“I see.” He did not think she did. But it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to see.
“Get dressed,” he said.
“I do not take orders,” she said, narrowing her eyes and curling her fingers around her coffee cup like claws. “I’m to be Queen.”
Half his mouth lifted. It might have been a smile, though he hadn’t decided to do it, which was strange. “A boon for you, surely.”
“Indeed.”
“But for now, you are only a Princess. And I,” he said, turning that half smile into his best grin, the one that he knew made women flutter. The one that spurred every tabloid to print photos of him. “I am The King and you will do what I say. That is what you brought me here for, am I correct?”
“To do my bidding,” she said, pulling her knees up to her chest, the thin white material on her gown pulling down, exposing the plump, firm lines of her breasts.
He could see her nipples through the fabric. He would’ve said that he was a damn sight too jaded to get excited over a shadow of areola, but apparently when it came to Annick he was anything but immune.
He straightened the cuffs on his suit jacket. “Annick, I do no one’s bidding. I do not take jobs I don’t see as important. Now, you listen to me. I am not staying in Aillette forever. We might marry, but I will go on with my life. I will not be here to prop you up forever. That means you must learn to stand on your own feet. Congratulations, you managed to get me to the palace. Now make use of me. Do not be stubborn. Do not fight simply because you spent years being unable to fight. Because you felt weak. You weren’t weak. If you were weak, you would be dead. You wouldn’t be here. You hate that you had to hide pieces of yourself, but it kept you alive. You hate that you had to play a game, but it’s why you’re here. So now you will play a new game. And you will let me teach you the rules.”
“I don’t like this,” she said, looking at him out of the sides of her eyes.
Wretched creature that she was, he imagined she had disliked a great deal in her life. “I don’t care. If you will not work with me, if you will not do what I say, then I will walk out right now.”
“I will have the guards seize you.”
“I would hate to hurt your guards.”
“You have no weapons,” she said.
He fixed his gaze on her. “Annick, do you honestly think that I require weapons? A gun is a useful prop, but a man must know how to take care of himself. A man must know how to contain all the danger he possesses in his own body. Myself, I can seduce or I can kill...with just my hands. I don’t require weapons. As you observed, I am both Maximus King and The King. I could be anything I choose.”
“You will not kill my guards,” she said.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to. But if I decide to leave, I will leave. And only God will be able to help those who stand in my way.” He looked at her. “Now, get dressed.”