Taming the Lost Prince. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ important to Queen Pellea that you make an appearance at the ball.”

      He smiled down into her anxious gaze. “There is nothing I’m looking forward to more,” he lied smoothly. “Now that you’re here, I’ll have someone to dance with.”

      She jerked back, pulling her hand away. “Oh, no. Not me. You’re supposed to be meeting eligible ladies of rank. That’s not me.”

      He stared at her. “Kayla, what’s the deal? Do you work for the royal family, or what?”

      She nodded. “Yes. I’ve known the queen since we were kids together and my sister’s husband is in the guard. Pellea offered me a job and I jumped at it.” She shrugged, palms up. “I love it here.”

      He frowned, not sure what to make of that. When they’d been in Trialta, he’d assumed she was as much of a vagabond as he was. Now to know she had royal ties …

      But what was he thinking? He was the one who was supposed to be a prince.

      Still, he didn’t like being corralled this way. He could tolerate going to the ball if they let him come on his own terms. This way was just too much. Kayla or no Kayla, he was back to wanting to get the hell out of here. But his hesitation had meant he was locked up.

      “Hey, I’ll come with you willingly,” he noted. “But could we get rid of these handcuffs?”

      She hesitated, looking down at them. Then she gazed up into his eyes.

      He smiled. She sighed.

      “Sure,” she said, wondering if she were risking everything but hardly caring. She looked at the security agents. “Let him go.”

      The sergeant glared at her. “But, Miss …”

      “I’ll take the responsibility,” she said. “If he bolts, I’ll tell the queen it was my fault.”

      The man shrugged and used the key, but he didn’t look happy about it.

      Max smiled and flexed his wrists and looked toward the balcony in the redhead’s room. He could make it in two bounds and be jumping for freedom in seconds. Everything in him was ready to go. Why the hell should he stick around when he knew he was going to hate the results?

      CHAPTER TWO

      KAYLA could read Max’s mind. She knew him too well. She saw the glance as a way out and she moved in smoothly, taking his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. If he was going to run for it, he was going to have to drag her with him.

      “You’re all mine now,” she told him archly. “I’m calling the shots.”

      “Is that right?” he said, looking skeptical, but amused. “I thought I was the one who was supposed to be royal all of a sudden.” He raised one quizzical eyebrow. “You’ve heard, haven’t you? Now they’ve got me pegged as one of the lost princes. Can you believe it?”

      She shook her head, smiling at him. “I’m finding it hard. When I realized it was you …” She shrugged and closed her eyes as she relived those moments, and when she spoke again, her voice was shaky. “Max, I thought you were dead.”

      He looked at her for a moment, then managed a crooked smile. “Which time?” he asked softly.

      Her phone buzzed. She knew it was the queen. Pressing her lips together, she shook her head.

      “We’ll have to talk later.” She reached for her phone but she didn’t let go of his hand. She’d learned a lesson or two over the years, and one of them was to look both ways before stepping off the curb.

      “Yes, Your Majesty. We’re on our way.”

      Ten minutes later they were in Pellea’s public parlor while she flitted about and generally let Max know he was on thin ice with her. Kayla watched, but hardly listened. She knew the queen was crazy about him and was just trying to convince him to behave.

      At the same time, she herself was a bit impatient with all this. She felt as though every nerve ending was vibrating right now. There were so many things to take care of, so much to consider. Max was back and she had to figure out how to fit him into her life again. She had a thousand questions for him. There was so much she wanted to know, so much they’d missed. So much they needed to discuss.

      For instance, had he come close to marrying anyone in the last two years? Was there someone out there? She was hoping there was, but the signs weren’t good. If he had someone serious in his life, she could move on without any lingering doubts. Couldn’t she?

      The funny thing was, she couldn’t imagine him married. He didn’t have a married way about him. His beautiful eyes had a look that said he was always searching for something and not very satisfied with what he’d found. You had a sense that there was something missing in his life, but he wasn’t sure what it was and he knew he hadn’t seen it yet. Just seeing that in him scared her.

      But the queen seemed to have no forbearance left for all that. She knew what she wanted from Max and she wanted it now.

      “The first thing we’re going to do is get you into some decent clothes,” she said, rummaging through her closet.

      “What? You don’t like my style?” He said it in a tone that might have seemed insolent if he hadn’t paired his words with a look of pure innocence that caught Pellea by surprise, making her laugh.

      “Now I see what the problem is,” she told him, shaking her head. “You just don’t know any better. You need to learn a thing or two about being a prince, don’t you?”

      “If you insist.” His mouth twisted but he bent forward in a sweeping bow. “Anything for you, my beautiful queen.”

      Despite everything, Pellea colored slightly, then glanced Kayla’s way. “You’ve got to admit, the boy’s a charmer,” she said out of the side of her mouth. “I think he’s a diamond in the rough, too. We’ll see what we can make of him.” She smirked. “Heat and pressure. That’s how you get perfect diamonds. Are you game?”

      He didn’t answer but she’d already turned away and was hunting through a closet again, muttering about sizes and ruffled shirts.

      He looked at Kayla and shrugged, as though to say, “They’ve got me this time,” and she smiled at him, her heart full of affection for all he’d meant to her in the past. She wasn’t sure what the future would bring. But things were never dull when Max was around.

      Her smile faded as she remembered that there was something more lasting than memories between them, something more precious than life itself. And that was when she decided it was time for her to go.

      “Your Majesty, if you don’t need of me here …”

      Pellea poked her head back out of the closet. “Go ahead, Kayla,” she said. “I know you’ve got work to do. I won’t keep you.”

      “Thank you,” Kayla said, then she turned and gave Max a stern look. “You will be good, won’t you?”

      “At what?” he teased with a lopsided smile.

      She glared СКАЧАТЬ