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He shook his head. ‘We’ll discuss it tonight. I have an appointment to get to.’
She worried at her lower lip with her teeth. It took a great deal of control for him not to stare.
‘What if I don’t like your condition?’ she asked, with the tiniest quiver in her voice that Remi wanted to hear over and over again.
He stood before that battering temptation overwhelmed him. ‘It’s an offer of a lifetime. I’m confident you will agree. But if I’m wrong...’ He shrugged. ‘Then we’ll revert to our previous agreement. The funds will be in your account within the hour.’
‘I... Thank you.’
Against his will, his gaze moved over her face, her throat, the increased rise and fall of her breasts. The thought of tasting those lips again fired bolts of lightning through his bloodstream.
His blatant scrutiny made her colour heighten. He curled his fist against the need to trace her pink flesh.
‘I trust you won’t take my money and disappear?’
The challenging spark returned to her eyes as her chin lifted defiantly. ‘I’m not going to keep proving myself to you. You can choose to trust me. Or not.’
* * *
Remi was still mulling over their conversation three hours later, as he sat down to lunch with his ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Maddie’s fearless, plucky attitude would land her in hot water one day. Or make her irresistible to a man who was drawn to her fiery spirit. A man who would be free to kiss those intoxicating lips, mould her breathtaking curves...
He sucked in a breath, shifted as his manhood stirred to life.
Dio, what the hell was wrong with him?
He’d liked his life with Celeste. Had enjoyed her genteel nature, her generous acceptance of the challenges of being associated with a crown prince.
Nevertheless, hadn’t he wished that on occasion that she would challenge him more? Stand up for what she really wanted? Offer stimulating conversation instead of smilingly acceding to his wishes?
He stiffened, disgusted with himself for dishonouring her memory. His fiancée had been loved by everyone she’d come into contact with. He wouldn’t sully her memory by comparing her to Maddie—a woman full of secrets. Full of fire. Full of hidden depths he wanted to explore.
With mounting frustration he snapped his napkin open, startling the ambassador. But, no matter how much he threw himself into their nitty-gritty discussion of geo-politics, he couldn’t get the woman with the defiant green eyes and Cupid’s bow lips out of his head.
Which was probably why he was still disgruntled when he returned to his hotel suite. His mood plummeted further when he found Maddie nowhere in sight.
He turned as Percy entered the room and subtly cleared his throat. ‘Where is she?’ he all but snapped.
‘Miss Myers hasn’t returned since she left this morning, Your Highness.’
Stomach-hollowing disappointment replaced his disgruntlement. ‘She didn’t return for lunch?’ he asked sharply.
‘No, Your Highness.’
She’d dared him to trust her. And he had. So much for thinking she was even a fraction of the woman Celeste had been.
Dismissing Percy, he plucked his phone from his pocket and dialled her number. Her husky voice directed him to leave a message.
Remi’s mood blackened. He’d been well and truly duped. Considering she’d gone from being almost penniless to being twenty-five thousand pounds richer, courtesy of the wire transfer he’d approved, she could be anywhere by now.
The reason why she’d absconded with such a paltry sum when she could have been infinitely richer didn’t even puzzle him. He’d seen her bank account, knew she’d been destitute. Desperately so. And he’d handed her the tools to leave him.
His jaw gritted. She wouldn’t get away with it. They had an agreement.
About to summon his security chief, he froze at the sound of approaching footsteps.
She arrived on a whirlwind of silk and heels, her face flushed, a few wisps of hair escaping its sleek knot. Even flustered and flushed, she was a captivating sight. He stared, a fever sweeping through his veins.
