Going Royal 02 - Some Like It Scandalous Read Online Free PDF Page A

file, get that for me...”
    “There’s a law against stalking.”
    “Don’t be my attorney, Richard. Be my friend—help me.”
    “Call her. Make up some excuse and get her on the phone.” Richard glanced at his watch. “It’s late, but it can’t hurt if you’re the last thing she thinks about before she goes to sleep.”
    “Unless she hates me.”
    “Oh, she’s probably angry, and like I said earlier, she resents the title. And the lie.” The droll response didn’t make him feel better. Richard held up his hands. “Look, you made a mistake and you paid for it—but at the end of the day, she was the one who walked.”
    “She walked away because I’m a prince.” The bitter churn of that fact burned.
    “You can’t change the fact that you’re a prince—or I guess you can, but it’s not like you can’t drop the titles altogether and walk away from your family.” Richard always knew what buttons to push. Armand was the head of his family, he couldn’t—and would never—abandon them.
    “You are very good at poking holes, Richard, but do you have any suggestions?” He bit off the next words because his friend didn’t deserve the anger. Not this time. If anyone was at fault it was Armand himself.
    “You can’t stop being a prince, Armand. So why bother?” Richard rolled his sleeves down one at a time and buttoned them at the cuffs. Their billiards game was over.
    “What’s your point?” They’d already established that his position had an undesirable effect on Anna.
    “My point, Your Highness. ” Richard shrugged on his jacket. Disapproval rang in his words—he only used the appellation when Armand annoyed him. “You can’t stop being a prince, so why not use it to your advantage?”
    Use it to my advantage how? She doesn’t like the damn title. He frowned.
    Richard pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I’ll call you in the morning. I have some strings to go pull so you can stalk—court—your lady.”
    He waved a hand, still considering his friend’s advice. He left the pool table as it was—someone would be along to straighten it—and walked through the apartment he maintained in the city. It was a recent acquisition, purchased after the family learned about his cousin’s existence. He’d intended to give her the penthouse, but her subsequent marriage to Daniel Voldakov had changed his mind.
    Just ten rooms, the penthouse was silent. He maintained a staff but gave them their own apartments downstairs rather than have them live in. Privacy was a rare commodity—rarer still with the increase in security the family endured over recent months thanks to negative publicity in Eastern Europe. Between his cousin Francesca’s sudden interest in military service, Rosemary’s determination to be in every tabloid and his brother George’s behavior, it was a wonder he’d managed the last few months in Los Angeles at all.
    In the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and stared at the labeled containers. The housekeeper hated it when he rummaged, but she wasn’t here to stop him so he claimed a random Tupperware container and carried it out to the sunken living room. The city lights gleamed in the darkness beyond the windows of the tower. Stabbing a fork into a piece of shrimp, he ate without tasting the rich sauce he normally favored.
    He couldn’t get Anna out of his mind.
    “ Exactly how does this help me study for my final again? ” She sprawled across his chest , her hair clinging to his damp skin.
    “ Stress reliever. ” He grinned , trailing his fingers up and down her spine. He loved her like this , boneless and loose from sex. “ The release of endorphins will help us retain what we’re reading. ”
    Laughter shook her and she lifted her head , a lazy smile curving her lips. “ You are so full of it , Charlie. You just wanted to get laid. ”
    “ Do you feel better? ” He traced the curve of her shoulder and the soft line of her throat. She had the most beautiful neck