Page 49 of Mistaken as His Royal Bride

‘How the hell are you still a virgin?’

She hitched up her chin. ‘That’s not really any of your business.’

Ari wanted to laugh. ‘Cariño, we’ve just been as intimately acquainted as two people can get. I think I deserve an answer.’ Then he ran a hand through his hair. ‘I could have hurt you, Maddi.Dios.’

Her chin came down. ‘You didn’t hurt me...it was the opposite.’

Unable to stop himself, Ari closed the distance between them. ‘What was it, then?’

She looked up at him. Eyes flecked with dark gold. ‘It was...amazing. I didn’t... I mean, I haven’t before now because I’ve never met anyone I wanted to be with...like that. I went to an all-girls school,’ she went on. ‘So I never really had a boyfriend. And then I was working, and the men there were either creepy or just...immature. I didn’t go to college, so I never got to have any experience of mixing with guys...otherwise it probably would have happened. As time went on, I just felt like I wanted to hold out for the right person...’

The thought of Maddi sleeping with another man—of another man experiencing her incredible responsiveness and sensual surrender—made Ari feel almost violent.

He said, ‘And was I the right person?’

Arrogantly, Ari knew the answer to that—he felt it in his blood. A deep satisfaction he’d never experienced before.

Maddi nodded. ‘The moment I saw you... I felt it. The attraction.’

He had too. Which was when he should have realised something was up—because he’d never been attracted to Princess Laia.

So why are you so intent on marrying her?

The doubts whispered to Ari, growing stronger. He pushed them down. Not the time. Not when he had more interesting things to do.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I was afraid you wouldn’t want to sleep with me.’

Ari shook his head and admitted, ‘I don’t think wild horses could have held me back...but I would have had reservations.’

‘Why?’

‘Because first experiences can be intense, and it’s easy to believe that emotions are involved when it’s just a physical act.’

‘Is that what happened to you?’

Ari wondered how they’d got here, but he said, ‘Briefly. My first lover was an older woman. She was beautiful and experienced and quite mesmerising. I thought I was in love, but she soon disabused me of that idea. And when I found out my father had asked her to initiate me, I’d never felt so humiliated in my life.’

Maddi’s eyes were huge and full of emotion. ‘How could he do such a thing? That’s a horrific crossing of boundaries and a betrayal of trust. And as for her? There are names for people like her.’

Ari could see that she was genuinely angry, and it made him feel for a moment as if he’d lost his footing. As if he was on shaky ground.

‘It was a long time ago. In the past.’

‘You loved this woman?’

Ari shook his head, an old feeling of anger surfacing briefly. ‘No. I was momentarily infatuated.’

Maddi bit her lip, and Ari had to restrain himself from reaching out to release that plump flesh. She said, ‘So you’re telling me this—?’

‘Because you asked.’

She made a face. And then, ‘You’re telling me not to fall in love with you?’

‘If you can help it.’

Now she rolled her eyes, but he saw she was suppressing a smile. To Ari’s surprise, he felt a lightness bubble up inside him. A lightness he didn’t feel very often. The only person who made him feel light was his brother Dax. It was an uncomfortable revelation.

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