CHAPTER FOUR
THESUITFIT, which irritated him more than he would like to admit. That the little devil surprised him was also more irritating than he would like to admit.
There was something about her. About the way she asked questions. The way she talked about her life. He found it difficult to be unaffected by her.
What he was good at was showing no emotion at all. Betraying nothing of what was going on inside of him. And so, when she had spoken again of offering her body, he had been able to remain outwardly impassive.
Even while inside he had felt more than a stirring of interest.
Come to dinner.
She was issuing commands that he had no reason to deny. Which would most certainly put her in a false mind of just how in control she was.
He could walk away from all of this at any time. This insanity. This farce.
But nothing has held your interest this long for...
Well, that was the issue. Nothing had. He often wondered if it was even possible for him to feel anything again. And then she had shown up. She had made him feel... Well, she had made him feel.
And she had managed to fill a closet up with custom suits that fit.
That in and of itself earned his acceptance of the dinner invitation, he should think.
The palace itself was old. Not crumbling, but definitely showing its age. Fortunately, it was put together with precious stones and metals, and those things tended to gather color and richness as they aged. Tended to find a new sort of life.
The palace was no exception. The jade and amethyst, emerald and ruby, was only that much more entrancing now.
And if he were a man whose head was turned by such things, he would be in awe.
But no. The gemstones did not do it. However, when he walked into the dining room and saw her, he felt his blood begin to heat.
She was different than when he had seen her last. She had been dressed all in white before, a flowing pantsuit, with her pale blond hair caught in a knot at the base of her neck.
Now she was wearing a green gown cut to show off her curves. Her blond hair was loose, spilling over bare shoulders, falling like corn silk over her breasts. Everything about her looked soft. And he knew that wasn’t the case. So the artistry that must’ve gone into making her appear that way was surely a thing of great mastery.
The makeup around her eyes was gold, her lips crimson.
“I’m glad you could join me,” she said.
“You will recall it was more a demand than a request.”
“I did half expect to have to drag you out of your bedroom.”
“I was banking on you not wishing to chloroform me in order to accomplish the task. But then, I also don’t see the point of turning down a free meal.”
“A smart man. Very smart. And good.”
“No,” he said. “Not good.”
“I meant only that it is good you are smart. I did not mean you were good. You are, I know, a killer.”
“Yes,” he said.
“Your family does not know.”
“No,” he said, taking a seat at the head of the long table. “My family does not know. Nor will they.”
“Perhaps we could invite some of them to my coronation. Under the pretense you are my consultant. It will be advantageous for me to have a connection to Monte Blanco. And to your brother-in-law, Prince Javier.”