I’m not sure how long I sat looking out over the gardens and savoring the warmth of the brandy as it slid down my throat before I heard a sharp rap on the door to my suite. Loath to disturb my position with my bare feet propped on the balcony railing—which I was sure must violate royal protocol—I turned my head over my shoulder and called, “Come in.”
I didn’t care who it was. I stared out over the garden and took another sip. Maybe I should have brought the whole bottle with me. Then I could have poured refills without having to get up. Damn.
“Sulking, Daniel?” Amand asked smoothly from behind me.
I refused to turn and took another sip of my brandy instead.
Amand stepped out onto the balcony where I had no choice but to see him, even if I didn’t look directly at him.
“Exactly why are you so upset?” he demanded, impatience edging his tone.
“Why am I upset?” I repeated, keeping my tone quiet since it wasn’t as though we were truly private out here on the balcony. I removed my feet from the railing, set the glass aside and stood, one step bringing me nearly nose to nose with him.
“Let’s see. You made a unilateral decision to alter the nature of our relationship without even bothering to ask me how I felt about it. Add to that we are now embroiled in a fake engagement that simply makes a mockery of the relationship I thought—naively apparently—we were beginning to develop.” I crossed my arms over my bare chest. “And you ask why I am upset?”
“What’s better? A fake engagement or you getting hurt or killed?” Amand glared at me. “Because from my perspective I don’t see much of an option.
“I think you’re overreacting.”
“And I think what happened to you this afternoon was a warning. Whoever is behind this was letting us know in no uncertain terms that they could kidnap you anytime they wanted to.”
“So how does making me your fake fiancé change a damn thing?”
Amand raked his fingers back through his hair. When a stray lock fell across his forehead, I had to fight the urge to stroke it away.
“You will have security with you all the time.”
“Not exactly what I wanted.” I pressed my lips together in frustration.
“But people will accept that because they will know why.” Amand reached out, his fingers trailing along my arm and sending a shiver down my spine and straight to my groin. “Their recognition of you will in itself be your protection. The people of Calonia will be your protection. They would come to your aid should our enemies try something else.”
“Say I buy your argument about my safety. Other issues are at stake, Amand.”
“Tell me and let us deal with them here and now.”
“Because I’ve spent so much of my life alone, I have always dreamed of one day marrying a man I love, to build a life together. We could make a home and family. This makes a mockery of that.”
He stepped closer. Only inches separated us. It was difficult to think with his sandalwood cologne teasing my nostrils and his dark eyes gazing so steadily into mine.
“Our engagement is not a mockery. It’s not fake. Daniel, I care about you. Let me care for you too.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. His words were as alluring to my heart as his body was to the heat rushing through my blood.
“You aren’t in love with me,” I protested, “and whatever relationship we had begun to create is no longer between us. We’re a public commodity.”
He touched me then, his hand on the back of my neck bringing me forward until our foreheads touched.
“Trust me, Daniel,” he whispered. “Trust my intentions.”
My heart pounded. “Oh God, I want to.”
“Then do it.” He closed what distance remained and kissed me.
There was no easing into it tonight. Our emotions were strung too tightly. Amand’s mouth opened, his tongue seeking entrance from me, and I welcomed it, welcomed the heat and the dominance in his kiss.
I set my hands against his waist beneath his suit coat. He was firm and taut under his finely tailored clothing. My body responded, hardening and aching for his touch. When his arms wrapped around me and pulled me flush against his front, I felt the evidence of his own need. His mouth moved over mine as he slowly ground his hips against me. Through our clothing, our cocks rubbed and pressed together.
He lifted his head for an instant, his breathing as heavy as mine and his dark eyes narrowed with passion. He ran one hand over my bare chest, his fingers teasing my nipples into pulsing points.
“Touch me,” he ordered, his voice husky and deep.
I ran my hand over the front of his slacks, curling my palm around the ridge of his cock and stroking back and forth. With a guttural groan, Amand leaned in and kissed me again, plundering my mouth as he ran one hand easily beneath the waistband of my sleep pants.
It would be too easy to give into the passion spiraling out of control between us. His hand curled around me, skin against skin. My eyes closed in bliss.
But it wasn’t right.
I broke the kiss and stepped back, readjusting my pants and staring at Amand. His eyes were heavy with passion, and I thought for a moment he would come after me anyway.
“I can’t do this tonight, Amand. I need to be certain it means something, that it’s more than a reaction to everything that’s happened today. Can you understand that?”
He straightened his clothing and tidied his hair as he took a deep breath. His expression was troubled, as though he had a dozen thoughts fighting for dominance.
“I want you enough, Daniel, I can wait.”
“Why? Tell me that.”
“Think about the night at the concert, the dinner. You’ll figure it out.” With that, he turned on his heel and left.
I stared at the emptiness around me. I had done the right thing in letting him leave, but it sure didn’t feel that way.
16
Amand
Giving Daniel space was difficult. Everything inside me wanted to push him to make our engagement real. He had accused me of creating a fake engagement as a way to protect him. He was only half right. I did think being my fiancé would afford him a greater degree of security. However, I did not regard our engagement as anything other than completely legitimate.
I just had to find the way to make Daniel believe that.
Trusting me was a leap of faith I wasn’t sure I would be able to make were I in his shoes. From the beginning, I had done everything to drive him away.
Yet that was the last thing I wanted.
As I stared into the garden and attempted to figure out the best way to show him my commitment, a knock sounded at my study door.
“Come,” I responded shortly. One of the footmen appeared carrying a manila envelope in his hand.
“This arrived just now by courier for you, Your Highness.”
“Leave it on the desk.” Once he had done that, I inclined my head in thanks and waited for the door to shut behind him again before moving away from the window. I picked up the envelope carefully. Had it been something from our trade delegation, I felt sure it would have been enclosed in some official stationery, not a plain manila envelope that one might secure from any stationer.
My name was on the front, scrawled in a hand that seemed vaguely familiar, but as it was printed, I couldn’t positively identify it. I drew my letter opener from its holder and sliced beneath the flap. I tipped the envelope, watching as photos of Daniel fell to the desk along with a folded piece of paper. One picture was taken outside a café in town that Daniel had mentioned he enjoyed frequenting, but the other was of him standing on his balcony in the morning light, sipping a cup of coffee.
Immediately, an image of Daniel the last time I had seen him on that balcony popped into my brain. My nostrils flared as I remembered his sculpted chest and stomach, the way he had responded to me.
I shook my head and grasped the paper, unfolding it with a steady hand.
This message was typed.
>
“Your ruse to protect your lover can’t save him. Only one change in your future plans will prevent his death. Figure it out before it is too late.”
I dropped the note on my desk, snatched up the phone, and called the Crown Prince. I wanted to keep this latest threat just between us until we had a chance to strategize the best way to handle matters.
Constantin joined me in a couple minutes, still clad in boots and breeches. No doubt he had been working his polo ponies when I phoned. It was not a passion I shared with my brother, but then he didn’t appreciate my love of music.
“Take a look,” I said, motioning to what was on my desk.
My elder brother’s expression grew grimmer as he examined the picture of Daniel on the balcony. “While I am no photo expert, this doesn’t look as though it was taken with a high-powered zoom lens. Those pictures always appear somewhat grainy. What are your thoughts?”
I dug my hands into the pockets of my slacks, balling them into fists. “There must be someone within the palace working with our enemies. I see no other explanation for the balcony picture.”
“In other words, we have a traitor in our midst.”
“Exactly.”
The Crown Prince leaned back, crossing his legs at the knee. “I received a report from our investigator. You may already have a copy of it.”
I glanced at my desk. “It’s possible. I have not yet gotten through everything in my inbox. Bring me up to date.”
“The investigation has traced some of Ricard’s loans back to known banking allies of Tsaledonia.”
“What banking allies?”
“The same ones that Movarino plans to use to finance the loans they will need to pay us up front for the use of our port.”
While the Crown Prince continued to stay seated, I paced the room. “So do you think Tsaledonia is behind this?”
He tilted his head. “It would be to their benefit if Movarino was unable to complete the trade agreement with us.” He tapped the arm of his chair with his index finger. “The question is who within our palace would sabotage such a deal? Calonia stands to benefit greatly.”
“Maybe what we need to do is brainstorm reasons someone would not want it to be completed. That could lead us to possible suspects.”
“Tsaledonia is an obvious place to start. If Movarino cannot access a seaport, they must rely on access through Tsaledonia. If they apply pressure to the banks, the bankers might back out of making loans to Movarino. I think that would only be most effective if they make it appear that working with Calonia is risky.”
“As a safeguard, I believe we should add security around the port to prevent possible sabotage,” I suggested. “Moving forward with the idea that certain Tsaledonian interests are at work against us makes sense, but we must also look within.”
“I agree with you there, brother. We must uncover the traitor. Whoever it is must be highly enough placed within our government to be able to access information.”
“Let’s start by having our investigator begin looking into everyone’s background who would have sufficient clearance to access information pertaining to the agreement we’ve been trying to work out with Movarino.”
“Don’t forget,” Constantin said, “there are at least two private companies involved as well—the bank and the shipping business that would serve Movarino.”
“I’ll put our security staff on that as well. What about Ricard? Can he be of more use in feeding false information?”
“I think so. I think we should put out that the trade deal may be falling apart, that we are uncertain of Movarino’s ability to pay.”
“We risk truly angering them,” I commented, finally taking a seat in the chair next to Constantin.
“Leave that to me. I will make sure that we are on solid ground once we have sniffed out our traitor, so that we can move forward as planned.”
I nodded, staring out the window for a moment before meeting Constantin’s gaze. “What about surveillance here in the palace? Whoever got the shot of Daniel has to have access to the actual grounds…including those areas that are supposed to be private to the royal family.”
“We need to check everyone out.”
I arched a brow. “I think we can probably skip Mama and Papa, your wife, and Ricard.”
“What about Daniel?”
I stiffened at my brother’s question.
“I have had him checked out already. Besides believing it extremely unlikely that he would seek to harm himself, I already have some of our best security guys tailing him for his own safety.” I raked my fingers back through my hair. “Damn it, Constantin, if it were my decision alone, I would lock him in his suite and not allow him out until we have this solved.”
“Unfortunately, his freedom of movement may be the very key we need to draw out our enemies.”
I shook my head. “I want Daniel and Ricard out of this. I want them safe, but I don’t see a way to force our enemies into showing their hands that doesn’t involve placing one or both of them in potential danger.”
17
Daniel
I walked alongside the fountain, listening to the gurgle of the water on one side and the singing of the birds in the garden on the other. It should have been relaxing. Instead, my mind and my emotions were in turmoil.
With security dogging my every step except when I was inside the palace grounds, I wasn’t sure how I would continue my work. How could I possibly get genuine interviews and authentic reactions in photos if I had guards hovering over me, or everyone looking at me only as Prince Amand’s fiancé?
If I didn’t have my work, then what did I have? My entire existence was built around my writing and photography.
I turned off the path around the fountain onto one that would take me back to the palace. Walking from the sunlight into the shade, I didn’t see Amand at first.
“Hello, Daniel.” His voice was low-pitched and husky.
“Amand. Shouldn’t you be working?” I glanced at the palace. “It’s unlike you to be out here during business hours.”
“I came in search of you. I have spent a lot of time thinking about your concerns. I thought perhaps we could talk, maybe enjoy a late lunch in the arbor where we can have some privacy.”
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak. Maybe this was it. He would realize how hasty and foolish it had been to announce our engagement. I had so little to offer a man like Amand, and he surely must have realized that by now.
He held out his hand. I took it, somewhat comforted by the firmness of his grip, and allowed him to lead me to the arbor. Sunlight filtered through the overhang of trees, dappling the cloth-covered table and sparkling off the crystal and silverware of the two place settings.
Amand seated me before going to his own chair. We waited in silence while the two servants standing nearby poured wine and served our meals before discreetly disappearing in the direction of the palace.
“Alone at last,” I said, but it didn’t come out sounding nearly as confident as I would have liked.
“It is a rare commodity,” Amand agreed. “So when it happens, I treasure it.”
He toyed with his silverware for a moment, straightening what wasn’t crooked or uneven to begin with, before raising his dark gaze to mine. The emotion smoldering there took my breath away.
“You accused me of announcing a fake engagement between us, Daniel,” he began. As I would have responded, he held up his hand to stop me. “I admit, I got caught up in my anger that someone would threaten you and didn’t stop to think about your feelings. I apologize for that. I want you to believe how sorry I am because I also realize that, having made the announcement, it has to be real.”
“I don’t even know what ‘be real’ means, Amand.” Maybe I did, but how could it even be? More than our stations in life separated us. I was like a rolling stone, and he was deeply rooted in Calonia. We had nothing in common, nothing that I could offer.
“It means I want to marry you.”
A small tic had begun in Amand’s jaw. “Eat,” he ordered, “before it gets cold.”
I had made him angry, and for a moment, I would have sworn I saw an expression of hurt flit across his strong features, but it was quickly masked and controlled. Like everything else in his life, Amand would command his emotions too. So how was I to believe him when he said he’d let his anger get the better of him?
He said nothing else until we were nearly done. After pouring more wine in my glass and then his own, he set the nearly empty bottle to the side. He leaned forward, his gaze intense.
“You accuse me of wanting to marry you only for duty. I do place a high value on doing what is expected,but in this, Daniel, I am following my heart. I’ve already told you none of this is fake.”
I must have looked skeptical. He shook his head with a short bark of laughter.
“I know it is hard to believe, but I have been falling in love with you for some time. It scares me. I haven’t felt this way in a long, long time, and that was a mere shadow of what I feel now. A marriage between the two of us would be good.”
I was afraid to pick up my glass, afraid how shaky my hand might be and how vulnerable it would reveal me to be.
Amand set his napkin on the table and rose from his chair. I hastened to do the same, but he waved me back to my seat. In shock, I watched him go to one knee in front of me and take my hand in his.
“I did this exactly wrong before. I beg your forgiveness for letting my anger and concern override everything else so that I made a mess of it.” He wrapped my hand in both of his. “Daniel Leifsson, would you marry me—please?”
“Why, Amand? I can’t possibly offer you anything.”
The Prince’s Passion: A Fake Engagement Royalty Romance Page 10