Always You Read Online Free PDF Page B

to fight or protest anymore or even to try to escape.
    At least not tonight.
    She’d sleep and then perhaps tomorrow...
    Tomorrow. Her wedding day.
    Tears scalded hot and salty behind her eyes. She bit her lip and blinked them back, focusing hard just above the bright dancing flames.
    * * *
    Cal saw their glitter across the firelight, and the knot of tension inside him tightened.
    Why did she have to be... like this? Beautiful beyond belief. Sharp-tongued yet fragile. And possessing more spirit and more courage than any other girl he’d ever known.
    Seated in the shadows just behind the flames, Cal set his hat down beside him and raked a hand through his hair. This whole business was a lot dirtier and a lot more complicated than he’d planned on.
    He wished it were over.
    It all had sounded so simple when he’d drawn up the scheme. So just and so fitting. But now that he had Melora Deane right where he wanted her... aw, hell.
    He couldn’t afford to let emotions get in the way.
    She was just a pawn, he reminded himself, clenching his fists. She was a tool for getting what he wanted. He couldn’t afford to start thinking of her as a girl, a beautiful, fragile, radiant girl, or to start feeling sorry for her or worrying about her. He had to remember why he’d started this and why he’d do whatever it took to finish it.
    Sitting several feet away from her, he watched as she closed her eyes and a delicate shudder passed through her shoulders. The skin around her eyes looked shadowed and drawn.
    She’ll be fine when she gets some sleep. And she’ll settle down and accept things by tomorrow.
    Meeting Ray’s questioning glance across the campfire, he nodded, signaling that Ray and Zeke could turn in; he would take the first watch. At least for tonight they’d have to guard her to make sure she didn’t try to escape.
    Cal tore his eyes from the girl and stared moodily into the flames. He drank the coffee from his cup without tasting it. Hell, he had expected her to be pretty, but not like this. She was lovely. Enchanting. That sweep of glorious dark gold hair that cascaded down her back—the strands felt like silk when they brushed against him. Nor had he expected such slim, delicately expressive brows to frame large, vivid eyes as splendid and fiery as topaz.
    Her attitude had caught him by surprise too. Far from being cowed by her predicament, she had the temper of an exploding shotgun. He sure hadn’t expected that. Tears, yes, pleas, yes—those he had expected. But not hard-hitting questions, demands for her freedom, and that proud, stinging fury.
    The fact that Cal sensed she was keeping her fear well hidden and well under control only brought out a grudging respect in him.
    Why did she have to be so appealing? To have a heart-shaped face with the delicate bone structure of a royal princess, or that stubborn, thrusting, adorable little chin he found sexy as hell.
    And why in hell did she have to be almost naked, with the lush softness of her breasts and hips tantalizingly outlined by nothing more than a flimsy wisp of silk?
    Something twisted sharply, painfully inside him. He pushed the something away.
    He had no choice. He’d started this, and he’d finish it. Or die in the process.
    He forced his thoughts to the following day, when his enemy would discover that his beloved intended bride was gone. Vanished. A decidedly cold smile touched his mouth.
    We’ll see how you like losing what’s yours.
    The game had begun. It was an ugly, deadly game. Still, it was a game he had to win, no matter the cost. He got to his feet, tiredness now beginning to wear on him. But his stride was long and purposeful when he retrieved the extra bedroll he’d brought for her and threw it down on the ground near where she sat by the fire.
    “There you go, Miss Deane. It’s all yours.”
    “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you? A neat, well-laid-out plan. Too bad you’ll live to regret it,” she snapped, eyeing him