Page 77 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

She froze.

No. It can’t be.

Her hold loosened. He stood in one fluid motion, breaking her grip as he turned and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

She blinked rapidly, her mind trying to accept the reality of what she was seeing.

“Julius?”

He smiled down at her, and her damned body responded, flutters dancing in her belly as heat crept up her neck.

“Of all the welcomes I’ve imagined on my trip here, I can safely say that was not one of them.”

CHAPTER THREE

HISHANDSOMENESSHITher hard, just like it had the first time she’d laid eyes on him at the academy. The broad forehead and sharp cheekbones, offset by full, sensual lips, were all familiar. But the thickness of his beard and the longer cut of his hair, now hanging in wet strands turned to dark gold, sharply contrasted with the brooding air the so-called “Ice Prince” had exuded back home.

She breathed in, an action she quickly regretted as her breasts pressed more fully against his chest. Between the barely-there coverage of her bikini top and his ocean-soaked T-shirt, she could feel the heat of his skin against hers, the hardened muscle. Memories stirred of the night they’d lain together in bed, naked bodies entwined, the intimacy of lying together almost as powerful as when they’d joined.

Stop!She had to get a grip. Yes, they’d had an incredible night together. But the relationship she’d created in her mind, one of mutual respect and a desire to support the country they both loved, one deepened by the knowledge that she might have been called on at any moment to surrender her life for his, had been nothing more than a fantasy.

“It was one night, Miss Clark,” he said with such disdain she wanted to curl inside herself and hide from the shame his words birthed. “But with my now impending marriage, it’s best if you’re reassigned elsewhere.”

Cold. Callous. Everything she’d heard whispered about him had been true.

Anger started to churn in her belly, rising up and twining through her veins with a fiery strength that eclipsed her heartache and humiliation.

“Why on earth would you think I was drowning?” she asked, keeping her voice neutral. “You know the survival course requires being submerged for at least two minutes.”

His brow furrowed. One hand came up to push the hair out of his eyes. “I—”

She swept her arms up and broke his grasp. Planting both hands on his chest, she gave him a shove and was rewarded with the sight of the prince falling back into the ocean. She savored the sight of him tumbling beneath the waves before making a beeline for the beach.

The sound of Julius cursing behind her made her smile. She spared a glance over her shoulder and grinned when she saw the thunderous expression on his face.

“What the devil was that for?” he shouted.

She froze. The anger paused, then seethed, churned, burning into white-hot rage as she slowly turned to face him.

“You can’t be serious.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then looked down as he let out a frustrated sigh.

“Look, Miss Clark. Esme—”

“No.” Her voice rang out over the waves. “You addressed me as ‘Miss Clark’ the day you fired me. You don’t have permission to address me by my first name. Ever.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face, then started walking out of the waves. She stood her ground and did her best to ignore the way his shirt molded to his muscled chest, the wet cloth revealing the dark golden hair that trailed down his stomach and disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants.

He stalked up onto the sand. With every step closer he took, her heart upped its rhythm, until it was beating so fast it was a wonder she didn’t pass out.

“Miss Clark, we have to talk.”

Her traitorous heart leapt. She mentally snatched it, pushed her treacherous emotions away.

“If you’re offering to hire me back, the answer is—”

“Would you just listen to me, damn it?”

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