The Princess Problem
Page 18
It was what her mother would have wanted.
She leaned against one of the glass cases of diamond rings and willed herself to stay upright. But as Dalton scooped Jacques into his arms and moved toward her in the darkness, she noticed something that gave her a tiny glimmer of hope.
Is that...
No, it can’t be.
Her gaze locked on the bowtie around Dalton’s neck. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The tie was red. Not Drake-blue, but red. Brilliant, blazing red. She couldn’t seem to stop staring at it as he made his way toward her.
“Do my eyes deceive me, or is there a princess standing in front of me?” He stood about a foot and a half away. Just out of arm’s reach, but close enough to see a hint of the dimple in his left cheek that only seemed to make an appearance on the rare occasions when he laughed.
Aurélie lifted an amused brow. “Is that a red tie, or am I hallucinating?”
“Touché.” A smile tugged at his lips, and swarms of butterflies took flight in Aurélie’s tummy. Then as quickly as the smile appeared, it was gone. In its place was an ardent expression she couldn’t quite decipher. “You brought the egg back.”
“You noticed.”
“Indeed.” He set Jacques down and took a step closer. Aurélie felt herself leaning toward Dalton, as if even gravity couldn’t keep them apart. “You didn’t need to do that, you know.”
“But I did. We had a bargain, remember?” She needed to touch him. She needed to feel him again. It felt like a century had passed since he’d devoured her in this very room.
But her body remembered. She felt divinely liquid just standing in front of him, steeped in memories and decadent sensation. He’d loved her in this room, between these hallowed walls. He’d shared his deepest secrets. He’d done things to her that made the diamonds blush.
“You don’t owe me a thing. Our bargain fell apart.” He swallowed, and a rather fascinating knot flexed in his chiseled jaw. “That was my fault, Aurélie. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t. Please.” She shook her head and realized too late that she’d started to cry.
She didn’t want tears. Not now. She just wanted to throw herself into his arms and end the aching torture of being so close to him without feeling the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips. She just wanted to kiss him again. And again.
“I...”
But he didn’t let her finish. Before she could say a word about ending her engagement, his hands were in her hair, tipping her head back so that his lips were angled perfectly over hers.
“My perfect, precious pearl,” he whispered. “Don’t cry.”
At last he kissed her, gently at first. Then as a tumultuous heat gathered in her center, the kiss grew deeper until she trembled with need. Please. Please. He groaned in response to her silent plea and pulled her closer. She could feel every inch of him through the lilac chiffon of her evening gown.
He pulled back slightly, his gaze fixed on her with a new intensity. “Tell me it’s true. Tell me you’re not marrying him.”
“It’s true.” She nodded, dizzy with desire. Drunk with it. It was frightening how much she wanted him, needed him. She was finished with trying to protect her heart from getting hurt. She’d tried it already and had made a spectacular mess of things. She was all in now. No fear. No regrets.
“The thought of you with another man nearly killed me, princess. Have you come back to stay?” he asked, his voice rough. Questions shone in his diamond eyes.
It was time for answers. Past time.
Her heart pounded wildly. Do it. Do it now. Say what you came here to say. “I can’t stay. I’m just here for the gala.”
Dalton nodded, and the light in his eyes dimmed. “I understand.”
For a fraction of a second, the silence between them expanded, threatening to choke them both. Jacques whimpered at their feet.
“My father is abdicating.” She blurted it out without preamble. So much for finesse.
“What?”
“He wouldn’t agree to end the engagement. I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t back down. You met him. You saw what he’s like.”
“I did. He reminded me of my own father.” Dalton rolled his eyes. “More than you know.”
“Publishing my mother’s diary was my only option. He knows once her words go public, the people of Delamotte will turn on him in a flash. He wants to step down before that can happen.” Her father’s pride came before anything. It had come before her mother. And in the end, it had been his downfall. He’d made the choice. Not her.
She’d done the only thing she could do. Letting go of the diary was her only option for getting her life back.
“Does this mean what I think it means?”
Aurélie nodded. “I’ll be the Crown Princess. I’m going to rule Delamotte.”
She took a deep inhale, did her best to ignore the hummingbird beat of her heart and said what she’d traveled 4,000 miles to tell him. “And I want you there with me. You and Jacques, of course.”
Dalton Drake shot a glance at the dog and smiled the biggest smile she’d ever seen him display. “As luck would have it, I was already planning to visit your principality.”
Is this truly happening? Is this real? “If you come...if you stay...it will mean leaving Drake Diamonds.”
“Again, your timing is impeccable. I happen to be unemployed at the moment.” He hauled her hard against him and brought his mouth down on hers in a powerful kiss that robbed her legs of strength.
Would she ever grow accustomed to this, she wondered. Never. There was magic in his touch. She was powerless against it. And she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
She’d waited a lifetime for this kiss. She’d crisscrossed the globe and nearly toppled a kingdom.
It had been worth it. He’d been worth it.
“Excellent,” she whispered against the wicked wonderland of his mouth. “Because I think you’d make a perfect Prince Consort.”
“Are you asking me to marry you, Your Highness?” His eyes were shining. They seemed lighter than when she’d first met him. Soft pearl gray. “Right here in the Engagements showroom of Drake Diamonds?”
She nodded. “I am. And I just happen to know the cathedral is available three months from now.”
He slid his hands down her arms, wove his fingers through hers and guided her gently backward, until she felt the cold press of a glass case against her bare back. He couldn’t be serious. Half the city was downstairs. They didn’t matter, though. No one did. Not now. Only them.
“No, princess.” He reached behind her and slowly unzipped the bodice of her strapless gown. “Three months is far too long to wait to marry the woman I love. I want to make you my wife as soon as possible. Any chance we could get the cathedral sooner?”
Her dress slid down her body in a whisper of lilac, and she found herself naked once again in this glittering room, dressed in nothing but the cascade of gold pearls around her neck. “I think I can pull some strings.”
“That’s my princess.”
My princess.
His princess.
His.
Dalton reached for her necklace, twirled the pearls slowly around his finger and used them to reel her in for a kiss. This time, the priceless string held tight, binding them together.
Forever unbroken.
* * * * *
EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT
When Greek tycoon Alex Mik
halis discovers Adele Hudson is pregnant he abandons his plans to get even and suggests a very intimate solution: becoming his convenient wife!
Read on for a sneak preview of
CONVENIENTLY WED TO THE GREEK
‘What?’ The word exploded from her.
‘You can’t possibly be serious.’
Alex looked down into her face. Even in the slanted light from the taverna she could see the intensity in his black eyes. ‘I’m very serious. I think we should get married.’
Dell had never known what it felt to have her head spin. She felt it now. Alex had to take hold of her elbow to steady her. ‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this,’ she said. ‘You said you’d never get married. I’m not pregnant to you. In fact you see my pregnancy as a barrier to kissing me, let alone marrying me. Have you been drinking too much ouzo?’
‘Not a drop,’ he said. ‘It’s my father’s dying wish that I get married. He’s been a good father. I haven’t been a good son. Fulfilling that wish is important to me. If I have to get married, it makes sense that I marry you.’
‘It doesn’t make a scrap of sense to me,’ she said. ‘You don’t get married to someone to please someone else, even if it is your father.’
Alex frowned. ‘You’ve misunderstood me. I’m not talking about a real marriage.’
This was getting more and more surreal. ‘Not a real marriage? You mean a marriage of convenience?’
‘Yes. Like people do to be able to get residence in a country. In this case it would be marriage to make my father happy. He wants the peace of mind of seeing me settled.’
‘You feel you owe your father?’
‘I owe him so much it could never be calculated or repaid. This isn’t about owing my father, it’s about loving him. I love my father, Dell.’
But you’ll never love me, she cried in her heart. How could he talk about marrying someone—anyone—without a word about love?
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CONVENIENTLY WED TO THE GREEK
by Kandy Shepherd
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Copyright ©2017 by Kandy Shepherd
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THE PRINCESS PROBLEM
© 2017 Teri Wilson
Published in Great Britain 2017
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
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