The Prince & the Marriage Pact by Valerie Parv

Author:Valerie Parv
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

She could hardly believe she had said something so revealing. It wasn’t as if she’d meant it. Make light of it, pretend it’s a joke, she urged herself, heart thumping. “Of course, I say that to all the men in my life,” she added before he could draw a breath.

With the menacing grace of a cougar, Maxim prowled toward her, stopping close enough for the scent of his cologne to envelop her. The bittersweet aura spoke of forest leaves newly crushed underfoot, of citrus and sandalwood, and Maxim’s own brand of maleness. She couldn’t help it. She drank him in with every shallow breath.

“Men like Chad Soral?” he asked.

Her heart gave an awkward skip. Surely the prince wasn’t jealous? “Chad isn’t in my life,” she pointed out with scrupulous honesty. She wished she had the strength to move away. When Maxim stood this close, she could hardly think straight.

His eyes sparked with fire. “I got a different impression at dinner tonight. You spent a lot of time holding hands.”

So Maxim hadn’t been as distracted by his baroness as Annegret had thought. No reason for her spirits to leap. It only meant he’d noticed everything around him, as usual. “Chad’s the kind of man who likes to touch. Some men just do,” she stated.

“Depends on how much temptation is put in their way.”

One thing was certain—her friendliness toward his rival had left the prince far from happy. What that meant, she hardly dared explore. “Are you accusing me of leading Chad on?” she demanded, not sure if she was irritated at the suggestion or with herself for lacking the courage to walk away, leaving the prince to stew in his own suspicions.

His jaw tightened. “It’s Chad I’m worried about.”

Anger bubbled inside her. “So you followed me to warn me not to take advantage of my position here?” Such a thing had never occurred to her, and her temper steamed at the implied criticism. She might consider herself lucky that Chad was making her job easy, but she had never thought of seducing him to get what she wanted. She didn’t work that way, and it was time Maxim learned that.

He gestured at the luxurious facilities around them. “It didn’t take you long to get yourself moved from the lower deck.”

“It was Chad’s idea, not mine.” She folded her arms defiantly. “With all due respect, I don’t see that it’s any of your concern, Your Highness.”

“This ship is sailing under royal patronage, on behalf of the Merrisand Trust. Everything that goes on aboard it is my concern.”

Some of her pride deflated like a pricked balloon. He was only worried about the effect on the trust if a scandal blew up over Chad and a member of the media. Annegret drew herself together. “Thank you for your concern, but it’s misplaced. I’m not planning on sleeping with Chad, or any other man aboard.” To ensure Maxim got the message, she spat the words out with machine-gun precision. “If you’re finished lecturing me, it’s late and I’m tired.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.