Royal Captive by Dana Marton Read Free Book Online

honest.”
    He pulled up an eyebrow. “The feeling is completely mutual.”
    She smiled again, at his unflinching honesty, the first thing she liked about the prince.
    “Do you always take so much delight in other people’s misfortune?” he asked in a wry tone.
    “Sorry.” She reached back and unhooked her neck lace, pulled the round eye hook off with her teeth, rolled off all the pearls save two. She stashed the free pearls in her pocket, then with four knots she secured the remaining two about three finger widths apart. “Give me your wrist.”
    “I don’t wear jewelry.”
    “Please, you’re royalty.”
    “I wear some symbols of the monarchy on ceremonial occasions,” he corrected.
    She held his gaze.
    “I don’t have a problem.”
    “This will help the problem you don’t have.”
    After a moment of glaring at her, he held out his left hand. She fastened the string so the pearls would be on the inside of his wrist, pressing against the nerves there.
    “What is this?” He examined her concoction dubiously, while she made a matching one for his other wrist.
    “An acupressure bracelet. My father used to be seasick. He was terrible. You’ve never seen that shade of purple. He looked like a walking Monet painting when it hit him bad.”
    The darkening of his face told her that bringing up her father might have been a mistake. “He was a good man, in his own way,” she added, feeling the need to defend the man who’d kept her fed and clothed, alive for the first part of her life.
    He remained stoic. “Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”
    After a moment of silence, he climbed from the top of the container onto the top of the row below them, then down several more levels to the deck. He strode forward between the rows, going pretty fast, pulling into cover each time he reached a gap between two containers.
    He was probably trying to make sure the men who were checking the load didn’t see him, she thought and copied him. Then they reached the last row and there was nothing but empty deck in front of them and the bridge about a hundred feet away.
    He waited and watched.
    “What are we looking for?” she asked from behind him.
    “I want to know how many men are on this ship and if they’re all armed. Some of these ocean liners work with skeleton crews. Everything’s computerized these days.”
    “That the men at the treasury could take out all those guards means they must have been armed to the teeth.”
    “Those men might not be here. They could have a connection in shipping who agreed to smuggle the goods out of the country. There could be only a handful of bad apples on this ship, the rest of the crew and the captain honest men. In which case, we can ask for their help. Maybe taking over the ship isn’t our only option. It could be as easy as capturing and immobilizing a couple of bad guys.”
    He was talking as if he believed her innocence at last, but she noticed that he made a point of not turning his back to her. Still, at least he was willing to work with her. They could sort out the rest once they escaped. At least they were no longer locked in. She was feeling more optimistic by the minute.
    But their hopes seemed unjustified when, a few seconds later, the patrolling seamen came into view, armed. Every last one of them.
    She held her breath and pulled close to Istvan, the two of them sandwiched together in a small gap between two containers, her breasts pressed against his back as she peeked over his shoulder. This was the closest they’d been to each other, and she was suddenly aware of his well-built body, his wide shoulders, the strength of the man as he stood in front of her.
    He had his gun in his hand, his other hand holding her back, his feet slightly apart. His body language couldn’t have been clearer. If anyone wanted to get to her, they had to go through him. A strange feeling seeped through her, part indignation that he would assume she needed protection, part