Her Royal Bodyguard by Natasha Moore Read Free Book Online Page B

us downstairs for breakfast. We will go down as soon as you pull yourself together.”
    In the ensuing silence Rico’s training took over and he scanned the pedestrians below. He homed in on two men in black suits on the corner, looking up at the villa, appearing to look up at the bank of windows where he was standing. Rico slid out of view and lowered the blinds.
    “You don’t understand.” The princess had stepped into the doorway. Her eyes still glistened but he was pleased to see no tracks of tears down her cheeks.
    “I understand all too well, Your Highness.”
    “You throw my title up as a wall between us.”
    “It is a thick and high wall, Your Highness.”
    “There should be no walls between us now.”
    “Out there, no. Out there we must pretend. But in here. In here when it is only you and me, there must be a wall.”
    “I don’t want a wall.”
    “Wishing a wall doesn’t exist doesn’t stop it from being there.”
    “It is if we both want it gone.”
    That wall was all that was keeping him from taking her innocence. “I don’t wish it gone.”
    “How can you be so calm? Am I the only one on fire?” She crossed the room in long, angry steps. “Don’t you lie to me, Rico. I saw your hands tremble. I heard your ragged breathing. Don’t lie to me.”
    “It doesn’t matter if I do burn for you. I cannot do as you ask.”
    “But why not?”
    If she did not want to recognize the wall between them, he wasn’t going to waste his time repeating the obvious. “We must go down to breakfast. Are you ready?”
    At first, he thought she was going to push it, perhaps resort to tears or begging, but instead she simply nodded. He peeked out through the blinds and saw with relief that the men were gone. They had probably been checking out the sky to get a handle on the weather. Clouds had begun to roll in. He almost groaned. If it were to start raining, he’d be trapped inside with the princess all day.
    She would always be the princess to him. How could she not? They had both grown up in the palace. She was the adored Princess Angelina, her every desire indulged by her parents, her brothers, the palace staff. He’d been the son of a cook and a gardener. He’d never doubted his parents loved him, but he had never been spoiled. He’d helped his parents in the kitchen or the garden when he wasn’t in school. He remembered digging holes in the dirt for plantings, the sun beating down on his head, the sweat running into his eyes, while the princess had strolled the grounds in a white dress, carrying a parasol to block the sun.
    He was tall, broad, hulking. She was slender, lovely, and graceful. She was young, naïve, romantic. He was nearly ten years older than her and a realist. She might think that an illicit liaison would be romantic, but he knew it would only cause trouble in the long run.
    It was up to him to be the strong one.
     
    Sitting next to Rico was a torture like Angelina had never experienced before. The five of them were crowded around a table meant for four. His thigh was pressed against hers. Their shoulders brushed as they ate. He seemed to take all the oxygen out of the room and she could barely breathe for the want of him.
    They had just started eating the delicious frittata when Rosa asked, “Was the princess injured before you left the palace?”
    Angelina felt Rico freeze, just as she did.
    “Excuse me?” Rico replied
    “The news report this morning. The princess is said to be recuperating in the palace after being injured in an automobile accident. I wondered how seriously she was injured.” Rosa looked at the two of them. They must have looked as shocked as Angelina felt. “I take it you didn’t know.”
    Angelina shook her head. Evidently the palace decided to put out their own cover story to explain why she would be out of the public eye and confined to the palace.
    “I’ll see what I can find out after breakfast,” Rico promised. “If she’s not in the hospital, I