The Princess and the Outlaw

The Princess and the Outlaw
Leanne Banks

Although she knew it was insanity to even consider a secret rendezvous, Pippa could not make herself say no.

She opened her mouth to try to form the word and her lips refused. Her whole body and being wanted to be with Nic, and she was bloody tired of denying herself. “Yes,” she finally said and closed her eyes. “But this could be messy.”

Nic laughed. “I’ve been dealing with messes since I was six years old.”

She wondered what it was about Nic that made her feel stronger. When she was with him, she felt as if she could do almost anything.

Pulling her slowly toward him, he gave her a dozen chances to turn away, but she didn’t. She couldn’t.

“Do you want me just because you can’t have me?” she whispered, the fear squeezing out of her throat.

“No,” he said. “Besides, we both know I can and will have you. The question is when,” he said and lowered his mouth to hers.

Dear Reader,

This is one of my most ambitious books ever! These characters got inside my head and heart and demanded that I deal with subject matter I’ve never attempted before. In my mind, there are two she-ros in this book, but don’t worry! Only one of them is the “romantic lead.” And what a woman she is. A shy bookworm princess with bad hair who is known for not making waves is thrust into a situation that challenges her to be stronger than she ever dreamed she could be.

The second she-ro is the hero’s mother. I pictured her as an older but still gamin Audrey Hepburn determined to savor every moment of life. The dreamy forbidden hero comes from a long line of pirates. I see Nic Lafitte looking like a slightly rougher-edged version of Antonio Sabato, Jr. I love the way shy Princess Pippa turns worldly Nic’s head and heart around in ways he would have considered impossible.

Throw in a long-standing family feud and a crowd of Royals, and our hero and she-ro are in for the journey of their lives. I hope this story will be a “heart-warmer” for you…

Wishing you love and joy,

Leanne

About the Author

LEANNE BANKS is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author who is surprised every time she realizes how many books she has written. Leanne loves chocolate, the beach and new adventures. To name a few, Leanne has ridden on an elephant, stood on an ostrich egg (no, it didn’t break), gone parasailing and indoor skydiving. Leanne loves writing romance because she believes in the power and magic of love. She lives in Virginia with her family and a four-and-a-half-pound Pomeranian named Bijou. Visit her website, www.leannebanks.com.

The Princess

and the Outlaw

Leanne Banks

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This is dedicated to the family members and friends

who hang in there for the long haul when a loved one

is terminally ill. May the special people in your life

who have passed on continue to inspire you, make you

laugh, make you wise and make you love forever…

Prologue

“What is he doing here?”

Phillipa was wondering the same thing. At her sister Bridget’s gasp, her other sister, Tina, leaned toward Bridget. “Zach says he’s a huge contributor here. Everyone loves him,” Tina said distastefully.

“They clearly don’t know him,” Bridget said and nudged Phillipa. “Why can’t we escape him?” she whispered. “Maybe it’s because he’s the devil and that means he can be everywhere at once.”

At that moment, Phillipa almost agreed with Bridget. Nic certainly seemed to have some kind of dark power over her.

Phillipa had tried to slow things down with Nic Lafitte, but persuading the man to move at anything other than warp speed had proven impossible. He was a force of nature with a will that rivaled every kind of powerful destructive weather. Typhoons and tornadoes had nothing on him. She’d successfully avoided him for the past three weeks and she had been certain that fleeing her home country of Chantaine to visit her sisters in Texas would buy her even more time.

Who would have ever thought she would be caught staring at him at a charity social ball in Texas as he accepted an award for philanthropy? Phillipa knew that Nic had ties to Texas, but with his extensive business dealings, he had ties to many places.

The ballroom suddenly felt as if it was shrinking. Panic squeezed her chest. She had to get out. She had to catch her breath. Feeling her sister’s curious gaze, she swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. “I’m not feeling well,” she said. “Please excuse me.”

When Bridget offered to come with her, Phillipa had to remain firm. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Sticking to the perimeter of the room as she fled, she kept her head down, hoping she wasn’t drawing attention to herself. If she could just get out of this room, she would be fine, she told herself. Out of the room and away from Nic. Away from how he affected her.

She stepped out of the ballroom and held the door so it would catch softly as it closed, then took a few more steps away and leaned against the wall, which felt cool against her skin. Her sisters hadn’t been exaggerating when they’d told her Texas summers were hell.

Phillipa took several deep breaths, willing her heart and mind to calm. How had she gotten herself into this? Why? Among her siblings, she’d done her best to maintain a low profile. As number five out of six strong personalities, it hadn’t been that difficult. Her oldest brother, Stefan, had been born and bred to rule—everyone except his siblings anyway. Phillipa had found refuge in academia. It was much easier pleasing a few professors than being a princess and constantly making public appearances and dealing with the media. By nature, she’d always been an introvert. She’d never enjoyed crowded gatherings, hated posing for photographs and had little patience for all the effort it seemed to take to make her presentable.

When her first two sisters began to focus on their new husbands instead of royal duties, Phillipa had plunged herself into graduate studies to avoid being in the public eye. Her sister Bridget had seen through her plan and it had clearly irritated her, although Bridget had bucked up and done a fantastic job. The trouble now was that Bridget was determined to get a break and she had earned it. Phillipa cringed at the prospect of all the public appearances she would be forced to make.

“I’ll be damned,” a familiar male voice said, making her eyes pop open. “If it isn’t the missing Her Highness Phillipa of Chantaine.”

Phillipa stared into the dark gaze of Nic Lafitte and her lungs seemed to completely shut down. “I didn’t know you would be here.”

His mouth twisted in a half smile. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” he asked and slipped his hand around her arm. “Lucky for both of us that I am. We have unfinished business. You’re coming with me. I can have my car delivered in seconds.”

Her heart pounded. “I can’t. My sisters expect me back for the rest of the event. They’ll call the authorities if I go missing,” she said.

“It wouldn’t be the first time your family has tried to get me in trouble with the law.” He glanced around and tugged her down the hallway. “If you won’t leave with me, then I’ll take my moment somewhere else.”

“Where are you taking me?” she asked. “This is crazy. I need to go back to my table. I need—” She broke off as he pushed open the door to a room marked Coat Closet and dragged her inside.

He pulled her to the back of the small room and gently, but firmly gripped her shoulders. “Tell me what you really need, Pippa. What 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?”