Frozen. Morgan Q O'Reilly
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Название: Frozen
Автор: Morgan Q O'Reilly
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
isbn: 9781616500009
isbn:
“Release me,” she ordered him, speaking slowly and deliberately.
She was fighting his talent! And winning! He sat back feeling stunned.
With a decided snap, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” she growled.
“I’m responsible for security and intelligence about any possible threat to the royal family. If you don’t give me some answers, I’ll use whatever means necessary to get them.”
Fascinated, Gunnar watched as without opening her eyes, she pursed her lips, set down the wine then pulled off her mittens and tucked them into her parka pockets. No one had ever shaken off his talent before. Yet, as he watched, she held her hands apart then brought the flattened palms together in a clap before her face. The sound he heard wasn’t the slap of flesh he expected. The sound rocked the small transport and sounded like… a steel hammer of immense size landing on an anvil of equally immense size. Just like the sound he’d heard this morning, only louder. Much louder.
He clapped his hands over his ears, his eyes squeezing closed as if they could shut out the ringing sound that shook his very bones.
A full minute later he lowered his hands from his ears and stared at the woman in front of him.
“What the Hell was that?” he demanded as his communications center lit up with lights and beeps.
Noreen’s face relaxed into a smile as she reached for her wine. She smiled more as she sipped and looked mighty pleased with herself.
“You didn’t recognize it?” she asked sweetly.
“Thor’s Hammer, woman!” he snarled out the common curse and turned to the console.
“Exactly,” she replied calmly.
His hand holding the communications handset froze half way to his mouth. It couldn’t be… the loud squawk of his communicator made him shake his head.
“Duke Nordenskiold?” He heard the voice of Wilton Leebrick, his convoy commander, come from the small speaker. “You okay, Zaren?”
“Yeah, Wil, yeah, we’re fine. Did we upset the connection?” He ran a hand through his hair. It was long and needed cutting. Right after he figured out why this woman could call on Thor’s Hammer with her little hands. Only Bjorn, the King, and Coreen…no, the Crown…Princess…
The communicator squawked, jolting him again as Wil’s voice came over the speaker. “No, the connections are fine. That was some kinda rocking going on. Sounded like you got hit with a bolt of lightning but no one saw any.”
“Must have been a stray bolt. Freak storm. Keep an eye on the weather monitors,” Gunnar snapped into the mic then disconnected and turned back to the woman with impossibly red hair and brown eyes. “I’m going to ask again, just who the Hell are you?”
“I told you, I’m Noreen Tibbetts.”
“No,” he shook his head. “How do you fit into the royal family?”
“Oh, that. I’m the soon-to-be ex-Crown Princess.”
Chapter 4
It was rather funny, actually, watching Gunnar’s face as he digested the information. First his amazingly deep blue eyes sparked with a flash of silver glitter, so eerily similar to the old bishop’s, she shivered. Then his pale skin warmed to a mottled red before fading again. If he clenched his jaw any tighter he’d probably break some teeth. It only took a minute for him to draw in a deep breath and regain control. It usually took her father much longer. Just one detail she’d noticed about him the times they’d communicated by vid-com over the last few years. Once, she’d timed Fader at three minutes.
She sipped the rather excellent wine but, if he was a duke, as the man over the communicator had confirmed, then it was only to be expected. A nice touch. Had he been planning on seducing her? Now there was something to laugh about. Instead she smiled as sweetly as possible and took another sip of wine.
“Did you say we’re having stew for dinner? It smells delicious,” she cooed, and smirked when his jaw clenched again.
“Yes, Your Highness. Let me get you a bowl. Would you like bread with that?”
“Why thank you, Duke Zaren, that would be lovely.”
His movements were stiff as he held out the bowl and spoon to her. “It might be easier to eat if you shrug off the parka,” he suggested. “Your Highness.”
She paused for a moment, testing the warmth of the air with her nose. It did feel warmer. She nodded and unzipped the coat before sliding her arms from the sleeves. Leaving it behind her was enough to keep her cozy and allow her movement as she took the bowl from him.
“Thank you, kind sir.” See? She still remembered her manners.
Apparently he did as well and executed a short, sharp bow in response. It only took a moment for him to hand her a hunk of soft fresh bread before he returned to his seat with his own dinner.
Hungry, she didn’t feel a need to fill the silence with inane chatter. With her eyes closed she savored a bite of the bread dipped in the gravy. One more little thing she’d missed without realizing it. Ryadstholm bakers were the best, next to the palace kitchen staff. Must have been baked this morning.
“Reindeer?” she asked. “Northern herd?”
He nodded in response, his mouth full.
“Delicious.” She returned to her meal stopping only to drink the wine. He refilled her mug without prompting and she gave him her sweetest smile in thanks. It was damn awkward, now he knew who she was. A real conversation killer. Not that they’d had any good conversation yet. Now he’d be even more close-mouthed. A pity. Then again, maybe she’d get some more sleep. Maybe now her cover was blown she could call for a real transport to get home sooner.
His rough voice and sharply asked question broke into her thoughts. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you leave? Why is your name never spoken? Why is it no one knows about you?”
She gazed at his eyes cautiously. No silver glitter now. Ah, the silver indicated his power to squeeze information? Good to know. Now he only looked curious, possibly even a little hurt. Because he wasn’t privy to the state secret?
“Well.” She set down her empty bowl and picked up the wine. “I suppose it started out innocently enough. I’m the elder by just a few minutes, but Coreen should have been born first. She loves this place and she’s a born politician. Fader’s true daughter. Me, I’m just an accident of birth and birth order.” She looked away from his frown.
“But why? Why did they let people believe you didn’t exist at all?”
“I actually prefer it that way. And with all those silly names running СКАЧАТЬ