the cobblestone path. An island in the Mediterranean, Xaviera had January temps that were much warmer than the climate of her country, which was nestled between Finland and Russia. If she were home right now, she’d be wearing boots and a parka and battling a winter wind to get to her stables.
She reached the big stone-and-wood building and entered through a door on the side. Though the stable was the cleanest she’d ever seen, the earthy scents of horse, hay and leather hit her. She glanced down the long row of stalls and saw Alex standing in front of the last one, petting the nose of his Arabian, Thor.
She strode down the aisle.
Alex heard her and smiled. “So you’ve come to dicker.”
“I didn’t come to negotiate anything. I came to see what my payback will be for you saving me tonight.”
He laughed. “It’s odd to hear somebody say that. Usually I’m the one who has to make amends.”
“Quite a reputation my future husband has.”
“Actually, that’s the point. The best way you can pay me back is to not marry me.”
She gasped. “I have to marry you!”
He bobbed his head, as if thinking through her comment, then said, “Not really.”
“We have a treaty!”
“Made decades ago.” He caught her gaze. “Were you mature enough at age four to commit to someone?”
He knew the answer to that so she said nothing.
“Of course, you weren’t. And then we pulled the rug out from under you. The prince you were supposed to marry is now married to someone else. You’re not getting the prince who was promised to you. You’re not even getting the good prince, the one who will someday be king. You’re getting second-best.”
She looked at him, wearing a T-shirt with the front tucked into nice-fitting jeans, with his dark curly hair casually messed, and those intriguing brown eyes. For a beat of time, she wondered if she really was getting second-best. Dominic was handsome in the perfect, straitlaced way. This guy? Alex? He was rough-around-the-edges gorgeous. A sexy bad boy. And all hers in a few months—
She swallowed hard as strange tingling sensations cruised through her.
She ignored them. When all was said and done, this was about duty. Oil and safe passage for their tankers trumped which prince she would actually marry. And needing to make herself look strong and loyal to her country trumped both of those.
“I don’t have a choice.”
He walked toward her. “Actually, I read the agreement and the treaty. You might not have a choice. I might not have a choice. But we have a choice. If both of us decide not to marry, we can nullify it.”
She gaped at him. “Nullify a treaty? Just because you don’t want to marry me?”
“I don’t want to get married at all. And we wouldn’t be nullifying the whole treaty, just that one clause.” He sighed. “Look, I rescued you tonight because it’s not right that somebody as pretty as you are should be perceived as an also-ran, the woman who didn’t make the cut.”
Her pulse slowed, then speeded up again. Forget all about Dominic dumping her. Forget about the treaty. Alex thought she was pretty? He was one of the most eligible bachelors in the world and she was a woman whose dad had tossed their family into an unfathomable scandal. Alex should be running from her as fast as his feet would take him. Instead, he thought she was pretty? Too pretty to be known as the princess who didn’t make the cut.
“But I’m not anybody’s knight in shining armor.”
He hadn’t mentioned her father’s betrayal, or the fact that she’d soon become a queen, but she was well aware of both and the consequences. Alex might not want to rescue her, but he was her only option to show her subjects that her family still remembered their call to service.
She lifted her chin. “Like it or not, you have to be mine. Or your country is in violation of our treaty.”
“I told you we can—”
“No! My father disgraced us enough! I have to prove I will do my duties!”
His eyes narrowed. His full lips pursed. “You’re refusing my plan.”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer. Instinct told her to step back. Common sense told her he’d see that as a sign of weakness. So she held her ground, looked him in the eyes, as he circled her, inspecting her as if she were his next purchase. Waves and waves of chill bumps trickled down her spine.
“Why would a girl as pretty as you are want to marry someone she doesn’t really know?”
“I told you I have to—”
“Prove you’ll do your duty,” he interrupted her. “Got it. And I believe that’s part of it.” He stopped at her side and slid his hand under the thick lock of hair that fell over her shoulder to her breast. Running the silken strands through his fingers, he said, “I would think you’d be eager to find somebody your own age. Maybe somebody who shared your interest in land mines and whatnot.”
“First, I’m not part of the land mine fight. Second, you are my age. Five years isn’t that much of a difference.”
He flipped the strand of hair over her shoulder, and the tingles that rained down on her when his fingers brushed her skin nearly made her shiver.
“So you like me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
He smiled knowingly, stepped close. “Just attracted then.”
“To you?” She’d meant for it to sound like a scoff. It came out as a squeak.
“Or maybe you’re simply not clear about what attraction is. Being a virgin and all.”
If the feelings tumbling around her right now were attraction, then he was correct. This crazy combination of fear that he’d touch her again and longing to feel his fingers graze her skin totally confused her. Her chest was tight. Her body wanted to shiver. Even her lips tingled.
“I’ve had boyfriends.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you.”
“As a way to get me to drop the idea of marrying you? How badly do you kiss?”
She’d barely gotten the word kiss out of her mouth before he grabbed her by the shoulders, drew her to him and planted his lips on hers. The shock of it buckled her knees. His arm fell to her waist, anchoring her against him as wave after wave of warmth flowed through her. But as quickly as he’d yanked her to him, he released her.
She stared at him. Her nerve endings glowed like the sparks from a Roman candle. She couldn’t quite get air into her lungs.
He grinned.
Not sure what to say, what to do, she fell back on dignity. As haughtily as
