Convenient Bride for the King Read online

  Control. She didn’t have it. Another tremor racked her. ‘That was—that.’ She was vastly surprised she still had the power of speech. ‘Phew! That was close.’

  He barked out a laugh and she gathered her courage and continued with the deception.

  ‘Yeah.’ She pushed her cheek into the cool wooden table and tried not to drool through her smile as she cracked one eye open the better to see his response. ‘Really close. You almost had me there.’

  ‘Princess, I got you there. You came. I win.’

  ‘No. I didn’t come.’ Lies, all lies, as another wave rode her hard. She fought the lassitude that followed in its wake by pushing up off the table and into a sitting position, hands either side of her and her legs pressed tightly together. She had a fair idea what she looked like, but she’d see to herself in a minute. She was far more interested in what Theo looked like, and he didn’t disappoint. His eyes glittered fiercely and his colour was high, as if he was either mightily aroused or mightily annoyed. It was hard to say which sentiment rode him harder. His lips were moist, his jaw tight. His crotch was...well. It was reassuring to know she hadn’t been the only one enjoying the lesson.

  ‘You came.’ He sounded so utterly confident.

  ‘No, I almost came.’ She looked for her bra and found it at the far end of the table. She wrapped it around her and fastened it quickly. The reapplication of her dress took longer, mainly because it was all askew and tangled around her waist. She figured her legs would probably hold her but she kept one hand to the table just in case, as she stood up and tried to get dressed. Panties—they were already on and damper than a wet cloth. Bra—on. Dress—

  ‘Turn around and let me help,’ he muttered.

  So she turned around and he zipped her up and then smoothed her dress down over her curves. ‘You came,’ he murmured in her ear. ‘You know it. And I’d trust you a whole lot more if you admitted it.’

  Damn. She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to uphold her end of the bargain. ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Hard, isn’t it? Knowing when and who to trust,’ he offered silkily.

  She stepped away to reclaim her shoes. ‘Time will tell.’

  ‘I’ll give you a pass this time because that’s what you seem to need but, I promise you, your body’s not that hard to read.’ His words licked at her. ‘You’re headily responsive, Moriana, but I do know what I’m doing. This time I wanted you to come for me. Next time I’m going to keep you on the edge of satisfaction until you’re begging for release.’

  He was better at these games than she was. ‘That sounds...’

  ‘Cruel?’ he asked. ‘Depraved? Torturous?’

  ‘Kind of perfect.’ She smoothed back her hair and wondered how she was going to explain her current state of dishevelment to her lady-in-waiting. Maybe she could set Aury to packing for Liesendaach by way of distraction.

  ‘So,’ she began, and if she was a little throaty, a little breathless, it couldn’t be helped. Having Theo’s warmth at her back and his words in her ear did that to her. ‘I’m coming to Liesendaach for a week, and at this point I won’t be wearing your ring. Any social functions I should know about?’

  He hadn’t given up when it came to seducing her into marrying him. The glittering promise in his eyes told her he was just getting started. She was flustered, still reeling from the negotiating and the kissing and the not so simple act of resisting him.

  The trust issues between them were a little bit heartbreaking.

  ‘One State Dinner on Friday, four luncheons, bring riding gear if riding’s something you like to do, and you’re going to need at least half a dozen breakfast outfits similar to the one you have on. We’ll be breakfasting together every morning. Think of it as lesson time.’

  ‘And in the evening? What do you do of an evening?’

  ‘Usually I work.’

  ‘Oh.’ She was ever so slightly disappointed. ‘I’ll bring some of my work too. You don’t mind?’

  ‘I don’t mind. Or we could occasionally meet for a nightcap.’

  ‘We could.’

  He was laughing at her, not outwardly, but she could still sense his amusement. She was like putty after only one of his lessons. Totally malleable and greedy for more of his attention, never mind that he’d just given her more than she could handle.

  ‘When would you like to leave?’ Thankfully she could still manage to ask a sensible question.

  ‘Whenever you’re ready.’

  Still so amenable. She was looking forward to this week. ‘I can be ready within the hour if you’d like to leave this morning? My lady-in-waiting can follow later this afternoon with a suitable wardrobe and my work.’

  ‘Let’s do that.’

  ‘Theo.’ He was a king in need of a queen, a ruler with a genuine predicament and she respected that he was trying to solve his problem. ‘I’m not going to meekly say yes to marriage after a week with you on your best behaviour. You might be wasting your time.’

  ‘I’m not wasting my time. I know you’ll give me a fair trial, and that you’ll be looking at ways to make this work for you and everyone else around you. You won’t be able to help yourself.’ He held her gaze and she couldn’t read the look in his eyes. ‘It’s what you do.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE ROYAL PALACE of Liesendaach was exactly as Theo had left it. Grey slate roofs, creamy sandstone walls arranged in a U-shape around a huge central courtyard that could fit a small army. Six hundred and eighty-five white-sashed windows graced the building. The front half of the palace was surrounded by immaculately kept lawns and the back half of the palace grounds was a series of garden rooms, radiating outwards like the spokes of a wheel.

  The palace employed fourteen full-time gardeners and many more seasonal workers, and every spring and autumn he opened the gardens to the public and allowed tours and special events to take place there. It was an incredible waste of water, according to some, but Theo’s gardeners knew better than to be wasteful with the precious resource. They were forever experimenting with hardy plant varieties and watering regimes. The forest that bordered the gardens on three sides kept the worst of the hot drying winds away in summertime and took the edge off the icy north winds in winter. Theo’s ancestors had known what they were doing when they’d kept the forest in place centuries ago. Naysayers could kiss his royal brass before he let anyone dismiss the gardens as frivolous.

  They more than paid their way.

  Moriana had been to the palace before, but not lately. Theo signalled to the helicopter’s pilot to loop around the building to give her a bird’s eye view.

  The palace of her birth was starkly grey and forbidding, and beautiful in its own way. This place probably looked like a blowsy showgirl in comparison, but he wanted her to like it.

  ‘The beauty here is not just for beauty’s sake,’ he said, leaning over her shoulder to look out of the window at the orchard. ‘A lot of botanical research takes place here, education for schoolchildren, animal husbandry and breeding programmes, patronage of the arts—’

  ‘Theo,’ she interrupted gently. ‘I know. Liesendaach’s royal palace is and should always remain both functional and beautiful. You’ve no need to defend it. Not to me.’

  ‘Do you have any idea how you might split your allegiance between Liesendaach and Arun?’

  She turned to look him in the eye and her smile was bittersweet. ‘You need to read the Princess Handbook,’ she said. ‘If I take your name my loyalty will be to Liesendaach.’

  ‘But how would you feel about that?’

  ‘Given the caning I’m getting in Arun’s papers at the moment, I’d feel quite vengefully good about it. On a more practical note, it might just give my brother the incentive to take a wife.’ She turned back to look out of the helicopter window. ‘Your country has been without a queen for almost two decades. For me that means no recent shoes to step into, no impossible expectations. There’s just me and what I might make of the role, and that’s
liberating in a way. I’m not scared.’ Her lips twisted. ‘I’ve been well trained. Byzenmaach would have given me that fresh start too.’

  He didn’t like the reminder of Byzenmaach and her future there up until a few days ago. A couple of kisses and a tiny taste of her and already he was feeling a possessiveness he’d never felt before. ‘Byzenmaach’s loss.’

  ‘Indeed.’

  They landed, both of them well used to getting in and out of helicopters. Theo had been hoping to make a quiet entrance but his Head of Household Staff had other ideas. Samantha Sterne stood waiting for them at the entrance closest to the helipad and one look at her ultra-serene demeanour promised a storm of rare intensity. The calmer she appeared, the worse the problem was.

  ‘Sam,’ he said. ‘Meet Princess Moriana of Arun, my guest for the week. You got my message about readying the Queen’s chambers?’

  Moriana might not be wearing his ring but he could make it clear in a multitude of ways that she was no ordinary guest.

  ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’ Sam turned and curtseyed to Moriana. ‘My apologies, Your Highness. The maids are finishing up now. The suite is clean but hasn’t been in use for some time. I wanted it aired, fresh flowers brought in, new linens...’

  ‘And he gave you fifteen minutes’ notice?’

  Sam smiled slightly at Moriana’s dry words. ‘Something like that, Your Highness.’

  ‘Sam, is it?’

  ‘Yes, Your Highness. Head of Household Staff.’

  ‘Ma’am is fine.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Sam nodded, but didn’t move on. ‘Your Majesty.’ She turned back towards Theo and there it was, the surface calm that spoke of a major problem. ‘Your cousin arrived this morning, requesting an audience with you. When you weren’t here he insisted on waiting, no matter how long it took. I put him in his old suite. George is currently seeing to his needs.’

  ‘I’ll take care of it.’ Cousin Benedict had called the royal palace home during the years his father—Theo’s uncle—had been Regent. He’d never shown any outward desire for the throne, preferring a playboy lifestyle to one of service, but he was a troublemaker at heart and a sly one at that. Family on the one hand; one laughing breath away from stabbing Theo in the back on the other. Benedict hadn’t actively sought his company in years.

  Sam nodded and took her leave, her stiletto heels clicking rapidly across the polished marble floor. Theo turned to see Moriana watch the other woman go, her expression assessing.

  ‘She’s very young to be your Head of Staff,’ said Moriana finally.

  ‘The old one was loyal to my uncle. This one’s not.’ That wasn’t the line of thought he was expecting. His mind was still on Benedict.

  ‘She’s very pretty.’

  ‘She’s very competent.’

  ‘I hope so. There are people I’ll want to bring with me to Liesendaach if we do go ahead with a union.’

  ‘Your Head of Household Staff?’ he asked drily.

  ‘No, Augustus would kill me. I’m merely pointing out that some staffing changes and additions will be inevitable. I like things done a certain way and I’m not shy about making it happen. Don’t worry,’ she murmured. ‘If Samantha Sterne is as competent as she is pretty, she won’t be going anywhere. What’s up with Benedict?’

  ‘You mean besides the usual? It’s hard to say.’

  ‘You were close to him for a while, weren’t you?’

  ‘If by close you mean that after my parents died he and I set about creating as much havoc as we could, then yes, we were close. I grew up. He grew petulant. And now would be a very good time to slip my ring on your finger if you wanted to. For your protection. Not that I’m harping on, but I don’t trust my cousin not to skewer you when you’re not looking. It’s his specialty.’

  ‘And how exactly is wearing your ring going to protect me from that? Because I would have thought it painted a target on my back. Unless competing with you for something you’ve laid claim to is something your cousin never does.’

  He and Benedict had often made a game out of competing for women; he couldn’t deny it. ‘It’d still make me feel better.’

  ‘Ownership usually does.’

  Ouch.

  ‘Ring or no ring, I can handle cousin Benedict,’ she said with a smile. ‘Shall we see what he wants?’

  Benedict could wait. ‘Let me show you to your rooms and then I’ll see what he wants.’

  ‘Of course, Your Majesty.’

  He wasn’t nervous about showing her his home. He wasn’t suddenly sweating, hoping she’d like her quarters, and the artwork, and the gardens, and the people. He wasn’t.

  It was just warm in here.

  * * *

  Moriana knew Theo’s palace was beautiful. She’d been there before, in its ballrooms and Theo’s living quarters when he was growing up. But she’d never been in his mother’s rooms before and she hadn’t quite realised how stunning the incoming light from a wall full of windows would be, or how magnificent the second storey view out over the gardens would be. The floor of the Queen’s chambers consisted of polished wooden parquetry in a floral design and the ceiling was high and domed. Someone, at some point, had fallen in love with chandeliers, and they caught the sunlight and scattered it.

  ‘There are other suites to choose from.’ Theo was watching her, waiting for her reaction. She walked towards the windows to stare out, not wanting to drool.

  ‘This’ll do.’

  ‘I can bring in some grey stone. Make you feel more at home.’

  She turned in a circle, feasting her eyes on absolutely everything. ‘Don’t you dare.’ Okay, maybe she could be seen to drool a little bit.

  And there was Theo, hands in his trouser pockets and his back to the wall, standing just inside the door. Watching her. ‘Where are your rooms?’

  ‘The other side of the hall, with windows facing east. I get the sunrise, you get the sunset.’

  ‘But do you have chandeliers?’ she said.

  ‘You want to see my rooms?’

  She did.

  His suite was situated on the other side of the long hallway. There were more windows. Lots of tans and blues, hidden lights rather than chandeliers and the pick of the artwork. She eyed the Botticelli painting over his decorative fireplace with frank interest and heard a faint growl from somewhere behind her.

  ‘You can’t have it,’ he murmured. ‘You want to look at it, you can come here.’

  ‘But would I look at it if I came here? That’s the question.’ If it came to a competition as to whether she’d be more likely to study Theo or that painting, Theo would win. She still hadn’t forgotten what he’d taught her this morning at the breakfast table. She wondered what he could teach her in a living room with soft surfaces all around them.

  ‘I could be persuaded to have more than one lesson per day,’ she said, eyeing the nearby sofa.

  ‘I need to preserve my strength.’ He looked darkly amused.

  ‘Ah, well. Tomorrow morning, then.’ She didn’t linger during her tour of his rooms. It felt a little like trespassing, for all that he seemed to have no problem with her being there. He kept to the corners of his rooms as well, whereas she was currently standing in the middle of a parquetry circle that was itself probably the dead centre of the room. She let him escort her back to her quarters, where he obligingly made way for two chambermaids, one carrying a vase, the other with her arms full of blooming roses that left a fragrant trail in their wake, but he didn’t make to follow her inside. ‘I’ll leave you to settle in,’ he said. ‘If you want anything changed or moved, call Sam.’

  Moriana nodded. ‘Give your cousin my regards. Will I see him at dinner?’

  ‘On Friday at the State Dinner, yes. He’s on the guest list.’

  ‘So you do still socialise with him on occasion?’

  ‘It’s unavoidable.’

  ‘But you won’t be inviting him to stay on, now that he’s here?’ She couldn’t fathom Theo’s relationship with hi
s cousin.

  ‘No. He won’t be staying on.’

  ‘Because I’m here?’

  ‘That’s one of the reasons, yes.’

  ‘Benedict has always been courteous to me,’ she said.

  ‘I’m sure he has. You are sister to a king. You were betrothed to a crown prince. You outrank him. Besides, why make enemies when you can charm someone instead?’

  That was one way of looking at it. ‘How come you never embraced that philosophy around me?’

  ‘You were annoying.’ He smiled as he said it, and for a moment she felt the heat of his laser-like focus. ‘If Benedict stays, my attention will be split. I’d rather concentrate on you alone.’

  ‘Very charming,’ she murmured. And she quite enjoyed the view as she watched him go.

  * * *

  Theo didn’t have to go looking for his cousin. Five minutes after stepping into his office, Benedict found him. Benedict was two years older than Theo, two inches shorter and as vain as any peacock. He appeared in the doorway to Theo’s office, wearing a sneer Theo strongly hoped wasn’t hereditary. Benedict had introduced a teenage Theo to Europe’s fleshpots and vices, and back then Theo had needed no encouragement to make the most of them. Still finding his way after the death of his parents and older brother, he’d found a willing companion in Benedict.

  But Benedict, for all his easy grace and charm, had a viciousness and immorality about him that couldn’t be ignored. Theo had started pulling back from their exploits. Benedict hadn’t liked that.

  It had gone steadily downhill from there.

  ‘You could say hello and offer me a drink,’ Benedict said.

  ‘I assumed you’d already helped yourself,’ Theo replied, turning his attention momentarily from the other man to finish an email response to his secretary. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘The palace requested my presence at dinner on Friday so here I am.’

  ‘You’re early.’

  ‘Quite. Had I known you were returning with a guest I may not have made myself quite so at home. On the other hand I get to watch you try to impress the lovely Princess of Arun. That could be fun.’

  ‘Benedict, you specifically asked to see me and I was given to understand that you thought the matter important enough to wait for my return. What do you want?’