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She held her breath, waiting for him to hold her hand and jump off the tower with her. “You are lovely and sweet and all any man could hope for.” Her heart started fluttering erratically at his words. Lexie felt faint. Oh, what she wouldn’t do to be loved by this kind, strong man. She leapt off the precipice and was free-falling. “But I’m not the man for you, Lexie. It was just sex. Great chemistry. Don’t delude yourself into thinking it was more.” She crashed to the ground, splintering into broken heart and bones.
Blessedly, she was still numb from the impact. How else could she still be standing in front of him while she listened to him deliver his next words with contempt? “We had a transaction. You save your reputation, I get the horse. Don’t make it complicated.”
The numbness was wearing off, and Lexie felt pain hovering in the fringes. “But I broke it off,” she repeated stupidly, her brain like a wind-up mechanical toy sputtering on its last wind of power. “I broke it off,” she whispered, stricken.
Nic laughed harshly. “He’ll take you back. I’ll bloody well make sure of it.” His blue eyes were hard. “After this farce is over, we are going our separate ways. If you’re − if you’re pregnant, please let me know.” He seemed about to say something but changed his mind. “Just let me know,” he said bleakly.
He took her bag from her limp grasp and dug out the key to the house. Once he had led her inside, he quickly turned around and with a click of the door, was gone as if he never had been.
* * *
Nic had to stop by the side of the road for several minutes so he would not be endangering other motorists. He had to get a grip. When he was sure he had overridden the howling, insane need to pull back and return to Lexie, he allowed himself to drive back to his place.
Inside the apartment, he whipped out his mobile and dialed an unlisted number.
“Yes?” the grouchy and imperious voice on the other end said after the fourth ring.
In his frame of mind, he forgot the time difference between L.A. and Seirenada. “It’s Nic Fernandez.”
There was a beat of silence, and Nic could just imagine the Prince on the other side of the world frowning. “Is something the matter with my sister?” Alarm wiped any trace of sleep from the autocratic tone.
“Lexie is safe,” Nic pacified the Prince immediately. “I apologize for alarming you.” Theia had given Nic the Prince’s private number in case of any emergency, and he couldn’t blame Stefan for reacting with undue concern. “But there is something I think you need to know.”
“Please speak freely, especially if it concerns my sister.”
“It’s about Rupert Butler.”
“Of Butler Mining Inc.?”
“Yes.”
“Go on please.”
“Butler is obsessed with the alledramite contract.” As Nic relayed the patron’s willingness to do anything to get his hands on the mineral that was critical to manufacturing flexible glass and his loathsome plans to blackmail the royal family, he felt his rage filling him up again.
The Prince uttered a foreign word that required no translation. “I do not deal with unscrupulous characters. I have had Butler investigated, and I am troubled by reports of shady dealings and unfair trade practices. We are announcing our partnership with another mining company on Monday. It just took some time to persuade the Council that business relations with Butler, though it might be profitable at the start, will not be good for the image of Seirenada in the long run.”
Nic took a deep, shuddering breath. “Lexie has to leave Los Angeles immediately. I don’t want her anywhere near me and Butler.”
“I’ll take care of it. The Princess will leave for Seirenada as soon as possible.” The Prince paused before continuing, “Thank you for agreeing to this unusual arrangement, Mr. Fernandez. I have seen some of the articles and photos, and the media are convinced that it is indeed a romantic relationship and not a tawdry affair.” The hesitation on the other line was evident. “The fallout from her previous−” he floundered uncharacteristically, seeming to find the right term, “assignation with that bastard Wainwright had been hard on her. I didn’t want her to get hurt again.”
