His Majesty's Temporary Bride

‘When did you recognise me? You never called me Amelie that first day.’

‘On the yacht.’ Not as soon as he should have. He’d been too distracted by the urgent hum of hunger. A hunger so sudden and complete it outclassed anything he’d ever felt for a woman. If it weren’t for the fact he was coming out of a prolonged sexual drought it would worry him. Fortunately he knew this must be his libido’s response to recent abstinence and a remarkably intriguing woman.

‘You didn’t say anything.’ Was it imagination or did her mouth tighten?

He shrugged. ‘Was there any need? It was clear we were going to get to know each other.’ He hadn’t intended it, but his voice hit a gravel-deep level at the thought of how well he’d like to know her. ‘You’re easily recognisable, even in wet clothes.’

The clinging clothes had merely turned the picture-perfect Princess into a real flesh-and-blood woman, much more appealing than in any of those posed photos. There was an aura about Cat, a vibrant authenticity, that drew him. He felt it now, when at last night’s dinner it had been subdued.

‘Cat... Amelie.’

She swung to face him, her expression grave. ‘Yes?’

Alex cleared his throat. Absurd to hesitate. He needed to clarify his position, even if it scuppered the chance to know Cat as he wanted to. He refused to lead her on. He could forgive most things but he abhorred falseness. Growing up with his conniving, deceitful father, Alex was upfront in all his dealings and expected that from others.

‘I need to clear something up.’

‘Yes?’ She squared her shoulders, her chin tipping as if waiting for a blow.

‘About the marriage proposal.’

She blinked, her pupils widening as if they might engulf her eyes.

Alex hesitated. Could she really have invested so much in the idea of a match between them? She struck him as down-to-earth, not the sort of female who’d languish waiting for her advisers to arrange a dynastic match.

But how well did he know her beyond the sexual attraction saturating the air between them?

‘The marriage proposal?’ Again that quick swipe of her bottom lip. Alex’s belly curled in on itself, heat quickening.

‘I know your advisers thought a match between us was desirable. I know you thought so too or it would never have been raised with my staff.’

Her features froze into blankness and he paused. He didn’t want to make it sound like he was rejecting her. Far from it. It was the idea of marriage he wasn’t ready for.

‘There are advantages.’ He paused and hated his hesitation. ‘But the truth is I’m not interested in marriage. Not yet.’

She said nothing. Her expression was unreadable. Only the flickering pulse at her throat and the rise and fall of her breasts under the thin cotton proved she hadn’t frozen in place.

Because she was insulted? Disappointed? Despite his scrutiny he could read nothing in her body language.

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