Читать книгу The Royal Mess - MaryJanice Davidson - Страница 13

Chapter 2

Nicole Krenski, bastard princess of Alaska, daughter of a bartender and a king, counted to ten.

“Hey, I almost got that one,” her client chirped, yanking on his fishing rod with all his might.

“That’d be great, Jim, if we were fishing for pine trees. Give that to me.” Before I stick it up your ass. With a few practiced tugs, the Daredevil lure freed itself from the tree and plopped into the water. Nicole slowly started reeling it in, and felt a nibble. “Okay, you got a bite. Now remember what I told you.” Twenty-five times. “Carefully set the hook and—”

He snatched the rod from her hands and gave a mighty yank, which only ripped the lure out of the fish’s mouth.

“Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this!”

Nicole scowled at the short (her height) balding stockbroker on vacation from New York City. “Jimmy?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Do not call me babe. And if you ever take a fishing rod away from me without my permission, you’ll be shitting five-pound test line for three days.”

Jimmy gulped and managed a smile. Nicole knew full well that clients hit on her when they got a look at her tits and eyes and whatnot, and gave up when she proved she had nothing in her veins but river water. At least as far as her customers were concerned, she’d sooner lay a grizzly than someone who paid her bills.

Jimmy sketched a mock salute. “You got it, boss lady. Ready to try again?”

“Sure.” One. Two. Three. Four. Five. “Nice and easy. Use your wrist, not your arm.” Six. Seven. Eight. “Release the bale. And—you’ve caught another tree.”

Meekly, Jimmy handed back his rod. “Could you get that out of the branch for me, please?”

“My pleasure,” she groaned. Oh God, please save me from tourists. Especially big city tourists.

“Maybe we should try a different spot.”

“Maybe I should try a different client.”

“That’s cold, babe. I guess we really are in Alaska.”

“You don’t know what cold is. And don’t call me babe.”