Harlequin Presents May 2016, Box Set 2 of 2 by Carol Marinelli

Author:Carol Marinelli
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781460398036
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWO

ARISTOS’S MOUTH WENT SLACK. Nikandros’s half sister. He couldn’t have heard her correctly.

“Can you please,” he said deliberately, “repeat that?”

Aleksandra, if that was even her right name, rubbed a hand against her temple. “My mother, Melaina, was Queen Amara’s lady-in-waiting. She had an affair with King Gregorios during her tenure at the palace. The queen knew about her husband’s indiscretions, but when she discovered the affair with my mother, it was one step too far. She fired her. No one knew my mother was pregnant. She went home to her village and raised me by herself.”

He blinked. “Why keep it a secret? By Akathinian law, you would have been a royal.”

“My mother knew I would be taken away from her if anyone found out. She didn’t want that life for me. She told everyone, including me, that my father was an Akathinian businessman she’d met while she worked at the palace who was killed in a car accident before I was born. It wasn’t until the king had his heart attack that I learned the truth.”

Thee mou. His head spun. The queen’s lady-in-waiting. The ultimate betrayal.

It was well-known that King Gregorios had indulged in countless affairs. But a child kept secret this long? Born to the queen’s most trusted aide? If true, it was a scandal that would put all before it to shame.

He scrutinized the woman in front of him. Was she telling the truth? Her skin was pale beneath her olive-toned complexion, the vulnerability that emanated from her a quality he didn’t think could be manufactured. Nor did he think she was a threat to anyone. She was not a practiced liar, that was clear. But he had learned long ago never to trust first impressions. Particularly when it came to a woman—the most deceptive creature on the face of the earth. One who wanted an audience with the king.

It hit him then, that same feeling of familiarity he’d experienced from the first moment he’d seen her. Those eyes... That particular shade of blue belonged to only one bloodline he knew. They were Constantinides blue. It was like looking at Nikandros and Stella.

His blood ran cold. She was telling the truth.

Aleksandra pressed her lips together. “I told you you were going to regret doing that.”

He closed his eyes. For once in his life, he did. He and the king had just gotten their relationship on a solid footing after an adversarial start. This he didn’t need.

“Just because you have the Constantinides eyes, as rare as they are, doesn’t mean your story is true,” he said roughly. “It will need to be verified, as I’m sure you will appreciate. You can understand my suspicions.”

Her eyes flashed. “Your suspicions, yes, but not your tactics.”

“Like I said, it took two to make that kiss.”

That shut her up. He paced to the edge of the terrace, his brain working furiously. They were smack in the middle of a royal function with every paparazzo camera, gossip and royal watcher in the country in their midst.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.