Virgin to Conquer Read online

  Table of Contents

  Virgin to Conquer

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Other Books by Melody Anne

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from The Tycoon's Revenge

  Virgin to Conquer

  Taken by a Trillionaire Series

  by

  Melody Anne

  Copyright

  © 2017 Melody Anne

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Cali MacKay

  Edited by: Karen Lawson

  Proof Editing by: Renita McKinney

  Dedication

  I’m following in Jan’s footsteps and dedicating this book to Ruth and Jan. Without you ladies I’d laugh so much less and our crazy adventures wouldn’t be out there for the world to see. I can’t imagine my life without you. Here’s to many, many, many more adventures to come

  Other Books by Melody Anne

  THRILLERS

  Confessions:

  Dance in the Dark - Novella - July 18th, 2017

  Book Two - TBA

  ROMANCE

  Billionaire Bachelors:

  The Billionaire Wins the Game

  The Billionaire’s Dance

  The Billionaire Falls

  The Billionaire’s Marriage Proposal

  Blackmailing the Billionaire

  Run Away Heiress

  The Billionaire’s Final Stand

  Unexpected Treasure

  Hidden Treasure

  Holiday Treasure

  Priceless Treasure

  The Ultimate Treasure

  Baby for the Billionaire:

  The Tycoon’s Revenge

  The Tycoon’s Vacation

  The Tycoon’s Proposal

  The Tycoon’s Secret

  The Lost Tycoon

  Surrender Series:

  Surrender - Book One

  Submit - Book Two

  Seduced - Book Three

  Scorched - Book Four

  Forbidden Series:

  Bound -Book One

  Broken - Book Two

  Betrayed - Book Three

  Burned - Book Four

  Unexpected Heroes:

  Safe in His Arms - Novella - Baby, It’s Cold Outside Anthology

  Her Unexpected Hero

  Who I am With You - Novella

  Her Hometown Hero

  Following Her - Novella

  Her Forever Hero

  All I Want for Christmas - Novella

  Becoming Elena:

  Stolen Innocence

  Forever Lost

  New Desires

  Taken by a Trillionaire:

  Taken by a Trillionaire - Book One

  Xander - Ruth Cardello

  Bryan - J.S. Scott

  Chris - Melody Anne

  Virgin for the Trillionaire - Book Four - Ruth Cardello

  Virgin for the Prince - Book Five - J.S. Scott

  Virgin to Conquer - Book Six - Melody Anne

  Finding Forever Series:

  Finding Forever

  Finding Each Other

  7 Brides for 7 Brothers (Multi-Author Series):

  Luke - Book One - Barbara Freethy

  Gabe - Book Two - Ruth Cardello

  Hunter - Book Three - Melody Anne

  Knox - Book Four - Christie Ridgway

  Max - Book Five - Lynn Raye Harris

  James - Book Six - Roxanne St. Clair

  Finn - Book Seven - JoAnn Ross

  YOUNG ADULT / FANTASY

  The Midnight Series:

  Midnight Fire: Book One

  Midnight Moon: Book Two

  Midnight Storm: Book Three

  Midnight Eclipse: Book Four

  Keep updated on all my newest releases, signing events, giveaways, and more! Click HERE to sign up for my mailing list.

  Come play with Melody on Twitter @authmelodyanne

  Visit with Melody on Facebook

  Check out my blog Live, Laugh, Love

  Find all the fun things out on Instagram

  Leave reviews on Goodreads

  Prologue

  Smoke was hanging low in the air as the laughter echoed off the walls. Prince Robert Phillip Demande sat back, a cigar in his mouth, a fine glass of Scotch in his left hand, and a set of four nines with a queen high in his right.

  Looking up at his cousin, Robert Demande grinned at him, his crystal clear blue eyes sparkling as he set his drink down and pushed all his chips to the center of the table. “All in,” he said, taking a puff of his cigar as he smirked.

  “I call bullshit,” Chris called.

  “Then put it all out there,” Robert challenged.

  Chris glared at him. Since both of them were the youngest of three siblings in a royal line on two separate islands, they had always seemed to have the most to prove, or the most to rebel about in their family lines.

  Because the royal line already had an heir and a spare, being the youngest prince’s, Chris and Robert had been allowed more freedom than most in the family. Robert had almost felt betrayed when his cousin had found the love of his life and married her.

  Robert smiled at this thought, though, because at least it hadn’t been a traditional kind of dating. His cousin, from the island with roots in pirate natives, or the bad side of the family, who liked to mock him as often as possible, had at least kidnapped his bride first. Robert’s own peaceful island of Rubare Virgina had been horrified at their other family members’ ancient customs. Granted Chris’s brother, Xander, who was now king, had ended the custom of kidnapping a bride and chopping off her head if she didn’t proclaim her love, but Robert found a thrill at the very idea of it.

  “Hmm,” Chris said with a drawn out sigh. “I don’t need nor want your money, so what can I get when I defeat you?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair and grinned.

  Robert didn’t change his expression but admitted to himself he was a little worried. Chris seemed filled with confidence that he had this. Robert knew better than to look at his hand again. You never broke a solid poker face.

  “What can I get from you?” Robert countered.

  Chris laughed and Robert was glad he’d gotten away from home. Rubare Collina was an exciting place, much more stimulating than his own traditional, boring home. Okay, sure, his island was thriving and his people were happy, but his cousin’s island was in civil unrest with the Arcano fighting them. Robert always had enjoyed a good fight.

  Chris suddenly looked as if a light bulb had just shown up over top his head as his grin grew even bigger. Robert was now doubting his unbeatable hand. Chris was too damn confident.

  “Okay, if I win the hand, you have to go back to your family roots and kidnap a bri de,” Chris began. Robert felt a pleasant stirring in his gut at the thought. He was now thinking he wouldn’t mind losing. “And then you have to come to our annual Summer Ball and do any dance of my choosing.” The evil light in Chris’s eyes told Robert the dance wouldn’t be a waltz, more like the chicken dance.

  Though he shouldn’t, Robert looked at his cards again, confidence filling him. He couldn’t lose on this hand no matter what Chris thought.

  “Okay, it’s a deal,” he said. “And when I win, you will have to come to Rubare Virgina and be locked in the town center in a pillory for two hours. I can even provide the tomatoes for the townsmen.”

  A light sparkled in Chris’s eyes as he burst out laughing. “Can you imagine what your father and brothers would say if that were to happen?” he asked between bouts of laughter.

  Robert joined him. “I think they’d disown me for sure, but they would expect nothing less from your uncivilized family.”

  “True. I might have to do that just for fun,” Chris said before he laid down his cards with a confident wink.

  Robert smiled as he set down his own cards, then frowned when he saw what Chris had – a Royal Flush. Of course his cousin had that. Robert was speechless for a moment. What had he just gotten himself into?

  Chris laughed for several moments before writing down an address on a piece of paper. He slid it over to Robert who was wondering if he was going to be locked into the dungeon after kidnaping some unsuspecting victim. He couldn’t back out though, not when he’d made the bet.

  “I love the worry in your eyes, cousin,” Chris said. “My wife would kick my arse for this, but the look on your face is well worth it.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Robert said. “Nic is going to think my situation is hilarious. Ballasare isn’t going to be quite as amused as he locks me in the dungeon and orders fifty lashes.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m going to give you a break,” Chris told him.

  “I don’t welch on bets,” Robert said, his back stiff.

  Chris picked up his phone and dialed. Someone answered quickly and Chris’s words made Robert laugh again. His cousin asked the other person on the end of the line if she wanted to be in on a game with him and be kidnapped. He hung up and pointed to the address he’d already given him.

  “This is a childhood friend of mine, and she’s always up for raising brows. Tomorrow at midnight you can ‘kidnap’ her. To make this more fun, I’ll have cameras there to send the video to your family so they think you’re a true hooligan,” Chris said.

  Robert smiled. “Perfect. You’ll still get your dance,” he added.

  “Oh, yes, I’ll get my dance. And I get to see your brothers’ faces,” Chris said with more laughter.

  “Make sure you record that,” Robert insisted, and Chris nodded. “Is this friend of yours hot?” He did have priorities after all, and though he loved he was about to prank his uptight brothers, he wouldn’t mind a little bit of fun along the way.

  “She’s definitely hot. Long, dark hair and eyes so chocolaty they will melt you,” Chris assured him.

  “Do I get a name?” Robert asked.

  “Nope. You’re kidnapping her. You’ll have to see how good a captor you are if she’ll give you a name,” he said.

  “Mmm, she likes to play then?” Robert asked, his gut stirring again. This wasn’t quite as much fun as if he had been kidnapping a woman for real, but it still intrigued him.

  “Most definitely, my friend.”

  Both men sat back as they ended their card game. It looked as if Robert was spending one more night on his cousin’s island. He had a woman to kidnap. He hoped the next night was as much fun as this one had been. He also couldn’t wait to see his oldest brother’s face. His brothers could be far too uptight sometimes.

  Maybe his own island should bring back some of their ancient family customs. At least then they’d have a hell of a lot more fun.

  Chapter One

  Isabella Shell shot up in bed as an eerie feeling settled over her. Something was most certainly wrong, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was. The room was much darker than she remembered, and she blinked her eyes rapidly as she tried to shake her sleep-deprived brain into proper alertness.

  Reaching out, she realized her lamp was nowhere to be found. That’s when panic set in. This wasn’t her bed, which meant it certainly wasn’t her bedroom. Her heart thudded as fear sliced through her. The rest of her sleepiness vanished as she froze on the mattress.

  It was only after a moment that she remembered she was on vacation in the beautiful country of Rubare Collina. Her jet lag must have been messing with her mind. Maybe it was the fact that she’d decided to celebrate her journalism degree with a solo trip taking her places far from her comfort zone and possibly discovering the story that would set her career into motion. Clark Kent, move on over, cause I’m certainly no damsel in distress.

  That’s why she’d decided to travel alone. It was time for her to grow up, enter the world as a true adult, and not be so dang naïve about everything. She was twenty-four years old and had never done anything on her own. This trip was the remedy for a very sheltered life.

  A noise sounding suspiciously like a squeaking floorboard had her heart thundering again. She was staying in a quaint bed and breakfast, and of course there would be unfamiliar noises. There was no reason for her to be alarmed.

  Just as she managed to calm her breathing, her air was taken from her as long fingers and a wide palm covered her mouth. A scream instantly ripped from her throat, but the sound was muffled by the tightly clasped hand.

  The smell of expensive cologne and cigar smoke invaded her nose as she tried to see who was attempting to assault her. Going into fight or flight mode, she immediately tried to escape his grasp, but a large arm pinned her to the bed while the hand stayed firmly in place against her lips.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said in a low, gravelly voice.

  Yeah. She was all better now, she thought with both aggravation and terror. She’d ask him what in the hell that was supposed to mean if she could speak.

  “If you swear you won’t scream, I’ll unhand your mouth,” he said, his words almost soothing. What the hell?

  Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the absolute darkness, and she could now see the outline of the man. He was huge, more so than she had ever been comfortable around. Looming above her with who knew what intentions, Isabella wasn’t sure if screaming would be the answer to her predicament. He could break her before she’d let out the first high-pitched wail.

  Apparently she took too long to respond to his odd statement so the arm pinning her to the bed pushed down a bit harder as he leaned in closer. Due to the darkness, she was unable to see the color of his eyes. She couldn’t see any of his other features because he was wearing a black mask.

  “Will you be silent?” he asked, his words barely above a whisper.

  She wasn’t really left with a choice in the matter if she wanted to figure out what in the hell was happening. With dread hanging heavy in her gut, she nodded in a barely perceptible motion as she tried to search for anything identifiable on him so if she survived this she could make sure he was brought to justice.

  Of course, she was in a foreign land and for all she knew, it was one of the places women had zero rights. What had she been thinking by taking this damn trip? Was it going to cost her life? She was almost sure it would cost her innocence at the least.

  He took his hand away from her lips, but he didn’t move his arm far as if he was ready to strike again in less than a second’s notice. She had to admit he wasn’t a foolish criminal. That would have been too much in her favor.

  “Please don’t do this,” she whispered, her voice filled with anxiety. “I have nothing to give you, and I don’t want trouble.”

  The arm on her stomach tensed the slightest bit before she saw his lips turn up a little. All she could see of his face were his eyes, which appeared to be light in color, and his full lips.

  “No speaking,” he told her in an intimidating growl. “You and I are going to take a little trip.”

  “What? Where? Why?” Maybe the last thing she’d ever do was let out one easily terminated scream. She’d rather die fighting than simply cave to a beast of a man like the one trespassing in her room.

  Without saying a word, his arm released from her chest as he gripped her shoulders and pulled her to her feet as if she was as light as a feather. She certainly hadn’t ever been considered delicate, not while standing five foot eight and with a little too many curves on her otherwise lean body. But standing next to this man, who easily towered over her by a good six to eight inches, she felt tiny and weak.

  “We need to go now,” the man said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged, nearly making her tumble to the ground since her feet were planted so firmly.

  “Go where?” she asked, her voice husky in her fear.

  “We don’t have time for questions. Come,” he said as if expecting her to obediently follow his command.

  Hope was quickly dying as she realized she truly was at this man’s mercy. Her pathetic defense course at college three years prior wouldn’t do her any good against a man easily twice her size, probably a little more.

  Standing in a nightgown that barely brushed her thighs, Isabella shivered. It was actually an incredibly warm night with the balcony doors open, a soothing breeze blowing into the room, but suddenly she was freezing.

  The man pushed, and she stumbled a few steps forward before she understood the gravity of the situation. This island had a reputation, and she was about to become its next victim if she didn’t do something about it.

  Anger filling her, Isabella wrenched herself from beneath the hulking man’s arms, surprising him enough to escape. She made it about four steps before she felt her breath sucked from her as he grabbed her, lifted her off the ground, and pressed her back against the solid steel of his chest and abs.