Page 5 of Mistaken as His Royal Bride

‘There’s a bedroom and bathroom at the back.’

Maddi stood up with as much grace as she could muster, considering she looked like an extra from a Mad Max movie, and went to the back of the plane.

She closed the door to the bedroom suite behind her and took a deep, shaky breath. She’d done it. She’d fooled King Aristedes into thinking she was Laia. Even if it only allowed Laia enough time to get away it would be worth it.

Maddi looked around the suite. It was sumptuous, but understated, in a palette of cream and gold and beige like the rest of the plane. There was luxurious carpet underfoot.

She’d grown used to luxury since living in the castle on Isla’Rosa, but this was another level.

She put her bag down on the bed and opened it, choosing some clothes to change into.

She went into the bathroom, and the sight of the massive walk-in shower made her very conscious of the thick layer of grime and dust she’d acquired over the last twenty-four hours.

Stripping off, Maddi turned on the water and stepped under the hot steaming spray with a little groan of satisfaction. It took her an age to do her hair and scrub at her face until she was sure all the make-up was off.

When she stepped out, she wrapped her hair in a towel and pulled on a robe. She looked at herself in the mirror and balked—because suddenly the difference between her and her sister looked much starker. She would never get away with convincing the King that she was Laia now.

She was much paler than Laia, having grown up in Ireland, so she hadn’t cultivated the natural tan her sister had. Her hair was also a bit darker because she hadn’t grown up in the sun. Her eyes looked much darker now, too.

This had been a nuts idea. But it was too late to turn back. And if it allowed Laia to get away to somewhere she could hide out then it had to be worth it.

Maddi got dressed, dried her hair, and then, fully prepared for the King to realise instantly that she wasn’t Laia, went out to meet her fate.

Ari heard the door open behind him and didn’t like the way a sizzle of anticipation skated along his nerve-endings. It was most unwelcome. But from the moment he’d locked eyes with Princess Laia in that godforsaken circus amusement park something in his awareness of her had shifted. As if a gear had clicked into place.

She’d never had that effect on him before. Granted, he hadn’t seen her in almost four years, and perhaps now that she was a fully grown woman...

‘Sorry, I took a shower. I hope that’s okay.’

He could smell her before he saw her. Musk and rose. She came alongside him and he turned his head. His eyeline was at her slim waist. She was now wearing short cut-off shorts covered in sequins. Bare, shapely legs led down to a pair of pretty feet in gladiator sandals. Nails painted a coral colour.

His gaze tracked back up and he saw that she was wearing what looked like a lurid pink Spandex leotard under the shorts. No bra. Nothing to disguise the most beautifully shaped breasts he’d ever seen. Full and teardrop-shaped. Nipples hard and pushing against the material.

In an instant Ari was engulfed in more than heat. It was white-hot lust—for a woman he’d been promised to in marriage since she was a baby. And who he’d never had this reaction to before.

Her face was clean now. Paler than he remembered. But still beautiful. She’d grown into her beauty since he’d seen her last.

Those distinctive almond-shaped eyes... He’d always had the impression they were green in colour, but here on the plane they looked darker, almost more golden than green.

And her mouth... Had it always been that provocative, with a naturally pouting bow shape?

His conscience pricked. Did he not even recognise his own fiancée? He doused the heat in his body with ice and said sharply, ‘Don’t you have something to cover up with?’

Laia sat down in the chair and the movement made her breasts sway under the thin material. Ari could not understand this horny schoolboy reaction to a woman when he’d never indulged in such behaviour even when he had been a schoolboy. Control had always been key and he’d never lost it.

But her body was like a siren call.

He shook off his jacket and handed it over. ‘Here, put this on.’

He watched as the Princess slid her arms into his jacket and pulled it over her chest. He immediately lamented her hiding her body from view even as he welcomed it.

Was his reaction due to sexual frustration? Possibly. He’d let his last mistress go a few months ago, to focus exclusively on tracking down his wayward fiancée and making her his Queen. His last few lovers had been disappointing—not just sexually, but on every level—and he’d actually relished not having to play that game for the last few months.

It had galvanised him to follow through on this royal pact. He was ready to settle down. He was resigned to the fact that he would soon be committing to one woman, no matter their compatibility, because he’d vowed that he would never be unfaithful to her.

His father had been serially unfaithful to Ari’s mother and it had broken her. Turned her into someone unstable and bitter. Love was for fools. And so was chemistry. It didn’t last.

He knew he would like Laia enough to bed her, even if she wasn’t his usual type. So this unexpectedheathe felt was...surprising. A distraction. Princess Laia Sant’Roman of Isla’Rosa had never so much as caused a blip of awareness in him. Another reason why she was so perfect.

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