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Because something in his dark eyes told her that he would be just as happy licking her as he was this ice cream.
And all of it was wrong.
Why couldn’t she hate him? She should.
Why couldn’t she get it into her head that this was real? That it was insane. That she should want to kick him in the shins and run as far and fast as she could. Call for help at the nearest business, rather than lingering here in an alley with him.
“It’s good,” she said, her throat dry.
“Yes,” he agreed, his voice rough.
Then he thrust it back into her hand. “I think I’ve had enough.”
“Right.”
Her heart clenched, sank. And she didn’t know what was happening inside of her. Didn’t know why her body was reacting this way, now, to him. Didn’t know why she felt like crying, and not for any of the reasons that she should.
“I’m not done exploring the city, though. And I wouldn’t want to take my ice cream back in your car. I might make a mess.”
But the rest of the outing was completely muted. Not at all what it had been before.
And that it disappointed her confused her even more than anything else.
When she was back at the palace, back in her room, she lay down and covered her head. And only then did she allow herself to think the truth.
She was attracted to the man who was holding her captive.
She was attracted to the brother of the man she was being forced to marry.
But more important, he was attracted to her. She had seen it.
She had very nearly tasted it.
Thankfully, they had come to their senses.
She spent the rest of the night trying fitfully to be thankful when all she felt was frustrated.
And she knew that she had come up with a plan, no matter how it made her stomach churn to think of putting it into action.
She had no choice.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HIS BROTHER STILL hadn’t returned.
Javier was tired of being tested. He had been avoiding Violet since they had come back from the city the other day. The temptation that she had presented to him was unacceptable.
That he had the capacity to be tempted was not something that he had first seen. But Violet King had tested him at every turn, and the true issue was that he feared he might fail a test if she continued.
He curled his fingers into fists. No. He was not a weak man.
Even before he had turned on his father, he had not had an easy life. He had faithfully served in his father’s army. And that had required work guarding the borders in the forests, camping out for long periods of time. His father’s paranoia meant that he was certain that enemies were lurking behind every tree.
And Javier had found that to be so. His father had had many enemies. And Javier had done his job in arresting them.
He wasn’t sure what he wished to avoid thinking about more. That period of time in his life, or his current attraction to Violet.
“Of course, the architecture is nothing compared to the natural beauty. You got a little peek outside the window, but more to come later
