Sarah Morgan - Defying the Prince

THE SANTINA CROWN

Royalty has never been so scandalous!

STOP PRESS—Crown Prince in shock marriage

The tabloid headlines …When HRH Crown Prince Alessandro of Santina proposes to paparazzi favourite Allegra Jackson it promises to be the social event of the decade —outrageous headlines guaranteed! The salacious gossip …Mills & Boon invites you to rub shoulders with royalty, sheikhs and glamorous socialites. Step into the decadent playground of the world’s rich and famous …

THE SANTINA CROWNTHE PRICE OF ROYAL DUTY – Penny Jordan THE SHEIKH’S HEIR – Sharon Kendrick THE SCANDALOUS PRINCESS – Kate Hewitt THE MAN BEHIND THE SCARS – Caitlin Crews DEFYING THE PRINCE – Sarah Morgan PRINCESS FROM THE SHADOWS – Maisey Yates THE GIRL NOBODY WANTED – Lynn Raye Harris PLAYING THE ROYAL GAME – Carol Marinelli

‘Get out of the fountain. Now.’

‘If you want me out, you’ll have to come and get me.’ Izzy’s smile didn’t slip but there was a challenge in her eyes and Matteo resisted the temptation to do exactly as she’d suggested. She’d feel—

Incredible.

Her fingers skimmed the surface of the water and her eyes met his. Something wicked gleamed there. ‘Now you’re in trouble, Your Highness.’

Reading her mind he breathed in sharply. ‘Don’t you dare. ’ There was no way she’d—

The shower of cold water splattered his hair, his jacket and the front of his shirt, which promptly welded itself to his skin. ‘Maledezione —’ he swore fluently in Italian and wiped the water from his eyes. ‘Are you crazy? This suit is silk.’

‘Better take it off then, before it’s ruined.’

He did just that, shrugging the jacket from his shoulders in a violent movement and saw her gaze slide to his damp shirt.

Her lips parted and her eyelids lowered slightly. ‘Nice body, Your Highness.’

USA TODAY bestselling author SARAH MORGANwrites lively, sexy stories for both Mills & Boon ®Modern™ romance and Medical™ romance.

As a child Sarah dreamed of being a writer and, although she took a few interesting detours on the way, she is now living that dream. With her writing career she has successfully combined business with pleasure, and she firmly believes that reading romance is one of the most satisfying and fat-free escapist pleasures available. Her stories are unashamedly optimistic, and she is always pleased when she receives letters from readers saying that her books have helped them through hard times.

Romantic Times has described her writing as ‘action-packed and sexy’, and nominated her books for their Reviewer’s Choice Awards and their ‘Top Pick’ slot.

Sarah lives near London with her husband and two children, who innocently provide an endless supply of authentic dialogue. When she isn’t writing or reading Sarah enjoys music, movies and any activity that takes her outdoors.

Readers can find out more about Sarah and her books from her website: www.sarahmorgan.com. She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

The Santina Crown

Defying the Prince

Sarah Morgan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For Carol Marinelli—every girl should have

a friend like you.

SHE was a shameless exhibitionist.

Prince Matteo, second in line to the throne of Santina and hardened cynic, watched in grim-faced silence as a girl with a rippling mane of streaky blonde hair flirted outrageously with the lead singer of the local band which had been carefully vetted and approved as ‘suitable’ entertainment by palace officials.

This was a royal engagement party but apparently she hadn’t let the dress code printed clearly on her invitation inhibit her choice of outfit for the evening. Wearing a dress of sparkling scarlet sequins, she stood out like a single slender poppy in a bouquet of white roses. Her appearance was sending out myriad messages to the stunned onlookers. Her towering peep-toed shoe-boots said naughty , the daring strapless dress cried look at me , her scarlet mouth shouted take me.

As her hair slid back to reveal smooth, bare shoulders, Matteo could almost feel the texture against his palms and taste the smoothness of her throat under his lips. Everything about her made him think of strawberries: that endless ripple of long blonde hair with its faint suggestion of pink; those rounded breasts pushing happily against that scarlet sequined dress; and those lips, those lips made him think of ripe, sweet, juicy fruit. Not the cultivated variety that were heaped into bowls for palace garden parties but the small wild strawberries that grew in abundance in the rich soil around his palazzo on the rugged west coast of the island.

Wild.

The word summed her up perfectly.

As he watched, those lips curved into a wickedly sexy smile. An explosion of raw sexual heat burned through his body and the intensity of that reaction shocked him because he considered himself not just discerning when it came to the female sex but impervious to their tricks.

Matteo turned to his older brother. ‘I presume from the total lack of social graces, her surname is Jackson and she’s going to be another of your dubious relations.’

Alex lifted his glass. ‘She’s my future sister-in-law. Allegra’s half-sister.’

‘I thought the idea was to boost the reputation of the monarchy, not destroy it.’ Even without confirmation from his brother he would have known that she was yet another member of the notorious Jackson family, most of whom were currently grinding vampy stilettos through centuries of royal protocol. ‘Why are you doing this?’ Was it his imagination or was his brother drinking more than usual?

‘I’m in love with her.’ Alex’s gaze rested on his fiancée, Allegra Jackson, also resplendent in red, although her dress was considerably more restrained than her sister’s. ‘And she’s in love with me.’

‘Would she be “in love” with you if you weren’t a prince?’

Alex gave a twisted smile. ‘Ouch, that’s harsh.’

‘It’s honest.’ Matteo didn’t apologise. At a young age he’d learned in the most brutal way possible to be suspicious of human nature and the lesson hadn’t just been well learned. It had formed him.

Briefly, his gaze met his brother’s.

Alex frowned. ‘This is different.’

‘You’re sure?’ An unwanted memory uncurled in his subconscious, like a wisp of smoke from a fire long extinguished. Without thinking Matteo glanced down at his left hand, at the less than perfect alignment of his index finger and the silvery scar that was now no more than a faint line from his wrist to this knuckle. Similar scars crossed his ribs and the upper part of his back. His chest tightened and, just for a moment, he was back on the ground with his face pressed into the dirt, feeling the trickle of his own blood on the back of his neck. Right there, right then, choking on his mistakes, almost dying of them, he’d realised that his relationships would never be like other people’s. Did love even exist? He had no idea. He just knew it didn’t exist for him. And he doubted it existed for his brother. ‘I’ve yet to meet a woman who can separate the man from the title.’

‘And you’ve met plenty.’ Alex gave a faint smile. ‘You mock the Jackson reputation but your own isn’t exactly squeaky clean. Fast women, fast cars, fast jets.’