Page 37 of Mistaken as His Royal Bride

It had been the adrenalin rush, he assured himself now. Maddi could have died.

A shudder went through him again.

There was a knock on the door and then a voice from behind him. ‘Your Majesty, Princess Laia is here.’

The back of Ari’s neck prickled with awareness. He swore he could smell her scent. His blood heated.

He gritted his jaw. She was just a woman. Like any other. Her aim since she had got here was to drive him insane and he would not allow it. He was in control.

Slowly he turned around and his gaze fell on the woman before him. His hand tightened on the glass in his hand. Faintly he heard a cracking sound.

Dios mio.

Any sense of control Ari had convinced himself he had drained out of his head and body, to be replaced with pure, unadulterated lust and the certain knowledge that no amount of control in the universe would be enough to make him resist this woman.

Maddi hovered self-consciously in the doorway. Aristedes was looking at her with such a fierce expression on his face that she asked, ‘Is it not okay? Hannah and the stylist said it was the perfect dress for the event...’

It was a classic black evening gown. Strapless and ruched at the bodice, then falling to the floor in whimsical layers of chiffon. A wide length of chiffon went over one shoulder.

With it she wore a short, simple diamond necklace, matching drop earrings and bracelet. Her hair was smooth and pulled back into a sophisticated chignon, held in place by a diamond pin. When she’d seen herself in the mirror she’d wished she had her phone, so she could send a picture of herself to Laia. Because she’d never looked so...sleek.

She’d missed her sister acutely in that moment, because she’d never really had a close girlfriend before and Laia had become her confidante. This was the most time they’d spent apart since Maddi had met her.

From the look on Aristedes’s face, he was seriously regretting what had happened earlier. He put down the glass he was holding on the table and said, ‘It’s fine. We should go.’

He walked towards her, and that was when Maddi took in the full impact of the King in his classic black tuxedo. He was breathtaking. Suave, debonair and dangerous all at once. And yet the image of him in those jeans earlier...the way they’d clung so snugly to his thighs and buttocks...the way he’d sat on the horse...that was even more intoxicating.

He put out a hand, to indicate that she should precede him out of the room, and she walked ahead of him on shaky legs, clutching the little bag that matched the dress.

He didn’t attempt to make conversation as they made their way to the chauffeur-driven SUV waiting in the courtyard. Once seated in the back, with Aristedes on the other side of the car, long legs stretched out, Maddi knew she couldn’t bear it if there was going to be this much tension between them.

Before she could lose her nerve, she said, ‘Look, about earlier...’ And there she faltered. Because to put it into words how seismic it had been—what did she even want to say?

Aristedes pressed a button and the privacy screen went up. Maddi flushed. She kept forgetting.

He looked at her. ‘What about earlier?’

‘I...’ She stopped helplessly. Because what she wanted to say was,I want to do that again.But clearly Aristedes had no intention of doing it again. He’d come to his senses.

‘Nothing,’ she said, making a huge effort to push down her emotions. ‘It doesn’t matter. What’s this event we’re attending?’

Aristedes looked relaxed, but Maddi didn’t trust it. There was a sudden sense of crackling volatility in the air. As if some silent communication had taken place between them that she was unaware of.

Ignoring her question, he said, ‘You were brave, earlier.’

Maddi blinked. She hadn’t expected that. ‘I was?’

He nodded. ‘You got back on the horse again.’

Maddi’s face grew hot. ‘I was a little...distracted.’

The ghost of a smile made Aristedes’s mouth twitch, but Maddi couldn’t decipher it before he said, ‘Next time I’ll give you a proper lesson. I won’t leave you alone.’

Maddi’s heart thumped. ‘Next time?’

‘You said you were learning—no reason why you can’t keep doing it here.’

‘I... Okay.’

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