Publisher: Scribbling Pens
Publication date: November 27, 2023
Number of pages: 73
****I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, NetGalley, book tours, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.****
Excerpt 2: RETURN OF THE QUEEN
“I’m better with a sword,” he burst out, feeling like a callow youth.
She smiled and he felt as if his heart had been struck by lightning. She was so fiercely beautiful that he could barely breathe.
“Then we will have a sword duel to the first blood or until one of us surrenders,” the princess said, as if she fought duels on a regular basis.
Matteo bowed formally to her. “I accept your terms, but suggest a prize for the winner.”
Tipping her head to one side, she eyed him speculatively as she bit her lower lip. “What prize?”
“A kiss.” He hadn’t planned on saying that, but his mind was still trying to catch up with his body’s desires.
The princess pointed her dagger at him.
“A kiss if you win,” she said, pointing the dagger at her own breast. “If I win, you’ll tell me your name.”
Matteo held out his hand and waited a moment before she took it. Her grip was strong and her fingers felt callused. They didn’t feel like a lady’s soft hands. But he should have already known that based on her superior fighting skills. He also should have let go of her hand, but he didn’t want to. It wasn’t until she slightly tugged, that he did.
Shaking his head again to clear it, he went back to the wall and called over to Xavier. “I need two swords.”
“Is she so ugly that you have to kill her?” his friend yelled back; before guffawing and his crow cawed in an eerie echo.
Matteo wanted to die right there on the spot. His heart slowed to a sluggish beat. “Shut it and hand over my sword and yours.”
His friend passed the swords over with the tips first. Matteo carefully picked them up, not wanting to slice himself before a fight. He kept his sword and handed her Xavier’s. The princess’s dagger was now tucked into her waist. She wore all black: leggings, shirt, and a fitted vest. He thought that she resembled a female pirate.
“You like the color black?”
The princess smiled viciously as she sliced the air with the sword. Testing its weight. “Black is my favorite color; unless you know of a darker one?”
Matteo couldn’t help but smile back at her. His whole body was abuzz with untrammeled want. Raising his sword in front of his face, he waited for her to echo his action. She did so with a sharp jerk, then flipped the handle on her finger like a street performer.
“En-garde.”
The princess clearly knew how to wield a blade.
He waited for her to attack first, but he shouldn’t have. Her initial lunge was straight for his throat, he barely parried it in time. Matteo swung up, high and inside, trying to catch her by surprise. But the princess parried it easily, her arm perfectly straight. He took a few steps and lunged, then she echoed his steps and parried his thrust. She attacked from the high inside shoulder and he did a riposte, a counterattack.
It felt like dancing.
One of them would make a move and the other would respond to it. Sword fighting with her was as heady as it was deadly. And then she lunged, low and outside. Matteo had been too distracted by her to get his blade there to protect his waist. But her tip didn’t hit him. Matteo’s instincts finally kicked in and he brought the handle of his sword down, hard against her hand. She dropped her sword.
“I suppose I owe you a kiss,” she said with an alluring smile.
His heart beat quickened, as she leaned toward him. Her callused fingers, caressed his face lightly, like a soft wind. She ran her roughened thumb over his lower lip. It was exquisite torture. He felt her mint breath on his cheek and her scent of white flowers and rain. Her lips hovered above his, tauntingly for several moments, before they pressed gently against his. She tasted salty and sweet as her lips softly, but thoroughly moved over his.
Too soon, the princess broke the kiss, but she didn’t move back. Instead, she leaned her forehead against his.
“Princess Eleanora, why did you let me win?”
Before he could react, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and pressed his mouth back to hers. The kiss was hard and unyielding, his mouth opened to hers in hungry welcome. He grabbed her waist and pressed her against him. She had the body of an athlete and the soft curves of a woman. His hands explored her back in a slow burn, while her hands ran through his hair.
This was bliss.
Ecstasy.
Oblivion.
He’d been kissed many times before. Every seniorita seemed eager to kiss a prince. But his previous experiences were nothing on this kiss. It felt like the wild thrill of jumping off a cliff and into the ocean. He was falling down, down into dark unknown waters. Drowning in her kisses. One kiss became two, until the number was too great to count, or too difficult to remember. He didn’t want to. He didn’t need to.
Eventually, she pulled her head back, before brushing her lips, gently this time, against his swollen ones.
“I’m Nora.”
He couldn’t help but smile against her soft lips and whisper, “Matteo.”
The princess stiffened, pushed him off, and stepped back. Her jaw dropped and she looked at him in what appeared to be horror. But why? They had already been legally married, the ceremony in Sania was only going to be a formal celebration. Before the consummation, something he was definitely looking forward to now.
She took a few more steps away from him, before bowing. “Prince Matteo, I am not who you think I am.”
His face went fiery as he held out his right hand. “You are my wife.”
She shook her purple hair. “My cousin and I both have the same name: Eleanora. Elea is the heir and I’m the spare.”
Matteo stumbled back as if he’d been stabbed by her sword.
