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She jumped at the sound of her name, and as Rafe flicked on the light he frowned, for her face was alabaster-white.
‘You’re early.’
‘I didn’t go home.’ Her voice was strained and she cleared her throat. ‘I came straight here. Why are you in darkness?’
‘I was taking a shower.’
And that made sense, for he wore nothing more than a towel, but the fire wasn’t even lit.
‘There’s no guard on the door.’
‘No,’ Rafe said, and he could see the questions in her eyes.
To avoid them, he turned and lit the fire. The guards had not just been there for his protection, they had reported back to the King. And they were not mere ‘guards’, they were Royal Protection Officers, which meant they were completely within their brief to carry out background checks on her. And when he had told them to leave they had retreated only to the perimeter of the hotel.
But his senior RPO, who had worked with Rafe for years, had stayed back, warning him that he should be back in Tulano by now, by request of the King.
It had been one step down from an order.
‘I’m aware of that,’ Rafe had told him. ‘This is my doing.’
Hisdoing.
‘Antonietta...’ he started, and loathed the austerity of his tone—but it was surely kinder in the long run, and there was no point prettying up his words.
‘I got you a present...’ she said.
He glanced down at the bottle she held, dressed in a red velvet bow.
‘That was not necessary,’ Rafe said.
‘Presents shouldn’t benecessary.’ Antonietta smiled, but it wavered. ‘It was just something I saw...’
Rafe was more than used to gifts. Soveryused to them. But none had ever shot to his heart in the way this did.
Not only could she not afford it, but it had been chosen with care, and he was loath to cause offence.
‘Thank you,’ he said.
‘Smell it.’
He would rather not, and yet she was already unscrewing the lid.
Rather than offering him the bottle, she poured some into her palm and held out her hand for him to sniff.
‘I was worried about your shoulder,’ Antonietta said, and attempted to place her oiled hand there, feeling him actually wince at her uninvited fingers, while berating herself for thinking she could possibly spoil a man who could have anything he wanted.
Even her.
‘It’s too cold in here, though,’ Antonietta said, and removed her hand.
She wasn’t referring to the temperature of the room. Even though she had tried to ignore it, she could pick up his resistant vibe.
And she refused to beg.
‘Enjoy,’ she said, and placed the bottle on the table.
Unsure of him for the first time, she turned to go.
