Read Online Penelope & Prince Charming by Jennifer Ashley - Free Book Online

supervise.
    Yes, he would certainly drag every benefit out of this that he could.
    He lowered his head, wanting to kiss her lips again, despite Meagan’s interested gaze. Penelope tasted like a warm spring breeze. He wanted to taste her again. And again.
    Stay with me, love.
    Penelope broke away from him in a swirl of skirts. She glared at Meagan, then at Damien, then turned and ran from the folly. The wind lifted her dress, revealing a pair of plump calves and pretty ankles before the cloth swirled down again.
    Her swaying backside held his gaze, too.
    Damien let her go. She was too flustered, too frightened. He’d give her a chance to cool down, to regain her senses. And then he’d try again.
    A part of him was glad she resisted. This woman would not meekly go where she was told. He liked a challenge, and he needed a woman who was up to it.
    He needed a woman who would put her hands on her hips and face him down. A woman who could also face down his enemies. His heart beat faster. What a princess she’d make.
    Meagan patted his shoulder in sympathy. “I said too much, didn’t I?”
    “I am afraid we both did.”
    Meagan kept her hand on Damien’s shoulder. “She really was hurt before. Twice. Deeply. She is afraid to trust again.”
    Something darkened inside him. “Who would hurt her?”
    “Stupid gentlemen with no sense of honor. Mr. Whitewas the worst. He made her believe he truly loved her, when, of course, he did not. Magnus Grady was just nasty.” Her fingers dug a little through his coat. “I vow, Prince Damien, you are quite muscular. Does your prophecy say that you can marry the soon-to-be stepsister of the bride if she refuses?”
    He looked into her impudent smile and grinned in response. “Alas, no.”
    “Well, that’s all right.” She let go of his arm. “I see the way you look at Penelope. You are far gone on her, are you not? I am pleased. She needs someone who will fall head over heels in love with her.”
    Damien had fallen head over heels in love with her, just like the damned prophecy had said he would.
    He hadn’t believed it. He’d never believed in magic before, thinking the Council of Mages a pack of charlatans who tailored their predictions to whatever the Imperial Prince or Duke Alexander wanted to hear.
    But maybe, just maybe, they’d been right about this.
    Damien also needed Penelope, and needed her for more than the reasons a man usually needed a woman. He wondered if that needing would in the end outweigh the love.
    Penelope had disappeared through the trees, but her presence lingered. If he’d met her a year ago, he’d have lain her down and made sweet love to her right away.
    No, probably not. He knew the difference between an untouched miss and the hungry married women who pursued him. He’d have looked at Penelope, had an erection-throbbing fantasy about her, but left her alone.
    Now he wanted her, and he could have her. And he would have her. He’d change her no to a yes , and then they’d be betrothed, and, according to Nvengarian custom, they’d become lovers.
    A betrothal was as legally binding as a marriage inNvengaria. Nvengarians did not consider a child conceived or even born before the wedding to be illegitimate, as long as the couple was legally betrothed.
    He’d never given much thought to that custom before, but it pleased him now.
    She’d say yes, and then he’d spend the rest of his time in bed with her, while Sasha carried on with the betrothal festivities.
    What a lover Damien could teach her to be. Would teach her to be. His breeches tightened to the point of pain.
    “I could imprison the gentlemen who broke Penelope’s heart, if you like,” he said. “I can tell Sasha to throw them into the deepest dungeons. Have them tortured even.”
    “Oooh, that sounds nice,” Meagan said happily.
    What Meagan did not understand was that Damien really could.
    What Damien’s father hadn’t understood was that you were stronger if you did not.
    Meagan