Page 90 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

She frowned.

“You don’t remember me either—”

“You’re the only person in my life, or rather my former life, with whom I feel any recognition. With you, I feel calm. My recovery will go better if I were to have someone near that I’m comfortable with. It might even help speed up the process of me regaining my memory.”

She stared at him, evaluating. Could she see that he had another agenda in mind? Yes, everything he was saying was true. But he also wanted to find out what had happened between them, to get to know the woman who stood before him. To understand the attraction that flared in her eyes every time she was near him. To understand why he was so sure that what had happened between them had been life-changing. To understand his reaction to Esme Clark, the way she made his blood heat.

Her breath came out in a rush, followed by a softly muttered curse.

“And what if you don’t recover your memory?”

“No matter what does, or does not, happen, I will return to my role within the palace.” He paused, watching her. “You told me the one thing you know for certain is that you love your country. If you love it so much, help me.”

Her head snapped up.

“Don’t you dare use that to manipulate me.”

“I’m only trying to manipulate you a little.” At her raised brow, he held up his hands. “Okay, I’m trying to manipulate quite a bit. But there’s truth in what I have to say, too. You love your country. And right now, your country needs you. The family you once served needs you. That it will give me a chance to right the wrong I did to you is a bonus I probably don’t deserve.”

She stared at him for so long he wondered if she would say no.

And then she sighed. Triumph surged inside him.

“I don’t like this.”

“Don’t like what?”

“I don’t like the uncertainty, giving up the time I planned for myself.” She tugged at the band holding up her hair, reddish gold curls tumbling down over her shoulders in a riotous cascade that made the seductive memory flare once more. “I lived for years with someone else making choices for me, arranging my life to suit their desires and wants. I’m not going back down that road again. Not just when I’ve broken free.”

He regally inclined his head to her.

“I will not ask anything of you beyond these two weeks.”

She arched a brow.

“Unless you change your mind and want something else,” she said knowingly.

His eyes glinted again, but this time with humor.

“It depends on what I want and how badly I want it.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

THESUNROSEover the eastern waters of the Caribbean Sea. Waves rose, turned golden by the sunlight, before splashing back down into blue-and-white foam. A seagull cawed in the distance. Manicured green lawns raced down to the private beach of fluffy white sand, the yard dotted here and there with a soaring palm tree or a well-tended bed of bright blooms.

Idyllic. Perfect. And Esme wasn’t enjoying a single moment.

A yawn escaped her as she snuggled deeper into the robe she’d found in the bathroom. Luxurious and cozy, it warded off the early morning chill. Within an hour, she knew the temperatures would climb steadily and drive vacationers into the ocean waters or the nearest pool.

But for now, with a gentle breeze bringing just a touch of coolness off the water, it was soothing.

She needed soothing after the night she’d had. Once she’d said yes to the devil and agreed to accompany him for two weeks to his “new residence,” she’d packed her tiny suitcase and walked with him down to the beach. A dinghy had been waiting and carried them out to an impressive two-story catamaran with big white sails that had ballooned out under the captain’s expert skill and taken them south to Prickly Bay and the exclusive Lance aux Epines community.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t been exposed to wealth and luxury in her year on Julius’s security team. But when her eyes were roving over crowds of people assessing for threats, when she was mentally evaluating potential exits in case of various hazards or disasters, she hadn’t done much ogling.

Julius hadn’t said much on the boat. In fact, he had been nothing but a gentleman since she had agreed to accompany him. All sensuality had disappeared, replaced by a man who was certainly friendlier and softer than Prince Julius Carvalho, but far removed from the man whose eyes had burned with desire as for one heart-pounding moment she thought he’d kiss her.

But he hadn’t. Once she said yes, it was as if he pulled back whatever he felt, or thought he felt for her, and was striving to show her he could behave himself. Would not ask more of her than he already had. And wasn’t that what she wanted? That she found herself missing the tension, the spark of desire, had only made her cranky and short with him. A pity, because the sail down the coast to Prickly Bay had been peaceful, the crew professional, and the views unparalleled.

---