The Princess & the Pea Read Online Free PDF

section of sloping roof with a less than modest patch of wood, scorched black and shiny. "Had a bit of a flame there one day. Petrol, you know; highly flammable." He nodded at a back portion of the wall, covered with a huge canvas cloth. "There's a lovely hole behind that, the result of a few difficulties with steering mechanisms."
    Awed. Cece gazed from the canvas to the vehicle and back into the incredibly dark centers of his blue eyes. "You wouldn't think something that small could do that much damage."
    Quentin grinned. "It was bloody well impressive."
    "It's amazing just how much power we've managed to harness." Jared's eyes twinkled and a flutter of excitement settled in her middle. "Now if we can only learn to properly control it..."
    "How does it work?" Cece ran her hand along the rim of the wheel and cast him a glance of genuine curiosity.
    Jared raised a dubious brow. "Do you really want to know?"
    "Oh my, yes," Cece nodded eagerly.
    "Don't get him started." Quentin warned.
    Jared ignored his partner. "We began working with steam power. It's been tried for years and is moderately successful, but boilers tend to be cumbersome and heavy. Frankly, I think steam is outdated. Then we considered electricity. Battery-powered vehicles." He warmed to his subject and his words came faster, his tone intense.
    Cece tried to concentrate on his words, but her mind kept getting lost, watching the movement of his mouth. What sort of man had a mouth like that anyway? Lips that were neither too full nor too thin. Kissed with a pale burgundy blush and corners that betrayed a propensity to smile.
    "Some designers have had moderate success running off a battery for as much as thirty miles. But again, you run into a weight and space problem. So we discarded that in favor of this."
    Something about his enthusiasm stirred her, wrapped excitement around her, like the silken ribbon on an unexpected present, and left her breathless. Jared gestured at the exposed motor, the movement pulling the fabric of his shirt taut across the muscles of his broad chest.
    "We're using petrol for fuel. There are a number of problems we have yet to work out. We are still undecided on whether to use one or two cylinders, but the beauty of this idea is that, in a strictly practical way of course, the ..."
    It was interesting in a wonderfully boring sort of way. But she'd lost herself in the far more fascinating way his strong, expressive hands seemed to caress the lines and edges of his vehicle like a sweetheart. Far more appealing was the supple power apparent in the length of arm revealed beneath the rolled-up sleeves and the way his shirt opened wide at the collar for a tantalizing glimpse of muscled chest. And far more exciting was the rich timbre of his voice, the deeply textured tones that seemed to reverberate in the stable and wrap around her very soul.
    But it was his eyes that held her spellbound. As dark blue as the sky at midnight and just as endless, they flashed with a fire spurred by imagination, a passion born of creativity. This was no insipid English lord, no down on his luck aristocrat willing to sell his title for financial security. This was a man destined by sheer force of will alone to make his mark on the world. A man well worthy of loyalty and respect and love. If, of course, she believed in love.
    "... and the French are doing a bang-up job, making great strides. There's a road race in Paris in two weeks. We're not entered, but I shall be there just to get an idea of their progress."
    "Paris? Two weeks?" Cece cast him her sweetest smile. "What a marvelous coincidence. We'll be in Paris in two weeks."
    "Paris?" Confusion stamped Emily's face. "I thought we were next going to L—" A sharp jab to her ribs stopped her in midsentence.
    "Paris." Cece said quickly. "Paris first, then London."
    "Of course." Emily glared. "How foolish of me to forget."
    "I'm certain it simply slipped your mind." Cece threw her a swift, appeasing glance, then