Two-Faced (Assassin at Court Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

know the cause of your shadows, but if you ever need to talk about them, I’m a pretty good listener. And I bet I’d be pretty good at making you forget them,” he added with a wink. The sleazy comment had its intended effect. This time when I smiled at him, it reached my eyes. 
                  “I bet you say that to all the girls,” I teased him.
                  “No, just you.” This time the look he sent me was a lot less playful and a lot more heated. A blush crept into my cheeks at the intensity of it.
                  Zander abruptly stood up from the table and offered me his hand. “Do you want to go for a walk? The flowers are in full bloom. It makes the garden lovely this time of year.”
                  “Actually, I would love to. Roses are my favorite, but I have to pass. I have to get back to my room and prepare for the Queen’s next trial . I do not want to be late,” I said in my Queenly voice.
                  Zander’s laughed echoed through the garden. “Your impression is almost as good as mine. I love my mother but she can be a bit ridiculous. This competition is a prime example. It is absurd.”
                  “You mean because you are going to wed Iliana regardless?” I couldn’t help but probe.
                  A look of pure repugnance crossed his face. “My mother is in for a rude awakening if she thinks I’ll agree to marry Iliana. I mean because the competition is exactly what you think it is. Farcical and insulting.”
                  For reasons I refused to consider too deeply, his words sent happy flutters through my stomach.
    “Then why agree to the competition at all?”
                  “I didn’t. The competition is all of my mother’s doing. I tried to talk her out of it, but she would not listen. The Queen is big on traditions and customs. We had a huge argument about it. Tradition dictates that I should have been the one receiving you all on the first day and overseeing the trials. But I refused to participate. I told my mother she could pick who ever she wanted from the lot, but I was not going to marry one of them. She went ahead with the competition in hopes that she could convince me to change my mind. She should know by now that I am as stubborn as she is.”
                  “Then why were you present at dinner last night?” I asked skeptically.
                  Zander leaned in close to me and place a gentle kiss on my lips. “I saw something in the hallway that made going worthwhile,” he moved his lips against mine.
                  When I moved to pull back he curled an arm around my waist, pulling me in closer. The initially chaste kiss morphed into something much more hot and demanding as he deepened it. My brain told me to pull away, I could easily break his hold, but my hormones had ideas of their own. I pressed my body closer to his and allowed my tongue to explore his mouth as his explored mine.
    We stayed like that until I heard someone clear their throat. I jumped back out of instinct. A girl of no more than 9 years of age looked at us with large, innocent eyes. Then she abruptly broke into a fit of giggles.
    “Zander has a girlfriend, Zander has a girlfriend,” she laughed in a sing-song voice.
    “What are you doing out here alone, Kiera?” Zander knelt beside her.
    The little girl looked up at him with a look of pure adoration. There was no doubt in my mind that he was her hero. “I got bored,” she pouted. “Mother and Father are always too busy to play with me so I was looking for you. The guards said you were having breakfast in the gardens. Will you play with me Zander?” She looked at him through pleading eyes.
    Zander kissed the top of her head. “Of course, I will. Don’t I always have time for my favorite little sister?
    She erupted in giggles again. “I’m your only little sister,