Found: His Royal Baby
Raye Morgan
Could this baby be his royal heir? Crown Prince Dane of Montenevada has just heard the rumours of a secret baby of royal birth. With the kingdom in uproar, his only choice is to confront the sister of his sworn enemy – the woman who still haunts his dreams. Alexandra Acredonna has feared her precious son will be taken from her. And then Dane shows up, furious that she’s kept from him the result of their lost week of passion.He offers her an ultimatum, one that will keep her identity secret. But Alexandra wants more – a place at his side and a husband who will recognise her…as his beloved bride.The Royals of Montenevada Three gorgeous princes… and how they meet their brides-to-be!
“Don’t you have something youneed to tell me?” Dane asked.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Don’t you?” He stared into Alex’s eyes. “Where is the child?” he asked firmly.
Even though she’d known what he was there for all along, that sent a shock through her system.
“What child?” she said breathlessly, fighting for equilibrium.
He pulled her close.
“The baby you had five months ago in Paris. Where are you keeping him?
She closed her eyes, feeling faint. Her head was reeling. He knew more than she’d thought. There wasn’t much she could do but bluster her way through this.
Opening her eyes, she glared at him. His blue eyes were searching her face, as though he would find answers in her gaze.
“Alex, we were together at exactly the right time to make this my business.”
She shook her head firmly. “You don’t know that.”
He captured her chin in his hand, tilting her face to receive him. “I do know,” he said softly, then lowered his lips to hers.
She tried to find the wherewithal to resist, but it was no use. His mouth felt so warm, so good, and she opened to his kiss as though she’d been starving for him.
Dear Reader
This is an exciting year for romance writers and fans. Mills & Boon is celebrating a very special birthday—one hundred years of publishing great fiction. If you go to the websites for Mills & Boon and Harlequin, you’ll find out more about the festivities, as well as lots of fun facts about romance through the years.
In the meantime, those of you who have been following the story of the restored Montenevada monarchy will be happy to know Crown Prince Dane has found his missing baby. Luckily, the mother of this royal baby is the woman Dane loves. Sometimes life does work out the way it should.
But wait! Not so fast! Things can’t be that easy. Alexandra may be the woman he’s loved for years, but she’s also an Acredonna, and the daughter of the man who originally wrested the little European country of Carnethia away from Dane’s people. The bad blood between these families is poisoned with bitterness, old and new. Even if the two lovers can get beyond personal animosities, will the people ever accept a match between them? Will Crown Prince Dane have to give up the country he was meant to rule in order to marry Alexandra? Or will he do his duty and live without love?
Hope you enjoy finding out the answer. Happy reading!
Raye Morgan
FOUND: HIS ROYAL BABY
BY
RAYE MORGAN
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
THE ROYALS OFMONTENEVADA
Three gorgeous princes… and how they meet their brides-to-be!
The whole kingdom is in an uproar. As the princes fulfil their duties, a rumour starts that one special woman is carrying a royal heir. A massive search reveals three single mothers…who might be perfect for the three Montenevada sons. Could love be part of the royal baby bargain?
Find out in August-October 2008, with this exciting new mini-series by Raye Morgan:
THE PRINCE’S SECRET BRIDE: Meet Nico, who never expects to encounter a pregnant woman with amnesia…much less marry her!
ABBY AND THE PLAYBOY PRINCE: Mychale discovers a tempting woman living in his house, then finds out she’s hiding a secret baby…
FOUND: HIS ROYAL BABY: Dane never forgot her, then learned they had a child together. Can they finally become the family he’s always wanted?
To Repaircat Jack, for all the Fix-its!
CHAPTER ONE
CROWN Prince Dane of the Royal House of Montenevada, newly reinstalled monarchy of the sovereign nation of Carnethia, walked reluctantly into the trendy dance club. Chic’s was located in a neighboring country to his own, in the nightlife district of the city of Darnam. The pulsing music seemed to slam against his brain like a bad headache. The swirling colors and flashing lights brought back painful memories of nights on the battlefield—nights not so far removed but best left unremembered.
He stood at the entry, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light, scanning the crowd. He was alone. He’d ditched his security detail at his hotel and headed out on his own without company. There was nothing about him to signal royalty, but people turned and looked at him, anyway. Standing at the top of the stairs, his thick dark hair slightly tousled, his legs apart, his hands lightly clenched, his tough, muscular body balanced, he would have looked like a fighter if his face hadn’t been so flawlessly handsome. Few in this crowd seemed to recognize who he was, but they knew he was someone—someone of consequence. And they stared at him, wondering.
He began to walk through the crowd, his startling silver-blue eyes searching. Men stepped back out of his way, suddenly wary, as though they sensed danger. Women followed him with their gazes, unconsciously flirting with their eyes, their lips, the way they thrust out their breasts as he passed. But he didn’t make contact. He was looking for someone, like a hunter stalking prey.
A champagne cork popped, the explosion sending golden bubbles through the air. Someone at the far end of the room was calling out a toast, and confetti began to fall from the ceiling. He turned slowly, staring at the boisterous group. Two people stepped back, parting the crowd, and there she was in the center of everything.
He froze, still as a statue. She was just as he’d remembered her: thick, mahogany-red hair swirled riotously around her beautiful face in deep, extravagant curls; eyes as green as precious emeralds glittered beneath long dark lashes, all set against skin as white and pure as alabaster. Her dress was cut low enough to reveal a lot of smooth, luscious skin. Made of something slinky, it was shaped trim and tight in the bodice and around her full, lavish hips, only to whirl out around her knees, giving a generous view of her perfect, athletically muscular legs. She was still the most gorgeous creature he’d ever seen.
But seeing her again drove a knife into his heart. Real, physical pain sliced through his body. For just a moment, this man who had stood up to armies and assassins without a qualm was flooded with the instinct to turn and run. Facing her like this was hard. If it hadn’t been for his suspicions about her, he would have stayed away. But he was pretty sure she had something that belonged to him. This was a stand he had to take.
He watched as she laughed up at the sophisticated-looking man with silver hair at his temples who was standing next to her. The man smiled down at her as though he had a claim. Dane raised an eyebrow. Another dragon to slay?
No matter. He’d come on a mission and he wasn’t going to be deterred. But as the man reached out and put his hand on the woman’s naked upper arm, a feeling like cold anger twisted inside Dane. His heart, which had been thudding harder than usual, but at a steady pace, began to bang against his chest wall. Adrenaline. He always felt like this before a fight.
The people around her had fallen silent, watching his approach, and finally she turned and saw him. Her gaze met his and caught, held by the intensity in his eyes. It was one of those crystal moments that would be seared into his soul for a lifetime. For just a few seconds, time stood still. Everything else faded away—all the people, the music, the noise, even breathing itself. There was only the two of them and the deep, tangled connection that sizzled between them.
And then her green eyes widened and her mouth opened as though she might almost cry out. And that was when he saw the fear.
She covered it up quickly. Her chin rose and her eyes flashed defiant fire. But he’d seen the truth. She didn’t fear much, but she was afraid of him. And if she feared him, there could only be one reason. It meant his guess was right.
It was an educated guess. He’d heard rumors and he’d put two and two together. He’d been shown pictures, but pictures could be faked.
Still, he had to admit, hope had come into play. But he didn’t think he’d let it carry him away. He knew a reliance on hope brought only heartbreak. He’d spent a lifetime learning to control his emotions. Hell, some might even say he’d learned to snuff out any communication with his heart. It had a basic function, to keep pumping vitality into his body. As for the rest, he’d learned to live without it. Life was simpler that way.
She tossed back thick, silky hair that glowed with deep-red highlights, scattering confetti that had caught in it as she did so. Squaring her shoulders, she faced him boldly.
“So, what do we have here?” she said in a sort of mock greeting. “The pretender to the Carnethian throne, isn’t it?”
He gazed back steadily. “I’m not the pretender, Alexandra. You Acredonnas were the pretenders.” He put his hand over his heart as he added coolly, “I’m the real thing.”
All the fire and pain of the war stood between them, the war during which his family, the Montenevadas, took back the country her family, the Acredonnas, had wrested from them fifty years before.
“I want to talk to you,” he told her.
The smile that twisted her carmine lips held no hint of warmth. “Interesting. But this is a dance club. I want to dance.”
He shrugged, his eyes hooded. “I’m at your service.”
That seemed to surprise her. A look of wariness flashed in her green eyes.
“Not with you,” she said, a bit too quickly.
He raised an eyebrow. “Why not? What are you afraid of?”
“Not you,” she said again, eyes narrowing. “Never you.”
But there was a thread of quivering emotion in her voice that gave lie to her declaration. Something in him responded to it, softening. His impulse was to reach for her, and his hand went out to do just that.
Too late. The tall man with the silver sideburns had come to her side, and she stared at Dane’s hand as if it were a snake. Quickly she took the tall man’s arm, leaning into him as though for protection.
“I’m all booked up, you see,” she told Dane flippantly. “Maybe some other time.”
He shrugged, dropping his hand to his side. “I’ll wait,” he said, not allowing her to see evidence of the ache that tore through him at her rejection.
The tall man flashed Dane a look of pure triumph, but he ignored it. The man was nothing. A mere annoyance. Alexandra was in his sights and she was all he was focused on. He leaned against a post, arms folded, and watched them go out onto the tiny, crowded dance floor.
They were good. It was obvious they’d danced together before. He watched her turn and shimmer to the music, and he cursed the way it made him feel. She moved like an angel with just enough fire to be an arousing delight, but not so much as to lose that simple, decent elegance that he’d always seen in her. She moved like a lady—a provocative lady, but a lady, nonetheless.
His mouth went dry as he watched her. He wanted her. He always wanted her. This was his fatal flaw, the chink in his armor, the weak place in his soul. If he wasn’t careful, it could destroy him.
Every muscle in his body hardened. Somehow this woman appealed to him in ways no other female had ever come close to. And here she was, the enemy. Their families had fought against each other for decades. She hated him. She’d made that very plain every time they’d met. He knew there could never be anything but fierce animosity between them.
Still, for some reason, people were always telling him what she was up to, where she was, who she was seeing. No matter how often he ordered them into silence, somehow they managed to convey every rumor that poisoned the air. And one rumor in particular had chilled his blood. That was the one he had to check out. Once he’d heard of it, he knew he couldn’t stay away.
Alex and her brothers had been difficult to find since they’d escaped from Carnethia at the end of the war. He’d heard only that morning that she might be coming to Chic’s tonight, in this small, neighboring neutral country. Interestingly, it had been his sister, Carla, who had told him, in casual conversation over toast, and not the intelligence people he’d specifically tasked for the last few weeks with the job of finding her—ever since he’d heard the whispers about her and what she’d been doing for the last year or so.
She came back to the table with cheeks stained red and a new sparkle in her green eyes.
“Are you still here?” she asked as she passed him.
“I’m still here. We need to talk.”
She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “I don’t think—”
His hand flashed out and took her upper arm in his grip, fingers curling tightly into her soft flesh. Two men in her party reacted quickly, stepping forward and looking to her for a sign.
“I do think,” Dane said crisply, ignoring her protectors. “Either you dance with me, or I’m taking you out into the street. One way or another, we’re going to talk.”
She glared at him. “You’re not royalty here, Dane. Everyone doesn’t tremble at your every desire.”
His lip curled. “Too bad. You look so appealing when you tremble.”
Her breath caught in her throat and she blinked rapidly, trying hard to keep her cool. What he’d said had connotations far beyond this room, and the reminder set her back on her heels. He knew just how to get to her, to reach in and find the weak spot.
And he was bound and determined to be a jerk tonight, wasn’t he? She was caught in a trap. She had bodyguards with her, but she couldn’t let them make a scene. Things were too dicey for her family in this city as it was.
Too late she had a pang of regret. She shouldn’t have come tonight. She’d only chanced it because she was so sick of hiding. But she should have known this might happen.
Oh, why didn’t she just admit it? She’d hoped against all reason that she would see him. Or see someone who knew him. Or at least hear something about him. Even though she knew any kind of contact was the most dangerous thing for her.
But it had been so long and she hungered for him in ways she couldn’t reveal. Every scrap of information she could find fed her addiction to the man. She had pictures, mostly of official royal functions where he’d appeared recently. And she had his T-shirt, the one he’d been wearing when she’d found him in the wreck of his car and dragged him to safety. It was still stained with his blood, because to wash it would be to wash away the scent of him, the feel of him, the knowledge that it had once been against his body.
But all this had to be in secret, because she could never have the man himself. And to let him near her like this was stupidly reckless.
Still, she was surrounded by friends. He couldn’t do anything to her here. So why did she feel so vulnerable? Why did fear flutter inside her like a butterfly seeking freedom?
She had to do something. Dane was going to make sure she was humiliated if he kept this up. The only way to avoid it was going to be to dance with the man. Very well, then. She took a deep breath and raised her chin. She might as well get it over with.
“You win, oh mighty one,” she said mockingly. “Let’s dance.”
Second thoughts came fast and furious, and she stiffened as he took her in his arms as though they were heading out to perform a Viennese waltz. She hadn’t expected that.
“Wait,” she said, resisting. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t think I’m going to do the Shim Sham or whatever crazy dance is popular, do you?” he said blithely, not giving an inch. “I’m not one of your pretty boys, Alexandra. And I won’t make a spectacle of myself before the whole world.”
She lifted her chin, green eyes glittering. “You didn’t like my dancing style?”
He smiled down at her coldly. “Your dancing was exotic, erotic and totally shameless.”
He pulled her just a bit closer. The music started and he began to lead her onto the dance floor, turning her slowly to every other beat. Somehow, it worked, and though they were in a slow embrace, they seemed to be in tune to the music, regardless.
“I told you I wanted to talk. We can’t do that jumping up and down on each other’s toes.”
Her pulse raced. It was so strange to be with him like this. For months she’d longed to see him at the same time she dreaded it. Now that he was here, she knew nothing good could come of it. He was a danger to her, a danger to her family. She had to be so careful what she said, so careful what she let him know. He was still the enemy, no matter what ties still lingered between them.
And here she was, so close to him she could feel his breath in her hair. Her gaze drifted to the open neck of his white shirt. She remembered what that chest looked like without a shirt, she remembered…
“Oh!” She pulled back, closing her eyes against the vision. “I thought you wanted to talk,” she said quickly. “Go ahead. Say something.”
“I was trying to recall if we’d ever danced together before,” he said softly.
“Never,” she snapped. “And this will be the only time, so make the most of it.”
“You’re wrong,” he said, his voice a low rumble in his chest. “Don’t you remember that hotel cocktail lounge in Tokyo?”
She looked up and met his steady gaze, even though she knew it was a big mistake. Tokyo was over six years ago. They’d been so young, and both dispatched by their families as representatives to the International Conference on Economic Growth.
They’d started out antagonists when he’d made an official challenge to her right to sit for Carnethia. He’d called her family’s rule illegitimate, he’d called her a usurper. She’d reacted angrily, calling him a sore loser, a remnant of a decadent past. They’d come face-to-face, staring each other down.
They’d carried their argument into the dining room during the official banquet, and then into the meeting rooms, and finally into the cocktail lounge. And somehow they had ended up dancing. And dancing. The night went on and on. The antagonism had melted away, but not the passion. Once they’d come together like that, they couldn’t seem to keep away from each other. They spent most of the next two days in each other’s arms.
By the time they had boarded separate planes Monday morning, she could have sworn they were in love. That it was forever. That nothing could keep them apart. She could hardly wait to get home to begin making plans. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince her family that love was more important than old grudges, but she was sure she would find a way.
But she’d been wrong. There was no way. She’d been dreaming of bridal veils and satin wedding gowns, and her country had been taking up arms. While they’d been gone, romancing in Tokyo, the unrest in Carnethia had taken a serious turn for the worse. Fighting had begun along the border. The world of Acredonna power that she’d grown up being so sure of was quickly crumbling, though she didn’t know it yet.
She was swept up in the fight almost immediately, and Dane was the enemy, one of the leaders of the very people who were trying to ruin her family. She didn’t see him again until the last month of the war.
The war was over now, but the bitterness lingered on.
“Tokyo?” she lied, shrugging. “I don’t remember Tokyo. Ancient history.”
He winced. Beyond all reason, that was another painful twist to his heart.
“I’ve been searching for you for weeks,” he said gruffly. “You and your family have kept a low profile since the war ended.”
“That’s what happens to the vanquished, isn’t it?” She looked up into his eyes. “The losers have to hide.”
Her eyes had always had the power to hypnotize him. Once he looked into them, he had a hard time looking away. But there was something different tonight. The usual open honesty she gave him was missing. Something furtive hid in the recesses of those beautiful irises. He searched hard, trying to analyze what she was avoiding. But he was pretty sure he knew what it was.
“And your father?” he asked with real curiosity. There were so many rumors floating around and so few solid facts.
“My father?” A flash of anger covered her wariness. “What do you care about my father? You hate him.”
“He’s been a big influence on my life, whatever the reason. I’m curious. I’ve heard different things and I’d like to know what the real story is.”
She pressed her lips together, then decided to tell him the truth. “My father is sick and barely hanging on.”
He drew in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.
She grunted skeptically, shrugging away his simple sympathy. “And he is very, very bitter.”
He shrugged. He’d assumed that. “Of course.”
She took a deep breath, glanced into his eyes and then away. “Mostly toward his own children,” she admitted, “who were not able to hang on to the prize he won for the family fifty years ago.”
He nodded. He took that as a matter of course as well. His father would have been the same, had he lived and gone through what her father had suffered.
“And yet, you’re here,” he noted dryly.
She nodded, biting her lip. “It’s my birthday.”
Her birthday. He almost caught his breath at that news. Why it should affect him with a wave of emotion he wasn’t sure, but it did.
“I didn’t bring you a present,” he said softly.
She looked up at him, her lower lip quivering, but her eyes still full of spirit. “And here I thought you considered yourself a gift to the human race,” she said flippantly.
“Cute.”
He looked at her mouth. The urge to kiss her surged in his chest. The music stopped and they stood swaying, still pressed together. He stared at the way her lip was trembling, so full and delicious and tempting.
And below, the full thrust of her breasts, the deep, shadowed cleavage between them. He could feel the warmth rising from it, taste the heat he would find in her mouth. Every fiber of his being wanted her. No other woman would ever affect him the way she did.
And no woman was more impossible for him to have.
His head went back as he realized the murmurs had begun. Someone had recognized him, and the whispers were spreading through the hall. This sort of thing was familiar to him—happened all the time. He wouldn’t be able to stay much longer.
The flash from a paparazzi camera blinded him for a moment, anchoring him back to earth. Exactly what he hated most, the tabloid culture and their vultures. He swore softly, then drew back, still holding her hand.
“Obviously, this was a bad idea. We can’t talk here.” He looked at her questioningly. “Unless you want to just go ahead and tell me the truth.”
“Truth? Why, Your Highness, you know I never lie.”
For some contrary reason, that made him smile.
“Good. Then I’m sure you’ll be ready to tell me everything tomorrow when we can get some privacy.” He gave her a quick chuck under the chin. “I’ll see you then,” he told her. “Where are you staying?”
She stared at him, seemingly startled out of all ability to speak.
“Never mind. I’ll find out. Nine-thirty at your hotel. We’ll talk then. You order in coffee, I’ll bring the brioche.”
Turning on his heel, he walked past the photographer who was still snapping pictures. His hand shot out and grabbed the camera before the man knew what was happening.
“Hey!” the paparazzo yelled out.
Dane flipped him a business card. “Call this number in the morning,” he said. “You’ll get your camera back. In the meantime, I’ll babysit it for you.”
“Hey,” the man yelled again, following but not quite daring to do anything about it. “You can’t do that!”
But he’d already done it, and he was out the door and into his waiting Aston Martin before anyone could stop him.
CHAPTER TWO
ALEXANDRA Acredonna, only daughter of Luther Acredonna, recently deposed leader of the Nationalists, whose rule of Carnethia was ended by Crown Prince Dane, his father and his brothers, was in despair.
It had been a huge mistake to come out in public. She shouldn’t have risked it. It had been so long, and she’d been so hungry for some sort of social contact, that when some dear friends had invited her to a birthday celebration at Chic’s, she’d been too tempted to turn the offer down. She’d gone, swearing she would only be at the club for an hour, in and out, gone before there would be time for anyone to notice her and send out the word.
But it hadn’t worked out that way. Dane had obviously been tipped off. Which meant there might be someone in her entourage who was giving information to the Montenevadas. A chilling thought. If they had leaked once, they would leak again.
She stared into the dressing room mirror, trying to concentrate on solutions. She had to be supersecret and supercareful from now on. She was going to have to become more disciplined. Ridding herself of all the people around her was the first step. Only one or two of her closest advisors should know where she was at any given time.
She was staying at the Lion’s Mane Hotel here in Darnam. It was a huge place and she’d registered under an assumed name and taken one of the cheaper suites for her party, so she’d thought she would be lost in the shuffle.
No such luck. Now she was back in the hotel room, looking forward to a long, sleepless night and wondering who among her people might be a traitor.
But most of all, she was thinking about Dane.
She’d been shocked to see him standing there in the club. He’d looked good—healthier than when she’d seen him last. Her heart had seemed to jump in her chest when she saw him. Every cell, every nerve, came more alive than ever. She saw things, felt things, she didn’t see or feel when he wasn’t near. She knew she would never be free of the emotions he conjured up in her just by being within reach.
The way he’d looked at her! The way his blue eyes had penetrated her self-confidence and stripped her to the bone. For a moment she’d been afraid she had no defense against him. But she’d regained her balance quickly enough and pushed through that to find her inner strength.
Still, she knew now that he was on to her. He’d heard things. He probably wasn’t sure of the facts yet. If he’d been sure, he would have done more than dance around the subject. He would have grabbed her, thrown her over his shoulder and carried her out of that place if he’d known for certain that she’d had his child. And next time, that was probably what he would do.
Her cell phone rang and she picked it up, expecting to see one of her brothers’numbers on the screen. But no. The number wasn’t one she recognized. Again her heart began to thump in her chest. It had to be Dane.
She wouldn’t answer. She’d just let it ring. Biting her lip, she tried to stand firm on that. One more ring and she crumbled.
“Hello?” she said breathlessly.
For a beat or two there was silence.
“Did I wake you?” he said at last, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Of course not,” she managed to say airily. “But you are interrupting,” she added, lying through her teeth and unapologetic about it. “I’m having a nightcap with a…friend,” she added, making sure to imply the friend was male.
He chuckled. “No, you’re not.”
She hadn’t thought he could get more infuriating, but she’d been wrong.
“Prove it,” she demanded. “How could you possibly know what I’m doing in my own hotel room?”
“Prove that you’re not two-timing me with someone else?” he said mockingly. “Isn’t that your role?”
That statement was too outrageous to challenge. He might as well have accused her of having an affair with a Martian. She wasn’t even going to dignify it with a comment. At least, she knew she shouldn’t. But in the end, she was just too irritated to let it pass.
“How could I be two-timing a man I haven’t seen for six years until tonight?” she demanded reasonably.
“Are you going to ignore that week during the last month of the war?”
She drew her breath in sharply, wondering how much he remembered, how much he was just fishing in the dark. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do, Alex. I’m sure you remember more about our last encounter than I do. I was unconscious most of the time, after all.” His voice hardened. “But bits and pieces of that scene are beginning to clear up for me. And what I’m looking at presents quite an interesting picture.”
She closed her eyes, wishing she knew how to convince him to drop his probing. Wasn’t there something she could say, something she could imply? “Your imagination is working overtime.”
“You think so? Well, that’s exactly what we need to talk about. See you in the morning.”
“Wait,” she said, her fingers clenching the cell phone tightly. “How did you get my number?”
“I’m the head of state of a country with an intelligence service, Alex. You should remember that. Your family used to be in charge here, and I know you had one. Our people are a little rusty, but they’re getting the hang of these things.”
“Of course,” she said softly.
“See you in the morning,” he said again.
She closed her phone without answering.
She shivered, her heart in her throat. It was time she faced facts. She was at such a disadvantage. He had all the power now, and she had none. If he knew the truth, if he was sure, he would find ways to take her baby from her. She had to do something to protect him, to protect herself.
She would take measures. She would become even more elusive. She would dye her hair and wear a veil and…and…
She groaned. No matter. He would find her. And he would find the truth. It was only a matter of time. What could she do?
Run. That was the only thing she could think of. Run and hide and keep running.
For how long?
She closed her eyes.
For as long as it took.
“Excuse me, miss.”
She looked up. Grace, the new nanny, was in the doorway looking hesitant. Or was she looking guilty? Was she the one who’d snitched? Alex winced. Was she going to have to go through the rest of her life not trusting anyone?
“What is it, Grace?” she asked.
“I know it’s late, but the baby’s fussing a bit. I thought maybe…”
She nodded, feeling her milk come in. The anticipation of holding her child made her smile despite everything. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”
Baby Robbie was the one shining bit of happiness in her life. Just looking at his precious little face gave her hope.
But he was hers and hers alone. She would never let Dane take him away from her. Never.
She woke from a dream, gasping. Was the man even going to haunt her sleep? She shuddered, trying to erase the erotic turn her subconscious fantasies had taken. True to her fears, she’d only slept a few hours.
Closing her eyes, she quickly went over all the possibilities. She could foresee what his next move would be. A normal man might have begun by charming her and trying to convince her that he deserved to know the truth, and that once he knew the truth, he would act reasonably and fairly and wouldn’t do anything rash.
But Dane couldn’t promise all those things, because Dane wasn’t reasonable and fair. He wasn’t going to ask her to sign papers or make agreements. He was going to try to force her to tell him what he wanted to know, and if she didn’t comply right away, he would do something to convince her she had no choice. And then he would find a way to take her baby.
Panic shot through her and she held herself tightly, rocking back and forth. What was she going to do? How was she going to protect herself from that?
It didn’t matter how many obstacles she put up or how many security guards she had around her, Dane would find a way to break through all that. There was only one answer. She had to make a move before he did.
What was she still doing here? She knew she had to leave before Dane got here in the morning. She might as well get the show on the road. There was nothing important keeping them here.
The only problem was she didn’t want to take many of them with her. Grace, the nanny, of course. And Henri and Kavon, her personal guards. The rest could go back to Paris.
Yes, she told herself as she rose and began to dress. She had to leave. She had to get out before Dane arrived. Just before going to bed, she’d had word that her brothers, Marque and Ivan, were on their way to Darnam as well, and she didn’t want to risk seeing them before she went into hiding. She knew they were probably coming to try to enlist her in their latest wild scheme to get back at Dane and his family. One of these days they just might gather enough of a force together to do the Montenevadas real harm, but she didn’t want to be involved. It was time to declare the war over.
Should she pack? There was no time. Now that she’d thought over all the ramifications, she wanted to hurry, to run, to dash out the door, her baby in her arms, straight to a hiding place.
She called Henri on her phone. He was her ever-alert, ever-faithful one and she knew the older man would be awake in the next room.
“I’m up,” he said. “I’m ready to go. I was hoping you would see the wisdom in it.”
Quickly, she went over plans with him and he agreed to take care that the others left for Paris right away.
“One thing,” he said. “I’ve heard your brothers are heading here to join you. Should I let them know…?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I don’t want them to know what we’re doing. I’ll call them later, once we get there.”
“The usual place?” he asked carefully.
“Of course.”
It was settled. She felt energized, now that she saw a clear path in front of her. She woke the nanny and went in to change Robbie’s diapers and prepare him for the trip. As always, she found herself forgetting her worries and smiling as she tended to him. He gurgled and cooed. What a love he was.
“Hurry, Grace,” she urged. “We’ve got to get on the road.”
Her brothers. What if they did come here? She wanted to avoid them almost as much as she’d wanted to avoid Dane, whom they hated with a passion. They might even kill him if they found him here. At the very least, they would harm him, and despite everything, she couldn’t stand the thought of it. Should she warn him somehow? Leave a note? Make a call?
Closing her eyes, she laughed softly. See how crazy she was getting? Even as she was running from the man, she was thinking of his welfare.
“Are you ready?” she called in to Grace.
“Just a moment more,” the girl called back. “I’ll be there.”
Alex sighed, rocking her baby in her arms. Soon they would be safe. Very soon.
The sun hadn’t made an appearance yet as Dane knocked, then waited patiently for the young man to come and open the outer door to the Lion’s Mane service entrance for him. The employee handed him a small ring of keys and he handed back a folded bill. Nodding, he took the back stairs and climbed quickly to the fifth floor, then used the keys to unlock the service door and let himself onto the floor.
He paused, listening at the double doors. She would have a full party of servants and escorts in her entourage, but they wouldn’t all be staying here on this floor with her. He figured two or three guards at the most. He was hoping to avoid them, but if the muffled sounds he heard were any indication, they were already up and probably getting ready to head out of town. Good thing he’d come early.
Another twist of a key and he was inside the suite of rooms being used by the Acredonna party, standing in the wide entryway that had three rooms leading from it. His heart was pounding but he wasn’t sure if that was because of the danger involved or the prospect of seeing her again. He chose one of the rooms on instinct, walking softly to the doorway. And there she was.
She didn’t see him at first. She was dressed in jeans and a bright, tucked-in shirt that was full in the sleeves. Her hair was loose in a glorious riot of red curls. She was bending over a pile of CDs, reading labels and pulling two out of the stack.
“It’s getting late,” she said without turning as she sensed the presence of another person in the room. “Did you bring the car around?”
“No,” he responded softly. “And I forgot to bring the brioche as well.”
Dropping the CDs, she whirled, hand to her mouth as though to stop a scream. “Oh!” she gasped, her eyes huge.
He smiled, soaking in the sight of her. “You’re even beautiful at four in the morning,” he noted. “But then, I knew that.”
The tension between them was electric.
“What are you doing here?”
He shrugged casually, but his eyes were alert, following every nuance of her reactions.
“Keeping track of you is like trying to catch a rainbow in your hand. I thought I’d better get here early.” His smile faded and he regarded her narrowly. “It looks like that was a wise decision on my part.”
She glanced back at the doorway nervously. “I have guards with me, you know.”
He looked at the doorway, too, sure that was where any attacker would be coming from and planning accordingly. It was automatic, second nature. The only thing that might get in the way of his natural protective radar was this woman who seemed to be able to cloud his senses as though she wore a magic perfume.
“Of course,” he said to her. “Are you going to order them to throw me out?”
She hesitated and he could see that she would love to do just that, if she thought she could get away with it.
“Not if you behave,” she said at last.
He made a short bow. “You have my word. I promise not to ravish you right here on the Persian carpet. Is that enough?”
“Be serious.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I’m afraid we aren’t going to have time to have that talk,” she said, making an attempt to sound lighthearted and failing utterly. “We’ve decided we must leave right away. So…”
One quick step closed the gap between them. He moved before she had time to react and took her hand in his, looking down into her startled eyes.
“Alexandra, you’re not going anywhere until we have our talk. We’ve got things we need to clarify between us. You know that.”
She tried to pull her hand away but he wasn’t going to let it go.
“Don’t you have something you need to tell me?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you?” He stared into her eyes. “Where is the child?” he asked firmly.
Even though she’d known what he was here for all along, that sent a shock through her system.
“What child?” she said breathlessly, fighting for equilibrium.
He pulled her closer, staring intently into her eyes.
“The baby you had five months ago in Paris. Where are you keeping him?”
She lifted her chin defiantly.
“That’s just nonsense.” She felt stronger as she fought back. “Who told you I had a baby?”
He looked pained. “Alex, please. People tell me all kinds of things. I have to sift through a lot of lies to get to the few kernels of truth. I’ve had a lot of experience at this.”
“Then what makes you think you’ve got hold of some good information for a change?” she demanded, trying to buy time.
“More than one trusted source.” He shrugged. He’d only recently gathered enough evidence to know he was on firm ground. “I’ve seen proof. You had a baby just about five months ago at the Sisters of Mercy private clinic on Gereaux Street, the little building behind the art gallery. I’ve seen pictures.”
She closed her eyes, feeling faint. Her head was reeling. He had more than she’d thought. There wasn’t much she could do but bluster her way through this.
Opening her eyes again, she glared at him.
“Even if I did have a baby, what business is it of yours?”
His blue eyes were searching her face as though he would find answers in her gaze.
“Alex, we were together at exactly the right time to make it my business.”
She shook her head firmly. “You don’t know that. You can’t remember what happened to you during your recovery. You’ve said so again and again. It’s even been in the papers.”
He hesitated. “It’s true. I have very little memory of that period of my life. I was unconscious most of the time.”
“There, you see? Then what makes you think…?”
“Certain memories are coming back.” He touched her cheek with the palm of his hand, and his gaze softened as it traced her hairline. “Memories of skin like silk and hair like fire,” he murmured.
She stiffened, determined not to let him get to her. “Maybe you were dreaming.”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, Alex.” His fingers touched her small, shell-like ear, then curled softly around it. “I remember how you taste. I remember you slipping into my bed, soft and willing and…”
“No!” She tried to pull away, but his hand held hers like a vise.
“You tasted like fine wine.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s crazy. Women all taste alike.”
His smile was slight but deadly. She shivered, wishing she had the strength to look away.
“No, they don’t,” he said. “No one else tastes like you do.”
Her heart was thudding in her throat, beating so hard she could hardly breathe. “How would you know that? It’s…it’s been years, and then you were wounded and…”
He captured her chin in his hand, tilting her face to receive him. “I’ll show you,” he said softly, then lowered his lips to hers.
She tried to gather the wherewithal to resist, but it was no use. His mouth felt so warm, so good, and she opened to his kiss as though she’d been starving for him.
But it only lasted for a moment. He drew back and looked at her, shaking his head. “Alex,” he began.
But she never heard what he was about to say. Her attention was caught by something behind him on the other side of the room. Henri was there, his long, thin body bent over, a tranquilizer gun raised and trained on his target. He was going to shoot a dart into Dane.
Of course. It was the only way they could possibly get out of here without Dane and his security people following them. Good for Henri. Quick thinking. It made sense. And yet the feelings that filled her were overwhelming. She couldn’t do this. She had so much hidden affection for this man, despite everything. She couldn’t let him be hurt in any way.
“No!” she cried out to Henri. “Wait!”
Dane looked at her, startled, and by the time he realized there was someone else in the room, it was too late. The dart had been shot from the tranquilizer gun. He looked at her in disbelief, reached back to try to pull out the dart, swore and crumpled to the floor.
“Did you hurt him?” she cried, though she knew the question was moot. Dropping to the floor, she swept his hair back off his forehead and searched his unconscious face for signs. “Didn’t you hear me say to wait?”
Henri shrugged. Leaning down, he pulled out the dart and noted it was empty. The fluid would do its work.
“I couldn’t risk it. He had to be rendered harmless.” He reached for her hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“No.” She rose, looking down at the prince. Emotion choked her throat. “We can’t leave him like this.”
Henri looked at her, incredulous. “What are you talking about? We have to go. He might have others outside. And in any case, your brothers will be here soon. You don’t want to have to talk to them about this, do you?”
“No.” She put a hand to her head, trying to sort things out. “We must go. But…”
“Come along, then. Grace is already in the car with the baby. I’ll tell the manager to hold our bags and things in storage until we send for them.”
She nodded, still looking down at where Dane lay like a wounded stag.
“We have to take him with us,” she said softly, a feeling of wonderment growing inside her. How could she even think of such a thing? And yet, there wasn’t any choice.
“If we leave him here…” A few horrendous consequences flashed through her mind. She looked up at Henri. “Don’t you see?”
He looked pained, his thin face haggard. “Your brothers…”
“Yes.” She threw a hand out, half in a sense of command, half beseeching him to understand. “Who knows what they would do to him?”
“But, miss, we can’t,” he said, his usually stoic expression twisted into a special sort of agony. “What are we going to do with him? What will he do when he comes to? Don’t you see how dangerous that would be?”
She stared into his worried eyes. “But don’t you see how impossible it is to leave him?” she said simply.
He stared back and what he saw in her eyes seemed to explain it all to him. Slowly he nodded, and a look of resignation began to relax his face.
“All right, then,” he said, resolved and back to being the normal unflappable paragon of efficiency. “I’ll take care of it. You go.”
“No.” She shook her head, tears trembling in her eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. It was just that she couldn’t bear to risk anything happening to Dane. She had to be involved. All the way.
“No, I’ll help carry him. I’d rather.”
He nodded curtly. “Let’s do it, then.”
CHAPTER THREE
ALEXANDRA stared at her reflection in the mirror and wondered who that was looking back. She looked haunted, scared, hopeless. And she needed to appear calm and cool and collected. Could she be all those things at once?
Hardly.
Things were rapidly careening out of control. She’d done the unthinkable—brought the crown prince of Carnethia to her only hideout, the only place where she was sure she could be safe. She’d brought the man she was hiding from right into the heart of her refuge. What was she thinking?
But no matter how crazy it seemed, she hadn’t had a lot of choice. She couldn’t have left him in that hotel room. And what else was she going to do with him? Dump him by the side of the highway?
“We could leave him at the house of a loyalist I know who lives not far off the highway,” Henri had suggested. “From there, we could contact the palace and tell them where he could be found.”
She sighed. “And have the loyalist arrested for his trouble? I don’t think so.”
Not only that, but knowing the feelings left over from the war, she didn’t trust anyone on either side to do the honorable thing. She wasn’t going to let him out of her sight until they found a way to get him back where he belonged.
Of course, this set up quite a dilemma for her. She didn’t want to leave Dane alone, and she didn’t want to leave her baby alone, and yet she couldn’t let Dane know she had the baby with her. She was caught in a balancing act and felt like a tightrope walker whose rope had begun to sway. There had to be some resolution—fast!
Rising from the dressing table in her third-floor bedroom, she turned to look at where Dane lay on her bed, still under the effects of the tranquilizer. Henri had tied his legs together at the ankles and then bound his wrists and tied them above his head to a bolt he’d put in the wall behind the bed.
She hated to see that. She’d stood beside Henri the whole time he’d worked on it, urging him to be careful. But she knew the man was right when he insisted Dane had to be restrained somehow. Still, this was terrible. He was a prince. How could they treat him like this? Right now, she just wanted this whole thing to be over.
Moving closer, she looked down at him, checking his breathing as she’d done every few moments since they’d left the Lion’s Mane. He still seemed to be doing all right. She touched the pulse at the side of his neck and nodded. There was no sign of distress in his vitals.
Her face softened as she studied him. His eyes were shadowed darkly, but his color was good and his face was as beautiful as ever. Her smile was bittersweet. What right did he have to be so gorgeous? It wasn’t fair.
Memories flooded back, pictures of how she’d found him that last month of the war, barely alive, in the flooded ditch behind the warehouse on her family’s horse farm in the hills of Carnethia. She’d dragged him out of his smashed vehicle and into the stables and found a place with sweet, clean straw where she could keep him without others knowing.
She remembered every detail of that night, how he’d lain there where she’d hidden him, wounded and unconscious. She’d done her best, with her simple, rudimentary medical training, to clean out his wounds and sanitize them, to stop the bleeding and make him as comfortable as possible.
She didn’t dare tell anyone he was there. The Nationals were rapidly losing the war and they were frantic. They would have killed him with relish. She didn’t even dare go for medical help. The few doctors left on the National side were already overworked. Besides, emotions were running high and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t have killed him either.
So she’d been alone, working on hope and whatever she could remember from her training, scared to death she would somehow blot out the flicker that remained of his life. But that hadn’t happened, and her ministrations seemed to have been enough. He was alive today.
She remembered the fear she’d lived with, how she’d watched over him, checking his wounds for signs of infection, nursing him through his fever. And hiding him from her family and the servants. It wasn’t until the third night that she began to hope he might not die after all.
And then he woke up, stronger than she could have expected he would be. The rest of what happened had seemed like a dream, even then. Somehow, they’d come together, and her baby had been conceived.
Remembering that now, she looked at him. He was still unconscious. His shirt was half-open, the buttons undone. Had those awful wounds healed? Moving slowly, she reached out, slipping her hand under the loose fabric and running it lightly down his chest. Everything she could see looked good and seemed tight and smooth.
She indulged in letting her hand take in the magic of his form for a few seconds. Her heart began to pound. Taking in a quick breath, she pulled away, but at the same time, she glanced up at his face and gasped. His eyes were wide-open, watching her. She jerked her hand away, flushing with chagrin.
“Enjoy yourself,” he muttered gruffly, giving a tug to his bonds and wincing at the effort to talk. “But when you’re finished, I wish you’d tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I was just checking…” she began guiltily. Her voice faded as she realized she had nothing to add. Her cheeks were bright with embarrassment, but she was determined to ignore all that. She frowned at him, lifting her chin.
“As to what’s going on, I think that’s pretty self-evident. We’ve got you tied up.”
That didn’t sound good. She traced her lower lip nervously with her tongue. She wished she could reassure him: This is just for now. We’ll be letting you go as soon as possible. But she couldn’t do that. He had to see her as strong and resolute.
“Be cooperative and you won’t get hurt,” she said instead, then turned away and grimaced.
“Are you insane?” he demanded angrily, glaring up at her. “This is kidnapping. You can go to prison for this.”
“No.” But she knew he was right. A dull panic was beating just under her radar, but she couldn’t let it surface. “Listen, we had to do this. We couldn’t leave you there in the hotel. I…we were worried that someone might do something.”
“Like shoot me with a tranquilizer dart?” he broke in scornfully. “Hey, too late. I think that’s already been done.”
“Dane, listen….”
But he wasn’t about to do that. Instead, he wrenched viciously at his bonds, cold anger in his face, swearing a blue streak as he yanked and twisted on the bed.
“Dane, stop it! You’re going to pull your arms right out of their sockets,” she cried, standing just out of reach and feeling helpless. “Stop and think. You’re not a wild beast who beats itself senseless against the bars of its cage. This will get you nowhere.”
He paused, breathing raggedly. Sweat glistened on his skin and a trickle of blood made a trail down his forearm. He’d only managed to tighten the cord that held him, but it hardly mattered.
He’d made this ridiculous display out of frustration and anger. He’d never actually expected it to help him get away. Whoever had tied him up had done a fairly professional job of it. The man knew his knots. It was going to take brains and cunning to get himself released. And that would take a bit of time.
“Dane, we only did what we had to do.” She rushed on before he had a chance to dispute that. “If you can stay calm, we’ll get through this. We’re working on finding a way to release you to your people. But it will take a little more time.”
He pulled on the rope that held his wrists. There was anger in his eyes. How could there not be? And yet, he was now calm, watchful.
“Tell you what, Alex. Cut this damn cord and all will be forgiven. Deal?”
“Sorry.”
And she really was. She just hated this. Her gaze fell on his wrists, torn raw by his actions, and she winced. “You’ll have to stay that way for now. But it shouldn’t be for much longer.”
He glanced around the room, checking it out. Was he actually tied up in her bedroom? Or was he dreaming? The whole situation felt surreal.
“So what’s the game plan, Alex?” he asked her icily.
She stood over him, hands on her hips, determined not to let him box her into a corner. He was framing this as all her fault. Well, in a way it was, but still, he had something to do with it. She hadn’t exactly invited him to drop in at four in the morning.
“You tell me,” she said with spirit. “And while you’re at it, can you explain just exactly why you had to get in the way this morning?”
He frowned, his dark brows lowering. “You know why. I wanted to talk to you.”
She sighed, looking down at him with troubled eyes.
“We can’t talk, Dane. Not anymore. What we have to do is negotiate. Don’t you see that? Like two huge ships trying to pass each other in narrow straits.”
“That’s ridiculous.” He dismissed it out of hand, looking around. “How did you get me here, anyway?”
“I had help.” She sank into a chair beside the bed. “And luckily, we managed to evade your security detail.”
His gaze came back to meet hers. “What security detail? I didn’t have one. I came alone to find you.”
She stared at him. She could hardly believe that. After the war and all both sides had been through, it seemed illogical at best. “Why would you do something so irresponsible? Who do you think you are?”
He searched her eyes, then laughed softly, though the laughter had a bitter edge.
“Alexandra, I wanted to talk to you. Just you. Not your advisors or guards or brothers. You. Man to woman.” He paused, then added softly, “Lover to lover.”
“Oh, Dane.” Closing her eyes, she turned her face away.
Watching her, he shook his head. “Where are we?”
She looked back at him and wondered what she’d been thinking to bring him here. She’d sent the rest of her entourage to Paris to stay with the community of exiles from the war who had gathered there. That was where her brothers were living and where their father was getting hospital care. She pretended to be traveling by train to Amsterdam, but instead she’d come to stay anonymously in the top two floors of a row house in Triade, a country town about fifty miles to the south. She would have good protection there. The building was owned by an old comrade of her father’s who was completely loyal and trustworthy. He would make sure no one knew she was there. She and her prisoner.
“I can’t tell you that,” she said to Dane.
“Of course not.” His gaze hardened. “More to the point, where’s the baby?”
She stared into his eyes for a long, long moment, then rose and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” he called after her.
She whirled, frowning at him. “I’m going to see if I can’t find a way to send you home more quickly,” she told him. “Isn’t that what you want?”
“No,” he told her frankly with another hard yank at the rope that held him. “I want to see the baby and I want to see it now.”
“Dane!” Marching back, she glared down at him. “You are hardly in the position to be giving orders. We’re not in Carnethia. You’re not royalty here. You’re just a prisoner. So get used to it.”
Without another word, she turned on her heel and left, closing the door behind her.
Looking around the room again, Dane let off a string of obscenities. He’d fallen into a trap one more time. Hard to believe that someone so skilled and well trained could let this happen.
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