Frozen. Morgan Q O'Reilly

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СКАЧАТЬ nodded. “I can see that,” he admitted grudgingly. “Does that explain why there’s only one of you in the family portraits?”

      She nodded. “And why one of us was always kept in the nursery. They swapped us out, but Coreen did better in public than I did.”

      Gunnar gave her an odd grin. Good thing he didn’t keep her wondering about it for long.

      “I saw a news piece on the vid-com. I must have been about six and I remember seeing your father pick you up during a parade. You were in tears. It was you, not your sister, right?”

      She felt the flush burn across her cheeks. “Oh my, I was four at the time and it was so very noisy. I was terrified.”

      “But instead of handing you off to a nanny or a bodyguard, your father picked you up and held you.”

      Noreen smiled. “Yes, he did. I remember it very well. He promised me I’d never have to attend another noisy parade if I quit crying. He made me feel so safe.”

      “I remember. He held you close and then you turned around, arms around his neck, legs around his waist and rested your head against his. The camera zoomed in on your smile as you tried to look so brave.”

      She ducked her head. While embarrassing to say the least, it was one of many times she remembered her father protecting and comforting her and only her. There was a tiny catch in her breath as her heart swelled for a moment, only to crash a moment later heavy with guilt. “He’s a good father,” she said quietly.

      “He’s a good monarch.”

      She nodded in agreement. All the more reason for her to abdicate. Only Cory could take his place. When Gunnar didn’t speak she looked up and was surprised to see anger in his face.

      “What?” she asked.

      “Why did you leave?”

      “Why does that make you angry,” she countered.

      “Because…it has to be…you…you’re…The One.”

      Damn, he put that together fast. Then again, the Thor’s Hammer thing had just, well, hammered that little fact into place. A flash of ice raced through her veins and she felt a moment of fear as she gulped. His eyes flashed angrily and hands clenched around the empty bowl he still held.

      “It hasn’t been proven. Just a silly legend.” She tried to laugh off her discomfort.

      Gunnar set down his bowl with careful deliberation. “No. It isn’t a silly legend. My grandfather told me…” his voice faded out.

      “Your grandfather told you what?” She leaned back in her seat as his burning eyes rose to hers. She could only stare back as he took the mug of wine from her numb fingers and set it aside. He didn’t need to use the silver glitter to compel her to rise from her seat, leaving the parka to fall from her shoulders.

      She only felt the cool air for a moment before he pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. Too shocked to protest, she gripped his shoulders as he bent her backward ever so gently, his lips warm against hers. Soft. And the perfect fullness. His long fingered hand slid up her back and into her hair at the base of her thick braid coiled at her nape. Moving with far more experience than she expected, he yanked out the pins holding her hair in place. Pulling the final pin, his lips took advantage of her distraction and opened her mouth.

      A tiny squeak of surprise escaped her throat and she dug her fingernails into his biceps when he pulled her closer, his tongue plundering her mouth. How dare he? It was the last thought she had as his hand stroked her back, something tugging on the end of her braid. Hungry for more, she leaned into him, slid her arms around his neck and pulled him closer yet.

      Breathing hard by the time he broke the kiss, she abstractly felt his fingers weave through her hair, smoothing the waist length tresses as if he’d never touched hair before. His lips on her cheek, then jaw, then earlobe were doing amazing things to her blood. The small cabin, which had been so cold before, now felt as if it were the very center of a blazing furnace.

      Hands smoothly unclasped the shoulder straps of her overalls and they slid down her silk encased body.

      “Nory,” he murmured against her throat.

      It was on her lips to answer with a yes when the com-link squawked again.

      “Duke Nordenskiold?” The disembodied voice cut through the haze of desire.

      Gunnar pulled her close and rested his chin on her head for a moment.

      “Your Grace, come in?” The voice enquired again.

      “Remind me to smash this thing,” he muttered to her, then grabbed the handset.

      “This better be good,” he growled at the poor person on the other end.

      “Sorry, sir, but there’s a communication coming through from the palace, sir. The king himself.”

      Noreen felt her heart flop over at the words and rested her head against Gunnar’s chest. She smiled weakly when he kissed the top of her head.

      “Put it through.” There were a few clicks then he spoke again, “Zaren here.”

      “Gunnar, my boy? Is that you?”

      Noreen followed Gunnar’s urging when he sank down onto his seat and tugged her along. She stopped just long enough to pull her overalls up again then sat on his lap.

      “Yes, sir, it’s me. What can I do for you, sir?”

      “I understand you picked up an important package today. Is the package in good condition?”

      Noreen grabbed the handset and answered for herself. “So much for the surprise,” she snorted. “Package indeed.”

      “Princess.” The relief was clear in his voice.

      “Hiya, King,” she joked back.

      “You’re home. Your moder will be so pleased.”

      Noreen glanced at Gunnar and rolled her eyes. She was only surprised she didn’t get the royal We.

      “I see you arranged the nice weather to really make me feel as if I never left,” she commented, glancing out the window. The large transport in front blocked the view but they could still see to either side and it didn’t look good. The wind had picked up and snow was blowing horizontally. Fast. She shivered as if each burning snowflake pelted her, each howl of the wind like the screeching of a poorly tuned Ooorodian harp.

      “Only for you, älskling,” he chuckled.

      “How did you find out?”

      “There are certain people who can’t keep a state secret to save their lives, which is why we usually don’t include them on the need-to-know list.”

      “You caught Moder getting my rooms ready, didn’t you?”

      “Yep!” he chortled, then coughed. “Among other little clues.”

      “What СКАЧАТЬ