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They’d carried their argument into the dining room during the official banquet, and then into the meeting rooms, and finally into the cocktail lounge. And somehow they had ended up dancing. And dancing. The night went on and on. The antagonism had melted away, but not the passion. Once they’d come together like that, they couldn’t seem to keep away from each other. They spent most of the next two days in each other’s arms.
By the time they had boarded separate planes Monday morning, she could have sworn they were in love. That it was forever. That nothing could keep them apart. She could hardly wait to get home to begin making plans. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince her family that love was more important than old grudges, but she was sure she would find a way.
But she’d been wrong. There was no way. She’d been dreaming of bridal veils and satin wedding gowns, and her country had been taking up arms. While they’d been gone, romancing in Tokyo, the unrest in Carnethia had taken a serious turn for the worse. Fighting had begun along the border. The world of Acredonna power that she’d grown up being so sure of was quickly crumbling, though she didn’t know it yet.
She was swept up in the fight almost immediately, and Dane was the enemy, one of the leaders of the very people who were trying to ruin her family. She didn’t see him again until the last month of the war.
The war was over now, but the bitterness lingered on.
“Tokyo?” she lied, shrugging. “I don’t remember Tokyo. Ancient history.”
He winced. Beyond all reason, that was another painful twist to his heart.
“I’ve been searching for you for weeks,” he said gruffly. “You and your family have kept a low profile since the war ended.”
“That’s what happens to the vanquished, isn’t it?” She looked up into his eyes. “The losers have to hide.”
Her eyes had always had the power to hypnotize him. Once he looked into them, he had a hard time looking away. But there was something different tonight. The usual open honesty she gave him was missing. Something furtive hid in the recesses of those beautiful irises. He searched hard, trying to analyze what she was avoiding. But he was pretty sure he knew what it was.
“And your father?” he asked with real curiosity. There were so many rumors floating around and so few solid facts.
“My father?” A flash of anger covered her wariness. “What do you care about my father? You hate him.”
“He’s been a big influence on my life, whatever the reason. I’m curious. I’ve heard different things and I’d like to know what the real story is.”
She pressed her lips together, then decided to tell him the truth. “My father is sick and barely hanging on.”
He drew in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.
She grunted skeptically, shrugging away his simple sympathy. “And he is very, very bitter.”
He shrugged. He’d assumed that. “Of course.”
She took a deep breath, glanced into his eyes and then away. “Mostly toward his own children,” she admitted, “who were not able to hang on to the prize he won for the family fifty years ago.”
He nodded. He took that as a matter of course as well. His father would have been the same, had he lived and gone through what her father had suffered.
“And yet, you’re here,” he noted dryly.
She nodded, biting her lip. “It’s my birthday.”
Her birthday. He almost caught his breath at that news. Why it should affect him with a wave of emotion he wasn’t sure, but it did.
“I didn’t bring you a present,” he said softly.
She looked up at him, her lower lip quivering, but her eyes still full of spirit. “And here I thought you considered yourself a gift to the human race,” she said flippantly.
“Cute.”
He looked at her mouth. The urge to kiss her surged in his chest. The music stopped and they stood swaying, still pressed together. He stared at the way her lip was trembling, so full and delicious and tempting.
And below, the full thrust of her breasts, the deep, shadowed cleavage between them. He could feel the warmth rising from it, taste the heat he would find in her mouth. Every fiber of his being wanted her. No other woman would ever affect him the way she did.
And no woman was more impossible for him to have.
His head went back as he realized the murmurs had begun. Someone had recognized him, and the whispers were spreading through the hall. This sort of thing was familiar to him—happened all the time. He wouldn’t be able to stay much longer.
The flash from a paparazzi camera blinded him for a moment, anchoring him back to earth. Exactly what he hated most, the tabloid culture and their vultures. He swore softly, then drew back, still holding her hand.
“Obviously, this was a bad idea. We can’t talk here.” He looked at her questioningly. “Unless you want to just go ahead and tell me the truth.”
“Truth? Why, Your Highness, you know I never lie.”
For some contrary reason, that made him smile.
“Good. Then I’m sure you’ll be ready to tell me everything tomorrow when we can get some privacy.” He gave her a quick chuck under the chin. “I’ll see you then,” he told her. “Where are you staying?”
She stared at him, seemingly startled out of all ability to speak.
“Never mind. I’ll find out. Nine-thirty at your hotel. We’ll talk then. You order in coffee, I’ll bring the brioche.”
Turning on his heel, he walked past the photographer who was still snapping pictures. His hand shot out and grabbed the camera before the man knew what was happening.
“Hey!” the paparazzo yelled out.
Dane flipped him a business card. “Call this number in the morning,” he said. “You’ll get your camera back. In the meantime, I’ll babysit it for you.”
“Hey,” the man yelled again, following but not quite daring to do anything about it. “You can’t do that!”
But he’d already done it, and he was out the door and into his waiting Aston Martin before anyone could stop him.
CHAPTER TWO
ALEXANDRA Acredonna, only daughter of Luther Acredonna, recently deposed leader of the Nationalists, whose rule of Carnethia was ended by Crown Prince Dane, his father and his brothers, was in despair.
It had been a huge mistake to come out in public. She shouldn’t have risked it. It had been so long, and she’d been so hungry for some sort of social contact, that when some dear friends had invited her to a birthday celebration at Chic’s, she’d been too tempted to turn the offer down. She’d gone, swearing she would only be at the club for an hour, in and out, gone before there would be time for anyone to notice her and send out the word.
But it hadn’t worked out that way. Dane had obviously been tipped off. Which meant there might be someone in her entourage who was giving information to the Montenevadas. A chilling thought. If they had leaked once, they would leak again.
She stared into the dressing room mirror, trying to concentrate on solutions. She had to be supersecret and supercareful from now on. She was going to have to become more disciplined. Ridding herself of all the people around her was the first step. Only one or two of her closest advisors should know where she was at any given time.
She was staying at the Lion’s Mane Hotel here in Darnam. It was a huge place and she’d registered under an assumed name and taken one of the cheaper suites for her party, so she’d thought she would be lost in the shuffle.
No such luck. Now she was back in the hotel room, looking forward to a long, sleepless night and wondering who among her people might be a traitor.
But most of all, she was thinking about Dane.
She’d been shocked to see him standing there in the club. He’d looked good—healthier than when she’d seen him last. Her heart had seemed to jump in her chest when she saw him. Every cell, every nerve, came more alive than ever. She saw things, felt things, she didn’t see or feel when he wasn’t near. She knew she would never be free of the emotions he conjured up in her just by being within reach.
The way he’d looked at her! The way his blue eyes had penetrated her self-confidence and stripped her to the bone. For a moment she’d been afraid she had no defense against him. But she’d regained her balance quickly enough and pushed through that to find her inner strength.
Still, she knew now that he was on to her. He’d heard things. He probably wasn’t sure of the facts yet. If he’d been sure, he would have done more than dance around the subject. He would have grabbed her, thrown her over his shoulder and carried her out of that place if he’d known for certain that she’d had his child. And next time, that was probably what he would do.
Her cell phone rang and she picked it up, expecting to see one of her brothers’numbers on the screen. But no. The number wasn’t one she recognized. Again her heart began to thump in her chest. It had to be Dane.
She wouldn’t answer. She’d just let it ring. Biting her lip, she tried to stand firm on that. One more ring and she crumbled.
“Hello?” she said breathlessly.
For a beat or two there was silence.
“Did I wake you?” he said at last, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Of course not,” she managed to say airily. “But you are interrupting,” she added, lying through her teeth and unapologetic about it. “I’m having a nightcap with a…friend,” she added, making sure to imply the friend was male.
He chuckled. “No, you’re not.”
She hadn’t thought he could get more infuriating, but she’d been wrong.
“Prove it,” she demanded. “How could you possibly know what I’m doing in my own hotel room?”
“Prove that you’re not two-timing me with someone else?” he said mockingly. “Isn’t that your role?”
That statement was too outrageous to challenge. He might as well have accused her of having an affair with a Martian. She wasn’t even going to dignify it with a comment. At least, she knew she shouldn’t. But in the end, she was just too irritated to let it pass.
“How could I be two-timing a man I haven’t seen for six years until tonight?” she demanded reasonably.
“Are you going to ignore that week during the last month of the war?”
She drew her breath in sharply, wondering how much he remembered, how much he was just fishing in the dark. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do, Alex. I’m sure you remember more about our last encounter than I do. I was unconscious most of the time, after all.” His voice hardened. “But bits and pieces of that scene are beginning to clear up for me. And what I’m looking at presents quite an interesting picture.”
She closed her eyes, wishing she knew how to convince him to drop his probing. Wasn’t there something she could say, something she could imply? “Your imagination is working overtime.”
“You think so? Well, that’s exactly what we need to talk about. See you in the morning.”
“Wait,” she said, her fingers clenching the cell phone tightly. “How did you get my number?”
“I’m the head of state of a country with an intelligence service, Alex. You should remember that. Your family used to be in charge here, and I know you had one. Our people are a little rusty, but they’re getting the hang of these things.”
“Of course,” she said softly.
“See you in the morning,” he said again.
She closed her phone without answering.
She shivered, her heart in her throat. It was time she faced facts. She was at such a disadvantage. He had all the power now, and she had none. If he knew the truth, if he was sure, he would find ways to take her baby from her. She had to do something to protect him, to protect herself.
She would take measures. She would become even more elusive. She would dye her hair and wear a veil and…and…
She groaned. No matter. He would find her. And he would find the truth. It was only a matter of time. What could she do?
Run. That was the only thing she could think of. Run and hide and keep running.
For how long?
She closed her eyes.
For as long as it took.
“Excuse me, miss.”
She looked up. Grace, the new nanny, was in the doorway looking hesitant. Or was she looking guilty? Was she the one who’d snitched? Alex winced. Was she going to have to go through the rest of her life not trusting anyone?
“What is it, Grace?” she asked.
“I know it’s late, but the baby’s fussing a bit. I thought maybe…”
She nodded, feeling her milk come in. The anticipation of holding her child made her smile despite everything. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”
Baby Robbie was the one shining bit of happiness in her life. Just looking at his precious little face gave her hope.
But he was hers and hers alone. She would never let Dane take him away from her. Never.
She woke from a dream, gasping. Was the man even going to haunt her sleep? She shuddered, trying to erase the erotic turn her subconscious fantasies had taken. True to her fears, she’d only slept a few hours.
Closing her eyes, she quickly went over all the possibilities. She could foresee what his next move would be. A normal man might have begun by charming her and trying to convince her that he deserved to know the truth, and that once he knew the truth, he would act reasonably and fairly and wouldn’t do anything rash.
But Dane couldn’t promise all those things, because Dane wasn’t reasonable and fair. He wasn’t going to ask her to sign papers or make agreements. He was going to try to force her to tell him what he wanted to know, and if she didn’t comply right away, he would do something to convince her she had no choice. And then he would find a way to take her baby.
Panic shot through her and she held herself tightly, rocking back and forth. What was she going to do? How was she going to protect herself from that?
It didn’t matter how many obstacles she put up or how many security guards she had around her, Dane would find a way to break through all that. There was only one answer. She had to make a move before he did.
What was she still doing here? She knew she had to leave before Dane got here in the morning. She might as well get the show on the road. There was nothing important keeping them here.
The only problem was she didn’t want to take many of them with her. Grace, the nanny, of course. And Henri and Kavon, her personal guards. The rest could go back to Paris.
Yes, she told herself as she rose and began to dress. She had to leave. She had to get out before Dane arrived. Just before going to bed, she’d had word that her brothers, Marque and Ivan, were on their way to Darnam as well, and she didn’t want to risk seeing them before she went into hiding. She knew they were probably coming to try to enlist her in their latest wild scheme to get back at Dane and his family. One of these days they just might gather enough of a force together to do the Montenevadas real harm, but she didn’t want to be involved. It was time to declare the war over.
Should she pack? There was no time. Now that she’d thought over all the ramifications, she wanted to hurry, to run, to dash out the door, her baby in her arms, straight to a hiding place.
She called Henri on her phone. He was her ever-alert, ever-faithful one and she knew the older man would be awake in the next room.
“I’m up,” he said. “I’m ready to go. I was hoping you would see the wisdom in it.”
Quickly, she went over plans with him and he agreed to take care that the others left for Paris right away.
