He shrugged noncommittally. “That’s possible. But I also know how important you are to your brother. As soon as Astir hears of your kidnapping, he’ll be crazy with worry.”
Calista’s eyes widened and he wondered if her lashes had always been that long. That’s when he saw the bruise. Her skin was a creamy tan, but there was a darker shade right along her jawline.
“When did this happen?” he demanded, fury coiling inside of him as the tips of his fingers ran along the skin covering that dark spot.
Calista turned her head away, obviously not wanting him to see the bruise. “I’m fine, Goran,” she assured him.
He captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting her head so that he could see the bruise more clearly. “You’re not fine!” he growled. “Who hit you?”
“Goran, I don’t think that…”
“Calista,” he growled, pulling her in closer, glaring down at her now. “You’re going to tell me who did this to you.”
“I don’t know!” she cried out finally. “I don’t know, okay? They drugged both of us with something and, whatever it was, started to wear off. Some guy came by in a ski cap and just…knocked me out!”
There was a long pause as he fought to control his rage. Someone had hit his woman! He wanted to find the bastard and pound him into a pulp! “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“Because…because I’d like to be seen as a capable partner in this debacle, okay? Because I’ve already failed you a moment ago when you recognized that I was starting to panic! I don’t want you to…”
He waited for her to continue, but when she merely bit her lip and shrugged as if she didn’t want to finish her sentence, he touched her cheek again, prompting her to complete her thought. To be honest with him. “To what?”
She sighed and pulled out of his arms, running her fingers through her hair with frustration. “Look, we already know that we’re not compatible.”
He’d come to that conclusion before, but things had changed. This kidnapping…it had definitely changed his perception of the real woman behind the royal façade. “We’re not?”
“No,” she replied, adding a glare for emphasis. “Right before…that blast…whatever that was, I was about to tell you that we should end the engagement. You and I just…we’re not right for each other.”
“We’re not?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a hip against the “kitchen” counter, looking as if he were having a casual conversation instead of being stranded in the middle of a jungle in some foreign country having a conversation with his potentially-soon-to-be-ex-fiancée. “Do tell!”
Calista groaned in frustration. “We don’t even like each other, Goran!” she snapped. “You’re just…” she let her eyes drift over his arms and shoulders now, pausing. He was built! Seriously built! She hadn’t ever seen him without a jacket on, immaculately dressed. But now…holy cow! “Where did all of those muscles come from?”
The startled look in his eyes warned her that her comment about his physique wasn’t what he’d been expecting. “My muscles?” he repeated, then released a burst of laughter. “You were going to break up with me because…?”
“No!” she snapped, interrupting him and waving a hand in the air. She sighed, huffing a bit. “I wasn’t going to break up with you because I thought you were soft. I was going to break things off between us because you are boring, Goran!” she burst out on a rush of words. “You are boring! Everything we talk about is just…boring!” She ran her fingers through her hair again, pacing around but there wasn’t much space in the room so her pacing became a mere circle. “Dear heaven, Goran, every conversation we have with each other is about policy decisions and economic problems! You only need me to show up by your side when there’s some sort of public appearance where you need a female to soften your image!”
“Soften my image? You just said that you thought I was soft, without muscles.”
That reminder caused her eyes to drop once again, surveying his body. “Well, I was…uh…wrong about that.” She waved her hand in the air, indicating all of him and turned away. But not before he caught the slight blush tinging her lovely complexion. “You’re muscular enough.”
He chuckled. “I’m relieved.” He pushed away from the counter, moving towards her. “Now tell me again why you were going to end our engagement?”
Calista rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try to pretend that you weren’t thinking about doing that as well! I saw the look of boredom and disappointment in your eyes. It was there every time you looked at me.”
He didn’t answer for a long moment, then he tilted his head slightly. “I was…concerned.”
“About?”
“About our compatibility.”
She snorted and it was a very un-princess-like sound. “You thought I was boring.”
He sighed. “Calista…”
She lifted a hand, stopping his explanation. “Don’t bother, Goran. We both know that we don’t really like each other. You need someone who is…” she looked out the window, mentally groaning. “You need a woman who is happy to be arm candy. I’ve tried.” She blinked back the tears. “I tried very hard to be silent and appear obedient. But I hate it. I hate sitting on the sidelines, listening to what everyone else is thinking and doing and considering.” She straightened up, her shoulders flexing, trying to shake off the sudden sick feeling in her stomach. She tried for composure, straightening in the overly large tee-shirt and cargo pants. “I want there to be more to life than simply sitting behind you or walking beside you, being the quiet wife and mother to your children.”
“Why would you think that I…”
He was interrupted by a groan coming from the other room. Both of them froze, their eyes clashing with one another.