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Remi exhaled and reasoned with it. It wasn’t a betrayal if his kingdom needed him. He’d been tasked to find a solution. It was as simple as that.
He focused on Maddie’s face. ‘You left without telling me, after agreeing to stay. You’ll pardon me if I don’t have the fullest confidence in you right now.’
‘I left because I had an emergency,’ she replied hotly. ‘I didn’t think you’d appreciate me stomping into your bathroom to inform you.’
‘What about using the phone I gave you?’
She mangled her lip again, drawing his attention to the swollen curve he’d kissed less than two hours ago. His groin tightened, and he felt that hot flash of lust flooding him again.
‘I wasn’t exactly thinking straight, all right?’
A rustle of noise from inside the flat made her tense. Nervous, she attempted to minimise the space between herself and the door.
‘You have five seconds to let me in before I walk away, Maddie. You’ll recall I had another proposition to discuss with you. But if I leave both our agreement and the new proposal will go away.’
She hesitated another moment before her gaze boldly met his. ‘I’ll let you in—but, for the record, I won’t be judged. If I see so much as a trace of judgement on your face, this is over.’
The urge to remind her who she was talking to reared up, but Remi found himself nodding, agreeing to her terms of entry.
She released the door and stepped back to reveal a dank hallway with threadbare carpets and more peeling paint on the walls. It offended his every sensibility to know she lived in this appalling place. She didn’t belong here. She belonged in a palace, among the finest things in life, draped in silks and sparkling jewellery, being fed the best gourmet meals and treats that would produce her thousand-watt smile.
Most of all she belonged in a world where that anxiety on her face was taken away for ever.
He wanted to be the one to do that for her.
Remi stiffened in shock at the direction of his thoughts, then assured himself that his reasoning dovetailed with his own goals.
‘I guess you’ve changed your mind,’ she said, a flicker of hurt mingling with disappointment at his reaction to her surroundings.
He blocked the door before she could shut it in his face, stepped inside and shut it firmly behind him. He stared down at her, breathing in the alluring perfume that still clung to her despite being in this dismal place. Her elegant throat moved in a swallow, her fingers fidgeting with the folds of her dress. He wanted to plaster her against that dirty wall, lose himself in her the way he’d craved to do in his suite.
Another rustle from inside reminded him they weren’t alone.
Abruptly, she turned and hurried down the hall.
Remi followed, arriving in a shabby living room full of mismatched dilapidated furniture and packing boxes, to find her crouching over a shrunken figure.
‘I think the water spilled on the floor,’ the figure croaked.
‘It’s fine. I’ll take care of it,’ Maddie murmured softly.
Remi took in the scene. The man couldn’t be more than fifty years old, although he looked much older and in an appalling state of health. Nevertheless, the familial resemblance was evident from the eyes that took him in for one unfocused moment before sliding away to Maddie.
‘Who’s this?’ the man asked.
Remi stepped forward, extending his hand to the man wearing threadbare clothes that hung on his bony figure. ‘I’m Remirez Montegova. You must be Maddie’s father.’
The older man’s lips twisted, his gaze resting heavily on his daughter. ‘You would think she was the parent, the way she chivvies me. Perhaps you can talk some sense into her—get her to give me what I need.’
‘What you need is rest,’ she replied firmly, although Remi caught the slight wobble in her chin.
Remi took a closer look at the man, his gut tightening at the evidence of addiction.
‘I’ll get you some more water,’ Maddie said.
She picked up a plastic cup and hurried out of the room. Remi followed.
The kitchen was in a worse state than the living room, but again he swallowed his distaste as Maddie turned around.
