[Montacroix Royal Family Series 01] - Guarded Moments Read Online Free PDF

his personal life.
    "My father died when I was a boy."
    "Oh. I'm sorry." Chantal studied him silently. Then, reminding herself that she had no interest in this man other than whether he could effectively manage her travel arrangements, she fell silent, content to simply observe the scenery going by the tinted windows.
    Unaccustomed to Washington's streets, Chantal had no way of knowing that the limousine's abrupt turn was taking them in the opposite direction from the hotel. -Aware that Drew must have spotted a tail, Caine stiffened, shifted his gaze to the rearview mirror and automatically reached for the gun hidden beneath his jacket.
    The tense moment passed as the yellow taxi that had appeared to be following them continued on its way down Connecticut Avenue. Drew returned to their initial route, leaving Caine to breathe a sigh of relief. Within minutes the limousine pulled up in front of the hotel.
    As Chantal entered the luxurious lobby, with its gold domed ceiling and gleaming travertine marble floors, she hoped that the check in would be achieved with the Americans' usual display of efficiency. She had no desire to remain with the obviously disapproving Caine O'Bannion any longer than was absolutely necessary.
    Her suite was roomy, gracious and full of the small details that made a hotel a pleasure, from the authentic antique furniture to the wide, comfortable bed with goose-down pillows to the basket of imported soaps, lotions and fragrant bath salts. As she toured her spacious quarters, Chantal knew that had it not been for the silent man following her every move, she would have been very comfortable here.
    "It's quite lovely," she said after returning to the living room.
    She'd tossed her cape onto a chair immediately upon entering the suite, and as Caine observed the stark but obviously expensive black sweater and slacks, he decided that this was a woman who'd look good in anything. Or nothing. Try as he might, he had not been able to get the picture of her lying on the beach, her nearly nude body gleaming with oil, out of his mind.
    "I'm glad you approve."
    For the sake of peace, Chantal decided to ignore his clipped tone. She also decided that it was time to drop the prima donna princess act. Not only was it exhausting to behave so out of character, she had the impression that Caine was not a man to be easily fooled for long.
    "You don't like me very much, do you, Mr. O'Bannion?" she asked as she attempted to untie the ribbon on the enormous cellophane wrapped basket of fruit and cheeses on a nearby table.
    Reaching into the pocket of his slacks, Caine pulled out a compact Swiss army knife and deftly dispensed with the ribbon. "I don't know you."
    "True." Selecting a peach, Chantal bit into it, savoring the succulent rush of juice. "You don't know me. Nevertheless, you have formed a decidedly negative opinion regarding my character." She plucked a red Delicious apple from the basket. "Would you care for a piece of fruit?"
    The way she looked right now—her dark hair in a wild tangle around her shoulders, her full lips glossy with nectar, the ripe, red fruit in her outstretched hand—enabled Caine to have a good idea how Adam must have felt when Eve showed up in the Garden of Eden with the suggestion that they try something different for dessert.
    "No, thanks." Caine was trying to relate this self-possessed woman with the devil-may-care princess of the tabloids. Impossible. "You've got a busy night ahead of you. I'd better leave so you can get some rest."
    Her early-morning departure, the differences in time zones, jet lag, not to mention the unsettling meeting with Caine, had all conspired to make Chantal suddenly exhausted. "I believe I will take a nap before the reception," she said. "I'm strangely tired."
    "I suppose even princesses get jet lag."
    She'd been a princess all her life. For the past twenty-four years, discounting those disastrous months of her marriage, she'd lived a life of luxury in the royal