Royally Claimed by Marie Donovan

are hearty people and don’t need much.”
    â€œFrank!” she scolded him. “You live on an island forty minutes by boat from the nearest hospital. You don’t need to keep blood plasma in your refrigerator, but some basic supplies could save somebody’s life.”
    â€œJulia, Julia.” He roared with laughter and yanked her into his arms, nuzzling her hair. “Of course we have supplies. I wouldn’t let my mother and sisters and all those nieces and nephews stay out here with only soap and adhesive bandages. We even have one of those electronic heart defibrillators and were all trained to use it.”
    â€œHmmph,” she muttered into his chest. “You are a terrible tease, Franco Duarte.”
    His laugh rumbled under her cheek. “I may be a terrible tease but you are a wonderful nurse.” He kissedthe top of her head. “I’ll show you our first aid kit and you can tell me all the things we are missing.”
    â€œOkay.” Somehow Julia didn’t quite feel like leaving the warmth of his embrace to inventory supplies. Frank was solid and reassuring and made her feel safe for the first time in months, despite warnings of storms and power outages. But he did have that splinter still lodged in his palm.
    She forced herself to pull away. “Let’s get you fixed up.”
    He raised his eyebrows and gave her an ironic half-smile, as if he knew she was running away from him. Or at least retreating strategically. “Come with me.” He took her hand in his uninjured one and walked to the foyer. Along one wall was a large dark wood bench with a turkey-red padded rectangular cushion. Frank pulled off the cushion to reveal a hinged lid in the seat.
    He reached inside a cutout hole and lifted it, revealing several large boxes nestled inside the bench. “Here we are. The defibrillator—” he pointed to a bright red plastic container “—and the other supplies.” He pulled them out for her and she knelt down and eagerly opened them.
    There was enough to take care of his splinter and much more. Compression bandages, regular bandages, antibiotics, painkillers, syringes, epinephrine pen injectors, even some bags of IV fluid and… “Ooh, blood clotting granules. These are wonderful! If you have a serious injury, you just sprinkle them in to stop the bleeding. That is so thoughtful of you, Frank.”
    He gave her an incredulous smile. “The most surprising things impress you, Julia. Not to brag, but here I am, one of the only dukes in Portugal, pretty well-off,moderately good-looking and owner of a big estate and my own island, and what impresses you about me? The fact that I have blood clotting granules in my first aid kit. You truly amaze me.”
    She shook a packet at him. “That other stuff is not life-and-death, Frank. This is.”
    â€œYou’re right. And I’ll impress you however I can.”
    â€œYou don’t need to impress me.”
    â€œDon’t I?” He lifted a black brow.
    No, he didn’t need to impress her. He always had. Even as a young man he had been kind and friendly to everyone, not at all arrogant like she had assumed a man of his position to be. Apparently after they’d first parted, he’d continued his education and learned almost every job on his estate so he could be a hands-on leader.
    â€œJulia…” he murmured, raising his hand to cup her cheek. Fortunately she spotted the splinter before he could press it in farther.
    â€œGeez, Frank, I have to get that out.”
    He rolled his eyes. “It’s not like it’s a gunshot wound, Julia.”
    She froze for a second and forced herself to relax. “No, it’s not. But I know what to do with those, too.”
    â€œReally?” He gave her a sad look, his brown eyes darkening. “I suppose you would, working in a city emergency room. I’m sorry.”
    â€œWhat for?” She