The Royal's Obsession Read Online Free Page A

familiar voice made her turn quickly, a flush of guilt on her face.
    I haven’t done anything wrong, she told herself. I have just as much right to be here as anyone else.
    “It is,” she said cautiously, watching as Augustine came to join her at the rail. “I could watch the coast pass by for hours.
    “I have always loved staring out over the sea,” he said, gazing into the distance. “It is eternal, and we are not. That alone would be enough. Is it the same way for you?”
    She had been expecting some kind of sharp remark or perhaps some teasing. The quiet observation about the water surprised her, and because of that, she ventured an honest answer.
    “When I look at the ocean, I think of mysteries,” she offered. “There’s so much life and so much to learn from its depths. I think that humans could look at a ten-square-mile patch of ocean for a decade and not see everything that it has to offer.”
    He glanced at her, a slight smile on his lips. When he wasn’t scowling at her, he really was very handsome.
    “So your interest is academic? That surprises me a little.”
    She grinned.
    “Oh, were you interested in the spiritual end of things?”
    He shrugged, a slight smile on his face. “Let’s just say that Trinity implied that we could have a lot to say to each other if I weren’t being such a curmudgeon.”
    “All right, I’ll take that,” she said. She thought for a moment, and then when she began to speak, her tone was hushed. “I almost drowned when I was four. My parents had taken me down to Florida for a convention of some sort, and on our last day there, we went to the beach. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, bright, and brilliant. I had never seen so much water before, and I was…I was thrilled, I guess. It was just amazing. I kept running towards the water, and my nanny had to keep bringing me back. One time, I guess I managed to get away from her, because I ended up in the water.
    “I ran out until I was nearly in over my head, and then the tide rolled out, taking me with it. It was terrifying. Suddenly, this wonderful thing had turned on me, dragging me out and away from shore. I was terrified, and I started screaming and crying. I’m very lucky, because a lifeguard saw me and went in after me.”
    Augustine raised an eyebrow. “That sounds traumatic. Most people would think that would make you even less inclined to love the water.”
    “You know, you would think that, but I never blamed the water. Instead I somehow knew that it was me being reckless and downright dumb. I mean, I was four. I really didn’t know any better. What I realized, I think, was that it was so powerful and overwhelming. I wanted to know all about it. And that’s where it started for me.”
    He nodded slowly, and Anastasia laughed a little.
    “It’s a weird little story. I have better ones about snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef and swimming with dolphins if you want to hear those.”
    “I like the story about the childhood drowning,” he said with a wry grin.
    “What’s your relationship to the water? I think this is your ship, isn’t it?”
    Augustine’s smile turned proud.
    “Yes. The Wild Waves is my darling. After I got out of school, my father offered me my choice of graduation presents. It is a tradition in our family. I could have had land, houses, nearly anything I could think of, but what I wanted most was to construct the Wild Waves .”
    Anastasia blinked.
    “You designed the Wild Waves ?”
    “Yes, and built a great deal of her as well. Some of the work of course went to the contractors, but wherever I could get in to do the work, I wanted to. She is mine, from stem to stern. She’s luxurious, but I would wager that you could not find a safer or sturdier ship in the water today.”
    “You love her.” Anastasia had not meant to say that at all. She bit her lip, thinking that of course Augustine would laugh at her, but he only nodded slowly.
    “I do,” he said with a slight smile.