Table of Contents
Title Page
Prologue: A Disaster Averted
Chapter 1: The Unexpected Guest
Chapter 2: Meet Max
Chapter 3: Secrets
Chapter 4: A Mutual Attraction
Chapter 5: Disclosures
Chapter 6: A Morning Ride
Chapter 7: First Date
Chapter 8: Farewells
Chapter 9: A Death in the Family
Chapter 10: Post Mortem
Chapter 11: Passion Unleashed
Chapter 12: Coronation Day
Chapter 13: A Great Way to Start A Holiday
Chapter 14: The Bet
Epilogue: Six Months Later
Bonus Book
Chapter 1 - The Girl Next Door
Chapter 2 - Not a Boy Anymore
Chapter 3 - Old Feelings Resurface
Chapter 4 - Trouble Come In Twos
Chapter 5 - Baby Steps
Chapter 6 -- Sparks Fly
Chapter 7 -- Kisses Like Wine
Chapter 8 -- At Last
Chapter 9 -- Party Time
Chapter 10 -- Taking Care of Business
Chapter 11 -- Moving Forward
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About the Author
Publisher's Notes
Seduced by the Prince
Cristina Grenier
Prologue: A Disaster Averted
Driving in snow was probably Leontyne Cooper’s least favorite outdoor activity, but she had set herself with the task of getting to a motel before sundown, and she’d do it if it killed her. In these conditions, it very well might, too. Tina (only her grandmother called her Leontyne) slowed the big SUV to a crawl as the weather worsened and visibility lessened. She had never seen snow fall in sheets before, at least not while she was out in it. The snow was getting heavier, and her tires slid around dangerously over the slick roads, which were already heavily snow-covered after only half an hour. She sneezed, shivering uncontrollably, and wondered why she couldn't get warm, despite the heat blowing in the car.
Gripping the steering wheel, she chastised herself afresh for ever having come away on this little jaunt with a man whom she had known in her secret heart was not good enough for her. If she had only followed her gut instincts, instead of her lust, she wouldn’t now be out driving in a blizzard just to avoid spending even another moment in the suite with John Sampson. She would rather die than breathe the same air as he did longer than she had to, because it turned out that not only was he not good for her, but he wasn’t good at all. She had spent the time she had been on the road in bitter recrimination as she recalled the argument that had ended with him backhanding her hard in the face.
How could she have thought that a man like that would satisfy her need for romance as much as her need for passion? He was crass and rude, and his anger when she refused to go with him to a nightclub where the entertainment involved not just nudity but soft porn on stage, should have been her clue that he and she were not on the same page in the love department. Maybe she should have kept her opinion of such shows and the people who frequented them to herself. Maybe she shouldn’t have laughed when he described it as ‘quality entertainment’. But her ill-advised response to his preferred form of relaxation was not enough to warrant his becoming violent. She hadn’t meant to suggest that she was better than he was, or to make him feel small or inferior.
“You think because you’re a big shot writer that you’re the shit? Huh?” he had yelled at her. “You think that makes you better than the rest of us?” He had shaken his finger in her face as he cursed at her. “Well, let me tell you, you’re nothing, lady. You’re no better than me. You’re just a horny, uptight bitch needing to get laid. That’s all you are!”
Tina had felt the sharp pain of his enraged assessment of her to the depths of her soul, hating that he might be right, but she reacted as she always did when she was hurt. She withdrew into herself and replied harshly, not thinking beyond the need to lash out and give back what had been dished out to her.
“Well, I may be a horny, uptight bitch, John, but you’re a classless jerk looking to improve his station in life by hooking up with someone he thinks will make him look like less of an asshole than he really is.”
Even now she could feel the pain of the forceful blow he dealt her, because he had hit her with the hand on which he wore his gaudy lion-headed ring. The skin on her cheek broke, and when she reached up in shock, there had been blood on her finger tips. He had apologized immediately, obviously horrified at what he had let her discover about him before they had managed to make it into bed together. It was also clear to her now that all he had ever wanted from her was to get into her pants as often as she’d let him, despite all the pretty words he had spoken before. He had tried to explain that he wasn’t the kind of man who hit women, and to excuse his actions by saying that he was just so angry that he had forgotten himself. She would have believed him, too, if he hadn’t just shown her that he was a lying bastard.
He had begged her to forgive him, but she had left him standing in the living room to lock herself away in her room. Now, angry, humiliated tears crowded her eyes and she dashed them away, turning up the heat to maximum and wishing she could still the trembling in her limbs. Maybe she was coming down with something, because she hadn’t been able to keep warm since he had hit her and she had locked herself in her room. When she had run away, she hadn’t been feeling herself at all, but she had ignored it, knowing she could not stay even one night with the man she had left her home to spend time with, the man she had decided she might want to be with as more than an occasional hookup when he was in town.
The SUV swerved as she swung it away from what had looked like an object in the road. Fighting to control the skid, Tina managed to keep it on the road, but feared she would never make it the few remaining miles to the valley where there was a motel she could stay in until the storm passed. She knew it had been stupid of her to leave when she had, but she hadn’t wanted to have anything further to do with John, so she had waited until she heard him leave, after he repeatedly begged her to come out and talk to him. She had listened to his room door open, and then waited until it had closed again and he had passed by her door, pausing as if to try to get her to see him again, before heading out to the living room. She heard the television go on and waited until she felt he had settled in before taking her suitcase and hurrying out, careful to make as little sound as possible.
Eyeing the darkening sky and shivering as the snow began to fall, she cleared enough of the front and back windscreens and the side mirrors, choosing not to start the car until she was almost done. He had turned up the volume really loudly when he went to watch television, so she felt it was safe enough to start the engine without raising an alarm. Her cowardice, not to mention her stupid romantic notions, had landed her in this predicament, and she had no one to blame but herself. Swiping at the tears that kept coming despite her best efforts to stem the flood, she tried to see where she was, praying that she hadn’t passed the turnoff that led down the mountain to the valley.
When the big SUV skidded again, she fought to keep it on the road, but this time she lost the battle, and she hit something hard. The crash threw her up against the steering wheel and then snapped her head back when the vehicle stopped. The seatbelt gripped her tightly, and she screamed. Thankfully, it stopped moving, and she sat for a moment, breathing hard and trying to assess her situation. She must be in some kind of ditch. She needed to get out of the SUV, but where could she go? She thought she had seen a light behind her but she couldn’t be sure anymore. Did mirages occur in snowstorms? She could feel herself descending into a panic and closed her eyes, reminding he
rself sternly that she was a forty-year-old businesswoman. She was not a child and she could handle anything life threw at her, including deceitful men and blizzards.
Inhaling deeply and swallowing more useless tears, she opened her eyes and struggled to release herself from the seatbelt. Once that was done, she reached for her pocketbook and turned to open the door. Someone was standing at the window and she screamed in fright. The man held up his hands as though he was surrendering. She realized, in the rational part of her brain, that he was telling her he meant her no harm. She took several deep breaths and wound down the window.
“I’m sorry. You startled me.”
“I understand, madam. Will you come with me? I’m just a mile away, and you can go no further in your stuck vehicle.”
Tina wished she had time to study her rescuer’s face, but the cold was settling in her bones, despite the layers of clothing and the thick coat, hat, and gloves that she wore.
“Thank you,” she said. “My suitcase is in the back.”
“I’ll get it for you, madam,” the man said, and Tina noticed his accent for the first time. “Please wait for me here. I will escort you to my car.”
She took her pocketbook and clambered out of the SUV, glad that she was wearing knee-high insulated boots. She felt unsteady on her feet, and was thankful for the stranger’s assistance in helping her to his car which had pulled up behind her. The snow was already pretty thick on the ground, and after she locked her vehicle with the key fob, she settled herself against the warm leather seat and closed her eyes, suddenly bone weary. She was shivering violently, but she knew that soon she’d be somewhere that she could snuggle under blankets until she got warm again. She closed her eyes and let herself relax.
Chapter 1: The Unexpected Guest
“Peter, how is our guest?”
“She is still asleep, Your Highness,” Peter replied. He was Max Kastelic’s butler, and he handed his boss a big mug of coffee with a worried frown on his face. “I do believe she might be ill, my lord. She babbles in her sleep, and is very warm to the touch.”
“Do what you can for her, Peter,” the Prince said. “We’ll get her medical attention as soon as the storm blows over.”
“Very good, my lord.”
Max watched as his butler hurried away, knowing that the older man’s soft heart would not rest until the stranger was well again. He had told Peter that he could bring the woman home when the man informed him of the accident, and he readily admitted that he was curious about why she had been out in a blizzard to begin with. He sipped his coffee, rising to stand at the wide picture window that looked out on the valley below and the ski slopes above. The view, now obscured by sheets of blowing snow, was normally breathtaking, and he let the peace and beauty of it soothe him. Perhaps it was a good thing that he had to entertain a stranger. It would take him away from thoughts of the mother he had loved until the day she died.
Closing his eyes, he savored the depth of flavor of the coffee, wishing he could avoid thoughts of the memorial he had attended only the day before. He had come to bury his mother in the town where she had been born, as had been her last wish. His heart ached as he recalled the last days of her life, as she fought valiantly against the cancer that eventually took her from him and from the man she had loved from the moment they had met forty years earlier. His father was himself an invalid, unable to attend the memorial of his wife, though he had insisted on attending her state funeral in Maravia, the capital city of Lauenstein. The whole country was in mourning for the Princess, and Max appreciated how much his countrymen had loved his mother.
Like their cousins in The Netherlands, the royal family of Lauenstein passed on the reins of leadership to the younger generation when the reigning monarch reached the age of seventy-five. His father had abdicated a month ago, and at thirty-six, Max was to be crowned the new Sovereign Prince of Lauenstein one month after the official period of mourning for his mother’s passing was over. While he had already been doing the work of the sovereign, Max — whose formal title was His Sovereign Highness Prince Cedric Maximilian Kastelic — had known that his mother’s death was imminent, and preferred to wait until the sadness of her passing was less pressing on the citizens, and on himself and his family, before festooning the palace and streets in joyful celebration.
He finished the coffee and turned at the sound of footsteps. Peter had returned with breakfast on a tray.
“Your Highness,” the man said, placing the tray on a table beside the armchair in which Max had been sitting, “breakfast is served. I thought you would prefer to have it here rather than in the dining room.”
Max smiled. Peter Cymillian was old enough to be his father, and he knew Max as well, if not better than his aging relative. But where his father the Prince could be stern and often unbending, Peter was warm and supportive, always looking out for Max’s comfort.
“Thank you, Peter,” he said. “As always, you were right.” He went back to his chair and sat down, and Peter took his mug and refilled it.
“Your father would like you to call him when you have a moment, my lord,” Peter said, not acknowledging the compliment. “He mentioned an hour from now, if that’s okay with you, sir?”
“Thank you, Peter. That will be fine.” He picked up a piece of toast and buttered it, biting into it before the butter had completely melted. “How is our guest?”
“She has bestirred herself, my lord, and refuses to remain in bed. I have left her toiletries and bath linens so that she can take a shower and refresh herself.”
“How does she look?” Max wanted to know, finishing the toast and slathering butter on another thick slice.
“Unwell, my lord. But she will not be persuaded to remain in bed. Perhaps when she makes an appearance, you will have better luck with her than I have had.”
“I’m sure you have something a little less…filling for her breakfast,” Max said, looking down at the sausages and bacon-scrambled eggs on his tray. There was also fruit, jam and marmalade, as well as the butter he was enjoying.
“I thought some toast and porridge might be pleasing and warming for her, my lord.”
“Well, have at it, Peter. And thank you for breakfast.”
The butler withdrew and Max ate everything on the plates before him. He had not eaten in two days for lack of appetite. But his visit with his aunts, uncles, and cousins had helped to restore him, and he had awakened ravenous. His oldest cousin had sent him back to the chalet with food to last for several days, because, as she had said, “being incognito is hungry business.” Happily, Peter could handle breakfast, and Max was not much for lunch, though he imagined he would have to ensure that his guest ate well, so that she could recover quickly.
He stood up to take his tray back into the kitchen, when a soft greeting stalled him where he stood.
“Good morning,” the vision he turned to see said, her voice hoarse, her gait unsteady as she approached.
Max set the tray down immediately and went to help her to the sofa. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
He didn't think it would be prudent to mention that he thought she looked rather worse for wear. Women were funny like that. They preferred their little denials.
“I’ll be fine as soon as I have some breakfast, I’m sure, Mr.…?”
“Just call me Max,” the Prince said, smiling widely at her. It pleased him that she had no idea who he was. That certainly made his plan to remain below the radar easier to achieve. She couldn’t spread rumors about someone she didn’t know when she left, now could she? “And you are?”
“Leontyne Cooper,” she replied, “but everyone calls me Tina.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tina,” he said, taking the hand she held out and shaking it gently. “Peter will be in shortly with your breakfast.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, but said nothing further, and Max took her in as she pulled her legs up under her, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Are yo
u still feeling cold, Tina? I’ll get you a blanket, shall I?”
“Please, you don’t have to…”
“It’s not a problem,” Max interrupted her. “I’ll be back in a jiffy. Here’s Peter with your breakfast now.”
He turned and walked toward Peter, saying as he passed him, “I’m just going to get her a blanket. I’ll see if I can’t persuade her to lie down in here.”
When he returned with a thick fleece blanket, Tina was holding a delicate cup and saucer in her hands, sipping slowly. She looked up as he entered, her eyes a light brown that seemed to reflect the gold of the sun. She put the cup and saucer down and reached for the blanket, and when he handed it to her, she stood and wrapped it around herself snugly before sitting and drawing her legs up under her again.
“Thank you, this is great.”
Her smile lit up her face, and Max felt an unexpected desire to stroke her cheeks, to feel the smooth warmth of her skin. She was a beautiful woman, her light eyes a striking complement to her dusky skin. They were big and golden, with the dark brown irises making them stand out, ringed by almost too long lashes. She had a sweetly rounded face with sharply arching brows, high cheekbones, and dimples. There was a cut on her right cheek, and he wondered how she had received it. Her mouth was wide, her lips full and inviting, even devoid of color as they currently were. He liked the sheen of whatever lip gloss she had used on them, and wondered how much more alluring they would be with color.
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