember that I brought you a bowl of warm cider and you drank it from my hands?” she asked, speaking to him as if he were mentally impaired.
    “Yes,” he answered through clenched teeth.
    “Do you remember placing the wreath of leaves upon my head?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then there was a kiss and a short and very clumsy dance.” Though she did not exactly demonstrate, she did stick out one long, slender foot and wag it gently.
    “You