THEIR_VIRGIN_PRINCESS by Shayla Black Lexi Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

it—when he bothered to speak at all. So
     they’d made nice, big targets for the sheikh. When Coop had written off Tal’s
     craptastic mood and snarling outburst to not getting any, Dane and Lan had
     called him an overly optimistic Pollyanna and told him to shut the fuck up.
    Coop shrugged. He was realistic, thank you. The other two
     could be morose morons. But they were his family.
    “What are you saying, Your Highness?” Dane asked, his jaw
     squaring in that comic book, all-American hero way of his.
    Tal turned to Dane. Coop’s stomach rolled. Here it came, the
     big emotional “I’m sorry” scene that had been building for six months. Fuck . Coop hadn’t gone into the Navy so
     he could have the verbal equivalent of dude hugs. He’d rather cut through the
     crap and put it behind them. “Let me translate. Tal fucked up and he’s sorry.
     He’s cool if we go after Alea because he knows we’ll take care of her. Now can
     we move this along?”
    Tal frowned Coop’s way. “That’s not exactly how I planned to
     say it, but yes. I had a very long apology planned, too.”
    “Can’t we handle this like men?” Coop asked. “Just punch
     each other, then share a beer and we’re all cool.”
    Dane’s lips curled up. “Sorry, Tal. Coop isn’t a big
     believer in the whole ‘emotional sharing’ thing. I think it’s because he grew
     up surrounded by cattle.”
    Coop shrugged. Sometimes he missed his dad’s ranch. “I was
     raised by cowhands who were long on work and short on chatter. Sorry.”
    A huge smile crossed the sheikh’s face. “Well, Cooper was succinct,
     but correct. Alea needs you. I’ve talked this over with my brothers, and we’ve
     agreed that we will approve the marriage if you can convince her to accept.”
    “We will.” Coop smiled now. “But it’s not fair. You had it
     easier. You got to steal a bride.”
    “We followed in the tradition of our ancestors. They would
     whisk a woman away to someplace quiet and fuck her until she finally agreed to
     marry them,” Tal said with a long sigh. “You’ll have to be sneaky. I doubt Alea
     will prove as accommodating or as easily deceived as Piper. Plus, we had the
     whole language thing on our side. Unfortunately for you, Alea is proficient in
     five languages. I don’t think she knows Swahili. Do any of you?”
    Coop rolled his eyes. “I think we can all agree Alea is
     smarter than any of us. We’re going to have to rely on how hot we are.”
    “That’s worked so well for us up to this point.” Dane rolled
     his eyes. “So please stop walking around in your boxers on the off chance that
     Alea will walk in, see your body, and fall at your feet.”
    He elbowed Dane. It could have worked.
    Law yawned, looking generally bored. “If you guys are done
     with the huggy portion of the evening, we could move on.”
    Riley frowned at his brother. “Sorry, he’s the emotional
     equivalent of a lobotomized pit bull. Now for the bad news. There is no
     indication that Khalil had anything to do with the kidnapping. In fact, we
     talked to the private investigators he hired to look for the princess.”
    “What?” Tal asked, nearly coming out of his seat.
    Coop was confused, too. Khalil had been a violent asswipe
     bent on destroying the whole family. “He hated his cousins.”
    “He hated everyone in line for the throne. Alea isn’t. And
     there’s no doubt he hired a small firm in California to search for her. It was
     actually a smart play. Those particular investigators have deep ties in South
     America.”
    “It had to be a ruse,” Tal shot back.
    “I don’t think so. Yes, he could have used it to point
     suspicion away from him if you’d thought he had something to do with the
     kidnapping. But it makes more sense to me that he would look for her so he
     could get his hands on her before you. That leverage might have been very
     interesting to a man like Khalil. Unfortunately for him, your investigators got