HeroUnleased by Anna Alexander

childish games? What
have I ever done to you to warrant such behavior?”
    She raised an incredulous brow. “You’ve done nothing but
treat me like an imbecile and like I have no feelings. You order me around as
if I haven’t the logic to understand what is going on. Did I not do what you
asked as soon as you brought me proof of Bale? I’m an experienced rider and I
asked Harlan for the easiest trail because the terrain is unfamiliar. The
question isn’t what have you done to me, but what have I done to you to make
you think I am incapable of knowing anything?”
    He opened his mouth to unleash the lengthy list, then
realized that in actuality, he had nothing. Amaryllis was a royal and he her
protector. As such, his position granted him absolute rule over one thing, her
well-being, and it was a responsibility he’d give his life to fulfill.
    Amaryllis was like an epic song that moved through your
entire body, bringing you to tears before releasing you back to your humdrum
existence. At her club he witnessed firsthand how her patrons watched her with
an admiration won by action and not false words. To have her spirit silenced
was unacceptable and she needed to be protected by any means necessary, which
was why he fought with her over her independence.
    Men showed courage with action and brawn. Amaryllis showed
hers with leading by example. Lucian marveled at her strength, but by the same
token it scared the shit out of him. That type of courage was bred to the bone.
A part of her DNA that was unchangeable. Perhaps he had been arrogant to
believe she would accept his command without a whimper, that he could set aside
all emotion and treat her like another mission, just as she accused. However,
his dominance was part of his DNA and unchangeable as well.
    Continuously butting heads was not going to keep her safe.
He needed her trust more than he needed to be right, and he had no one but
himself to blame for the wall standing between them.
    “I will not apologize for my tactics for keeping you safe,
however I am sorry if my methods have given you the impression that I think you
are weak, because I don’t,” he admitted. “In fact, I think you are one of the
bravest people I have ever known.”
    Surprise widened her eyes. “That’s not true! You think I’m a
childish harlot.”
    The vehemence behind her words wounded him like a hot lash
across his chest. “I never said that.”
    “You thought it. I felt it.”
    “I’ve never, Amaryllis. Not once.” Did she really believe he
thought so little of her? He gestured to the rock she sat upon. “May I?”
    A delicate frown touched her brow as her lavender gaze raked
him from head to toe. He waited patiently with his spine straight and shoulders
back as he withstood her inspection. Finally she granted him a slight nod. “You
may.”
    Yet she didn’t slide over to create more room for his larger
frame. Their arms and hips pressed together and her heat seeped to his bones
that he hadn’t realized were so cold.
    He swallowed hard, resisting the urge to press closer. “When
the time came for you to be evacuated from the palace, you were terrified. Even
with my barriers in place, I could still taste your fear. Your father and I
were not positive we were sending you to a better place and all you were armed
with was your intelligence and a box of crown jewels. I was half tempted to
pull you from the craft and find some other way to keep you from the
revolutionaries. But despite the turmoil you emoted, on the outside, you were
so composed, so calm and regal. Your strength and courage were breathtaking.”
    She shrugged. “What was I supposed to do? Fall to the floor
and beg to stay? I was leaving my home forever. The least I could do was
maintain my dignity.”
    “Your exile was never meant to be permanent, Your Highness.
As soon as it was safe, you would have been called home.”
    “And look how well that plan worked.” In light of her
sarcasm, a smile curved her lips.