Read Online Royal Captive by Dana Marton - Free Book Online

accentuated her exceptional figure, which could have been a conscious, distracting maneuver on her part.
    He refused to be distracted. “More like a cellmate.
    We’re both prisoners here.”
    “But I could escape! And help you,” she added quickly.
    “Too dangerous. The currents are pretty strong. And the ship won’t go close to any of the smaller Greek is lands. It’ll stay in deep water. It’ll go close to shore only if it’s headed for harbor, and none of the small islands down here have a harbor large enough to accommodate a ship this size.”
    “I could try.”
    He was done explaining. She wasn’t going anywhere.
    The end.
    She sat down, her back against the door, and glared at him. “I can’t believe I’m being kidnapped by a prince.
    There should be a code of honor, you’d think, with royalty.”
    He fought a sudden grin. Under different circum stances, he might have appreciated the fire in her, al though, hitherto he hadn’t been aware that he liked fire in a woman. Amalia had always been soft-spoken and accommodating. “Consider it more like protective custody.”
    She stuck her chin out. She had a pretty chin, delicately shaped like the rest of her. Her tumultuous eyes narrowed. “I could take you.”
    “Your trying would certainly make our journey more interesting.” He wouldn’t have minded it a bit, provided that she put that cursed fork down already.
    Her lips tightened. So did her fist around the fork.
    He drew a deep breath, appreciating the cool night breeze that came through the porthole, helping his stomach to remain semi-settled. The porthole…
    “You’re looking at me funny,” she was saying.
    He stood as the puzzle pieces came together in his head and a plan gelled. “We need a place to hide.”
    “Ha!”
    All right, he got her point. The storage room was insanely small, every corner instantly visible from the door even with the half-empty storage shelves. But there was Turkish writing and some symbols on one wall. He moved there and ran his finger over the metal sheeting until he found a screw head. “I think there might be an electric panel back here. Would you hand me that fork?”
    She did so grudgingly.
    The edge was too blunt, of course. He had to work it on the rough steel of the floor to sharpen it. He got the first screw out, then the next and another. Having to work by nothing but moonlight didn’t make his job easier, nor did the rust. But finally he was able to lift the panel off and take a look at the jumble of electric cables that ran beneath it.
    “What’s this?” Lauryn asked from behind him.
    “Room to hide.” He pushed aside the cables and was able to create a small nook. Room for one. He looked around, his gaze settling on two cardboard boxes on a bottom shelf, and his decision was made. “You squeeze in here.”
    “Not a chance.” She took a step back, as if to emphasize her words. She folded her arms in front of her, her shoulders stiffening.
    “You’re smaller than I am.”
    She eyed the hole warily. “Say I do get in there. Then what? I have no way to hold the panel in place from the inside.”
    He took a thorough look at the smooth metal. “I’ll put the screws back in.”
    “You want to wall me up? I better touch up my makeup. Something must have smeared and made me look stupid.”
    She looked anything but, with her fine eyes throwing sparks as she faced him.
    “This is what I’m thinking,” he said, tamping down his untimely masculine appreciation. “We leave the porthole open. When they come to give us food or water or to get us for more questioning, they’ll find the place empty. They’ll think we jumped.”
    She considered him. “And because we’ve flown the coop, so to speak, there won’t be a reason to lock the door when they go to report to the captain.”
    He liked her quick wit. “Exactly.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “How about if I wall you in?”
    Did everything have to be a battle with her? “I wouldn’t fit.”
    “I