Read Online The Heart of the Phoenix by Barbara Bettis - Free Book Online

and stray onto the wide chest inches from her face. Shallow breaths, she told herself, stepping past.
    He leaned against the door, arms crossed. His dark brows lowered; his glowing eyes narrowed. “Why are you not wed?”
    She gasped at his insolence, and any temptation she’d felt evaporated.
    “Such an ancient age you are. What, ten and nine? All your friends must be mothers many times over.”
    She flinched as he repeated the foolish words she’d spoken before. Why, now, did he choose to be cruel? The unfairness of his unexpected attack left her numb.
    Slapping a hand against the wooden planks, he leaned forward. “Your brother’s failed his duty to find you a husband. Why? Have you followed one too many men onto lonely rooftops?”
    Her heart clenched at his unkind words. Of all things he might say, this she would never have expected. “Get out of my chamber,” she choked.
    “Not before I warn you.” He leaned in, his voice menacing. “Stop interfering on this trip. Keep away from my men and keep away from me. I have enough trouble without your pranks.”
    His unfair accusations devastated her. He had no right to berate her this way. And—oh, curses—her throat clogged with tears. She would not let them out. She would not.
    She tried to shove the door, but a sword-roughened hand wrapped around the edge and shoved back. He surged inside. Paused. Surprise flared in his eyes as his finger brushed a tear from her cheek.
    “Damn,” he growled, flung an arm around her waist, and jerked her close.
    His mouth was hard and careless, not at all as she remembered. In spite of her best efforts at control, another tear slid from the corner of her eye. It trickled down the side of her nose onto his cheek.
    The moment the moisture touched him, his lips gentled, slanted against hers, coaxing a response. His other arm slid across her shoulders to press her against him. Beneath her fingers—how did they get to be flat against his chest?—his muscles flexed. A half-hearted attempt to push away simply brought her closer.
    An iron hardness prodded her belly, and she rose to her toes, seeking something. She didn’t know what. She only knew her body ached below that hardness.
    A low moan rumbled in his throat. His hand slid from her shoulder to the neckline of her gown. Two fingers stroked low into the valley between her breasts. She shivered.
    Oh, no. It happened again. Evie pounded against his shoulders. He lifted his head, his hooded gaze filled with an unreadable expression. It was gone in an instant, and his mouth twisted in a bitter smile so unlike the earlier one. He stepped back through the still-open door.
    He turned. “Rest well, little Evie. And”—his knuckle pecked the wood—“bar this. You never know what danger roams unfamiliar corridors.”
    Oh, how she wanted to slap that beautiful face. But he disappeared down the passage before she managed to move. She fought back a moan and fisted her hands. Mary’s tears! She’d melted at one touch from his deceitful lips. What happened to her new-found resolve?
    Blinking hard, Evie pressed her fists against her stomach. She’d not allow one more drop of moisture to pop from her eyes because of him. She slammed home the wooden bar. From this moment on, Stephen of Rively could burn in hell, and she wouldn’t offer him a cool drink.

Chapter Six
    Stephen attacked the narrow, curving stairway two steps at a time. Why the hell had he kissed her? Did he never learn with the blasted lady? He’d intended to issue a warning, no more. For her own safety. God knew the dangers they’d face before they found a ship to cross the Narrow Sea, and he had no confidence the band of mercenaries spotted this morning wouldn’t pick up their party’s trail later. If they were after him, she might easily be harmed in a confrontation.
    His cruel words had been meant to anger her enough to ensure she stayed away from him for the rest of the journey. Judging by her expression as he