Captured and Crowned Read Online Free PDF Page B

thought the island was still breathtaking. A true emerald set amid an azure sea.
    But the arrogant man sitting too close beside her was a torment she could live without—especially now, when she struggled to control her emotions around him.
    Drawing a decent breath had become a battle, for she pulled his scent deep into her lungs, into her senses. Her skin tingled and an unwanted ache pulsed low in her belly.
    As the limo whipped along the serpentine road up the mountain to the palace, she hoped that this time alone together would give them the opportunity to get to know one another on more than an intimate level. Perhaps they’d somehow find a common ground on which to build their future.
    Thus far her future revolved around duty to the crown. Marriage. Producing the royal heir as well as other children.
    If there was any affection to be had, her life wouldn’t loom so grimly. But Kristo didn’t even like her. In fact he resented her for surrendering to him one year ago.
    There was nothing she could do to change that fact. Nothing.
    The drive to the palace was thankfully short. In a frantic effort to put him from her thoughts, she took in the pastoral beauty of the grounds as the car sped up the curved drive. Butinstead of stopping at the guesthouse, where her family had always stayed during their annual visits, the car continued on toward the house.
    â€œWon’t I be given my usual room?” she asked, heart racing more the closer they drew to the massive palace perched on the bluff.
    â€œI’ve had a suite prepared for you in the palace.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œThere is no reason for you to move twice. Besides, it is a matter of security.”
    Security? No, it was a matter of keeping her under lock and key. Of bending her to his will even before they married.
    In the guesthouse she’d have been able to sit by the pool. Enjoy the sauna. Or lounge on the terrace and watch the ships ride the azure sea. She could have taken a walk to the beach and lost herself in thought.
    But protesting would get her nowhere. In fact, if she was biddable on this count he might relent on what she really wanted to do. Make her own gown.
    So she planted a serene smile on her face as the car stopped on the private terrace at the side of the palace.
    Kristo untangled his long legs and got out first, and Demi drew her first decent breath of air. But her reprieve was short-lived.
    Though the chauffeur opened the door with a smile, it was Kristo who extended his hand to her. He wasn’t smiling!
    In fact he looked as if he could eat her whole and spit her bones into the sea. Well, in this they agreed. But there was nothing they could do about it.
    She swung her legs out the door and laid her hand in his. His fingers closed over hers, sending a rush of nervous energy charging through her. But it was the naked hunger in his eyes as he stared at her bared legs that struck fire to the sensual tinder banked within her.
    â€œBeautiful,” he said, his voice a rich rumble of sound as he helped her from the car.
    Her body warmed to his. Swayed toward him. She felt the power of the man charge through her, tearing down her resistance just as he had before, on that beach.
    And that memory was just what she needed to jerk her hand from his and break the spell. “Thank you,” she said, her tone too breathy.
    He wanted her because she’d been groomed for this. Because her father had made this arrangement long ago. Because her bloodline was that of the old Greeks who had fought and died for their country.
    The palace was as she remembered it from those stiff formal dinners she and her family had endured with the King and Gregor. Jasmine and bougainvillea covered the open-air corridor leading to the door, their mixed scent designed to soothe the senses.
    But she was too stressed to appreciate the beauty that greeted her.
    She walked down the vast hall paneled in exquisite white marble veined with purple.