Crowning His Convenient Princess. Maisey Yates

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СКАЧАТЬ had imagined that if nothing else he would be a rather colorful footnote in history.

      But of course, it had never been enough for his mind. Hence the secret business endeavor.

      But now that Astrid was Queen, and now that various and sundry accusations were being thrown at him as the narrative around his country shifted, he could see that it was time for a change.

      This latest debacle had only served to highlight it.

      A woman had come forward alleging that he was the father of her child. And no matter that Gunnar had never seen the woman before, there had also been a seed of doubt in him. He always used protection. But condoms weren’t entirely reliable, and he’d had to concede that there was a possibility the child could be his, no matter that he was always as responsible as a man could be while being indiscriminate.

      The headlines had been scathing, the very fact that a paternity test had been conducted had been cause for scorn among the people.

      And now the conversation had become that Astrid could not control her wayward brother. That her own brother despised every value held dear by the country. And when that had been aimed at his father, Gunnar had been happy enough.

      But his entire reason for his behavior, his entire reason for being, had been to protect Astrid. Astrid was a strong woman, and always had been, but there had been a war waging beneath the surface of the polished exterior of the palace that she’d had no idea existed.

      A war that Gunnar had been on the frontlines of.

      He had always protected her. And if protecting his sister now demanded he behave differently, so he would.

      And if it meant employing the use of his sister’s delectable, and irritating, assistant, then he would do so.

      Latika might be delectable, but she was also as stiff as a plank of wood and no less bland.

      She was beautiful. There was no argument to be had about that.

      In fact, she was uncommonly lovely, and he had always found it a strange thing that a woman of such brilliant beauty be relegated to such a beige sort of job.

      Though, he imagined a great many people would not find being personal assistant to a queen a beige sort of job. But in his world it certainly was.

      A woman like her should be wrapped in silk, should be in jewels.

      She should spend hours soaking in perfumed baths, readying herself for a lover.

      She should not spend hours contemplating the merit of clipboards. Though, he had a feeling that was how she spent much of her time.

      Her beauty was, in the end, a terrible farce anyway. She looked like a woman built for such things, with her generous mouth and beautiful curves, but she was through and through a woman of practicality and severity.

      And he did his very best not to think about how much he would like to test that severity.

      He did his very best not to think about just how satisfying it would be to tease that mouth out of that firm unnatural line she kept it in, and torment her until it became a soft “O” of pleasure.

      Yes, he did his best not to ponder that.

      His world was changing. He would need to find a wife, and he would need to be faithful to that wife.

      The very idea of such a chore set his teeth on edge. He could think of no woman at all that would amuse him for the rest of his life, and if he quit engaging in risky behaviors such as racing cars around the autobahn and jumping out of helicopters, his life would likely have a longer expectancy.

      Really, this was a terrible plan, but it was the only way he could see to help Astrid.

      Though she did not know it, his life had been devoted to that protection.

      He would not falter now.

      Marriage was, in the grand scheme of things a small price to pay. And for her he would do it. Perhaps not happily, but it would be done.

      Because Gunnar von Bjornland might never be King, but he was the master of his own life. And once he set his mind to something, he would damn well see it done.

      This was no exception.

       CHAPTER TWO

      “HERE YOU HAVE IT,” Latika said, setting a stack of folders onto Gunnar’s desk. “Veritable binders of women.”

      He looked at the stack, then back up at Latika, one elbow resting on the desk, one brow raised in an impudent manner. “I’m rather insulted you have brought me so much choice,” he said.

      Latika blinked. “How is that insulting?”

      “I should think that the criteria for becoming my bride would be so exacting that you would have little more than a slim volume to present me with.”

      “I should have thought you would want choice,” she said, bristling against his rather pronounced lack of gratitude.

      She had gone to a lot of trouble to dig up so many eligible women, lacking in scandal and in possession of beauty.

      “I haven’t time to do so much reading,” he said.

      “Do you find it so laborious? To read profiles on women you might marry.”

      “I find it boring.”

      “I have here in these folders options, for a woman that you might be tasked with sleeping with for the rest of your life. How is it you find that dull?” she pressed.

      “When one turns sex into homework even that can be boring.”

      He was impossible. He was impossible, and he was ridiculous, and she had half a mind to kill him where he sat. She could do it with a letter opener, a paperweight or half a dozen other items on his desk.

      As solid as her friendship with Astrid was, she had a feeling that Astrid would take a dim view to Latika assassinating her brother. Just maybe. If Astrid only knew the surrounding story she might forgive her.

      “Who do you think the top five are?” he asked. “Use your knowledge of me to guess who I might find the most likely five.”

      “Gunnar,” she said, keeping her tone frosty. “If I had that kind of insight into who you are as a person… Well, I would probably throw myself off the nearest cliff.”

      “A test then.” He folded his large hands in front of him and it didn’t escape her notice they were scarred. Odd for a man of his position, she would think. “Who do you think my top five would be?”

      Latika gritted her teeth. She would lie back and think of Bjornland. She would do her very best to remind herself she worked for the palace.

      And this was service to Astrid.

      And СКАЧАТЬ