Romancing The Crown: Drew and Samira: Her Lord Protector

Royalty is their birthright, power and passion are their due!

ROMANCING THE CROWN: DREW & SAMIRA

A pregnant princess and a suspicious aristocrat…

Two exciting, intense stories of regal romance from two favourite authors

Her Lord Protector

EILEEN WILKS

Secrets of a Pregnant Princess

CARLA CASSIDY

Her Lord Protector

EILEEN WILKS

ROMANCING THE CROWN

An explosion near the royal palace of Montebello sets off a frantic manhunt. One that begins with a confrontation between a proud lord and a mysteriously beautiful woman.

Meet the major players in this royal mystery…

Lord Andrew “Drew” Harrington: Romancing a suspect is not his usual style – but Rose is not a usual suspect.

Rosalinda “Rose” Giaberti: Her visions of fire have saved lives, but it will take a very special man to accept everything she is – and to protect her from others’ fears.

Duke Lorenzo Sebastiani: As head of Montebello’s Royal Intelligence, he will spare no one’s feelings when it comes to keeping the country safe.

Dear Reader,

I’ve always tended to take on some of my characters’ traits while writing about them. When I wrote about a super-organised heroine, I bought a planner and actually used it instead of losing it. While writing about a heroine who was much more traditionally feminine than I am, I developed a passion for the colour pink. When a character gets hit over the head, I develop a headache. This is one reason none of my heroines ever suffers from morning sickness – I’m not taking any chances!

So when I started writing about a woman with a mysterious affinity for fires, I decided to avoid fireplaces and burning candles. Maybe that was excessive, but I’m happy to report that I finished the book without burning anything more than a roast dinner. (Though I did burn that thoroughly.) Maybe I only imagined I had more headaches than usual while writing about a hero who suffers from migraines…of a sort. And it was probably a coincidence that, shortly after I wrote about illness forcing Drew and Rose to stay overnight at an airport hotel, something similar happened to me.

But I still don’t want to ever give any of my heroines morning sickness. Just in case…

Happy reading!

Eileen Wilks

Prologue

Gretchen Hanson loved babies. It was their mothers she didn’t have much use for. ‘‘It won’t work,’’ she repeated, stubbing out a cigarette smoked down to a finger-burning butt. The noise level in the honky-tonk let her speak flatly, not bothering to whisper. ‘‘Midwives don’t sign death certificates.’’

The plump, wide mouth of the woman sitting across from her pursed in a pout. Carnation pink, those lips were tonight. And sulky. ‘‘I can’t believe you’re wimping out on me now, Gretchen. You’re always complaining about how dumb those doctors are. If you don’t think you can fool one of them—’’

‘‘I don’t.’’ After all these years, Gretchen knew Ursula Chambers pretty well. Well enough to know that while Ursula’s devious plans could lead Gretchen to a life of luxury, Ursula would have no qualms about using Gretchen as her fall girl if they were caught. And she knew how Ursula saw her. Barbie’s best friend. The girl who would always and forever be second-string, her only claim to glamour the fallout from her friend’s glittery shoulders. In high school, that had been true enough, Gretchen thought grudgingly. But high school was a long time ago. Not that she didn’t still play along sometimes, but secondhand glamour wasn’t worth risking prison over. ‘‘God, girl, get real. There’s no way I could slip her an overdose without anyone noticing. Maybe we should rethink this.’’

Ursula smiled and leaned forward, the tousled fall of honey-colored hair sliding over one bare shoulder. Her blue eyes were bright with mischief. ‘‘I’ve already thought of a way to get her to have the baby at her damned ranch. I’ll tell her the apartment is going to be sprayed for bugs—she shouldn’t be around all those chemicals, right? You’ll go out there with us. She’s due any day now, so we won’t have to keep her there for long.’’

The naughty pleasure in those eyes sent a chill up Gretchen’s spine. What had seemed like an acceptable plan months ago suddenly felt all wrong. They were talking about murder, not short-sheeting someone’s bed. Nervously she pulled out another cigarette and tamped down the end. ‘‘There would still be a body to explain.’’

Ursula rolled her eyes. ‘‘There’s only a body to explain if we tell people about it.’’

‘‘You mean…get rid of her. Bury her or something and tell people she left town.’’ Gretchen’s breathing turned shallow and fast. ‘‘It’s a huge risk.’’

‘‘It’s a huge amount of money we’re talking about. Remember our plans? Sweetie, we’ll never have to worry about money again. You’ll finally get out of this stupid town, the way you’ve always talked about doing. See new places, buy the kind of pretty things you’ve always wanted. Live the royal life. And don’t forget that you’ll be able to put that half-wit brother of yours in a good home.’’

‘‘Gerald isn’t a half-wit. He’s…’’ Gretchen laughed.

‘‘He’s dumber than a dog, is all. Drives me crazy sometimes. But he does mind me pretty well.’’ As long as he understood what she wanted… ‘‘It will be nice to live my own life without having to watch out for him all the time.’’ The possibilities glittered in front of Gretchen’s suddenly blank eyes. ‘‘But the risk. If I were caught…’’

‘‘I’ve got it all worked out.’’ There was a febrile excitement about Ursula now, as if something was burning her up from the inside. She stretched out a hand and gripped Gretchen’s wrist. A ruby glinted, blood-red, on one finger. ‘‘Think about that poor baby.’’

‘‘Huh.’’ Gretchen wasn’t so lost in fantasies that she bought that. ‘‘As if you care about the baby.’’

‘‘You care, though. Don’t tell me you don’t. And you know what Jessie has been saying. We’ve talked about all this, Gretchen. She wants to raise her baby all by herself out on the ranch. The poor little thing will never know his father, never know the life he should have had. She’s so selfish, Gretchen!’’

‘‘They all are,’’ Gretchen muttered. ‘‘They think they’re getting some pretty doll to dress up, then when the pain hits they start yelling. ‘Get me a doctor,’ they say. Like I’m not good enough—but the only reason they want a doctor is to give them drugs. They don’t care if it’s good for the baby or not. All they think of is themselves.’’

‘‘They don’t care like you do.’’ Ursula’s voice was almost a croon. ‘‘Jessie sure doesn’t. She wants to use the baby, that’s what it is. Keep him a secret to pay his father back for dumping her. Is that right? Is that what’s best for the baby? Letting the poor little thing grow up in a dreary house in the middle of nowhere when he could be living in a palace? He’s a prince, Gretchen. But he’ll never know it—unless you help him.’’

Gretchen’s stomach clenched and her eyes went soft. Yearning ripped through her system like a triple-hit of nicotine. This was how Ursula had gotten her hooked on this scheme in the first place. Oh, she thought about that baby. She thought about all the babies she delivered. All those babies she had to put into other women’s arms, all those blithely fertile women who didn’t deserve the precious gifts they were given, the innocence, the love….

She cleared her throat and tried to make her voice hard. ‘‘He won’t be a prince. He’ll be a bastard.’’

‘‘A royal bastard. The only male child in direct line for the throne.’’ Ursula tossed her hair back impatiently. ‘‘Trust me, sweetie, I know how these people think. They’ll be so delighted this baby exists they’ll pamper him, pet him, give him everything a bitty baby could want…and they’ll give us what we want, too.’’ She leaned forward again, her voice low, her eyes shining. ‘‘I’ll be the baby’s aunt, so of course I’ll live there with him. In the palace. But you know me, sweetie. I don’t know beans about babies. I’ll need you to take care of him. What do you say, Gretchen? Would you like to be a royal nanny?’’

Gretchen’s heart began to pound. All those months ago, when she and Ursula had first started scheming, she’d been distracted by the thought of wealth and famous connections. Now an even greater reason to go along with Ursula struck her. She wouldn’t have to hand this baby over to some other woman. The idea made her dizzy, almost sick with yearning. ‘‘You never told me how you’re going to convince the king and queen of Montebello to even talk with you, much less persuade them we’ve got their grandchild.’’

Ursula smirked. ‘‘I’ve got connections.’’

Some man, no doubt. Gretchen reached for her lighter.

‘‘Oh, please don’t. Smoking causes wrinkles.’’

‘‘Causes worse things than wrinkles.’’ Not that there was much worse than wrinkles in Ursula’s world. Maybe cellulite. She flicked the lighter and held the flame to the tip of her cigarette, inhaling deeply. ‘‘All right. I’ll do it.’’

‘‘Oh, I knew I could count on you!’’ Ursula was all but quivering with excitement. ‘‘I’ll get Jessie out to the ranch, but then I’ll have to leave. I’ll have to go to Montebello to set things up.’’

‘‘Fine. I’ll need some money up front.’’

‘‘You don’t trust me?’’

Not for a minute. ‘‘I won’t be able to work for a while, will I? I’ll have to lie low with the baby until you call me.’’ With the baby. That sounded good.

It sounded wonderful.

Ursula leaned back in her chair. ‘‘You know how strapped for cash I am right now. I wouldn’t be in this stupid town if I weren’t so broke.’’

‘‘Broke. Huh! You don’t know the meaning of the word. Sell some of the jewelry your back-stabbing ex-manager gave you. If there’s as much money in this deal as you say, you can buy more and better.’’

‘‘I already sold the diamonds Derek gave me.’’ Her mouth drooped. ‘‘I hated that, but the ticket to Montebello will be expensive.’’

‘‘Those diamonds were worth a lot more than the price of a plane ticket. And if you need more…’’ She grabbed Ursula’s hand and held it up. ‘‘This ring you’ve been flashing around has to be worth—Hey, isn’t this your sister’s ring? The one you’re always bitching about because your grandma left it to her, instead of you?’’

‘‘Oh, you noticed.’’ Ursula’s giggle was light and girlish. She wiggled her fingers. The ring was unusual, possibly unique, with a ruby and a pearl nestled together in an ornate golden bed. ‘‘I don’t think my dear sister Jessie will miss it, do you? Not where she’s going.’’

Chapter 1

Flames. Orange-hot, sucking the air from her chest, shouting smoke at the sky. Flames, drawing her skin hot and tight over the rapture within, the coiled secret at the bottom of her soul. Flames, calling her.

She fought. Wordlessly she fought, for she was deeply asleep, dwelling in a part of herself sundered from language and reason. But even here she knew the danger. And the draw. Unwilling, afraid, she resisted—yet when fire called, she answered, pulled from safety and darkness into a scene from hell.

Fire crackled merrily over the bones of its prey, a tumbled wreck she saw as dark angles and masses. There were people, too—she saw them as movement, their outlines blurred by possibilities. And there were bodies. They were dark and still and horribly clear.

She shuddered. Along with horror came the stirring of thought, still wordless but gathering focus. What she saw hadn’t happened yet. When fire skipped her willy-nilly across time’s boundaries, the living always appeared only as blurred, mobiles shapes, each person a small tornado of decisions awhirl with possible fates.

The dead carried no such freight. They lay quiet and dark, their final shapes fixed.

So there was time still. Not much, not when the vision was this clear, the pull of the fire this strong. But it hadn’t happened yet, so there was a chance that it wouldn’t. She had to think, had to remember what was needed in that other world, the waking world where reality was an orderly march of place and time, cause and effect.

Place and time…where was she? What was the fire eating?

She struggled, fighting the draw of the fire, the great, terrible beauty that called her to dance—fighting the part of her that quivered and yearned and wept with need for the flames. The need to call the fire to her. This time she won the battle, pulling more of reason and the other world into the vision.

She was standing in a smoke-black oven. Air stank in her nostrils and burned her lungs, a poison bath brewed of burning plastic and other man-made materials. People were screaming, crying, though she couldn’t see them. A siren wailed in the distance, drawing nearer. And in front of her, the fire. She felt it, heard it, though she could see nothing.

She turned away. There would be no answers nearer the fire, and much danger. When she moved, the fire dragged at her, so that she moved slowly, feeling as if the air itself was reluctant to let her pass. Her movement wasn’t quite like walking. Though she saw the floor, she didn’t feel it beneath her feet.

The floor. Yes, she could see it now—the smoke wasn’t as thick. A tile floor, vaguely institutional.

Think, she commanded herself. A store? Or, dear God, a hospital?

A shape loomed up out of the darkness, gasping—a person, blurred by smoke and possibilities. He or she stumbled past, going the wrong way. Toward the fire. Instinctively she reached out, trying to grab the other. Her hand passed through a barely seen shoulder. A shock of feeling shuddered through her—his feelings. Terror, shrill and desperate. Pain. The sobbing need for air.

Then he was gone. Gone, heading for death, and she had no way of stopping him.

It hasn’t happened yet, she reminded herself, and pushed on.

Light ahead. Not the red glow of fire, but a thinning of smoke that allowed something like normal vision. A long, low shape with other shapes on it…she moved closer. Suitcases! Suitcases on a conveyor belt—baggage claim.

The airport. Dear God. Where had the fire started? Swiftly she aligned her knowledge of the airport’s layout with the other sense, the one that knew where the fire was—but in turning her attention to the fire, she opened to it again.

Flames, orange-glow-heat-life, loving, eating, devouring, freeing—flames dancing there, dancing here, inside her—Shaken, she pulled back, but the call was so strong. Like a lover, fire entranced, compelled—come, come dance, taste my richness, join. Join. A rhythmic compulsion, heat of blood and beat of heart matching the wild cadence of flames, drawing her closer, drawing—

Terrified, she yanked her attention away from the fire. And stood once more in swirling smoke, lungs straining, desperate for air, desperately tired. And bereft.

She was no longer near the baggage claim. She didn’t know where she was, but it was hot, so hot she thought her skin might split. She had to leave, had to summon the will to wake herself…

Coolness. In this hot, breathless place she felt cool air waft over her, and the novelty distracted her. She turned. A shape moved toward her out of the smoke. A human shape. Startled but not frightened, she watched the blurred form come closer. A man, she thought, recognizing something in the movement or the shape, something that was wholly male.

He stopped in front of her, almost as if he could see her. And reached out a hand. And she saw it. Saw it clearly—a man’s hand, large, with a broad palm and long fingers. Pale, northern skin, kissed to a light tan by the sun, nails short and well tended. There was a small white scar on the little finger just below the second knuckle.

Tendons stretched along the back of that shockingly visible hand as it reached for her. Fingers closed, cool and living, around the hot flesh of her upper arm.

Her eyes flew open on darkness. Cool night air moved over skin still hot and tight. Her chest heaved as she sucked in air. Intimate muscles clenched around a throbbing pulse. And her heart was pounding, pounding.

Her hand shook as she reached for the phone beside her bed.

Heat rolled off the tarmac in waves. Much of it, though, was the trapped heat of the sun, released now into a soft June night, rather than the heat of fire. Emergency lights had been rigged to help the eighteen men who labored under the direction of a construction engineer, working to dig out the rubble at the west end of the Montebello International Airport. The fire hadn’t reached far—firefighters, mobilized and ready, had put the blaze out quickly. But the blast itself had brought down part of the second floor.

No one knew for sure if there had been anyone left in that section when the bomb went off.

Sweat trickled down Drew’s forehead, making the cut on his temple sting. His shirt clung to him, damp and clammy. His shoulder muscles strained as he heaved yet another ragged chunk of concrete off the pile of debris that was all that remained of Gate 22.

A little over an hour ago, he’d been one of the passengers who had deplaned at this gate.

‘‘Watch where you’re throwing your toys. I’d hate to have to arrest you for assault.’’

‘‘Lorenzo.’’ Drew straightened, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead as he turned. ‘‘I rather thought you’d show up. I didn’t muss your pretty shoes, did I?’’

‘‘I’m nowhere near as mussed as you are,’’ his cousin retorted. Lorenzo was one year younger than Drew, one inch taller and twenty pounds lighter. He had a tricky right, a fondness for good wine, secrets and handmade Italian shoes. He also had a new wife.

Lorenzo shook his head. ‘‘You look like hell.’’

‘‘Explosions will do that to a man.’’

‘‘Especially if he insists on playing hero.’’

Drew turned and snagged his jacket from the ground. He was far from being any sort of hero. ‘‘I’m glad you’re here. There’s a little wart of a police captain scurrying around, acting official. Please have him flogged.’’

‘‘Captain Mylonas.’’ A smile played over Lorenzo’s thin, clever mouth. ‘‘He’s not happy with you.’’

‘‘I’m not too bloody happy with him. He’s detaining fifty people who have already been through hell. He wants to question them. Some of them have small children.’’ He wiped his forehead again. The cut was smarting. ‘‘The man’s a toad.’’

‘‘You’re smearing the blood around. Here.’’ Lorenzo handed him a folded handkerchief. ‘‘He did give you permission to leave, I understand.’’

‘‘Of course.’’ Drew’s lip curled. ‘‘Toads don’t like to offend the queen’s nephew.’’

‘‘You put him in a difficult position when you refused to leave until he released the other passengers.’’

‘‘That was the idea.’’ Smoke drifted over from the area that had been hit by fire, irritating Drew’s raw throat. He cleared it. ‘‘The captain isn’t one of your men, but this is your investigation.’’ Lorenzo was head of the Royal Montebellan Intelligence team. ‘‘You could release the passengers.’’

‘‘I will, just as soon as we’re sure none of them is aware of anyone still missing.’’

Drew glanced at the pile of debris and wondered if some poor soul’s body was trapped beneath it. ‘‘But Mylonas isn’t questioning them about who might be missing. He’s hunting for his blasted terrorist among the victims. He’d like to show you up.’’

‘‘The captain was confused about his priorities. I clarified them for him.’’

Ah. Drew nodded, satisfied.

‘‘Aunt Gwendolyn’s worried about you.’’

His eyebrows lifted. ‘‘She knows I’m all right. I—’’ Annoyingly, a cough chose that moment to rattle its way loose.

‘‘Refused medical assistance, from what I hear.’’

Drew mastered the coughing fit and straightened. ‘‘Medical assistance—for a small cut and a sore throat? Don’t be ridiculous.’’

‘‘The cut’s still bleeding. And you swallowed a fair amount of smoke when you went back in to drag that old man out after the blast.’’

‘‘I’ve always disliked your habit of knowing everything.’’

Lorenzo chuckled. ‘‘But it pays off, in my line of work. Now, if you’re finished flexing your muscles, I’m under orders to tuck you into a limo and send you to the palace. The king’s orders,’’ he added. ‘‘Uncle Marcus doesn’t want Aunt Gwen worrying. I think they can find another unskilled laborer to take over for you.’’

Since he’d gotten what he wanted—the other passengers would be allowed to leave, too—Drew didn’t object. ‘‘Give me a moment to let the crew boss know I’m leaving.’’

When he returned, he and his cousin fell into step together. They skirted the firefighters still watching the smoldering wreckage of the gate and entered the main terminal through a service door on the ground floor. The interior was eerie, with the west end of the concourse tinted the smoldering red of emergency lighting and the east end normally lit. The hot air stank of smoke.

Uniformed men were stationed at every entrance, most of them in the colorful blue-and-gold uniforms of the capital’s police force, some in the crisp khakis of the army. The uninjured civilians had been herded to the far eastern end of the terminal, where more police officers were stationed. Most of them were quiet, although a few voices drifted down the empty concourse. A child was crying.

Drew didn’t see as many children as there had been earlier. Good. A few of the families must have been released. ‘‘I did make sure word was sent to the palace that I wasn’t hurt. It’s not like Aunt Gwen to fret without cause.’’

‘‘The past year has been rough on her.’’

So it had. Several months ago his aunt’s oldest son, Lucas Sebastiani, prince and heir to the throne of Montebello, had disappeared when his plane went down over the Colorado Rockies in the United States. Searchers had turned up no sign of him, and eventually the royal family had been forced to accept that he was dead. There had been little Drew had been able to do to help, either with the search or with the family’s grief. Still, he’d come here often in the past months. He might not have known what to do for them, but he could at least be here.

Of course, he hadn’t been the only one to offer the support of his company. Lorenzo’s half brother, Desmond Caruso, had practically haunted the palace. Drew had never been able to tolerate much of Desmond’s company or understand why others didn’t pick up on the stink of jealousy and ambition Desmond gave off.

Last month, Lucas had found his way out of the darkness of trauma-induced amnesia and returned home. ‘‘How is Lucas?’’ Drew asked quietly. ‘‘I’ve spoken to him on the phone. He insists he’s all right, but…’’ Drew shrugged, unable to put his worries into words.

‘‘I don’t know. He’s quieter. Broody.’’

Drew chewed on that a moment. God knew Lucas had been through enough to justify a little brooding, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that more had happened during Lucas’s missing months than his family knew. Or maybe his past was making him paint the other man with his own troubled colors. ‘‘The king is proceeding with his plans for the ceremony, I understand.’’