Penelope & Prince Charming by Jennifer Ashley

Author:Jennifer Ashley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780843956061
Publisher: Leisure Books
Published: 2006-04-02T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

« ^ »

He smiled down at her, lashes sweeping to hide his eyes, but she saw the flicker of triumph in them. "Good."

He drew the cloth over her thighs again, although she reasoned she must be clean. The cloth left a dampness behind that air touched and made cool.

"I cannot tell you it will be easy," he said. "I wish that I could."

"Because Grand Duke Alexander is trying to kill you?"

"More than that." His look turned serious. "My father nearly destroyed Nvengaria. It needs something to bring it back to its feet, something to believe in. They want the princess even more than they want the Imperial Prince. That is why they cheered me as I rode from the gates, because I would bring you back with me."

"Oh." She closed her eyes, liking the feel of the cloth moving in little circles on her skin. "What do they want me to do?"

"I do not believe they wish you to do anything. They simply want you to be."

"That does not sound very difficult."

"It will be. They will want to love you, body and soul. They already do love you, the princess who will restore Nvengaria."

"Oh." Trepidation fluttered through her heart. "What if they are disappointed?" She opened her eyes. "Your people are rather volatile, Damien. What if they decide not to accept me?"

She imagined herself being chased through the gates of a mountain town, people driving her forth with pitchforks and swords.

He chuckled, as though reading her thoughts. "You have seen how Sasha and my entourage view you. They have already decided you are the perfect princess and will do anything for you. Even Petri, the most skeptical of men, has embraced you, so to speak. He is enormously pleased that we will marry."

Penelope knew this responsibility he was thrusting upon her should worry her. She was not a princess; she was plain Penelope Trask, twice a jilt with no prospects, with no idea how to be an important woman, wife to a prince. But somehow, in the afterglow of her first joining with a man, the danger and difficulty seemed far away and unreal.

Perhaps it was the prophecy, willing her not to resist it. She had come to believe in this arcane magic after feeling herself change. A young miss such as herself should have swooned when Damien carried her off into the meadow and began to kiss her; she should have fought him hard, not succumbed. But at the time, there hadn't seemed to be a choice. It hadn't seemed wrong to let him kiss her and whisper to her what he wanted to do.

Likewise, it did not feel wrong to roll over and caress his strong thigh and smile when he eased his hand through her hair. They were not married—at least, not by English standards—and yet she felt no shame lying here with him.

"Will you and Sasha tell me what to do when we get there?" She yawned. Strangely, the more she tried to focus on the daunting task, the more lethargic she became.

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.