Chapter Six #2
She drew in a shaky breath. There it was. The stark truth. She’d been pushed on him in a moment of great trauma and turmoil. And she’d become the burden he couldn’t shed.
‘Let me go,’ she whispered low, almost inaudibly because more than even the wish her sister had had no business foisting on him, the shadows in his eyes when she spoke of Helga drew claws over her heart.
And yes, it was very unnerving to realise those shadows bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Because she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that the need to see Prince Valenti Domene free of those shadows was derived from a well much deeper than a mere schoolgirl crush.
She felt more than saw him approach, her eyes downcast on her knees. But she smelled him when he crouched before her. His gaze sizzled away the layers of her composure, until compelled, she raised her head. Met the implacable expression he wanted her to witness.
‘No. I will not.’
It was so final it struck deep in her soul.
She was grappling with why that didn’t completely shatter her when he continued.
‘Even if I wanted to break the promise I made, I won’t.’
‘Why not?’ Her throat was thick, her voice hoarse, her eyes unable to move from the mesmerising silver of his.
‘Because you’re yet to prove to me that you don’t need a guardian. And no, sparking pure fire at me with those eyes isn’t going to make your case.’
Hypnosis receded, replaced by a thrill-tinged anger. ‘If you think I’m going to hang on your every word just to prove some sort of point to you, you’re seriously—’
‘I believe it’s my turn now,’ he interrupted firmly.
She frowned. ‘To do what?’
‘To have a question answered.’
‘That wasn’t part of the agreement.’
‘It is now. You faltered on our very first outing. So I’m renegotiating our agreement.’
She plucked at the sleeve of her cashmere sweater, trying and failing to find a way to wriggle out of the corner she’d been backed into. Eventually she exhaled. ‘Fine, ask your question.’
‘How is showing off how to wear a shirt three different ways useful to anyone?’ he mused drily.
It was unexpected. And the scoffing tone hurt more than she wanted to admit. ‘You think I’m a waste of space?’
His mouth tightened, his raised eyebrow clearly held tones of ‘You said it, not me.’
Her mouth twisted, her hurt deepening. ‘Come on, at least have the balls to own it.’
‘Watch your mouth,’ he growled.
Her arms unshackled, her bare feet hit the floor as she glared harder at him.
‘Or what? You think what I do is useless? Try being a single mother on minimum wage trying to improve herself by working her way through night school. She’s striving to land her dream job but only has two outfits to wear before her first pay cheque.
She sees my video and asks me to show her how many ways she can wear the two decent shirts that she owns so her colleagues don’t think she’s dirt poor.
‘What I do may seem inconsequential to you but when she tells me I gave her a single ounce more confidence than she possessed the day before, that nonsense of helping her find a bit of dignity and pride is worth its weight in gold. Here’s another one for you to toss into your arrogant pipe.
I may not be the world’s greatest chef and yes, you hired me a cook who makes my meals, but if I can show a college student how to make a simple meal so they don’t exist on cereal or noodles every day or, shock-horror, starve because they don’t have a clue how to cook a basic but nutritious meal on a budget, then don’t you think it’s worth it? ’
Several heartbeats after her long, rambling breathless diatribe, he pointed out, ‘I don’t smoke a pipe.’
She surged from the table, throwing up her hands with a muted scream. ‘You’re an incorrigible mongoose bear kraken snake!’
A sensation bubbled in Valenti’s gut, then erupted through his throat. A second later, it registered that he was…laughing.
Her face froze for a second and her eyes continued to blaze in a glare before she too dissolved into laughter.
The sound was far too lovely for his ears and that peculiar place in his chest. ‘Did you just pluck real and mythical creatures out of thin air as insults?’ He attempted to sound stern and somewhat vaguely succeeded.
She shrugged, the wide sleeve slipping off her shoulder to reveal flawless skin. ‘Maybe. But now I feel sorry for all of them because compared to you, they’re sweet and harmless.’
His eyebrows went up. ‘Even krakens?’
She shrugged again. Slowly the laughter died.
Valenti had to mentally shake his head to remember the point he’d been trying to make a few minutes ago.
The point conclusively trounced by her explanation, another corner of his chest replaced by a sensation eerily close to surprise.
And respect. ‘So a few people benefit from what you do. Doesn’t take away the fact that it’s not worth putting yourself in danger. ’
‘I didn’t put myself in danger. Don’t you get it? Social media isn’t responsible. Freaks aren’t just limited to online. They operate in real life too. Besides, this isn’t my first—’ She grimaced, cursing under her breath, but it was too late.
Shock and cold fury swept through him. ‘Go on, don’t hold back from telling me this psycho isn’t the first person to hassle you,’ he said, teeth gritted.
Her lashes swept down. A second later, he was cupping her chin, raising her gaze to the deep scrutiny of his. ‘Answer me, Lotte.’
‘There was a guy…at university.’
The coarse curse that left him turned the air black.
Her pert nose wrinkled. ‘You’re about to lose it again, aren’t you?’
‘Is the sky outside blue?’
She licked her lips, and he felt as if she’d licked every erogenous zone on his body, which was damn inconvenient when he was livid enough to start world-ending blazes. ‘Who was he?’
‘It doesn’t—’
‘It matters. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll quit stalling and give me the information I’m asking for. Starting with his name.’ He barely took a breath before he snapped. ‘Now, Lotte.’
‘Hans Wilden,’ she volunteered with an equal snap.
He rose to his feet slowly. Against his will. Because he wanted to keep exploring her warm silky skin. Reassure himself she was okay. Because far from the calm, unremarkable morning he’d been hoping for after last night’s turbulence, all they seemed to have achieved was more upheaval.
Starting with that tumble she’d nearly taken.
A residual shiver shook through him, the moment when she’d careened towards that rocky decline replaying starkly through his brain.
But he bunched that traitorous hand, marched into his office and returned with his satellite phone. His call was answered on the first ring. ‘Yes, sir?’
‘Hans Wilden. Recent graduate of Reykland University. Age?’ he asked her.
‘Same as me. I think.’
‘Find out everything you can about him. And more importantly, find out where he is at this exact moment and keep him under surveillance until I say otherwise.’
‘Yes, sir.’
He swung away from her, stalked to the window.
For a full minute he stared unseeing out at the half-frozen landscape. His thoughts ran helter-skelter, and yet he knew the exact moment she approached and stopped behind him. His skin jumped with the need to snatch her close, plaster that svelte, alluring, forbidden body to his.
‘At the risk of repeating myself yet again, my job is to keep you safe. Yours is to help me achieve that goal. Which part of that do you not understand?’
‘The part where you tell me whether it’s guilt driving you. Or something else.’
The words were whispered. But they roared through him like a two-ton cannon.
Myriad expressions flitted over his face after her stark demand.
Lotte held her breath, willed him to speak his truth, and end this torture once and for all. But apparently, the fact-seeking was at an end. By royal decree.
Because, without answering or glancing her way, Valenti left the living room.
Then surprisingly reappeared an hour later, face still set in stone. ‘We agreed to one question. We’ve strayed far from that. My leeway-giving is at an end.’ Those terse words preceded him into the kitchen where he started to pull pots and pans from cupboards.
Less than twenty minutes later, the scent of roasting meat and vegetables filled the air. Her growling stomach reminded her that they’d both barely touched their last meal.
Feeling churlish for not helping, Lotte finally staggered upright from the sofa she’d fallen into after his departure, felt his sharp gaze when she swayed on her feet, then he returned to dishing out their food when she managed to steady herself.
In silence, she laid out cutlery and silverware, just as he brought two heaping plates to the table and pulled out a chair.
‘Sit,’ he instructed gruffly. ‘And this time, we will both eat something. I don’t want you weakened or falling ill from not eating enough,’ he groused, his hard gaze daring her to argue.
She told herself she was too depleted to baulk at the order.
She sat, picked up her fork and tasted the hearty stew, then swore not to inflate his ego by groaning at how good it was. But she managed a mumbled ‘thank you’ as she demolished the bowl of food.
She was finishing the last bite when she looked up to see his gaze locked on hers. ‘What?’
‘Wilden’s whereabouts are accounted for. He’s been in Australia since he finished university. He’s also engaged to marry.’
Why that sharpened his gaze on her face and probed for a long moment, she refused to question, instead settling for a shrug. ‘Told you he was harmless.’
His eyes turned molten. ‘No man who’s met and interacted with you for more than a minute can be termed harmless.’
Something delightful but deeply apprehensive snagged deep in her heart. And she wasn’t sure she could conjure up a better description of what this man made her feel. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You leave a distinct impression. One that lasts a considerable time.’
She was searching his face, breath held, when he jerked to his feet, sweeping up their empty plates.
Lotte stood too, feeling too jittery to remain still. ‘Let me. You cooked, it’s only right that I clean up.’
For a tense moment, he stilled. Then he nodded brusquely. ‘I’ll be in my office,’ he said. Then walked away.
Left to her own devices with no phone and far too many thoughts, Lotte explored every corner of the cabin Valenti wasn’t occupying. To her surprise, she uncovered a small shelf of books tucked into the hallway cupboard. Then was further stunned when she discovered it held some of her favourites.
Plucking one, she returned to the living room, pulled a blanket over her lower body and forced herself into the characters’ lives, growing increasingly vexed when the process proved frustratingly strenuous.
She wasn’t entirely sure when she nodded off. But when she jerked awake, Valenti was sitting in the armchair adjacent to her, the book she’d been reading in his hand. Recalling the raunchy paragraphs she’d skimmed just before she nodded off, heat flowed into her face.
‘My library is fully stocked, if you want more reading material,’ he said, setting the book aside.
Her eyes widened. She’d expected a return to the chilly standoff between them. Not a reversion to the brooding and aloof man she was used to. Lotte wasn’t sure which she preferred.
‘Thanks,’ she returned just as evenly as she could manage. ‘But I would like my phone back,’ she added.
The flash of his earlier chill showed through, then his austere demeanour slotted back into place. ‘You can have it, but you know there’s no internet service here so what’s the point?’
‘That’s not entirely true, is it? How else are you working in your office and making calls without a connection?’
A mirthless smile quirked the corner of his lips. ‘You’re suggesting I hand over valuable resources so you can stay abreast of how many followers you’ve gained in the last two days?’
‘Not at all. But I would like to make use of my valuable resources and make proper use of my surroundings.’
His steady gaze hummed across her senses. ‘Explain.’
‘Content filming, Valenti. Heard of that?’
Another twitch of his lips. Without answering, he rose fluidly to his feet, disappeared towards his office and returned a minute later. ‘Will this work?’
This happened to be a gleaming state-of-the-art camera, the kind she’d only admired from afar because it cost tens of thousands of dollars. Money better expended usefully elsewhere.
Straightening, she started to reach for it. He pulled it back at the last moment, a gleam in his eyes that set her pulse racing. ‘You may use it on one condition.’
Her spirit plummeted. ‘Of course you have conditions,’ she snapped. She raised her hand, intending to wave him away. But curiosity overcame her will and she curled her hand into a loose fist. ‘What conditions?’
‘I would like to see you at work.’
Her lips parted in a soft gasp. Once again, he’d succeeded in pulling the rug from under her. ‘Why?’ she blurted, wariness and a more curious sensation tunnelling through her.
‘You insist I’ve misunderstood you. I’d like to set those misconceptions straight.’