Jewel of Solana

by Susan Sheehey

  That strife had led to years of rebellious behavior, what Alanna knew to be a cry for help, ending in his exile.

  Now he was finally home.

  By heaven’s grace, he didn’t appear injured. Behind his dark sunglasses and anxious expression, he smiled. Alanna couldn’t restrain her laughter.

  He opened his arms as she ran into his warm embrace.

  To Be Continued in CROWN OF SOLANA

  For Prince André’s story, read PRINCE OF SOLANA

  Susan Sheehey writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense adventure. Water plays a crucial element in all of her novels, and she’s a strong advocate for Autism awareness & acceptance. She squeezes in writing time between chauffeuring around her two boys, and guzzling down French vanilla coffee. Her beloved husband keeps her relatively sane, and full of laughter. She and her family live in Texas.

  www.SusanSheehey.com

  www.Facebook.com/SusanSheehey

  www.Twitter.com/SusieQWriter

  www.Pinterest.com/SusanSheehey

  Join her newsletter for monthly announcements, updates, and special giveaways!

  Royals of Solana: Book Three

  Crown of Solana

  GEMMA GAWKED, SPEECHLESS AT THE unfamiliar reflection in the mirror. The ice blue chiffon gown that matched her eyes portrayed a quintessential princess worthy enough to stand beside Solana’s brazenly handsome Prince André Peralta.

  That was the point.

  Except everything about this glorious dress, from the rare ammephire jewels encrusted across her bust and waist, to the floating train down her back made her feel like a donkey at a horse show.

  What I wouldn’t give for my jeans and beat-up boots.

  Cataline fastened the last clasp in the back, and smiled at her in the mirror. “You are breathtaking.”

  Gemma tried to smile back, but it felt more like a grimace.

  The personal assistant had become the closest thing to a friend over the last two weeks. The Solanian native embodied a natural youth that made her look closer to thirty, though the wrinkles by her eyes and the thin gray hairs hidden in her black up-do proved her almost fifty.

  She adjusted the navy sash draped from Gemma’s shoulder to help conceal the bullet wound, still sore from the initial assault two weeks before. Their small band of Royal Guardsmen, along with help from remnants of the Solanian Army, had successfully taken back the palace from a brood of mercenaries. But Gemma had taken a shot in the arm with the final takedown of the cartel general, Bendetto.

  Now here she was, preparing for the royal family’s first State Dinner celebrating the salvation of their country. In front of hundreds of people—Solanian citizens and foreign dignitaries—awaiting the announcement of the next ruler.

  And all Gemma wanted was to return to the Texas cattle ranch she loved. Her home.

  Now destroyed.

  She rubbed at her temple, the oncoming headache arriving at the worst time. Her neck-length blonde hair had been curled to death, with a thin French braid along one side. Gemma had drawn the line at the hairstylist’s original plans of extensions, sequins and a tiara.

  Will I ever get used to all this fuss and extravagance?

  “Just remember to breathe.” Catatline rested her hands on Gemma’s shoulders. “This will be a piece of cake compared to…” She took a deep breath. “Well, easier than most things you’ve gone through.”

  “Promise?” She smirked.

  Cataline winked and readjusted the sash. “Try not to move your arm too much. It should still be in a sling, but we all know how much you love that.”

  “What’s your trick to make it through these things?”

  A blush graced her cheeks. “Keep your gaze on someone special.”

  Gemma chuckled nervously. “Looking at André overwhelms me. It’ll double my nerves.”

  “You’ll be surprised how steadying he’ll be in that grand room.”

  The makeup artist, Francesca, touched up a spot by Gemma’s eye with a foundation brush for the millionth time. She wanted to swat the brush away, but that would be rude. Reyna wouldn’t approve.

  A knock on the door made her hold her breath.

  The petite and graceful Alanna strolled in, wearing a lavender robe. Her long, black hair had been twirled high on her head, and her coffee eyes matched André’s.

  A few steps in and she stopped. Her smile lit up the room. Again, the same as André’s. “You are exquisite,” she breathed. “I cannot wait to see the look on my brother’s face when you walk in.”

  For the first time today, Gemma relaxed. “He’s the one I’m anxious to see. Is he back from his meetings yet?”

  “Yep. Those politicians and diplomats wouldn’t keep him from this soiree tonight. He’s my next stop, so I can tease him about seeing you before him.” She nodded to both Cataline and Francesca, then held out a box the size of a small bread loaf. “From the royal collection. André picked this out for you tonight.” She stepped closer and opened the lid.

  Gemma’s jaw dropped. Though she wasn’t one for jewelry or finery, the glittering wreath necklace of aquamarine gemstones and diamonds with matching earrings could certainly change her mind. At least for a night.

  “Would you like my help?” the princess asked.

  “Uh, well, ye…yeah. I mean yes. Please.”

  Alanna chuckled and slipped it around her neck. When the earrings were in place, she beamed. “There. The masterpiece is complete.”

  Gemma bit her bottom lip, staring at the final picture in the mirror. As Francesca and Cataline smiled and sighed, all Gemma could see was her mother’s face looking back in the mirror. A young and graceful Priscilla Westfall, before a marriage of strife and disappointment stole the glint in her eyes. It had been many years since she’d seen her mother, and the reflection in front of her would have made her proud.

  But if André were to become King, it would take more than a glorious gown and jewelry to fit in with royalty. Skills she wasn’t sure she possessed.

  Her eyes caught Alanna’s in the mirror. “Have you decided?”

  The princess’s smile slipped. Even Cataline and Francesca glanced warily at each other.

  Alanna turned her head. “Thank you, Francesca. Please setup in the other drawing room, and I’ll be there in a moment.” Francesca grabbed her things and left. The exotic royal sighed. “We’re still discussing it. The ascension laws weren’t written for this scenario.”

  “You know he doesn’t want it. He’ll take it if you’re not willing, but deep down he feels like he doesn’t deserve it.” She’d learned that much from him in the brief time they’d known each other.

  She pursed her lips. “That’s because he’s been drowning in self-pity for the last eight years of his exile. He doesn’t feel like he deserves anything worthwhile.” She adjusted a curl at Gemma’s temple, and smiled. “Until you.”

  Heat flushed Gemma’s cheeks, and her insides squirmed. “You don’t know me.”

  Alanna chuckled. “That’s the same thing Flynn said to me when I first met him. But many times you can see the good in someone just by looking at them.”

  She swallowed. If you only knew what I’ve done…

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “Pase,” Alanna answered.

  The door swung open and Stefano walked in. André’s head Royal Guardsman filled out a tux as well as his usual uniform, his salt and pepper hair gelled back for the formal event. Only he could wear an intimidating, stern expression and come across as a loveable father figure simultaneously.

  But Gemma didn’t have the time to compliment him on the tux. Because immediately following was…

  André.

  Gemma gasped.

  His onyx tuxedo fit him perfectly, accentuating his wide shoulders and trim waist. Those mocha eyes hypnotized her, just as the first time she saw him back in Texas. Back when he was hiding. His wavy, dark hair belonged on a beach photo shoot for Men’s Health magazine. No one would mistake him for
anything other than princely in that getup, especially with the periwinkle sash draped from his shoulder across his waist. A golden hawk pin was clasped in the center, the eye a rare ammephire jewel, found only on Solana.

  His hypnotizing eyes devoured her. Everything in his stance conveyed pride. Possession.

  Lust.

  He had completely ruined her for any other man.

  “Gemma,” he breathed. “Maravillosa.”

  Even Stefano beamed at her.

  “I told you her gown would be the highlight of the event.” Alanna rubbed her palms together.

  “Speaking of gowns,” Cataline interrupted. “We should get you ready, Your Highness.”

  With a final squeeze of Gemma’s hand, the princess turned and left the room, followed quickly by Cataline. Stefano gave her a discrete smile as he closed the door behind them.

  The ravenous gaze on André’s face made her heart thump feverishly. Six feet of hot sex in a tuxedo. Her mouth watered.

  “As much as I love your form-fitting jeans and boots, you’ll have every man in the room drooling over that dress.”

  I’d rather drool over you. “Let’s skip this dinner. Have something more…” Her eyes darted to the tightness in his pants. “Satisfying.”

  He stalked towards her, his eyes raking over her body in a visual feast. “If only.”

  She reached out and stroked his sash, remembering the smooth fabric against her nipples. “This is a good look for you, Miguel.” Gemma mocked him with the alias he’d used back in Texas whenever she could.

  His laugh rumbled low in his chest. “It looks better on you. With nothing else.”

  “No.” She hooked a finger in his collar and pulled him against her breasts. His hot breath and fresh cologne caressed her face. “You look better on me.”

  Their lips seared together, the instant burn filling her cheeks and simultaneously pooling between her thighs. His tongue dueled with hers, stroking and laving, each fighting for power. He slipped his fingers into her hair at the back of her neck, and she moaned.

  This is the guy I fell for. Kissing the ocean.

  Her hand trailed down his abs, bypassed his waistline, and squeezed the hard, rigid length in his pants. His growl rumbled into her mouth. He pushed his groin harder into her hand. She nipped his tongue, and he pulled back.

  The deep blush lipstick she’d been wearing now covered his upper lip.

  “As much as I’d love to take you right here on this floor, we’ll be late.”

  “Just a quickie.” She slipped her hands under his jacket and pulled on his suspenders, dragging him back against her full breasts. “I promise we won’t take long.”

  With a firm, erotic grasp on the back of her neck, André covered her mouth and sucked the air from her lungs. “I won’t control myself when I take you, and I want to show you and this dress off first before I rip it apart.”

  Breathless and weak in the legs, she stumbled behind him as he led her out. The closer she approached the ornate double-doors covered in carved cherubs with gold-inlay wings, the faster the butterflies in her stomach swirled.

  But before he opened the door, he stopped and cradled her hands with his. “The foreign dignitaries at this state dinner are important. All this finery is a pretense, to ask for their help in securing Solana’s defense. Whether from the Lozanos, or another cartel, or an invading country, we need their forces.” He sighed. “As wealthy as Solana is, we’re too small to thwart another major attack.”

  Gemma licked the taste of him off her bottom lip. “So, you have to wine and dine them to get their help.”

  His smile was so damn intoxicating, but this time fleeting. “That’s the plan.”

  She swallowed back the bitter memory of her misguided youth. “The problem with that kind of dating,” Using her thumb, she wiped the lipstick from his mouth. “The freeloaders tend to flock to the buffet, with no intention of paying the bill.”

  A caress on her cheek chased those memories to the back of her mind. His eyes nearly glittered.

  “I have a secret weapon.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “And it’s not just your happy trigger-finger.” He slipped her pointer into his mouth, all the way to her knuckle, and suckled.

  Just like that, I’m putty.

  “What’s your weapon?” she managed to ask through a sigh.

  He leaned forward, licked her earlobe, and whispered, “You.”

  Purchase your copy of Crown of Solana and the rest of the Royals of Solana series online

  Prince of Solana

  Jewel of Solana

  Crown of Solana

  Along with her contemporary romance novel, Audrey’s Promise