Michelle Conder – Their Royal Wedding Bargain (страница 8)

‘You’re an intelligent, beautiful woman,’ he began, watching her closely. ‘And a future queen. How hard can it be to find a husband?’

‘It’s not hard at all.’ She sighed. ‘But finding the right husband is.’

‘Do I even want to know what the right husband looks like?’

‘Someone kind, compassionate, caring.’ She took a delicate sip of his brother’s hundred-year-old Scotch, shuddering delicately as it hit the back of her throat. ‘Someone I can respect and who will put Berenia first. Someone who has a similar outlook to me.’

‘Not looking for someone with a sense of humour?’ he enquired lightly.

Alexa frowned. ‘That would go under “similar outlook to me”.’

‘So none then.’ He grinned as her eyes widened. ‘What about love?’

‘I have a sense of humour, thank you very much,’ she defended hotly. ‘And love is not essential.’

Rafe’s eyes widened at that. ‘I think you’re the first woman I’ve ever heard admit that.’

‘Love complicates things and who even knows if it exists? I think it’s made up by Hollywood executives and songwriters trying to make money.’

‘And I thought I was cynical.’ Her brow furrowed and his grin widened. ‘That was a compliment, by the way. But what about passion? Surely that’s on your list.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘Not essential either. I’m not the most passionate person on the planet, and respect far outweighs passion.’

Contemplating what had put her off passion when his body still throbbed at the memory of her mouth opening under his, Rafe gave her a smile that was pure sex. ‘You felt pretty passionate to me before.’

She moved to sit again on the sofa, unable to meet his gaze. ‘That wasn’t me. I don’t know who that person was.’

‘Whoever she was, she was intoxicating.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘So will you consider it? I’m not sure how long I have before my father takes the decision completely out of my hands. And, frankly, I’m desperate.’

‘I can see that.’ He was actually sorry he had to turn her offer down. If life hadn’t taught him that he needed to steer clear of matrimonial entanglements at all costs he might even have considered it. But marriage had the potential to inflict pain on the unwary and the innocent. Why would any man deliberately buy into that? Temporary or not. ‘Sorry, Princess, but I’m not that desperate.’

‘You won’t even consider it to help improve relations between our nations?’

Rafe blinked away the dark memories of his past and found himself pinned by a pair of gorgeous green eyes that, if he wasn’t careful, had the potential to suck him in deep and never let him go. ‘See, the problem with that part of your argument is that I don’t care about the issues between Santara and Berenia.’

She blinked as if he’d just said Down with world peace. ‘But how can you not?’

‘I live in London and have done for a decade. I have as little to do with Santara as I can.’

‘Then what about to improve your reputation? Being engaged to me would stop some of the gossip. For a while at least.’

Princess Alexa, he realised, was a real fighter. He liked that. Not enough to agree with her hare-brained scheme, but enough to find that he was enjoying her company. A lot.

‘Who said I wanted the gossip to stop?’

‘But surely some of the things written about you must bother you.’

‘Not particularly.’

‘Why is that?’ Her brow pleated as if his attitude was something she couldn’t contemplate. ‘Because it’s all true?’

Rafe wondered which particular piece of gossip had widened her eyes to the size of dinner plates. Hardly any of it was true but denying the many claims made about him would only give them energy so he rarely bothered. Still, he knew that Alexa didn’t think much of his supposedly ‘hedonistic’ lifestyle and he couldn’t help teasing her a little. ‘Only the really bad ones.’

Watching the wings of colour heat her cheeks almost made him want to rescind his words so that she’d think better of him. Then he wondered why he cared and remained silent. He didn’t like that he’d already delayed this conversation for the pure pleasure of listening to her speak. Adding to his uncharacteristic behaviour would only make things worse.

‘So your answer is no?’

‘My answer is no.’

She blew out a breath and set her glass on the table abutting the sofa. ‘Then there’s nothing more to say.’

There was plenty more to say, starting with enquiring which room she had been allocated so they could revisit that kiss, the sensations of which were still echoing inside his veins. But instead he said, ‘What are you going to do now?’

She raised her chin and gave him a look he imagined she gave international dignitaries she had no further use for. ‘Find someone else, of course.’

Find someone else? Rafe scowled at his fogged-up reflection as he stepped from the shower the following morning. Just how many men did she plan to approach with her absurd proposal? And, more importantly, had she found someone who had taken her up on her offer last night?

He didn’t want that question running through his head but he was unable to banish it. After she had walked away from him he’d spent another hour at the party looking for her, to no avail. Presumably she’d gone to bed, so he had done the same, thinking about her all night as he’d known he would.

Even though he had no intention of countenancing her proposal himself, he knew that someone would eventually agree to it. What sane man wouldn’t? With that face and body…

Rafe dropped his towel on the floor and padded back to his room to dress. He’d turned her down, hadn’t he, and he was a sane man.

Yes, but he was sane and smart. Smart enough to know that her problems were none of his business and that he should let it go.

And he would. As of now.

His jet was waiting to fly him back to London and he planned to stop downstairs long enough to grab an espresso, wish his sister-in-law well in her pregnancy and tell his siblings he’d see them some time in the future.

What he wouldn’t do was think about the beguiling Alexa any more today.

Pleased to be back on track, he pulled a clean shirt over his head, stepped into his jeans and shoved his feet into his boots.

Women just shouldn’t go around proposing to men who were basically strangers and expect that it would all work out exactly as they wanted it to. Especially not future queens who looked like cover girls. Alexa was asking for trouble.

Trouble that had nothing to do with him.

And why was she back in his head again? So she’d surprised him when so few people did any more—so what? At the end of the day she was just a beautiful woman he’d wanted to take to bed. And she’d wanted to be there too. The way she’d caught fire in his arms…her response to his touch… Grinding his teeth, he zipped his overnight bag closed. What she’d done was drive all rational thought from his head, and kept him up way too long last night.

But it wasn’t just the chemistry that had kept him awake. It was the puzzle she represented. She’d gone up like a flame in his arms but then claimed that she didn’t have a passionate nature, dismissing the desire between them as an anomaly. And what about her belief that love might not exist? Presumably something, or someone, had put that in her head and he’d like to know who or what. Not that he disagreed with her. He didn’t. He didn’t believe in love either, but something about the way she’d said it made him think that she was either lying to him, or lying to herself. And yet she’d seemed so honest…so sincere…

Scowling at the procession of questions that wouldn’t say die, Rafe grabbed his phone. Time to push Princess Alexa from his mind and think about something else. Because thinking about her made no sense. She wasn’t someone he planned to pursue—not with marriage on her mind—and added to that she was his brother’s ex, for God’s sake.

Assailed by a sudden wave of jealousy he’d never before felt for his brother, Rafe nearly put a hole in his pocket shoving his phone into it. He didn’t share his women. Ever.

And since when is a woman yours after one kiss?

Leaving that ridiculous question unanswered, he slammed out of his room and made his way to breakfast. He needed coffee before his mood deteriorated any further.

Refusing to wonder if he’d meet up with the beguiling Alexa, he heard a message arrive on his phone and homed in on it like a drowning man reaching for a life vest. Unfortunately, it was only a stock commodity update and he was in the process of closing it when he nearly barrelled into Jag as he rounded the corner of his private hallway.

Instantly alerted by his brother’s taut, exhausted expression, Rafe frowned. ‘What is it? Is there something wrong with Regan?’

Rafe might not have much to do with his brother any more but he could still read him and he couldn’t think of anything else that might put that ragged look on his brother’s face other than his wife, or all-out war.

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