Knight of Passion Read Online Free

him. It seemed a miracle she had been able to fight off those men and stay on her horse for so
     long. But anyone who touched her now would be a dead man. Jamie was a battle-hardened knight. Now that he had her, he had
     no doubt he could protect her from the rabble.
    Flying arrows, however, were another matter.
    By a miracle, he managed to reach the end of the bridge a hairbreadth before the bishop’s men blocked the way. Then he rode
     east along the river, away from the bridge and the crowd, until his heartbeat returned to normal.
    They were a quarter mile down the river before he spoke. “What in God’s name were you doing on the bridge? An idiot could
     see that was no place to be today.”
    Linnet turned around to look at him. This time, with the danger past, his heart did a flip-flop in his chest. In addition
     to everything else she was, did she have to be so beautiful? It was the curse of his life.
    “ ’Tis nice to see you, too, Jamie Rayburn.” She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “After all this time, I expected a
     better greeting.”
    He fixed his gaze dead ahead and grunted. God in heaven, how could she be so cool after what had just happened on the bridge?
    When she leaned lightly against him, his chest prickled with sensation. Lust and longing took him like a fever. He should
     put her on her own horse now. He wanted to pretend she was too distressed to ride alone, but the thought was ridiculous. This
     one small weakness he would allow himself. It meant nothing.
    “I heard you were with Bedford in France,” she said.
    “Hmmph.”
    “When did you arrive in London?”
    “Yesterday.”
    After a long pause, she said, “Are you going to tell me what you are doing in England?”
    “Nay.”
    “Or ask why I am here?”
    “Nay.”
    He felt her sigh against his chest. Against his will, he remembered other sighs, other times…
    He had to get rid of her. “I trust your servant will make his own way back. Where shall I deliver you?”
    “The bishop’s palace,” she said. “I can find someone there to escort me to my lodgings.”
    Good. It was best he not know where she was staying. Not that he would seek her out, but a wise man avoided temptation where
     Linnet was concerned.
    Taking a longer route to avoid the mob, he worked his way back to the bishop’s palace. Even over the stink of the city and
     the river, he could smell the tangy scent of citrus in her hair. The memory of burying his face in it hit him like a punch
     to the gut.
    As soon as he saw Linnet safely inside the palace, he left her.
    He went at once to the bishop, who accepted his offer to help mediate the dispute with Gloucester. For the rest of the day,
     the crisis kept him far too busy to dwell on his encounter with Linnet. He and the other emissaries traveled back and forth
     across the river eight times, attempting to forge a compromise. It was late in the night before the two feuding royals finally
     agreed to terms.
    Jamie fell into bed exhausted. With the country on the brink of civil war, he had managed to push all thought of Linnet aside
     while he was awake. But near dawn, he was tormented by a dream of her. Not the annoying, sentimental sort of dream he often
     had in the early days after he left Paris. Nay, this was a raw, sensual dream of her writhing above him, crying out his name.
     He awoke gasping for air.
    He needed a woman, that much was clear.
    But first, duty called. The Duke of Bedford had sent him home from France with two tasks. Last night, he had fulfilled the
     first by sending Bedford his report on the conflict between Gloucester and the bishop.
    This morning, he must attend to his second assignment: keeping the young, widowed queen safe in the crisis. He owed this duty
     not just to Bedford, but to his dead king. But perhaps he could combine duty with pleasure. If past experience was any judge,
     one of the ladies at court would be happy to be his bedmate for a time.
    He started the six-mile ride