As if realising her slip, she bit her lip.
The memory of doing the same to those lips, and much more, slammed into him. His groin stirred to life. Smashing it down, he concentrated on her words.
‘You’ve been manhandled before?’ The very thought made something tug hard in his chest.
‘Not without fighting back, I can assure you.’ The blaze of defiance and determination flared higher in her eyes.
He wasn’t reassured. Intrigued, he stared at her for a long time before he could form the words. ‘You will not be treated like that under my roof. Be assured of that.’
‘So what do you call using those handcuffs tucked away in your pocket? An early Christmas present?’
His mouth twisted. ‘Perhaps I should rephrase that. No one but I will be allowed to touch you while you’re under my roof.’
‘Well, that makes me feel heaps better.’ Despite the bravado in her voice, a dart of apprehension crossed her eyes.
About to reassure her again that she would come to no harm, he stopped himself. Reminded himself of what this woman had done. To him. To his country.
Right at this moment, he had members of Santo Sierra’s council in his study, trying to find a way out of their current predicament. So far they seemed to be agreed on only one course of action. One that Reyes was determined not to give in to.
Meanwhile, here he was trying to placate the woman responsible for causing the turbulence in his kingdom.
Twisting on his heel, he barked, ‘Come.’
‘You want me at your meeting?’
‘I want you where I can keep an eye on you.’
He heard her footsteps behind him as he entered his study. Two of his advisors gaped at his guest. The third, most senior of them, frowned as Reyes shut the door and directed Jasmine into the seat in the corner of the room.
His senior advisor shifted in his seat. ‘Your Highness, what we’re discussing is highly confidential. I hardly think it appropriate to have a stranger—’
‘Miss Nichols is here as my guest. She won’t divulge anything we say in this room.’ He looked at her. She read the clear warning and nodded.
He sat down but not before his gaze caught her bare legs as she crossed them. Again heat lanced his groin. Those legs had curled around his waist, urged him on as he’d thrust inside her.
Inside her duplicitous body...
He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. ‘You said you know how many people were thinking of backing the new treaty?’ he addressed his senior advisor.
Costanzo Alvarez nodded. ‘It is currently seven to nine, Your Highness. With each day that passes, the older members are being swayed to the idea of the original treaty your father agreed to sign.’
Reyes’s hackles rose. ‘Those terms are no longer on the table. The new treaty will create at least another five thousand jobs.’
Alvarez shook his head. ‘Mendez won’t sign the new treaty, and Santo Sierra needs economic stability sooner rather than later. Any delay in providing that stability is a delay we can’t afford.’
His second advisor leaned forward. ‘As Costanzo said, stability is what will steer the people into calmer waters. I think Santo Sierrans are more afraid than anything else of what the future holds—’
‘Make your point,’ Reyes cut across him.
‘Should you marry and produce an heir quickly, it’ll restore the people’s faith in—’
‘Are you seriously suggesting that the only way to please the people is to marry? I’m supposed to be garnering economic support for Santo Sierra, not hunting Europe for a bride.’
‘Santo Sierra has always thrived in direct proportion to how well its monarchy is thriving. With your father’s health in rapid decline, the people are worried about their future, yes, but they’re also worried about you.’
Reyes frowned. ‘So I’m to conjure up a bride out of thin air, marry her and produce an heir instead of pursuing our economic growth?’
Alvarez tented his fingers. ‘No reason why you can’t do both. But we suggest you do it more...visibly. You’ve always been a private person, Your Highness. Even when you’re in Santo Sierra you’re hardly seen. Besides the council, most people believe you’ve been at the King’s bedside for the past few weeks. Only a handful of people know differently.’
Reyes shook his head. ‘Even if I agree to this plan, even if I calm my people for a while, we still need to bring Mendez to the table to sign another treaty.’
He heard a muffled sound and glanced at Jasmine. Her eyes met his and he read the bleak apology in them.
He wanted to believe her. Wanted to believe she was anywhere near sorry for the wrongs she’d done. But he’d let himself be fooled in the past. Let his guard down enough to believe his mother’s lies.
Each time, she’d stabbed him with savage lies and callous indifference. She’d done the same to his father. Reyes and his sister had watched their father, the King of Santo Sierra, wither with each deception, each act of adultery.
And yet, if Jasmine was to believed, she’d done it not for personal gain, but to save someone she cared about. She’d sacrificed her safety, her reputation for the sake of another...
The curious tug at his chest made him tense. There was no redemption in what Jasmine had done. He was a fool to look for any.
* * *
Jasmine bit her lip as Reyes turned away. His whole body bristled in rejection of her silent apology.
She looked down at the file she’d picked up as the men talked. She refused to acknowledge that dart of discomfort that had lodged itself in her heart when the idea of Reyes marrying had been brought up.
It had nothing to do with her. She had no claim on him. She never would. She was only in this room because Reyes didn’t trust her to wander his house without making a run for it.
Once he’d decided what her punishment was to be, she would serve it and be done. The fate of his country was his to deal with as he saw fit.
And yet...
Reyes...married to a princess befitting his station. An equal who would complement his heritage, who would have his babies and be gifted the privilege of waking up next to him for the rest of her life.
Her throat tightened. This time the bile that rose had nothing to do with nausea and everything to do with blind, raging jealousy.
Gripping the file, she forced herself to read the copy of the trade treaty that she’d handed to Joaquin.
Each kingdom had agreed to supply resources to one another. On execution, the two kingdoms would have combined power equivalent to the United Arab Emirates’ control of the world’s oil and steel. Despite Santo Sierra being the smaller
