by Heidi Rice
‘I wish to speak to the Queen in private,’ he said, giving his own advisors a nod. They left the room immediately, knowing not to contradict their King’s orders. ‘Leave us, Garland,’ he added.
‘As you wish, Your Majesty,’ the major said, and finally left too, because Leo suspected he was a chauvinist as well as a self-important stickler.
‘Miss...’ Leo turned to Jade’s personal assistant, to dismiss her too, if he could remember her surname.
‘Jenkins, Serena Jenkins,’ she said, then, instead of obeying his order, she turned to her Queen. ‘Your Majesty, are you happy to participate in a private audience with His Majesty?’
‘I... I suppose so.’ Jade blinked, as if she’d been pulled from a deep well. A well that intrigued him now as much as the rest of her. Perhaps her relationship with her father had not been as comfortable as appearances suggested? ‘I suppose it can’t do any more damage.’
He smiled despite the tension in the room. Damn but she was refreshingly outspoken.
Jenkins curtsied and left them alone together.
The hunger that had kept him up half the night surged. No longer able to resist, he pressed his palm to the flushed skin of her cheek.
She stiffened, but didn’t draw away.
‘Relax, Jade,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to devour you,’ he murmured, even though he had to admit he wanted to.
Which was not like him at all.
He enjoyed women, and he enjoyed sex. But he had never felt this visceral need before.
He let his hand drop. Disturbed by the thought.
‘I don’t want to go on this state tour or visit or whatever,’ she said, the flash of anger in her eyes a potent partner to the arousal.
‘You have made that very apparent, Your Majesty,’ he said, determined not to be charmed by her candour again. They had a shared purpose, which had only been enhanced by what had happened on that balcony, and he was struggling to understand why she could not see it. ‘To which I would have to ask, why? Garland is a pompous ass, but he is your advisor, and until last night you too understood the political value of our union.’
She blinked, clearly dismayed by the reprimand. He hadn’t intended to be quite so blunt with her, but he’d be damned if he would allow her to ignore the huge benefits of the plan he had outlined with Garland.
‘Right...okay,’ she said, clearly flustered. Turning, she walked to the window, and wrapped her arms around her waist. He could see the tension in her body, and thought he understood it. ‘I just...’ she murmured, her voice so low he could barely hear it. ‘I just didn’t want to spend a week in Severene. I was looking forward to having no official duties now until after Christmas.’
He followed her to the window, his gaze roaming over her hair as he stood behind her. He shoved his hands into his pockets, resisting the desire to place his lips on the sensitive skin of her nape and breathe in the enchanting scent that had intoxicated him the night before. Now was not the time to claim the spoils of victory—or ignite a spark he still wasn’t entirely sure he could control.
He understood what her real reservations were about joining him on this tour, even if she did not. This wasn’t about the burden of the official duties. Jade had always been prepared to do whatever it took to benefit her kingdom. Her reluctance to spend the week with him was to do with the strength of the physical connection they had discovered last night. It scared her, he got that. As much as he planned to use it to his advantage, at the same time he needed to reassure her that he would not ravish her, the way he almost had yesterday.
All of which meant, he would have to be patient now, if it killed him.
‘I want you to come to Severene with me, Jade. To see the kingdom properly, to get a chance to meet my people and for them to meet you.’
She swung round, her gaze both wary and tense. ‘Really, is that all?’
‘Not quite,’ he said and, before he could stop himself, he touched his thumb to the tendril of hair that had slipped from her topknot and dangled enticingly over her cheekbone. Testing the texture between his thumb and forefinger, he hooked it behind her ear. ‘I enjoyed last night immensely,’ he said, the husky tone as raw as the desire searing his throat.
Arousal had darkened her irises to black, something she could not hide.
He tucked his hand back into his trouser pocket.
Don’t push, Leo. Not yet.
She reminded him of an unbroken colt. What she needed now was persuasion, not pressure.
‘And I want a chance to take it further,’ he added, gratified when her cheeks coloured. ‘Much further. But I will allow you to set the pace.’
‘Really?’ she said.
‘Yes, really,’ he concurred, prepared to give her the time she needed.
‘But what if I don’t measure up?’ she said. ‘As Queen, I mean. To your people?’
He frowned. What an odd thing to say. Of course she would make a good queen. She’d been trained for the role her whole life, just as he had. And she was already doing an exemplary job with her own subjects. ‘I doubt that will be a problem.’
‘You don’t think so? After the scandal I’ve already caused?’ He detected the note of vulnerability he’d found so fascinating the night before.
‘We caused,’ he corrected her. ‘And the results of which we both enjoyed, so I’m not going to lose sleep over it,’ he said, because he had lost enough sleep already over the memory of her lips opening for him, her nipple engorging under his tongue, that soft sob of...
For goodness’ sake, focus, Leo.
‘Okay, I’ll do it. I’m come to Severene,’ she said, as if they hadn’t already agreed on it. ‘But if the visit is a disaster, there’ll be no more talk of marriage. Okay?’
It sounded as if she thought she was striking some kind of bargain.
He nodded, deciding to humour her. ‘Absolutely. Not another word on the subject,’ he said.
Because he intended to ensure, at the end of those seven days, their decision to marry would be nothing more than a formality.
CHAPTER FOUR
HOW DID I get here? And how do I get away again without messing everything up?
Juno stepped out of the private jet and stopped dead.
The barrage of flashes from the herd of press photographers held behind a cordon blinded her. The shouts and clicks became deafening.
How does Jade stand it?
‘Jade, is there a problem?’ Leo’s steady voice interrupted her thoughts—until his palm landed on the base of her spine to direct her out of the plane and a whole new level of panic exploded along her nerve-endings.
‘No, not at all,’ she said, forcing herself to move.
He took her arm to lead her down the steps to a series of dignitaries lined up on the tarmac. She shook their hands, her mind dazed and her body far too aware of Leo’s nearness.
Since he’d pressed her into going on this trip approximately five hours ago, he’d ignored her, while she’d been bombarded with instructions and information from her staff. But she’d taken barely any of it in, because she’d been completely unable to ignore him in return.
He’d greeted her at the airport and then spent the forty-minute flight over the mountains being briefed by his advisors while she was going over the schedule of events that had been arranged for her in Severene with Serena.
What the heck did she know about how to conduct herself during a walkabout of Severene’s old town or a carol concert in the cathedral or the state opening of the capital’s famous Christmas market? She wasn’t a queen. She was a fraud.
But as Leo did the introductions, keeping her close by his side, her concern over all the things she did not know about her new role was nothing compared to the major pheromone freak-out going on because his big body and that tantalising scent were totally invading her personal space.
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br /> Having introduced her to the last of the dignitaries—all of whose names she instantly forgot—Leo directed her to the waiting limousine.
A uniformed chauffeur bowed and opened the door.
She stopped, Leo’s hand still causing havoc on her back.
The dark leather interior looked warm and intimate. Way too intimate.
‘Shouldn’t I travel with Serena?’ she managed to ask, glancing back to see her PA standing several yards away with the other advisors. ‘I’ve still got a ton of work to do on the schedule briefing,’ she added. It wasn’t even a lie; she had no clue what she was doing over the next week.
Leo’s dark brow lifted. ‘You’ll have time for that this evening. The first item on the agenda was our sleigh procession through the old town to the palace—the crowds are already assembled.’
They were?
She hadn’t noticed that item on the agenda, but then she’d been too busy trying to ignore Leo and the effect he had on her to notice much of anything.
‘Then why are we getting in a limo?’ she asked, still delaying.
His hand shifted on her back, sending the shivers into overdrive. ‘To drive to the barracks where the procession is ready for us. Are you scared to be alone with me, Jade?’
Absolutely.
‘Of course not,’ she lied, trying to sound outraged despite the heat in her cheeks.
His lips quirked at her indignant reply. She wasn’t fooling him any more than she was fooling herself.
‘Then get in the car, Your Majesty,’ he demanded, calling her bluff.
Left with no choice, she scooted into the limo.
The leather interior only became more intimate as he joined her. They were several feet apart on either side of the large car, but even so she was too aware of him as the chauffeur sealed them in together.
Her pulse beat harder as the car drove off, winding down the Alpine gorge through the forest. She stared out of the window. She had to find a strategy for dealing with her reaction to Leo.
‘While I find it remarkably flattering,’ he began as she tried to concentrate on the incredible scenery outside the car, instead of inside it, ‘there is no need to be quite so jumpy when you are alone with me. I promise not to touch you again... Unless you ask me.’
‘It’s not that...’ It so is that. ‘I’m just not sure we should present ourselves as a couple. I don’t want everyone to be disappointed when the marriage doesn’t happen.’
Leo’s rough chuckle sent the shivers straight back up her spine. ‘They won’t be,’ he murmured... And she heard the words he hadn’t said.
Because the marriage will happen.
‘But you can also rest assured you won’t be required to do more than you would normally do on these occasions,’ he added.
She turned, to find him watching her.
The panic sprinted up her spine to join the inappropriate shivers.
Leo is an exceptionally observant man.
‘Right, great,’ she said as her sister’s warning echoed in her ears.
Relax, Ju, or you’ll blow your cover.
Stressing about what she didn’t know about being a queen—which was pretty much everything—was the least of her worries. The truth was making a bad impression on this trip might not be a bad thing. It might be the only way to put Leo off the prospect of their ‘political union with benefits’.
Being herself—without giving away her real identity—shouldn’t even be that hard, because she’d effectively been doing it for four years, while building her social-media profile as the Rebel Princess.
She’d created the illusion of being a princess in exile—pampered and privileged and yet streetwise enough to connect with the general public—without ever letting on how tough her life had been. Aspirational was good on social media, micro celebrity even better; a homeless eighteen-year-old with debts she couldn’t pay and a mother who had died of chronic alcohol abuse, not so much.
Her social-media activity had been a lifesaver after her mom’s death. She’d bartered her Rebel Princess brand, such as it was, into enough of a money-spinner to keep herself afloat with the help of several dead-end jobs, without ever having to ask her father for a handout. But she’d been only too happy to jettison it a month ago when she’d been recruited to head up Byrne IT’s Social Media Engagement Team. She’d come to hate the fakeness of everything she posted as the Rebel Princess. But her ability to project an image, play a role, would come in handy now. All she had to do was be convincing as the Queen of Monrova while also turning Leo off the idea of marriage.
The limousine pulled into the gates of an army barracks and stopped in front of a parade of uniformed horsemen—resplendent in the red and gold colours of Severene’s national flag—and an ornate sledge complete with a team of six white stallions.
She swallowed. The chauffeur opened her door and she stepped out.
The dusky light shone off the snowy landscape and she could see the palace of Severene, tall and majestic, perched above the old town in the distance.
Leo got out of the other side of the car and walked round to offer her his arm.
‘Your Majesty, your carriage awaits,’ he said, the mocking tone almost as captivating as the sizzles of sensation that leapt up her arm and sank deep into her belly.
She had to play the role of Queen—enough to be convincing, but no more than that.
But as Leo escorted her to the carriage, the uniformed cavalry all saluting him as they passed, she knew not having her cover blown wasn’t her biggest challenge.
Resisting Leo and avoiding a repeat of what had happened on the balcony was going to be the much bigger ask.
‘Ready?’ he asked, after they had settled in their seats in the sleigh, a fur rug covering their knees.
As I’ll ever be.
‘Smile, Jade, and relax, they love you already,’ Leo murmured to his travelling companion as the royal sledge passed the crowds of spectators lining the route through Severene’s old town towards the palace. The crowd were cheering, excited to see the woman they were keen to believe might become their new Queen.
He knew how they felt.
He turned to the crowd, threw a salute or two as they passed through the old town’s central plaza and the sledge glided over cobbled streets buried under a layer of snow.
He noticed that Jade directed her attention to specific people in the crowd. The crowd clearly enjoyed the personal connection, but he wondered why her father’s courtiers hadn’t taught her the best way to conserve her energy? Exerting too much effort when waving could give you arm-ache.
She waved enthusiastically at a small boy being held on his father’s shoulders. She swung round as they left the child and his father behind, her eyes sparkling with exhilaration.
‘Did you see that little boy?’ she said. ‘I think he was waving at you.’
‘Doubtful,’ he said, surprised by her enthusiasm. ‘You’re enjoying yourself?’
‘Actually, I am. It’s exhilarating, isn’t it?’
Is it?
Seriously? What was so exciting about a royal procession? Hadn’t she done a million of these before?
He’d never found this part of the job appealing. ‘I told you, they love you already,’ he said, willing to use the evidence to his advantage.
‘They don’t love me, they don’t know me,’ she said, looking momentarily surprised by the idea. ‘But they obviously love you.’
He frowned, taken aback by the observation. Was she mocking him?
‘They don’t love me,’ he said. ‘That’s not my role.’
The one thing he could congratulate his father on was that he had always ensured the Kings of the Royal House of Severo were respected, not loved. Maintaining distance and dignity with people you had been born to rule was important. Maintaining your privacy even more s
o. Or this circus could consume your life.
She watched him, her scrutiny making him uncomfortable. ‘Then whose role is it?’
‘The Queen’s,’ he murmured, but even as he said it, the brutal spike of memory—from another Christmas, a long time ago—made a strange band tighten around his chest.
‘Why don’t you join the other children, Leo? I’m sure Santa has a present for you too.’
‘Papa said I must not. That my job is by your side, Mama.’
‘Papa isn’t always right, my sweet boy.’
‘Why is it only the Queen’s role? Isn’t that a bit sexist?’ Jade said, pulling him out of the uncomfortable memory.
He preferred not to remember his mother, especially at this time of year.
He smiled, amused by how direct she was. ‘You disapprove?’
She stared at him. ‘Of course, if they can love your Queen, why can’t they love you too?’
‘Perhaps that’s the way I prefer it,’ he said, noting her reference to ‘your Queen’—as if that Queen was not going to be her.
He had work to do. Then again, he had always enjoyed a challenge.
‘Why would you prefer them not to love you?’ she asked.
‘Because I’m not a sentimental man,’ he answered honestly. ‘And love isn’t something I require.’
It was her turn to frown. ‘Doesn’t everyone need love?’ she asked.
The statement was so guileless, it wrong-footed him for a moment.
Should he lie? And give her some appropriate platitude? After all, he was trying to woo her into marriage. But if she agreed to this marriage, he reasoned, she needed to be aware of the limitations. He certainly did not want her to believe their union could go beyond the physical and the political.
‘Not everyone needs love, no,’ he said. ‘Some of us are self-sufficient and don’t require that kind of connection. And emotional self-sufficiency is an invaluable commodity in a monarch, wouldn’t you agree?’