invited Iliana to stay with me. I think we should let her decide where she’d feel safest,” Demetrius said, banking on Iliana choosing him. It was risky, but Iliana couldn’t be cornered.
* * *
As bad days went, this one was tops. Iliana hadn’t even had breakfast yet and her home had already been invaded by an assassin and Demetrius DeSante.
It was the second time that Demetrius had saved her life. She was capable of protecting herself, but being around him made her feel like batting her eyes and flirting and giggling. Not the tough image she wanted to convey.
A woman didn’t flirt with the president of Icarus. He would find that behavior appalling. He was so serious and stern and powerful. Darkly good-looking, a fact he seemed unaware of, which made him that much more attractive.
Instead, Iliana kept her wits about her and reviewed her options.
She could stay in her home, she could stay with Serena and Casimir at the castle or she could run off with Demetrius DeSante.
Her heart had an obvious preference, given that it almost beat out of her chest at the idea of being alone with Demetrius. The safest place, in more ways than one, was the Acacian castle. Yet she would be loath to intrude on her cousin and her new husband. Her home felt unsafe and the police would likely insist, to the point of forcing her, that she leave. Demetrius’s home held appeal.
She had a history of being brash and wild with men, so she would exercise some caution this time. “If I go with you to Icarus and wish to return to Acacia, you’ll allow it?”
“This is not a kidnapping. You are coming with me of your own volition and may leave whenever you wish. I will arrange safe transportation for you to return to Acacia at your request.”
His voice was liquid honey, and her knees felt as if they might give out. “If I come with you, it doesn’t mean that I forgive you.”
His eyes darkened. “Of course not.”
But he knew that he’d won. The silence between them had been broken. Her anger had already been lessened by the fact that war between their countries had been averted months earlier. By the time the smoke had cleared, Iliana hadn’t been sure how to talk to Demetrius or where they stood.
When she shut him out completely, she could keep her distance. But if she let him in a little bit, he seemed to get in all the way. When he was close, her desire for him intensified and she wanted him in—inside her, in her life, in her heart.
Given Iliana’s position on the queen’s staff, it divided her loyalty.
Yet she yearned for Demetrius DeSante. No other man ignited her blood as much as he did. Queen Serena had said she was fine with Iliana seeing DeSante. Granted, that was before the dictator had decided war was the only way and had shown he was willing to go to the mat over any infraction against Icarus.
Iliana didn’t want to be in a relationship with someone who didn’t think her opinion mattered. Could she give him another chance? Was that what was already happening?
Maybe her emotions had shifted away from anger when their hands had touched. Iliana wanted to touch him, but he rarely reached for her. Demetrius could light her up with a look, and that was power. They hadn’t slept together, not even close, and yet she was hungry for him.
She felt a sudden burning need to explore the part of their relationship that was a mystery to her. “I’ll need to inform Serena we’re traveling to Icarus.”
Demetrius didn’t smile, but his eyes gave him away. “Come, then. No time to waste. As we drag, someone could be arranging to send another team of assassins. Perhaps the second squad will not be as incompetent as the first.”
* * *
Iliana hadn’t traveled to Icarus before, and its capital city of Daedalus, where the president’s home was located, wasn’t what she had expected. She had seen pictures of Icarus, but witnessing it in person told a different story.
The pictures in the media of Icarus were of filthy slums, dirty children running wild on the streets and a general sense of desolation and despair. Icarus, or at least Daedalus, was nothing like that.
The streets were hectic, but they were lined with businesses that seemed clean, bright and industrious. Sidewalk easels announced the sale of food, clothes, trinkets and even skateboards.
“You seem surprised,” Demetrius said. He was seated across from her in the back of the extended town car. He had his tablet on his lap, but his intense dark blue eyes were locked on her.
She wouldn’t lie. “This isn’t what I expected.”
“I’ve been inviting you to visit for months. It took someone trying to kill you for you to take me up on my offer.”
He was blunt, but he didn’t sound upset. “I have my reservations about being involved with a war-hungry leader.”
He smirked. “I am not war hungry. If I wanted a war, I wouldn’t have backed down from the fight with Rizari.”
“You backed down because the new king of Rizari is your best friend.”
“I have no friends when it comes to protecting the interests of my country. Casimir is a man I respect. We are close like brothers.”
She flinched. “If you don’t have friends, what am I to you?” A question she had pondered often.
“A woman I am interested in pursuing. A woman who I would like to marry.”
“Marry?” The word sent shock waves through her. A man hadn’t brought up marriage before, at least, not a marriage with her. She had once discovered a man she was dating was married and had ended the relationship, but that was her and marriage in a totally different context.
Iliana didn’t dwell on past mistakes. It was typical of the men she met to want to sleep with her and have fun with her. Maybe it was a vibe she was giving off.
To have a powerful and desirable man like Demetrius speak those words to her made her ego purr.
“I assume you wish to be married?” he asked, leaning close, his piercing navy eyes seeing into her soul.
She calmed her racing heart. Demetrius was intense and direct, and she couldn’t overreact. He’d see fits of hysteria or giggling as unattractive, and, inexplicably, it was important to her to be seen as desirable by him. “Yes. One day. To the right man.”
“Tell me—who exactly is the right man? What makes him worth waiting for?”
“Do you have to ask so many complex questions?” She was deflecting, but she didn’t want to talk about her future husband and the man she hoped he would be. Demetrius would see that he was wrong for her, and the relationship would be over before it began. She definitely had the sense something was starting now. A fling or a one-night stand maybe, and a hot, passionate and fun one at that.
“You are avoiding answering my question,” he said.
“Because the man I want to marry is not a checklist I’m looking to fulfill. It’s a feeling. I want to be swept away.”
