Free Royal Captive by Dana Marton Page A

didn’t seem to be troubled with any existential questions as far as she could tell.
    The morning sun was peeking in and out from behind the scattered cloud cover, warm, but not unbearably so, its heat further mitigated by the sea breeze. He took off his jacket and offered it for her to lie on. She accepted. The corrugated steel was none too comfortable, and she knew they could be up here for hours.
    When she ate the figs and he finished the chicken, they split the chocolate, then drank the last of the cola. Sharing the bottle felt strangely intimate. They were almost like old friends, sitting in companionable silence. But they weren’t, she reminded herself.
    “What about your mom?” he asked out of the blue, reclining on his side, watching her.
    “What about her?” she shot back, caught completely off guard.
    “I was thinking about how a person turns out like you. I already know about your father.”
    Her spine stiffened. People like her… So much for the brief mirage of the two of them as friends. “I turned out just fine.” She was working on it, dammit, every single day.
    “I never implied otherwise.” An amused smile played above his lip. “Maybe I meant you were self-sufficient and quick on your feet.” The sunlight glinted off his dark hair. His wide shoulders were outlined against the endless blue sea. His powerful body was relaxed, his full attention on her.
    The whole scene had a surreal quality, almost as if they were on some romantic picnic, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. They were stowaways on a ship filled with armed criminals.
    “My mom died when I was young.” She shared that much against her better judgment.
    “How?”
    She had no intention of telling him. She’d never spoken of that time to anyone, never intended to. But the way he was looking at her made it clear that he wasn’t going to let the matter drop, so she decided to give him a sentence or two to satisfy his curiosity.
    “She was killed. I don’t remember much.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t like talking about it.”
    Of course, that didn’t deter him in the least. He leaned forward. “Did it have anything to do with your father’s occupation?”
    For a second she considered saying car accident, hoping that lie would cut off further questions. Then she decided against it and simply nodded.
    “What happened?” He pushed as she’d feared he would.
    She was already regretting telling him the truth in the first place. “My father had something someone else wanted. They took me and mom. He tried hard to get to us in time, but he was late.”
    She braced herself for more questions, determined not to speak another word of what had happened. But instead, he simply swept the garbage from between them and silently pulled her into his arms.
    The gesture startled her as much as the brief brush of his lips had back in their prison cabin before they’d broken free. She was convinced that he couldn’t stand her, yet this was the second time he wanted to comfort her and did so with an intimate gesture.
    She pulled back and looked up into his face. “Why are you doing this?”
    For a moment it looked as if he might pretend not to know what she was talking about, but then he said, “Damned if I know. I didn’t exactly plan it.”
    “So what, you took me into your arms against your will?”
    He grinned at her. “I’m a handsome prince, aren’t I? I’m used to beautiful women throwing themselves at me. Whatever I do, don’t take it seriously. You looked forlorn.”
    “I’m a strong, self-sufficient woman. I don’t look forlorn. On principle.” She pulled farther away. “Don’t do me any favors.”
    His grin widened. “I didn’t say it was strictly a favor.
    I said I didn’t plan it.”
    He was impossible. Impossible to argue with, impossible to ignore, impossibly handsome. Beautiful, cultured, high-born women probably did throw themselves at him on a daily basis. And there was no