Page 19 of Wed for their Royal Heir

‘A nobody? Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said flatly, crushing the desire flooding through his veins. ‘I’ll have food brought to you and perhaps more suitable clothes. We’ll talk in half an hour.’

Then before he could change his mind, cross the space between them and rip the sheet from her hands, he turned on his heel and went out.

CHAPTER FOUR

SOLACESTAREDATthe closed door, her knees weak. She’d stopped physically shaking, but she was trembling still, deep inside. And perhaps some of it was fear, but it wasn’t all. Anger made up a good proportion, as did the nagging desire that had licked up the moment Galen’s blue gaze had fallen to her shoulders and then to her hand where she still gripped her sheet.

Despite everything, despite the fear and the anger, she was conscious that he was standing very close and wearing only his trousers. His chest was bare and she could see every hard, carved muscle, and all she could think about was how she’d traced those muscles with her fingers the night before, and then with her tongue. His skin had tasted salty and delicious and had felt like velvet...

No. She couldn’t be thinking about that, not any of it, not when her plan now lay in ruins.

She swallowed, bitter disappointment turning over inside her, tears stinging her eyes. God, would they ever stop? She was so tired of crying, so tired of fighting. So tired of nothing going right for her, no matter how hard she tried.

But being tired wasn’t going to help and neither was crying about it. She’d been naive to think a couple of compromising pictures would be all she’d need to get her child back. Stupid even. Of course, a king would have an entire PR department dedicated to keeping his reputation clean, especially a king like him. After all, she probably wasn’t the first woman to try this with him and she probably wouldn’t be the last.

Solace turned and went over to the bed, sitting down on it and lacing her fingers together, clenching them hard. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to calm herself so she could think.

The blackmail hadn’t worked and castigating herself over her naivety wasn’t going to get her any closer to her son. What she needed was to formulate another plan. The good thing was that now she actually had access to her son’s father, so she wasn’t starting from zero again. She was here, in his house, and he’d said they would talk.

Perhaps he wouldn’t throw her in jail for her blackmail attempt. He’d certainly been furious enough about it, and the really stupid thing was, she understood why. She would have been too.

The other stupid thing was—and she hated to admit this to herself—that part of her couldn’t help but respect him for not caving instantly to her demands the way she’d hoped. He’d called her bluff and she’d been fully prepared to grab her phone and do what she’d threatened, but she could see the steel in his eyes. He wasn’t going to hand over their child for the sake of a couple of pictures, and that very same part of her, the fierce mother instinct, couldn’t help but admire him for it.

He’s a king. You really thought he’d give in so easily?

She had, but as she’d already thought, she’d been naive. Not that there was any point going over it again. She had to figure out what she was going to do now.

Half an hour, he’d said, then they’d talk. Which would give her time to have that shower, get dressed and eat something. Because while she hated being told what to do, he hadn’t been wrong. Having a conversation about their son while she was pretty much naked apart from a sheet made her uncomfortable. And she didnotsmell of sex and him. Did she?

Well, even if she didshe wasn’t going to for much longer.

Slipping off the bed, she headed determinedly into the en-suite bathroom. It was huge, with a big, white-tiled walk-in shower and a multitude of jets, plus a vanity of long white marble veined with gold. A bath made from the same material stood near big windows that looked out onto the green of a private garden.

It took her aback, the sight of so much luxury. She’d never seen anything like it.

Her little bedsit had enough room for a sofa bed and nothing else, and she’d thoughtthatluxurious after some of the foster homes she’d been in, mainly because it was hers and she didn’t have to share it with anyone.

But this...

Your child is heir to all this. Would you seriously take him away from it?

The thought hurt. Because while she was in a much better place than the black hole she’d been in six months ago, nothing she had equalled this. Here he would be a prince, heir to a kingdom, while with her...

He’ll be a nobody just like you.

Solace shoved that thought away. She might be a nobody, but a child needed its mother. She’d never had one herself, never had any kind of family, and the lack had been a wound she’d carried with her all her life. It wasn’t something she wanted for her son.

But he does have a family. He has his father.

Okay, it was time to stop thinking about that.

She went over to the shower and spent a couple of moments trying to figure out how it worked before dropping the sheet and stepping under the fall of water.

It was glorious. She stood there with her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth, letting the water stream over her and wash away the fear and stress of the past quarter of an hour. She couldn’t give in to it; being afraid wouldn’t get her son back.

Opening her eyes, she began to wash herself, noticing as she did so small bruises and red patches marring her skin. Galen had left marks.

A wave of heat that had nothing to do with the shower swept over her and she groaned softly, lifting her hands to her face and trying to shove the memories from her head. Thinking about the night before wouldn’t help either. She had to formulate a new plan, but what?

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