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The thought that she was insanely attracted to a man whom she planned to deceive, albeit temporarily, caused hysterical laughter to bubble up.
She strained not to react. To keep the wrap draped over her arms and not use it to hide the proof of her arousal. She’d never used her feminine wiles to capture a man’s attention. Doing so now made her insides clench with disgust. All the same, a small part of her gave a cry of triumph when his eyes dropped to her chest for an infinitesimal moment.
‘You want to come with me? Now?’ His voice had altered, his eyes narrowing with icy suspicion that warned her to tread carefully.
Jasmine couldn’t afford to back away. She had too much to lose.
‘Yes. Take me with you. My hotel isn’t that far from here. I’ll even buy you a drink as a thank you.’ The single brain cell that remained shook with astonishment at her boldness. Afraid that her plea had emerged more of a command, and might perhaps cause offence, she hastily added, ‘If you don’t mind.’
His gaze darkened with a predatory gleam that made Jasmine swallow in trepidation. ‘Perhaps it is you who should mind, Miss Nichols. Some would advise you against what you’re asking.’
With deliberate slowness, she passed the tip of her tongue over her lower lip. Stark hunger blazed in his eyes, stealing her breath as the grey depths turned almost black. A warm rush of air whispered over her skin, but even that small change caused her to gasp as if he’d physically laid his hands on her.
‘Maybe, but something tells me I can trust you,’ she replied, her nerves jangling with terror at the uncharted waters she found herself in. Flirting and sexual games had never been her forte. Not since her one attempt at university had ended in humiliating disaster.
Another step brought Prince Reyes within touching distance. His narrowed eyes, still holding that trace of sadness she’d glimpsed earlier, were now laced with a healthy dose of bitterness.
Jasmine didn’t have time to dwell on his expression because his scent engulfed her, fuelling her already frenzied senses. She inhaled, filling her entire being with his essence. As if he sensed it too, his nostrils flared.
‘You’re playing a dangerous game, Jasmine,’ he murmured.
‘It...it’s just a lift back to my h-hotel,’ she croaked.
‘Perhaps. Or it is something else. Something neither of us is ready for.’ His voice was pitched low, for her ears alone. His gaze slid over her face, its path as forceful and yet as gentle as a silky caress.
‘I’ll be out of your hair in less than half an hour. Seriously, you have nothing to fear from me.’ Liar. She tried to curb the accusing voice, thankful when it faded away under the onslaught of the heavy emotion beating in her chest.
His jaw tightened. ‘I have everything to fear from you.’ Again the bitterness, sharper this time. ‘The curse of a beautiful woman has been my ancestors’ downfall.’
She forced a laugh. Beautiful? Her? Well, if he could flatter, so could she. ‘So prove it’s not true. Deliver me to my hotel and walk away. Then you’ll be free of this...curse.’
He tilted his head to one side, as if weighing her request. His hand rose again, this time to reach down to encircle her wrist.
With a subtle but firm tug, he pulled her to him.
‘If walking away resolved centuries-old issues, my kingdom wouldn’t be in shambles.’
‘I didn’t mean—’
He pulled her closer. Jasmine was too mesmerised by this enigmatic man to acknowledge the curious stares of the guests beyond the protective circle of Prince Reyes’s bodyguards. And he didn’t seem too disturbed by their growing audience.
His stare turned into a frown. ‘You intrigue me, Jasmine Nichols.’
‘Is that a bad thing?’
He stepped back and he seemed to come to a decision. ‘I’m not certain, but I wish to find out. Come.’
* * *
Reyes Navarre drew a deep breath.
What in Dios’s name was he doing? Not since Anaïs had he behaved so rashly. His carefree period of picking up liaisons for a night had come to a jagged halt five years ago when he’d experienced for himself just how duplicitous women could be. His own mother had hammered that lesson home forcefully in the weeks before her death.
Overnight, Reyes had witnessed the family he’d foolishly thought he could bring together disintegrate beyond recognition. He’d watched the will to live slowly extinguish from his father’s eyes until only a husk remained.
Reyes’s chest tightened painfully with equal parts of remorse and bitterness. Remorse that grew each day because he knew he’d failed to grant his father, King Carlos, his one wish—an heir to the throne while he was still alive. Bitterness because his father had condemned Reyes for choosing to learn from past mistakes. What his father didn’t know was the woman Reyes had thought would be his queen had turned out to be just as conniving and as faithless as his own mother.
