The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

assassinate myself.”
                  “Oh no!” Eden gasped. “Are there really a lot of decisions left to be made?” She looked to Talbott and Lilly for the truth. Smart girl.
                  “You have no idea,” Lilly laughed, shaking her head at me. Lilly was probably the only girl in the world I was as comfortable around other than Eden. She was like a sister, especially since Eden had been gone for a while and Lilly had stuck around the castle in order to be close to Talbott. She had taken on the job of kind of running the castle, since I didn’t have a wife and Angelica seemed overwhelmed with just advising me. If she wasn’t so in love with Talbott I would have proposed to her myself just to get the Kingdom off my back…. and because I knew I could tolerate her for long periods of time. “Getting Avalon to make a decision about anything other than Kingdom policy is like pulling teeth.”
                  Everyone laughed at my expense.
                  Psht.
                  “Hey,” I put my hands up and backed away. “You guys are home now, why don’t you take a crack at it. I’m sure you have a better opinion on which China pattern you want to use,” I narrowed my eyes at Eden and Kiran, not even caring about the exasperated look Kiran gave me. He married the girl, China patterns were his responsibility now.
                  “You’re right,” Eden sighed. “Besides I haven’t made a decision yet as Queen, what better way to initiate myself.”
                  “This way, your Highness,” Lilly laughed, and led Eden down the hallway with Kiran, Sebastian and Talbott following closely behind.
                  Eden turned to give me a small wave and a look that promised she would find me later to catch up. I gave her an encouraging smile and watched the group walk away. Eden had grown up a lot since I saw her last. She had always amazed me with her ability to make quick decisions and take everything in stride; Lord knows she was thrown into this world without much warning. But she had struggled to adjust; nobody knew that more than me. She had fought tooth and nail against this life, but now that she had it…. it suited her. Kiran, royalty, married life…. it all suited her. She was at peace for the first time maybe ever and so disgustingly happy that I couldn’t ignore the pang in my gut that envied her.
                  Was it love that did that to a person? Probably not. It probably felt good just to not have someone constantly trying to kill you. I mean, I felt that sense of relief too, so I was probably just as happy as her….
                  The big brass doors of the castle entrance opened and the late fall light streamed into the corridor turning my eyes. Long, tanned, perfect legs caught my attention first. The hazy sunlight lit up around those two extraordinary limbs and my eyes followed the flawless line from tiny, delicate ankle to where the hem of her shorts stopped mid-thigh. I snapped my mouth shut.
    In my defense, cascading light from the doorway partially blocked her from view until the door had firmly closed behind her. But if I was really honest with myself those legs demanded attention, and her tiny little fashionable shorts put them on display just for me. My eyes finally traveled up an effortlessly sexy figure and to the most startling golden brown eyes I had ever seen.
                  In our culture, our people had every shade and color of eyes. Angelica’s were actually purple. Golden brown should not have been so startling, but the richness and depth to that particular shade of brown displayed underneath thick lashes and on a face so perfectly pretty and delicate was a little disconcerting.
                  Their owner cleared her throat, waiting for me to acknowledge her. Had she said something? Was I supposed to answer a