Free The Princes Bound [The Princes Book 1] by Robin Danner

events planned for the remainder of the week, but this first day was reserved for the royals to get to know one another. A private banquet would be held that evening with only the highest-ranking lords and ladies in attendance.
    Once the crowd thinned, Nadia escorted Roarke's guards to their quarters. They were to be housed in the soldiers’ barracks, and they set off on a short walk to the barracks.
    She quickly regretted appointing herself for the duty.
    Roarke's escorts were crude men. They spoke in loud voices as they debated the merits of her skill in bed.
    "You are quite a pretty thing,” one of them remarked.
    "Tell me, after you show us the barracks will you stay and warm our beds?"
    Nadia ignored them as best as she could until one pinched her backside.
    She'd had enough.
    Nadia spun and grabbed the hand of the man who'd dared to touch her. She squeezed his index finger and forced it backwards until the bones of his wrist creaked beneath her fingertips.
    "Do not touch me,” she said between clenched teeth.
    The man whimpered.
    She glared at the other men. “The same goes for you."
    Their faces registered their shock and a dawning appreciation.
    "Nadia!"
    A figure pushed his way through the group of men and hurried to her side. She dropped the man's hand and gaped at the unlikely appearance of Mathis.
    The prince shoved aside the man she'd released and came to her side. “Are you harmed?"
    She shook her head. “No."
    The prince nodded and drew himself up to an impressive height. He turned to face Roarke's escorts, and his eyes narrowed with warning. “If any of you touch her again, I will personally see to it that you are thrown in a dungeon for the remainder of your miserable lives."
    The men bowed to the prince and set off for the barracks as if the fires of hell nipped at their heels.
    Nadia crossed her arms and lifted a slim eyebrow. “What do you think you are doing?"
    Mathis glanced at her with a confused look. “What do you mean? I came to help you."
    She uncrossed her arms and poked her finger in his chest. “I can take care of myself. I do not need you to be my hero."
    His mouth tightened as his jaw clenched. “Damn it, Nadia. I know you can.” He flung out a hand toward the fleeing guardsmen. “But there were twelve of them to one of you. Those odds were not in your favor."
    No, they had not been. Her knees still shook, but she showed no obvious sign of weakness.
    "I must go. I have work to do."
    "Nadia, wait."
    He grabbed her hand, but she shook him off. “No, Your Highness."
    She turned on her heel and stomped away. Mathis did not try to stop her again.
    Nadia headed back to the castle but did not pay much attention to where she walked. She stumbled over a loose stone and cursed softly.
    What is wrong with me?
    She kicked the stone aside and continued on her way.
    For several hours, she patrolled the palace grounds.
    She purposefully chose the eastern side so that she wouldn't encounter the gardens. The borrowed dress and jewelry had been returned to Talin first thing that morning, and she'd been prepared to wipe her hands clean of any reminder of the time she'd spent with Mathis.
    It was much easier said than done. It was as if he were engraved in her thoughts. She yearned to see him, to speak to him, to know he was not still angry with her. To do so, though, would admit her weakness.
    She could not allow him to take precedence over all she held dear. Her career was her life. She was not prepared to give it up for the slight possibility a prince might care for her.
    In a week, Mathis would return to his kingdom, and she could put this behind her. She would remain and continue to train new recruits, as her father had done before her, until she grew too old.
    Then what will I do?
    She'd never thought about life after her military career ended. Perhaps she would become a maiden aunt to the children Hugh might one day have. Or perhaps she would find a man that would marry her and start a family