The Accidental Heir Read Free Page B

uttering little sounds of appreciation as she thought about wrapping her lips around a strawberry-cream millefeuille...and maybe even a banana split ?
    ‘Shall I soothe you to sleep, Princess?’
    What?
    He could only mean one thing, Astrid concluded, horror-struck at the thought that her nonexistent sexual talents were about to be put to the test. Jerking away, she found herself held firmly in place by a strong pair of muscular arms. ‘Don’t you dare get too close,’ she warned, trying to hide the effect his body was having on her.
    ‘It’s a bit late for that, Princess. And I have to say, your attitude leaves a lot to be desired.’
    ‘Not all of us were brought up with a silver spoon in our mouths!’ she flashed, growing more heated by the second. ‘I didn’t have a home life like you—royal nursery, royal nannies, royal flunkies to peel the shell off my eggs.’
    ‘No,’ Karl agreed mildly, easing position so that even more of her was welded to him. ‘You scavenged in the trash and picked the ice off the windows.’
    ‘It wasn’t quite that bad,’ Astrid confessed, thinking back to her undoubtedly genteel but impoverished childhood. ‘It was quite fun, actually. When everyone’s in the same boat, you don’t notice what you’ve never had, and with the crazy Skavanga family living in the cabin next door, life was never dull.’
    ‘As I thought,’ Karl agreed. ‘I didn’t learn the concept of fun until I left home, when—’
    ‘Thank you.’ She stopped him with a violent movement. ‘I think that’s more than enough about your colourful past. I don’t want to be lying here thinking where your body’s been.’
    A few moments passed when neither of them spoke, but it didn’t last long before Karl started in on a gentle melody.
    ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ Astrid exploded.
    ‘What do you think I’m doing?’
    She pulled a face. ‘Just stop it, will you?’
    Karl heaved a heavy sigh. ‘I’ve always been led to believe that I have an excellent singing voice,’ he said, mock hurt in his voice.
    ‘That’s because you’re a prince and everyone kisses your butt. Believe me, Prince Thorberg, you’re no Caruso. In fact, a frog would probably be more pleasing to listen to.’
    ‘Harsh,’ he murmured quietly against her ear, ‘even for you, Princess.’
    ‘But true,’ Astrid muttered, trying not to react to Karl’s warm breath brushing the back of her neck. It made her want to move closer to him, and with no assistance from her at all, her back was arching and her buttocks were lifting....
    She waited a few seconds and then gently nestled her shoulders more snugly against the firm wall of Karl’s chest before releasing a languorous sigh. Slowly she moved against his warm body, her own warming in a myriad of sensitive places in reaction to the friction.
    Karl remained motionless and rigid. His breathing was steady and evenly paced.
    ‘Are you asleep?’ she demanded, outraged that their proximity was having no effect on him.
    He grunted noncommittally but she could feel the answer to her question as his physical reaction to her became evident.
    Oh, he was awake. He was wide awake.
    ‘Was this more what you had in mind, Princess?’ he asked, wrapping his arms more firmly around her and gently pressing his arousal against her lush backside.
    What...the...? Her body immediately responded to his—she could feel her nipples tightening and a surge of heat spiralling outward from her centre.
    Did princesses do things like this? Have sex with a man who was almost a total stranger in the tight confines of a sleeping bag?
    Apparently they did.
    She sighed with pleasure as his hands began a sensuous exploration that got closer and closer to the one place she was most aching for his touch.
    ‘This is exactly what you had in mind, isn’t it, Princess?’ Karl murmured as he nuzzled her hair away so that he could kiss the back of her neck.

CHAPTER FIVE
    S HE HADN ’ T