The Princess and the Outlaw. Leanne Banks

do you really want?” he asked her in that dark, sexy voice that made her feel as if she were turning upside down.

      A half-dozen images from the stolen moments they’d shared shot through her brain. The time they’d gone swimming at night. The afternoon she’d spent on his yacht. The walk they’d taken on the opposite side of the island when she’d learned so much about him and he’d made it so easy for her to talk about herself. Despite the bad blood between her family and his, Phillipa had never felt so drawn to another man in her life.

      He lowered his head, holding her gaze until his mouth took hers. His kiss set off a riot of reaction and emotion inside her. He made her feel alive and out of control. She pulled back and whispered. “This is insane. It will never work. That’s what I tried to tell you before.”

      “Why not?” he challenged her. Nic was always challenging her. Sometimes gently, sometimes with more strength. “If I want you and you want me, what is most important?”

      Pippa bit her lip and struggled to remain rational. Members of her family had caused a lot of trouble by giving in to their emotions. She didn’t want the same kind of trouble. “Want is a temporary emotion. There are more important things than temporary emotions.”

      “If that’s true, why did you kiss me back? Why are you here with me right now?”

      Pippa heard a gasp from the doorway and terror rushed through her. “Someone is here,” she said. “We’ve got to get out of here,” she said, stumbling toward the door. Nic helped to steady her as they stepped outside the closet.

      Her sisters Bridget and Tina greeted them with furious disapproval stamped on their faces. Pippa inwardly cringed.

      “Get away from my sister,” Bridget said.

      “That’s for her to say, not you,” Nic said.

      “You’re just using her,” Tina said. “You only want her because she can redeem your terrible family name.”

      “Not everyone finds my family name reprehensible. Some even respect it,” he said.

      “That’s respect you’ve bought with money,” Tina said. “Leave Phillipa alone. You can never be good enough for her. If you have any compassion, you’ll at least protect her reputation by leaving now.”

      Nic tightened his jaw. “I’ll leave, but Phillipa will make the ultimate decision about the future of our relationship.” He glanced behind him and met Phillipa’s shocked, pale face. “Ciao, darling. Call me when you get some courage. Some things are meant to be,” he said and strode away.

       Chapter One

       Seven Months Later

      She’d started running for exercise. That was what Pippa told her security detail anyway. She knew the truth. She was running from memories. Memories and the possibility that there was only one man for her and he was the one man she couldn’t have.

      “Stop it,” she told herself, staring at the empty beach in front of her. Azure waves dappled onto white sands. By noon, there would be quite a few more bodies enjoying the beach. At six in the morning, however, she was the only one around. She debated turning on some music via her smartphone. She usually welcomed the noise, hoping it would drown out some of her thoughts. Today, she was searching for a little peace. Maybe the sound of the waves would help, she thought, and started out.

      One foot in front of the other, she ran for two minutes, then walked for three. It was called interval training and the different paces suited her. Pippa had never been athletic. From the time she’d learned to read, she’d always been happiest with her nose stuck in a book. Her nanny had been relieved because her brothers and most of her sisters had been more demanding in one way or another.

      Running again, she inhaled the scent of the salt air. The humidity was low today and she could feel the moisture on her skin begin to evaporate. Slowing after three minutes of running, she took a swig of her water and trudged onward.

      Along the shore, in the distance, she spotted a long figure walking. She would wave and be friendly. Pippa was a royal and Chantaine royals were not allowed to be snooty. Other runners might be able to put their blinders and zip past everyone in their path, but not a Devereaux.

      As she drew closer, she saw that the figure was that of a woman. Short white hair crowned her head, and a sundress that resembled a nightgown covered her petite frame.

      Pippa nodded. “Good morning,” she said.

      The woman looked away and stumbled.

      Curious, Pippa vacillated as to whether to approach her. Perhaps she was longing for solitude just as Pippa was. The woman stumbled again and Pippa felt a twist of concern. She walked toward the woman. “Pardon me, may I help you?”

      The woman shook her head. “No, no. I’m fine. It’s so beautiful here,” she said in a lilting voice that contrasted with the lines on her face and the frailness of her frame.

      Something about her seemed familiar, but Pippa couldn’t quite identify it. The woman stumbled again, and Pippa’s concern grew. Was she ill?

      “Yes, the beach is lovely. Are you sure I can’t help you? I could walk you back to where you started,” she said. “Or perhaps you would like some water.”

      The woman’s face crumpled. “No, no. Please don’t make me go back. Please don’t—” She broke off and collapsed right in front of Pippa.

      Alarm shot through her. “Oh, my God!” she exclaimed and bent over the woman. This was one time when she would have loved to have had her security detail close by. Pippa put her arms around the woman and lifted her, surprised by her light weight. Glancing around, she pulled her toward a small stand of palm trees.

      Frantic, she held the woman and gently shook her. “Please. Miss. Please.” She spilled water from her bottle onto one of her hands and gently patted the woman’s face. “Please wake up. Please.”

      Terrified that the woman was dying, she reached for her cell phone. The woman clearly needed emergency medical attention. Just as she put her finger over the speed dial for her security, the woman blinked her eyes. Huge and full of emotion, her eyes captivated Pippa.

      She held her breath. “Are you all right? Please take a few sips of my water. It’s clearly too hot out here for you. I’ll call for help and—”

      “No,” the woman said with a strength that surprised Pippa. “Please don’t do that.” Then the woman closed her amazing, mesermizing eyes and began to sob.

      The sound wrenched at Pippa. “You must let me help you.”

      “There’s only one thing I want,” she said and met Pippa’s gaze again. “I just want to die in Chantaine.”

      Pippa gasped. Then a lightning flash of realization rocked through her. She looked at the woman and saw the resemblance of Nic in her eyes. His bone structure was a stronger, more masculine version, but his eyes were all Amelie. “Amelie,” she whispered. “You’re Amelie Lafitte.”

      The woman reluctantly nodded. “How do you know?”

      “I know your son Nic.” Pippa also knew that Amelie was in the final stages of cancer. Her time was drawing painfully close.

      Amelie looked away. “I just wanted a little walk on the beach. I bet he’s quite peeved that I left the yacht.”

      Peeved wasn’t the word that came to Pippa’s mind. “I’ll call him for you,” she said.

      “Then all my fun will be over,” she said with a cute pout. “He’s such a worrywart.”

      Stunned at how quickly Amelie’s spirit had returned, she hesitated a half beat, then dialed his cell. Despite the fact that she’d deleted it from her phone records months ago, every digit was engraved on her brain.

      Five