by Maya Blake
Each discovery had triggered a bewildering ache to Maddie’s own heart, an ache that intensified the more she attempted to deny its power over her. That power was very much present right now, threatening her with a runaway pulse and shortness of breath as Remi stopped in front of her, towering and powerful.
She set the report down. ‘I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again today.’
They’d performed the last of their day’s engagements at midday. The charity rowing competition had been well-attended, and the crowds gathering outside the grounds of the royal lake had duly been introduced to Remi’s new betrothed.
To say that wedding fever had taken hold of the country was an understatement. It had even eclipsed the queen’s announcement that she was stepping down from the throne—an outcome that had brought a rare, wry smile to Queen Isadora’s lips.
For the first week Maddie had been stunned by her ready acceptance by Remi’s people, and the endless stream of gifts arriving from far and wide in celebration of their engagement.
But that euphoria had waned when, with each passing day, she’d realised the man she was marrying wasn’t in the least bit affected by the excitement, that the charm and attention he lavished on his future bride when they were out in public was just an act.
Behind closed doors Remi couldn’t get away from her fast enough.
Deep down she couldn’t fault him for that. He’d warned her against developing any untoward emotion. The trouble was, Maddie was beginning to think that her heart and mind had differing plans.
‘I came to give you this,’ Remi said, producing a royal blue velvet box from his pocket.
‘Another trinket?’ she asked.
There’d been a steady procession of family heirlooms over the last week, presented to her as part of Montegovan tradition. One of several.
‘Why are you doing this?’ she blurted, unable to stop herself in the face of his rigid demeanour.
If anything, his expression grew even more remote. ‘This belonged to my grandmother. She wore it on her wedding day.’
She waved him away. ‘I don’t mean whatever is in that box. Why are you marrying me if you’re so unhappy about it?’
He stiffened. ‘Do I need to rehash my reasons one more time?’
‘I know you’re doing it for your people, but surely a part of you must want this for yourself too?’
‘You think I don’t want this?’
‘Yes, I do,’ she replied boldly. ‘I think you’d give almost anything for the person you’re marrying—me—to be somebody else. Tell me I’m wrong.’
He lost a shade of colour—the first time she’d seen Remi less than in full control. A second later his jaw clenched tight.
‘That line of reasoning is useless and a waste of time. The past cannot be changed.’
She rose to face him, even though their equal footing was an illusion. ‘And yet you’re letting it dictate your future. If you’re truly not done with grieving over her then you should wait. I’ve met your people. They’ll understand if you need to find someone else who...’
Her words fizzled away when he tossed the box onto the seat she’d just vacated and cupped her shoulders in a firm hold.
‘We have an agreement. If this is your way of attempting to wriggle out of it, think again.’
‘I’m trying...’ She stopped and took a breath. ‘No one will talk about her. Everyone whispers. They’re scared of upsetting you by saying her name out loud.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘What?’
‘You heard me.’
His eyes burned into hers, warning her against pursuing a forbidden subject. ‘You’re prying into matters that don’t concern you.’
She laughed—a bitter sound that scraped her throat. ‘Don’t concern me? Because this is supposed to be some sort of clinical transaction?’
‘Precisely,’ he snapped.
The ache in her heart grew. She rubbed at it with her clenched fist but it didn’t dissipate. ‘I’m not a robot without feelings. I can only keep up the charade for so long.’
‘Is that a veiled threat?’
She sighed. ‘No, it’s not. It’s a suggestion that you may be doing yourself and your people a disservice in the long run if this marriage they seem so happy about turns out not to be what they expect.’
His nostrils flared. ‘You dare to tell me how to see to my own people’s well-being?’
Maddie tried not to be distracted by the fingers still gripping her, branding her skin. ‘I’m attempting to give you a new perspective. You shouldn’t dismiss your mother’s way of doing things out of hand. You never know—you may even find someone on her list you might grow to like eventually.’
‘You think I don’t like you?’
Her chest tightened. ‘Do you really need me to answer that?’
He stared down at her for breathless seconds, and then with a harsh sound he yanked her close. Merciless lips seared hers, creating a path for lustful flames to consume her whole.
It had been five long weeks since that wild encounter in his suite back in London. With every touch and look he’d orchestrated in public, the hunger he’d incited in her had only intensified. And, try as she might to deny it, desire bore down on her tenfold now, rendering it impossible for her not to wrap her body around him, strain to get even closer.
One hand gripped his waist, the other spiked into his hair in a turbulent bid to intensify the kiss. He met her bold demand, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. For endless minutes they devoured each other, their hands almost frenzied in their wild caresses.
They were both panting when Remi eventually tore away from her. He didn’t let go, or remove his gaze from her. ‘I may not have conventional feelings towards you,’ he rasped, ‘but this unstoppable fever in my blood desires no one else but you. Do you understand that?’
With every cell in her body she wanted to claim those words, hold them close to that ache in her chest. But she couldn’t. Because... ‘That’s just sex,’ she said shakily.
‘It’s more than most people have.’
‘And when that’s gone...?’
His lips compressed. ‘Then we’ll find a way to co-exist in civility.’
‘That can’t be enough for you, surely?’ she countered.
His hands dropped from her like leaden weights to fist at his sides. Maddie watched with sickening fascination as he reasserted absolute control of himself.
‘For the sake of my kingdom, it has to be enough. For your sake, you’d better not renege on our agreement.’
She drew a breath, but before she could speak his gaze flicked to the report on the chair.
‘Your father is making good progress, I understand?’
She nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘Let that be your defining goal, then.’
What about me? What about my heart? What about what I want?
The words remained stuck in her throat as he nodded at the velvet box. ‘See you at the altar tomorrow, Madeleine. Wear the necklace. It will please me.’
He left the suite, taking the vibrancy and the oxygen out of the room. She subsided into her seat, her stomach hollowing out as she acknowledged just how much she’d wanted that conversation to go differently.
Had she really expected some indication that he’d one day get over his devastating loss? That the impenetrable fortress around his heart would crack open to let someone else in? Someone like her? How much warning did her foolish heart need? It was time to accept reality. To stop hoping for the impossible.
Hands clenched in her lap, she stared down at the velvet box. She wasn’t sure whether she reached for it out of curiosity, to see what other priceless heirloom was being bestowed upon her, or whether it was because it was the last solid confirmation that come tomorrow she would be marrying Remi Montegova, as she’d promised.
&n
bsp; For better or worse, and for however long it lasted, she was locked in this thing with Remi. Perhaps if at some point in the future his emotional detachment turned into physical detachment he might even let her go, spare them both the inconvenience of a loveless, sexless marriage.
Maddie ignored the further anguish that thought brought and stared down at the unopened box. She had to embrace this upcoming wedding wholeheartedly, put her best game face on and play her role.
* * *
Except that wasn’t so easy the next morning as she stood before the bevy of attendants who’d arrived to prepare her for her wedding day.
For the last hour they’d gone about their duties with quiet efficiency, kind smiles and muted excitement, all carefully orchestrated to allay her jitters. Except the butterflies in her belly were in full kamikaze mode. No matter how she diced it, she was marrying the Crown Prince of Montegova—the man who in a few short weeks would be king.
Clinical undertaking or not, it was enough to steal the breath from her lungs—especially when her wedding gown was lowered over her head. She’d fallen in love with it on sight, picked it out of the vast selection three top Montegovan couturiers had presented her with five days after their engagement had been announced.
It was made of silk and lace, and the sweetheart neckline showed the barest hint of cleavage. The heavy material followed her form down to her knees in an elegant train of diamond-studded lace. Her arms were covered in the same lace pattern to her elbow, but at the back the design dipped in a deep vee, leaving her bare from nape to waist.
She’d been a little reticent about choosing the daring design, but her heavy lace veil would conceal the back of the dress, and for some reason she’d experienced a spark of delight at the thought of wearing this particular dress today.
Maddie suspected that the spark had come from the inadvertent discovery of Celeste’s wedding dress on her one visit to the east wing. She knew she should have left the private suite that seemed suspended in time the moment she’d suspected what it was. But curiosity had overwhelmed her. And she’d known the second she’d spotted Celeste’s demure heavy satin gown that she would choose differently for herself.
Perhaps that had been wrong, she pondered now as she slid nervous hands over her hips.
Whether Remi chose to acknowledge it or not, Maddie intended to stay true to herself in this marriage. In every way she intended to be her own woman—if only for the sake of her sanity.
With that affirmation, she attempted to smile as the head attendant presented her with the box that contained Remi’s grandmother’s wedding necklace. Awed gasps echoed in the chamber as the two-tiered diamond necklace was reverently placed around her throat and fastened. And with that final click, her time was up.
Maddie blinked hard at the tell-tale sheen in her eyes as she caught her reflection. She’d woken this morning to a profound loneliness that had left tears on her pillow. For far longer than she’d wanted she had wished her father or even her mother were by her side.
That feeling had only intensified during the long hours of preparation, until it was balled in a dull ache in her chest. So receiving a hand-delivered envelope, and opening it to see a note from her father, had drawn more heart-wrenching tears.
On one last whim she crossed to her bedside table, picked it up and re-read it.
My dear Maddie,
The past few years have been difficult for all of us, but especially for you. I haven’t been there for you and I’ve let you down.
This note isn’t about asking for forgiveness. It’s about expressing my unwavering pride in you, my joy at your accomplishments and my awe at your strength.
My only regret today is that I’m not there to walk you down the aisle.
I wish you a long, happy and fruitful marriage, my dear.
As for forgiveness...perhaps one day I’ll ask for it. When I’m strong enough and worthy to be called your father again.
For now, with all my love,
Dad
She treasured the note, held it dear in her heart. But the truth was that she was in this alone. Her only relief was the fact that Remi had been insistent on coming clean about her family’s circumstances to avoid further scandal, and had sent out a press release about her father being in rehab. The expected furore had accompanied the news, but had died down very quickly soon after. Her past was no longer a secret, and she could walk down the aisle with her head high.
Accepting she would so alone, Maddie was stunned when she arrived at the entrance to the west wing, where her wedding carriage awaited, to find a tall, dark tower of a man bearing a striking resemblance to Remi waiting for her.
With suave elegance, he took her hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. ‘My brother told me you were walking down the aisle alone. I came to offer my services,’ he said, in the same deep voice as Remi. ‘I’m Zak, by the way.’
It took a moment to locate her voice. ‘Zak... It’s lovely to meet you, but you don’t have to,’ she managed shakily.
He shook his head. ‘My offer isn’t completely altruistic. I’m told I’ve been remiss in not getting involved in the wedding preparations. The least I can do is get to know my future sister-in-law before she actually marries my brother. So shall we?’
He held out his arm to her, much as his older brother had several times since she’d met him, but without the charming smile Zak displayed now.
Maddie took a deep breath and blinked back tears. ‘Thank you.’
Within minutes of settling next to him in the car, she felt her nerves come back full force, then intensify as the sheer volume of the crowd gathered to witness the ceremony overwhelmed her.
To her eternal gratitude, Zak kept the conversation light as they progressed slowly towards Duomo Montegova, the sixteenth-century cathedral reserved for royal ceremonies.
Maddie waved and smiled, but attempted to blank her mind to what was actually happening. Ironically, it was Zak’s presence, reminding her that she would be his brother’s wife before the hour was out, that made it impossible to get away from the fact that she was risking certain heartbreak by tying herself to a man who would never love her.
She knew she’d gone beyond risk the moment her senses leapt at her first sight of Remi, poised at the altar.
His grey morning suit was impeccable, its bespoke design highlighting his towering frame to perfection. The sweet flower girls before her, the pageboys carrying her train, the stunning lighting inside the cathedral and the soft gasps from the guests all faded away as Remi became the sole focus of her attention.
Even Zak’s slight stiffening when they reached the place where a familiar-looking socialite sat with her daughters, and a brief glimpse of a young woman’s pale face as she stared at Zak, didn’t dilute the potency of her connection to Remi. It was a miracle that she managed to place one foot in front of the other and breathe in and out as she finally arrived in front of the man who would be her husband.
She barely heard Zak’s murmured words as he handed her over to his brother. All she could feel above her thundering heartbeat was Remi’s grip on hers, that intense determination in his eyes.
‘You look breathtaking,’ he murmured gruffly.
The words sounded sincere, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he was wishing he’d said them to someone else. From behind her veil she searched his face—a futile task, but one she couldn’t seem to stop herself from conducting.
Was this destined to be her life? Searching for signs that Remi felt something for her other than duty and obligation?
A delicate throat-clearing from the priest refocused her. Automatically, she repeated the words she’d practised for the last week. The knowledge that they were final and binding forced a lump into her throat.
After several seconds Remi turned his lithe, powerful body towards hers, in a less than subtle command for her to speak her
vows.
‘I take thee, Remirez Alexander Montegova, to be my...husband...’
An exhalation from the crowd confirmed that hers wasn’t the only breath being held at that moment. A furtive glance at Remi showed his eyes burning deeply into her face. She quickly averted her gaze, focused on repeating the remaining vows that bound her irrevocably to him.
When his turn came he spoke his vows in deep, solemn tones, with no hesitation as he slipped the wedding band onto her finger. The last of her breath was strangled in her lungs when he lifted the veil off her face. With one finger tilting up her chin, his head descended, his intention to follow tradition an immutable certainty.
The kiss was firm, branding, but over in the briefest of seconds. Still, it drew gasps and sighs as he slid his arms around her and brought his mouth to her cheek.
‘Bravo—you played the game admirably. And it wasn’t such an ordeal, was it?’
She plastered on a smile but didn’t respond—because she couldn’t. The heavy weight of the platinum and diamond wedding ring on her finger kept her mute. But she managed to keep her smile in place as Remi walked her back down the aisle and throughout the elaborate banquet, the first dance and their ride through the streets.
By the time she re-entered her suite, to change her attire for the trip to the Amber Palace—the honeymoon residence passed down from Remi’s grandfather to him—her smile was frozen in place.
She’d barely touched her food, had taken no more than a few sips of the vintage champagne during the reception. Luckily no one had commented on her lack of appetite. They’d been too busy absorbing the news that Remi had truly married her, a commoner with unsavoury baggage in the form of a drug addict father and an absentee mother.
‘Is everything all right, Your Highness?’
Maddie started, the sound of the title automatically conferred upon her on marriage stealing her breath.
She managed a small nod. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’
Just a little bit longer, she told herself. Then there will be the night to deal with.
