Persuading Her Protector: The Napoline Royals, #2

By Allison Gatta

Princess Ellaria Salvatore is accustomed to getting what she wants—regardless of whether she’s supposed to have it or not. But now that her brother’s arranged marriage has fallen through, she’s left brokering a deal that will save her country and her family from the clutches of war. And while it’s not out of the question for a princess to sacrifice her future for a husband she’s never met, this little hitch in the plan is standing between her and the one thing she wants most of all—her smoking hot bodyguard. She knows that a man like Luca can’t bring himself to dishonor his station by having his way with her, but she can’t possibly leave forever without having one small taste of what might have been. So, left with no choice, she decides to do the one thing she has left: seduce him before time runs out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allison Gatta
• Release date: Jan 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386899532

Book preview

Prologue

12 years ago

D o they have to come with us? Ellaria flopped onto her bed and then turned to frown at her mother .

Ellaria, she sighed. Is it too much to ask that you be grateful for the chance to go to the beach with your friends? You’ve been begging us all summer.

"Yes, to go to the beach with my friends. With Antone and Regianna and Luca. Not with them." She grimaced.

Prince Damian and Princess Annabella are our guests. You will treat them with the respect their station affords them. After all, you may be family one day. Her mother scooted toward her and brushed a lock of Ellaria’s blond hair behind her ear.

That’s what I’m worried about. Have you seen the way Annabella is around Antone? It’s disgusting. She wrinkled her nose. For the two weeks since their royal company had arrived, the visiting princess, Annabella, hadn’t left Ellaria’s brother’s side. She laughed at all his jokes—though few of them were ever funny—and insisted that she be treated like one of his other comrades. That was, if his other comrades wore nothing but revealing clothing and too much make-up.

It’s good. Antone is getting older. He needs to accept his responsibilities as a future king. And you, my love, would do well to remember that you could be a queen. Her mother adjusted the little tiara propped in her own glossy golden hair.

I won’t be queen with Antone as king, Ellaria said.

You could be if you took an interest in Damian. His father is getting on in years and he’s a handsome enough boy.

Ellaria rolled over, staring up at the top of her canopy and refusing to acknowledge what her mother had just said. If they come with us to the beach, she pressed on, we’re going to need a billion times more security. They probably won’t even let me in the water.

Her mother sighed again. I know, darling. I know. But you’ll have a chance to get out of the palace for a while. And your brother and sister and Luca will still be there. Just make an effort, okay? For me?

Ellaria glanced up at her mother, pursed her lips, then gave a solemn nod.

Does it get easier? As you get older, I mean? Ellaria asked.

Her mother considered her for a long moment. The fame or the responsibility?

Ellaria shrugged. Either. Both.

Her mother glanced to the corner of the room, then got up and grabbed the cover-up she’d brought with her and handed it to Ellaria. No. You’ll never get to do what you want to do when you want to do it. That’s your curse. But don’t forget that you are blessed, too.

How? When I have to spend time with people I don’t even know or like?

Her mother tilted her head to the side. You have more in common with them than you realize. And your blessing is your education, your duty, and your family. Not everyone is given so much.

But what is any of that without freedom? Ellaria asked.

Her mother took a step forward and cupped her cheek. That’s where you have to find your own way, my love. Now get ready to go. You know how the captain of the guard gets when we’re running late.

Ellaria nodded, then slipped the cover-up over her red bikini. Quickly and nimbly, she braided her blond waves into a long plait down her back, grabbed her bag filled with books and towels and sunscreen, and headed down the hall. The slapping of her sandals echoed in the stone corridors around her, but when she reached the grand entrance to the castle and found her brother and sister waiting alongside Annabella and Damian, she pasted on her best princess smile and tripped down the steps to join them.

When she reached her brother—and the accompanying look of slavish devotion on Annabella’s face—she asked, Where’s Luca?

The captain of the guard’s son was their constant companion and had been since they were little more than toddlers. Though he always stayed by his father’s side at official events, Ellaria had grown to count on his reassuring presence—a reminder of what normal teenagers were like when they didn’t bear the burden of a crown.

He’s helping his father with the caravan, Ellaria’s sister, Regianna, added. She was shorter and squatter than the rest of them, but though she was only twelve her eyes had a sort of intelligence that Ellaria had always envied.

Regianna tugged on her own bathing suit cover-up, then glanced toward the wide front doors of the castle just as Luca and his father, Captain Del Torre, traipsed through them.

All ready to go, Captain Del Torre said. Luca, get the princesses’ bags.

Annabella thrust out her intricately weaved bag, then nodded as Luca took it. Ellaria, though, shrugged him off while she tried to hide her newest wave of disgust. I can carry my own things. It’s fine.

It is my duty, Luca argued.

Then I command you to stand down, Ellaria teased. You’ve got plenty with Annabella and Regianna’s things.

He nodded, then took Regianna’s bag and strode back through the wide doors to stow their things in one of the enumerable armored cars carrying them to the beach.

When at last all the guards had assembled and Captain Del Torre had given the signal, the crowd of royal teens ambled toward the cars and climbed inside, seeing a glimpse of the bright sun glittering on the ocean outside the castle walls.

Ellaria longed to stray from the group—to climb down the cliffs that led to the little beach below without the constant presence of her royal protectors, but she reminded herself again that even this trip to a public beach was a privilege, not a right. That doing something so reckless would ensure she never saw the world outside the castle walls until she was finally shipped off to whatever duke or prince would have her for his wife.

With a shiver of revulsion, she reminded herself that 15 was not yet 20. She had years before she had to worry about that. Today, she was going to forget her crown. She was going to be a normal, teenage girl.

Whatever that looked like.

When she’d finally settled into the wide back seat of the armored car, the door shut beside her and she stared out at the dark-tinted world through the window. Streets and houses zoomed by, too fast for her to catch much of a glimpse of them, and she wondered again about what lay outside the castle walls.

In her classes, naturally, she’d been taught about the main exports of the island—the shellfish and exotic oils they raised and pressed here. About the outdoor markets that drew tourists from all over the world. About their white sand beaches and their clear, Mediterranean shores.

Still, none of that told her much about what life would be like if she’d been born Ellaria Nobody instead of Princess Ellaria Salvatore. What did the girls her age do in those outdoor markets? How did they meet boys their own age—how did they fall in love?

She clutched her bag tighter to her, thinking of the books inside. They were filled with stories of normal girls who brought their boyfriends home to families. Girls who went off to college and lived alone or with roommates their own age. Girls who had all the freedoms she didn’t.

And those girls would always see boys and know—just know—that he was the one for them.

Would she ever have a chance to feel that way? To know what it was to love? Or would she get off a boat on some foreign shore and meet the man she was supposed to convince herself to love?

The car pulled up outside the shore and Ellaria frowned as the door opened for her again.

She stumbled from her seat, then glanced out at the sugary sand and rolling tide. It was beautiful and peaceful and…empty.

Where are all the people? She turned on her heel to find Captain Del Torre beside her.

We couldn’t risk a public trip of this magnitude with foreign royals alongside us. The beach has been closed to the public for the day.

Ellaria blinked. Oh…thank you for protecting our safety.

The words were perfunctory and hollow, but she said them nonetheless. Another lesson she’d been taught as a young girl—never show disappointment when someone has done you a service.

Clutching her bag tighter, she walked onto the beach and sat down just short of the place where the waves licked the sand. Eventually, she would find her sister and build a sand castle or watch as her brother and Prince Damian tossed a frisbee on the beach, but for now she wanted to be alone.

This was the one trip she had. The one time, every summer, that they’d be able to get out of the castle and walk among the people. Or, at least it was for her.

Her brother went on diplomatic meetings and saw the people often. For her and Regianna? It was all princess lessons, etiquette, and memorizing political world powers. A lifetime of education she had in her arsenal for when she’d finally be allowed to be a person.

What are you doing? Luca sat down on the gritty sand beside her and she didn’t have it in her to tell him to go away.

Instead, she said, Just thinking.

You look like you’re thinking about drowning yourself, Luca joked.

That obvious? Ellaria sighed. I was just thinking, that’s all. I was so looking forward to seeing all the people on the beach and now…

What’s so fascinating about the people?

Ellaria shrugged. I feel a bit like The Little Mermaid. It’s silly.

You want to be where the people are? Luca quoted.

Ellaria laughed. Exactly. I just wanted one normal day.

I don’t think you’ll ever have a normal day, your highness.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. I think you’re right. She took a deep breath, willing herself to stay strong. To not let him—or anyone—see how hard his words had hit her.

You’re not missing much, Luca said. If it makes you feel better. There are usually mothers and fathers with babies who dip the baby’s legs in the water for the first time. Some teenagers too awkward to talk to each other. Some kids building castles. Young people collecting seashells along the shore.

Sounds like I’m missing a lot, Ellaria sighed.

Then pretend they’re here. The babies are crying. The kids are fighting. One of the teenagers said something stupid and now wants to bury themselves in the sand.

Ellaria laughed. See, that sounds a little less appealing.

Exactly. Now come on. Come out in the water with me.

Nodding slowly, she moved her bag farther up shore before pulling her cover-up over her head and turning to find Luca. He was doing the same, dragging his white T-shirt over his angular frame and letting it drop into the sand. The sun shone on his