Crown Prince's Bought Bride

He shifted in his seat in a vain attempt to decrease the pressure behind his fly. ‘You slept well, I hope?’ he asked.

She sat down and smiled her thanks at the coffee-pouring Percy before deigning to glance his way. ‘No, not really.’

He frowned at the bolt of concern that shot through him, wrestled it down until his butler had departed. ‘Is it your arm? Do you need further medical attention?’

Her sling was back in place, but she shook her head. ‘No. My insomnia had less to do with my injuries and more to do with missing my own bed.’

‘Considering where you live, I find that hard to believe.’

Bright green eyes flicked to him. ‘And here I was hoping the insults wouldn’t start until I’d at least armed myself with caffeine.’

Remi’s insides tightened. For some absurd reason, this woman burrowed beneath his skin with very little effort. It was aggravating. And peculiarly stimulating. ‘Does my honesty offend you?’

‘There’s honesty and there’s brutal honesty. I’m a firm believer in using the latter as a last resort,’ she said, meeting his gaze with eyes filled with censure.

Remi felt a spark of surprise. Very few people dared to challenge him any more. Evidently this brave creature wanted to be one of the few. He didn’t know whether to smile or put her in her place.

‘Tell me why you didn’t sleep well,’ he found himself demanding as he buttered a piece of toast, placed it within reach of her left hand and did the same with a small platter of fruit.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, her eyes dropping to her coffee cup. ‘I promised to check in with my father last night and I forgot.’

‘As you said yourself, you’re a grown woman—not a teenager with a curfew.’

‘Nevertheless, I made a promise and I didn’t keep it.’

She was omitting an important fact. And, just like yesterday, his need to know grew to unacceptable proportions. ‘You’ve yet to pack for Montegova. The driver will take you home this morning. Will that not suffice?’

Her gaze avoided his. ‘Um...about that...’ she murmured, a pinch of guilt on her face.

Foreboding and lust burned as she licked her lower lip. ‘Whatever it is, spit it out,’ he prompted.

‘Is it...possible to have an advance on my payment?’

The stirring in his groin abated. ‘Less than twenty-four hours into our agreement and you’re already demanding payment?’

‘I know it’s not strictly what we agreed, but—’

‘You demand trust and yet hold back from telling me the whole truth about your circumstances.’

A spark of anger lit her green eyes. ‘Are you saying the only way you’ll agree is if I let you dig where you please into my life? You think that’s fair?’

He shrugged, hardening himself against the angry hurt in her eyes. ‘You’re naïve if you ever thought we were on an equal footing.’

Her mouth compressed, and a rough exhalation flared her delicate nostrils. ‘Is that a no to my request?’

He suppressed the need to question her further, to know everything about this woman. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? Why, even now, did he want to lean across the table and fuse his mouth to hers?

‘How much do you need?’

Again her tongue flicked over her bottom lip. ‘Ten percent.’

Twenty-five thousand pounds. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but it could buy her a clean exit from his life. The urge to say no clambered through him. But a look into those stormy eyes told him she would stand her ground, fight for what she wanted.

Admiration flared through him again, but he throttled it back. He wasn’t here to laud the few admirable qualities Maddie possessed. What he wanted was further leverage for his own purpose—because he had no intention of letting her get away.

‘Very well. You will get what you need. In return, I have a condition of my own.’

Her eyes widened. ‘What?’