Читать книгу Ruling Passions - Laura Wright, Laura Wright - Страница 10

Alex watched the blood drain from the woman’s beautiful face like wet paint from a canvas, and felt as though he wanted to ram his fist through a wall. He was the cause of the unease and shock she was feeling. He’d been too quick, too apathetic, in his quest to bring reality to the situation.

As though in the path of a rolling ball of fire, the woman leaped, glanced over her shoulder, then returned her stormy green gaze to him. “Listen, whoever you are. This, whatever it is, has gotten way out of hand.”

Alex was calm as he replied, “You don’t believe me?”

She sniffed, looked him up and down. “No, of course I don’t.”

“There are many ways to prove my identity.”

“I’m sure there are,” she said, her tone thick with agitated sarcasm. “But I’m not really up for more games today.”

“Neither am I.”

“Good.” Her gaze filled with strength as her long, fiery hair swirled around them. “My boat hit a rock and is flailing around out there. I need to have it towed in before—”

“There’s no need to worry about your boat. I will have it brought in for you.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I think under the circumstances—”

“Thank you, but I can handle it. Now if you’ll excuse me.” And with that she turned to leave.

But her hasty departure was something Alex couldn’t allow. This was far from over, far from resolved. He grabbed her hand.

When she whirled back to face him, her expression screamed antagonism. “You’ve got some nerve, buddy.”

A grin tugged at Alex’s mouth. No one had ever spoken to him with such ferocity. Granted, she didn’t believe he was the crown prince of the country, but still her pluck intrigued him.

“What do you plan to do while you wait for the repairs on your boat?” he asked.

She tugged her hand from his. “I haven’t made any immediate plans yet.”

Alex looked out toward the ocean, saw the boat thrashing around and made a quick assessment. “With damage like that, repairs will take a few weeks at the very least.”

“We’ll see. I’m pretty good with boats, so maybe I’ll lend a hand.”

“I don’t think Mr. Verrick will allow such a thing, but of course, there is no harm in trying.”

“Thanks for the advice. Can I go now?”

“Just one more thing. Where will you stay while your boat is healing?”

“I don’t know,” she said impatiently. “In town, I guess.”

Alex shook his head, a vehemence he didn’t know he possessed seeping into his blood. There was no way he was going to send this woman off to some hotel room. No matter how unwise, he wanted her close, where he could keep an eye on her, where he could protect her—where he could make certain she wouldn’t leave Llandaron without his knowledge.

Not with the ominous possibility of his child growing inside her.

“You will stay here at my beach house.”

Her brows shot together. “Just who do you think you are?”

“I told you who I am.”

“Right. Future king. Right.” She gestured around her. “I don’t see any guards.”

“I don’t allow my guards in my private residence, nor are they allowed on the grounds.”

“That’s a little unsafe for the future king, isn’t it?” she asked sarcastically.

“Perhaps. But after a lifetime of living ‘beneath the shield of protection,’ so to speak, it is what I have chosen.”

She met his imperious gaze without flinching. “Look, buddy, what happened here was a mistake, okay? Can’t we leave it at that? We weren’t thinking. All that fog and having your life flash before your eyes can—”

“Can make one foolish?”

She pointed at him. “Exactly.”

“Well, that doesn’t stay the fact that you might be pregnant.”

On a tiny gasp, her mouth dropped open and her gaze dropped to her belly. There was a long silence before her eyes finally met his once again. And when they did he saw pure unadulterated shock. Then, like a shifting breeze, anxiety and wonder filled those sea-green depths.

She said quietly, almost to herself, “Did you ever think that maybe I’m on the pill?”

“I don’t think so.”

“And why would you think that?” She lifted her impish chin. “Am I so undesirable that I wouldn’t have a steady boyfriend?”

Undesirable? Alex fairly chuckled at the thought. The word sounded like insanity coming from that full, sweet mouth he wanted to taste again. Just as the word boyfriend rang like an irritating bell in his brain.

His jaw tightened. He didn’t want to think of her with another man, he didn’t want to think of her taking birth control for an active love life. Both thoughts made his gut twist. But such feelings were dangerous.

“I wasn’t meaning to insult you,” he said tightly. “I just assumed… Well, you’ve been out to sea for at least four months. Alone. The need for companionship—”

She cut him off, her tone shaky, “How in the world could you know that I’ve been at sea for four months?”

“I saw you.” The image of her standing on that boat, hair wild, all mind-numbing curves, slammed into his mind—along with the white-hot need that accompanied it.

“When?” she demanded. “When did you see me?”

“In Scotland. Back in May. I was on the beach. You were standing on the bow of your boat.”

As the salty wind whipped around them, her eyes darkened to a rich green, pink stained her cheeks. “That was you?”

Alex nodded, his pulse jumping to life in his blood.

So she’d seen him, too.

Sophia knew her face was turning bright red in front of this man, and she hated herself for it. She wasn’t one for embarrassment or awkward situations. In fact, she pretty much ran headfirst into conflicts so they could be resolved and done with. But around this gorgeous creature she wasn’t herself. And the fact that she’d had dreams, even fantasies about seeing him, bare-chested and formidable, etched into Scotland’s rocky coastline for a full month afterward, made her even more disheartened.

“Who are you? Really?” she asked him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Crown Prince Alexander William Charles Octavos Thorne.” The grin he gave her made her knees soft as cream. “Really.”

“You’re lying.”

He shook his head. “I don’t lie.”

Breath held, she studied him in the light of the fading sun. Her grandfather had always said she was a great judge of character. But this man was harder to read than most. He seemed to have iron bars shooting up around him.

But even so, in those heather-colored eyes, in that solemn set of his jaw she saw honor—she saw truth.

She turned away, back toward the sea, with a groan. This was impossible. Impossible. Such things didn’t happen in real life. A prince, for heaven’s sake. Had she really gone and done something so outrageous as to make love to a prince?

Her hand went to her stomach.

A child… An oh-so-familiar ache surged into her throat. She’d been an only child, treated as an adult with all the responsibilities that came with it since the age of five. Ever since, she’d dreamed about having a family, a brood of kids. Teaching them to read, to sail, to swim and, most important, to be silly and carefree—to be a kid.

But having a child this way…

And with royalty…

For a moment Sophia thought that maybe she’d fallen asleep on the deck of the sloop that afternoon. Under the hot sun. Maybe her mind had played tricks and this was all just one crazy dream. The crash, the fog, the man…

With a dash of hope in her heart, she reached over and pinched her arm. A sudden sting told her that she was very much awake.

“And your name?” he asked.

Sophia glanced up at him and muttered a bleak, “Sophia Dunhill from San Diego, California.”

With a grim smile the prince took her hand. “Come back to my house, Sophia, dry off, then we’ll have your boat rescued.”

“Good God. Not another American,” the king exclaimed.

Leaning back against the palace library’s black-walnut mantel, Alex crossed his arms over his chest and watched his brother, Maxim, and his newly-pregnant sister, Cathy, turn to their American spouses and break out into laugher.

Ten minutes ago Alex had left his spunky little mermaid to her bathing. She’d sworn up and down that she would stay put “at least for tonight,” she’d said. He didn’t know whether to believe her or not, but what he did know was that if he hadn’t taken a break from her presence, he would have pulled her into his arms and made love to her again.

Now, just the thought of her nude, in his bath, up to her neck in vanilla-scented suds…

His hands balled into fists under his crossed arms. Control had to return, must return.

“Unlike my brother and sister,” Alex began with a frown. “There is no…romance here, father.”

The king gave his regal wolfhound, Glinda, a pat on the head, then leaned back in his favorite armchair and took a swallow of brandy. “I should hope not. This would be a very unwise time to go running around with—”

“Some American, Your Highness?” Maxim’s wife, Fran, said on a chuckle.

Alex watched as the king tried to jolt his pregnant and very American daughter-in-law with a withering look, but it came out as a lopsided grin instead. And when the pretty veterinarian returned the smile and patted him on the knee, the old man actually blushed.

The sight of his father turning from staunch dictator to blushing teddy bear stunned Alex. He’d never seen that side of his father. Not since he’d returned home, at any rate. It didn’t take a masters in psychology to deduce that this “American” had done the softening up.

Maxim turned to Alex, grinned. “So, she turned up on the beach, did she?”

Alex nodded succinctly. He wasn’t elaborating. The particulars of his encounter with Sophia on the beach didn’t need to be shared. As it was, the truth wouldn’t stop playing over and over in his mind; visions were more than enough. “Her boat needs extensive repairs.”

“And you volunteered to put her up until it’s fixed?” Cathy’s husband, Dan, asked with a grin to match Maxim’s. The new head of palace security was not only a former U.S. Marshal, but far too inquisitive for his own good.

Alex muttered tightly, “That’s right. It was my stretch of beach she washed up on. I would say that holds me responsible.”

Dan and Maxim exchanged wry glances.

“Didn’t you used to dream about mermaids when you were little?” Cathy asked, taking a sip of her cranberry juice.

“He certainly did,” Maxim said.

Fran smiled broadly and snuggled closer to her husband who had her very sleepy wolfhound pup, Lucky, on his lap. “How very romantic.”

Dan turned to his wife. “So what were these dreams about, Angel?”

Alex sighed heavily. “When did these family dinners start?”

They all ignored him as Cathy explained, “Alex was always a stoic child. He rarely told us anything…private. But when he started having these dreams, the same one, every night for a full year, he couldn’t keep it to himself. I was rather young, but I still remember how my big brother, my very stoic, grumbling brother, looked when he’d tell us about this dream.”

“All right, that’s enough,” Alex said, his voice laced with warning.

Maxim chuckled. “Not nearly.”

Cathy smiled and continued, “He would sit on the roof of the stables and look out at the ocean and tell us all about her. Long red hair, green eyes, pale skin stepping out of the sea with her arms outstretched.”

“Don’t forget about her magical powers,” Maxim prompted.

Quite caught up in the whole mess, the king inquired, “What’s this about magic?”

Dan and Fran nodded quickly, both inquiring, “What about her magical powers?”

Alex groaned, stalked over to the bar and filled a glass with whiskey. How could such a stupid, adolescent dream come back to haunt him this way? And where were the silent and very sedate family dinners he’d always enjoyed—and had counted on tonight?

Cathy’s words came out like a sigh. “He said that when she looked at him he felt as though he could fly, as though he was free, as though he could do and be anything.”

Alex cursed, his knuckles white as he gripped the glass of whiskey.

Dan snorted. “What do you make of that, Max? Poetry or something?”

Maxim shrugged. “I’m not certain. But it sounds as though he was in love with her.”

Alex glared at his brother and sister. “You know, there are plenty of humiliating stories I can share with your spouses.”

Fran grinned widely, her eyes lighting up. “Oooo. Like what?”

Maxim gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. “He’s bluffing, sweetheart.”

“You want to try me, little brother?” Alex countered.

“How about after dinner,” Fran suggested on a chuckle. “When we’re all full and not as prickly.” She turned to Alex. “So, what does this Sophia look like?”

Alex shook his head at his new sister-in-law. She was quick, very quick. Turning the conversation back to him and this mystery they all seemed to want to solve. He should be steaming mad. But no man could be angry with this woman for long—that was clear. Smart, beautiful and glowing with pregnancy.

He stilled, his mind returning to a beach house not far away. Would Sophia glow from carrying his child?

“Red hair by any chance?” Fran asked softly.

With a wave of the hand, Alex tossed out without thinking, “Red hair, green eyes and pale skin. Don’t know about the magical powers.”

Everyone fell silent, only the crackling of the fire and the subtle tinkling of ice cubes in glasses could be heard. Alex could fairly feel them gaping at each other over what he’d just said.

“Why would she not come to dinner tonight?” the king asked at last.

“She wanted some time to herself,” Alex said tightly. “And after…the stress of losing her boat today, I thought it best not to overwhelm her.” He didn’t add in her condition—or potential condition.

The king drained his glass, then announced, “I would like to meet this young woman.”

Cathy nodded. “I think we all would.”

“How about a picnic lunch on the hill tomorrow?” Fran suggested. “With Aunt Fara and Ranen, and Glinda and the pups, too.”

Chest tight, Alex stared at his family as they planned and plotted a way to meet his new houseguest. Everything was being taken out of his hands today. What happened at the beach with Sophia; his strange need for her. And now the insistence of his family. He felt as though he was just an onlooker, a bystander, in his own life. As though some force of nature had taken over.

But before Alex could even attempt to snatch back any semblance of control, his father stood up and barked his command. “Very good. A picnic on the hill. That’s settled, then. Let’s go in to dinner now.”

Sophia stepped out of the bath feeling only mildly relaxed. Here she was, in the crown prince of Llandaron’s opulent bathroom of pristine white and rugged navy, attempting to soak off the day’s craziness.

But how could she soak away unease and hope, not to mention a need unlike any she’d ever felt before?

Her shrink back in San Diego would have a field day with her behavior today. Normally their sessions were comprised of past regrets and pains: her lonely childhood, her parents’ death, her devotion to her beloved grandfather, her wariness to get involved with, then subsequently lose someone she loved.

But this…

This situation that she’d found herself in was beyond all analysis.

Sophia stepped over to the gold-encrusted mirror above the sink, dropped her towel and stared at her reflection. Bright eyes, pink lips, flushed cheeks. She had the look of a woman who’d experienced lust and excitement and satisfaction. The look of a woman who’d just had life breathed into her.

The double meaning in those words had Sophia touching her belly.

A soft smile moved through her. She and Alex had made love at a very risky time. But was such a miracle even possible? Could a life be growing inside her from a moment in time that was as wonderful as it was insane? And if so, what in the world was she going to do about it?

She lifted her chin, her gaze again to the mirror. She would do as she’d always done—face life head-on, face her fears and live each moment with no regrets.

No regrets.

“Sophia?”

Sophia gasped at the masculine call, reached down and snatched up her towel. Alex was back from dinner. Way too early. No doubt to check on her, make sure she hadn’t run away.

With a quick shiver, Sophia glanced over her shoulder at the bathroom door. She swallowed hard. It stood open a good foot. He was right outside, and his close proximity made her feel as though she couldn’t move, as though her feet were stuck to the bathroom tiles. “I didn’t expect you back so soon. Could you close the door, please? I’ll be out in a minute.”

She heard him snort. “Don’t tell me you’ve become shy all of a sudden.”

“Not all of a sudden,” she mumbled.

“Is that right? And today—”

“Today I was temporarily blinded by—”

“Lust?” he offered.

“More like a near-death experience. Now, are you going to close the door or what?”

“Not just yet. I’m rather intrigued by the ‘or what.’

On a frustrated sigh, and without thinking, she stalked to the doorway and faced him. “You are impossible!”

“And you are…”

“I’m impossible, too. Now, what can I do for you?”

His fierce gaze raked boldly over her. “You shouldn’t ask a man such a question wearing only that scrap of cotton.”

Sophia pulled her towel closer. “Are you telling me that I can’t trust you to be a gentleman?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

Heat moved through her, but she kept her tone cool. “Let’s get one thing straight, sire. Today was a lapse in judgment. It’s not going to happen again.”

He nodded succinctly. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“I don’t supplicate, Sophia.”

“Good. And I don’t kowtow to royalty.”

His mouth twitched with amusement. “Just so we understand each other….” He gestured behind him. “Now get dressed and come out. I brought you dinner.”

She glanced past him, saw several steaming, silver chafing dishes on the glass dining table. “I appreciate the thought, Alex, but I’m not very hungry.”

“You will eat, Sophia,” he insisted with a vague hint of disapproval.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me a moment ago, but I won’t be commanded to do—”

“This isn’t about you.” A muscle twitched in his jaw, his eyes growing dark as eggplant. “You will not starve my child.”

Sophia’s body stiffened with shock, her mind reeling. Alex’s words, his command, cut her deep, deeper than she could have imagined. Just the thought of harming a child, her child, a child that might be growing inside of her at this very moment, brought tears to her eyes.

She blinked them back and took a calming breath. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

He nodded, a hint of warmth passing over his dark and very dangerous gaze. But it was gone quickly. And after a moment he took a step back and closed the bathroom door.