Page 97 of The Beautiful Pretender

“No. You must listen to me. I—”

He reached out and touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I cannot bear it if something happens to you, especially if it’s because of me.” His voice was so deep and tender.

Her breath came faster at his touch and the look on his face, just visible in the light of the torches in the corridor. She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head at the last moment and captured her lips in an intense but brief kiss.

Oh, his kisses were so wonderful, but she had no right, no right at all to enjoy them. She buried her face in his chest so she would not be tempted to let him kiss her again. She had to think. She had to be clearheaded.

An idea suddenly came to her.

“What if all your men were able to escape? Sir Klas and Jorgen and all the others? Then would you leave?”

“Yes, but—”

“As soon as the guards leave, I can unlock your cell and then you can go get the guards’ keys—hopefully they will leave them here—and we can both unlock all the cells and escape before they return.”

“Or at least I and my men who have been able to escape can overpower the guards and take their weapons.”

“Yes! It will work. I know it will.”

“You are wonderful, Avelina.” His brown eyes bored into hers, a strange look in them she couldn’t quite define. Suddenly he said, “You wanted me to marry Lady Magdalen.”

“What?”

“Do you still want me to marry Magdalen?” He seemed to be searching her thoughts, reading her face with those mesmerizing eyes.

Her mind seemed blank as her heart thumped wildly and she breathed in shallow gasps.

“It’s a simple question. Do you still want me to marry Lady Magdalen?”

What she wanted was for him to kiss her again. But they should not be kissing at all!

“I could not marry you. You are a margrave and I was . . . I thought . . . No, I don’t want you to marry Magdalen.” Her voice cracked and tears suddenly swam in her eyes. “I want you to marryme.”

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “I should never have said that. I promised God.”

“You promised God what?”

“That I would not expect you to marry me, that I would not ask—Oh!” She turned her head, trying to hide her face from him. He pulled her in closer, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

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REINHART PULLED HERclose, his hand against the back of her head, holding her to his chest. His heart pounded against his ribs. “Shh,” he whispered against her ear. “Do not cry. MyLiebling. . . my sweet. Don’t cry.”

He caressed her shoulder and her back and kissed her hair. His heart pounded in his chest at hearing her say she wanted him to marry her.

“If we get out of here, we will marry.”

“No, please, you mustn’t say that.” Her voice was still laden with tears and she kept her head down. “You must not . . . The king. He would never allow it.”

“What do I care about the king?”

“No, you must not talk like that. I should not have said what I did. I shouldn’t have said it.”

He rubbed his cheek against her soft hair, her intoxicating smell filling his senses.

She leaned away from him, wiping her face with her hands. He fought back the urge to lift her chin and kiss her again.

“I should unlock the door so we will be ready to escape when the guards leave again.” Her voice trembled.