Read The Royal's Obsession for Free Online Page B

guest. If you don’t want to deal with him, don’t. I’ve got your back, and I won’t let him use you like a scratching post, okay?”
    Anastasia took a deep breath, leaning into her friend. She knew that she could always trust Trinity to help her no matter what. Despite their bond, she did feel a slight pang of jealousy when she thought about what her friend had.
    “I’ll do my best,” she said softly. “That’s…about all I can do right now.”
    “That will be fine,” said Trinity. “Believe me, everyone wants you to have a good trip.”
    Anastasia was grateful for her friend’s kind words, but a part of her wondered how the rest of this trip was going to go. One moment Augustine seemed to be baring his soul to her, and the next he was intent on tearing her to shreds.
    She didn’t know what to expect next, but she decided that whatever happened, she was going to take Trinity’s advice.
    I can just tell the truth, she thought. As long as I tell the truth, that’s what’s important.
    ***
    Augustine's apartment was close to the viewing room at the top of the yacht. It was a small cabin, but it made up for its size with an enormous wrap-around window that allowed him to look out over the dark water. The yacht was anchored for the evening, everything below him silent. Dressed only in a light pair of trousers, he stretched out on his bed, staring across the sea.
    A small glass jar of honey and two impressive weavings sat on a chair by the bed.
    Augustine had always known peace when he was out at sea. It was so different being out on the water. On the water, there was no one to bedevil him with canny questions, no one to search out the meaning in every word. No matter what was going on in his life, or what he was concerned about, it all melted away when he wason the Wild Waves .
    This trip was different. He had known that the moment he laid eyes on the beautiful American, but he hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. Instead he had simply let the strange and unsettled feeling swell and rise up until he had hurt her. When he thought of the hurt in her enormous blue eyes, he felt a deep pit open up inside him.
    Finally, he realized that he would gain no rest at all until he made things right with her. He left his cabin and made his way to hers. The dim hallways of the yacht murmured with voices. Apolo and Trinity had brought a handful of people along on their trip. Despite the imposition, he was pleasantly surprised to realize that he didn't mind. Having people about gave a kind of life to the yacht that it had lacked before.
    He paused in front of Anastasia's door. It was late but not so late, he thought, that she would be asleep. Still he hesitated. He was a proud man who did not like to admit that he was in the wrong, but this time, without a doubt, he was.
    Augustine took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He heard a brief shuffle from inside. When she opened the door, he felt his heart squeeze.
    Anastasia was dressed in a thin silk robe that she clutched to her breast as if it fending off the cold. Her dark brown hair was tousled, and her blue eyes were wide and wondering.
    “Have I awakened you?” he asked. “That was not my intent…”
    She shook her head, looking, he thought, a little nervous.
    “No, I haven’t been able to fall asleep,” she said, her tone stiff and wary. “I was lying down, but for some reason, I couldn’t relax.”
    Augustine smiled briefly at that. “Well, that is something we have in common then…”
    “Unlike our views on romance?” she asked, and he had to chuckle.
    “You have claws. That is good. May I come in?”
    For a moment, he was certain that she would refuse. She bit her plump lower lip, sending an unlooked-for pang of desire through his body. If she refused, he would simply have to return to his room, trying to figure out what he would do next.
    Finally, however, she nodded slowly.
    “All right,” she said, opening the door for him, and he stepped