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The stable block in question sat apart from the two main turreted mishmash of buildings that constituted the castle, and had initially been converted for Alessia’s widowed grandmother to live in when her daughter took the throne on her husband’s death. The dowager queen had been a cantankerous old boot who’d loathed living in the castle surrounded by the thing she hated most: people. And so the stable block had been converted into a seven-bedroom dwelling which she’d taken great delight in not admitting anyone into. Alessia had been terrified of her but also secretly fascinated. It had been this grandmother whose haughty spirit she’d channelled earlier to get her through seeing Gabriel again without falling to pieces. She’d tried hard to reach for that spirit again since he’d barged his way into her room but she couldn’t find it any more. Knowing her grandmother, she’d probably hidden from her out of spite from her perch in heaven.
Knowing her grandmother, she would have adored Gabriel. A man who seemingly disdained the monarchy as much as she had marrying into the family would have thrilled her. The difference was that her grandmother had been from the old Greek royal family and had played her public part as queen consort until her husband’s death magnificently. For all his talk about compromise, Gabriel had been very clear that when it came to royal life, he would have nothing to do with it and that there would be no compromise on this, not even for Amadeo’s wedding. Alessia would be a princess with a husband but without a prince for the rest of her life.
Fearing the swelling of emotions filling back up in her, Alessia straightened her legs and spine, and lifted her chin. ‘Anything else?’
‘That’s everything that was discussed.’
‘Good. Then I would be grateful if you would leave. I’m tired and wish to rest before dinner.’
He eyed her meditatively. ‘Before I go, I would like to apologise.’
‘You’ve already apologised.’
‘This is a different matter. I wish to apologise for not returning your call.’
It felt like he’d plunged an icy hand into her heart. The impulse to draw her knees back to her chest was strong, but she fought it. ‘Oh. That,’ she said with an airiness she had no idea how she achieved. ‘Don’t worry about it—it was a mere whim. I just thought if you ever came back to Ceres and was at a loose end then we could go out for drinks. I’d forgotten I even made the call.’
‘Whatever your reasons for calling, it was unforgivably rude of me to not return it. I will not insult your intelligence by making up excuses. A great part of me did want to call you back but the reason I didn’t is because I knew that nothing could happen between us. You’re a princess and I’m a man who values my privacy and anonymity. The two are not compatible.’
How she managed to meet his stare after those words, she would never know. But she did. She forced herself to, and she forced herself to hold it. What she couldn’t do was stop the tremor that came into her voice. ‘Then you will have to agree it’s ironic that you’re being forced to marry a woman you’re not compatible with.’
There was a long moment of stillness before Gabriel got to his feet. Slowly, he stepped to the bed and leaned his face down to hers.
His eyes were ringing with that beautiful supernova of golden colour she’d seen the night they’d made love and, though she tried hard to fight it, a tingle of electricity raced up her spine and tightened her skin.
His firm lips tugged into something that nearly resembled a smile but there was nothing ambiguous about the pulsating of his eyes. ‘No one is forcing me to marry you, Alessia.’ His face was so close to hers his hot breath caressed her face just as his tone caressed the rest of her senses. ‘Our lives are not compatible and it is unlikely we have compatibility in our interests... But there is one area where weknowwe are compatible.’
The flush that crawled through her was the deepest and hottest she had ever known. She felt it crawl through every cell in her body, burning her from the inside out, and when his face moved even closer, she could no longer draw breath.
‘We can have a successful marriage,’ he whispered, the tips of their noses touching. ‘And we can have a fulfilling one too.’
Her lips were buzzing manically even before Gabriel’s mouth brushed lightly to them, but still that first touch landed like a thrill that filled her mouth with moisture and made her pelvis contract into a tight pulse.
She hadn’t even realised she’d closed her eyes until the delicious pressure against her lips vanished and she opened them to find Gabriel upright and gazing down at her with that sensual, hooded expression she remembered so well.
She couldn’t open her throat to speak.
His shoulders rose as he breathed in deeply, then, wordlessly, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. From it, he plucked a business card. Eyes still boring intently into hers, he handed it to her.
She still couldn’t open her throat to speak, could barely raise an eyebrow in question.
‘My personal number,’ he said with the hint of wry smile. ‘Call me at any time. If I don’t answer, I will call you back. I give you my word.’
At the door he gave one last inclination of his head. ‘Until our wedding day.’
Gabriel took a moment to compose himself before going back downstairs.
The thrills racing through his loins stretched the moment to an age.
Only when certain his arousal was contained did he take the steps down.
As he left the castle, acknowledging a dozen members of staff along the way, he acknowledged too the satisfaction of a job well done.
The sexiest woman in the world was carrying his child and he’d successfully negotiated a marriage to her in which he would not be tainted by the celebrity of monarchy or controlled by her family, and in which he could continue living his life as a private man. Undeniably, he had to wind down the business that had been the biggest part of his life for such a long time, but at the end of negotiations, it was the gains you made that counted, not the losses, and his gains were ones he could live with.
He was certain too that soon Alessia would appreciate the gainsshe’dmade in the negotiations. A husband and protector for their child.
And a lover for herself.
