Tested by the Night by Maxine Mansfield Read Free Book Online Page B

was so loud it was obnoxious. Not that he was much better with her father. Their heads were so close together they might as well have been conjoined twins. Even the drat servants were getting more attention from him than she was, and she was the one he was supposed to be concerned with.
    Mia cleared her throat. “I thought you were in a hurry to get underway, Sir Starkweather?”
    He glanced over his shoulder. “Did you say something, princess?”
    Heat flooded her cheeks. “I have a proper name. Don’t call me princess.”
    He ignored her, and Mia cleared her throat again. “I said, I thought you were in a hurry to get underway. At least, that’s what you were spouting yesterday.”
    The block-headed barbarian had the audacity to wave her off as if she were a pest. Mia seethed.
    Her parents, however, didn’t. They both rushed to her side. Her mother hugged her close and kissed her cheek while her father wrapped his arms about both of them. “Listen to Talon, daughter. Do what he asks of you. We talked long into the night last evening. He’s smart and knows his way around a quest, and he also knows what is expected of him.”
    Mia wanted to argue, she wanted to tell her father it was her challenge to take and hers to win or lose. She’d do it as she saw fit, and she didn’t need any advice from the likes of Talon Starkweather. She didn’t, though. Worry lines creased her father’s brow, and her mother’s eyes were brimming with tears. So, she simply nodded. What she did out of their sight would be her own business.
    Talon, however, wasn’t the least bit quiet. “That’s correct princess, listen to your father and do as I say, and what I say right now is to quit dawdling and get in the coach. Daylight’s wasting.”
    The dratted man offered her his hand, but she climbed into the royal blue carriage without his assistance and was adjusting the skirt of her matching gown when Talon hopped in and slid his large frame right up against her. The heat of his body seeped into hers, and sparks of awareness skittered along her spine. He smelled of fresh air mixed with a touch of sandalwood this morning, and it was all Mia could do not to lean into him and sniff and taste. Her tongue tingled with the thought. She shook her head. This would never do.
    “I see no reason for either one of us to be crowded.” Mia pointed to the bench seat opposite them. “Please move.”
    He chuckled. “I don’t think so, princess. If I’m riding backwards, there’s no way to see what’s coming toward us. And since I’m your personal bodyguard, at least for the duration of your time away from Alaria, seeing what’s coming is a lot more important than your comfort.”
    “Fine, I’ll move then,” Mia huffed.
    Before she could even begin to scoot forward, Talon had an arm locked around her waist. The sparks that had begun when his body first touched hers exploded into an all-out heat that threatened to sear her soul. She could feel the length and width of each individual finger imprint upon her skin, right through her gown, as if she wore nothing at all.
    She breathed through her mouth, willing her racing heart to slow. What the VoT was wrong with her today? She wasn’t some silly little virgin on the cusp of womanhood and hadn’t been for a while now. Why on Albrath did it have to be this man’s touch that affected her so?
    “Though I do enjoy bating you and watching your dander rise, I truly don’t wish to fight with you or even upset you, Mia,” he whispered against her hair. She shivered as her nipples tightened and her pussy dampened, and he held her even tighter. “I promised your father I’d keep you by my side at all times, and I will. Whether or not you believe me to be a man of my word, a man of honor, I truly am.”
    She nodded. It was the only response she was capable of. If she opened her mouth to say a single word, what would come out would be a plea for him to fuck her again. A plea that would probably shock