The Most Powerful Of Kings - Jackie Ashenden Page 0,2

him to know, she added, ‘I should warn you, Your Majesty, that I don’t have any teaching experience. Or any experience with children at all, in fact.’

The king said nothing, merely looked at her, and Anna tried to stop herself fidgeting under the weight of that icy blue gaze.

‘The position doesn’t involve teaching,’ he said after a long moment. ‘The princess already has a tutor. I require a more...steadying influence.’

Anna frowned. ‘Excuse me, Your Majesty? I’m not quite sure—’

He lifted a hand. ‘You may address me as sire if it’s easier.’

‘Very well, sire,’ she said. ‘And, please, call me Anna.’ She didn’t much care for being called Sister quite yet, not when she hadn’t taken her vows.

‘Noted.’ He leaned back on the couch, the slight movement making her aware of his long, powerful body, a very physical awareness she’d never experienced with another person before. ‘You weren’t quite sure of what?’

‘What you meant by a “steadying influence”.’

‘Ah.’ He shifted again, very slightly, and again her attention was drawn to the pull of fabric across his broad shoulders and powerful thighs.

Which was strange. Why on earth was she staring at his body? She might not have had much to do with men, it was true, but it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen a man before.

Not a man like this one, you haven’t.

‘Ione’s behaviour is an issue,’ the king said without preamble. ‘She is a loud, boisterous child, which is not becoming in the heir to the throne. I believe she needs to start learning how to manage herself and her emotions, and, since I do not have the time for it, help is required from an outside source.’

Anna ignored her own odd reaction to him and frowned. Surely, all children were boisterous? Then again, who was she to question a king’s parenting decisions?

‘I see. And is there anything in particular you’d like me to do?’

‘You will be issued with a list of acceptable activities, as well as some rules concerning Ione, her behaviour, and what is permitted and what is not. You will also be assigned a room here in the palace for your personal use.’

Well, that didn’t sound...onerous.

Anna opened her mouth to tell him it sounded fine, but before she could he said, ‘The Reverend Mother heard that I was looking for a companion for my daughter and chose you specifically for this task.’ He paused, his gaze raking over her in a way that made Anna distinctly uncomfortable for reasons she couldn’t put her finger on. ‘Any idea as to why that might be?’

She felt her cheeks heat. ‘No.’

One of the king’s black brows arrowed skyward. ‘No? No idea at all?’

‘I... No. I’m not sure.’ Her poise, already shaky, began to slip. Because she really had no idea at all why the Reverend Mother had chosen her. She’d been called into her study and given the task, and the Reverend Mother hadn’t explained. And Anna hadn’t questioned it, too busy trying to prove her obedience.

She had nothing to be ashamed of, so why was she blushing?

‘No,’ she said more levelly and with greater confidence. ‘She didn’t tell me and I didn’t ask. It wasn’t my place. I do as she tells me.’

‘I see.’ The king’s voice was very deep and glazed with ice. ‘So nothing at all to do with seducing me into making you my queen?’

The nun’s pretty grey eyes went very, very wide.

‘I beg your pardon?’ she exclaimed, in tones of complete astonishment.

Adonis wasn’t a man who repeated himself and he didn’t now. He simply stared at her, scanning and assessing her threat level the way he did with everyone he met.

Except the nun—or novice really—didn’t pose much of a threat. She wore a plain and unflattering grey dress, her long, pale gold hair coiled in a loose bun at her nape, and she was round and very soft-looking. Her face was pretty, heart-shaped, with a firm chin and those wide eyes the colour of morning fog. Her mouth was a problem, though, full and red and...biteable.

Not that he would be doing any biting. She was a rabbit who’d wandered into a wolf’s den, or perhaps even a quail. Soft and round and far too innocent.

Luckily for her this particular wolf wasn’t hungry and hadn’t been for years, and even if he had been, he wouldn’t have chosen such easy prey.

It was very clear that she had no idea what her interfering Reverend Mother had done. But he did. The Reverend Mother June was his godmother