CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
“I don’t care who he’s meeting with or how many guards you have at this consulate. I want to see him right now!”
Prince Jasiri smiled as the familiar sharp tones of an angry woman pierced the heavy walls of the consulate. Reigna Devereaux was finally here, a full day earlier than he’d expected too.
From the moment Sherard informed him of Ace’s death yesterday, he’d known Reigna would end up on his doorstep. Ace Devereaux was Reigna’s beloved great-uncle who had swooped in when things were at their worst with her parents and protected Reigna and her identical twin sister, Regina. He’d doted on them, given them the parental support and love their parents failed to provide, and according to Reigna, he was the only reason the twin girls grew up with any joy in their childhood. As a result, Reigna and her sister were devoted to Ace.
Considering how much the man meant to her, Jasiri wagered it would take her a few days to process this enormous loss. Despite her grief, however, she was apparently ready to wage war if her loud bellow in the hall was any indication.
“I guess the show begins now.”
He readjusted his big body in the large office chair before pressing the button on the intercom on his desk.
“Bring her to my office” was all he said before ending the connection. When you were a man with as much power as he, there was no need to explain yourself. Those in your service simply did what you said without question. Something the woman currently yelling at his staff had never learned to do.
He took a calming breath as he anticipated how this impromptu meeting would unfold. Reigna might not have learned how to listen in the past. But now that he had something she wanted, thanks to Ace Devereaux, he was certain she’d submit the same way everyone else around Jasiri did: completely and without question.
The carpeted flooring couldn’t stop the echo of her heavy footfalls as she walked toward his office. Knowing she was angry, knowing why she was angry made his heart thump hard against his chest with the sweet taste of revenge on the tip of his tongue.
Two years ago, it had been him who was marching to her office, mad as hell and seeking answers. Today…well, today, the spoiled society princess Reigna Devereaux would finally get what was coming to her, and he couldn’t wait. He hadn’t planned it this way. He’d not spent the last two years planning Reigna’s destruction. Holding on to a grudge this long wasn’t his usual way. But his father’s life was hanging in the balance, and if that meant inconveniencing Reigna, even for a little bit, he would do what he had to do to keep his father healthy and alive. He’d do whatever he must to keep his country safe from the likes of Pili.
His adjutant, Sherard, was only able to get the door open halfway before Reigna pushed her way through, heading directly for his desk. Sherard followed her inside of the room and waited for Jasiri to give a soft nod before he exited, leaving the two of them alone for the first time in two years.
“You arrogant prick. You did this.”
Her sharp words drew his gaze and instantly his sight was filled with her lovely form. Reigna was a beautiful plus-size woman, with plentiful curves, and deep brown skin. Curves and skin he’d spent hours admiring with his eyes, his hands, and his body. After two years of separation, he’d hoped the only thing the sight of her physical attributes did was remind him that she was off-limits, tainted by the memory of their failed past. Unfortunately, the straining muscles of his body and his racing heart made it apparent her effect on him wasn’t as benign as he’d hoped.
“I’ve done a lot of things, Reigna. Many that would get me labeled much worse things than an arrogant prick . So you’ll need to be a bit more specific if you want me to understand what you’re referring to.”
Her jaw tightened as she glared at him, and the spectacle of her standing in his office, thrumming with anger, made his lips bend into a smile. The first rule of conquering an enemy was to let them see just how little they meant to you. And after turning down his marriage proposal and rejecting him, Reigna meant less than nothing to him. His body might disagree, but his head knew the truth. She was simply a means to an end.
“You got Uncle Ace to leave you half of the house that was supposed to be mine alone.”
“Supposed to be?” he quipped. “If that were the case, wouldn’t it have worked out that way?”
“Listen, I don’t know what you did to get Ace to do this, but I am going to fight to overturn it.” She huffed, pointing her finger at him as she geared up for what he assumed would be more vitriol. “I knew you were a piece of work, but I never thought you’d stoop so low as to steal my childhood home just to get back at me for the great sin of turning your proposal down. It’s been two years already, Jasiri. Get the hell over it.”
“It has been two years,” he countered, his speech slow but intentional. “And trust me, I am well over it and you . But I haven’t forgotten a thing about your betrayal, Reigna. Our history notwithstanding, I didn’t do anything to make Ace give me half ownership of that house. He called me into his office two years ago and gave it to me. He said I would need it one day, and it appears he was right, because here we are.”
He could see the question folding into her pinched brow before she uttered it. “Then, why would Ace do this?”
He shrugged, relaxing even more as her anger bled into bewilderment. “I wouldn’t know.”
She narrowed her gaze as she leaned over his desk, placing her hands flat on its surface. “Then, if you didn’t ask Ace for the house, does that mean you’d be willing to sell me your half of the ownership?”
There it was, the selfish, spoiled brat she’d always been, climbing up to see how she could make a situation beneficial for herself first and foremost.
“Reigna,” he said with amusement in his tone as he tilted his head to the side. “I didn’t ask Ace for this gift, but you should know I have no intention of parting with it.”
He could see the tightness in her features return as her ire burned a deep red beneath her skin. “Why the hell not? The place holds no significance to you. It’s my childhood home, the place I…”
“Felt the most love. The place where your life was the most perfect after your parents’ divorce? I know.”
She’d said those exact words to him time and time again over their two-year courtship. He’d admired her emotional attachment to the place then. Now he was counting on that very same attachment to give him the power over her he needed to wield if he was going to save his father.
“You’re doing this just to hurt me.” Her words were spoken on a soft breath, but they were heavy and impactful all the same.
In her eyes, he could see the cloud of hurt mixed with grief and part of him, a tiny sliver, wanted to pull her in his arms and tell her it would be all right. Damn this woman and the hold she’d always had over him. He shook his head, refusing to give in. She might have fooled him before, but now he knew better. Reigna didn’t want him. And no matter how good her body made his feel, he could not let those memories make him vulnerable to her. If he was to protect his father and his nation, he had to do what was necessary.
“Reigna, I’d have to care about you to be concerned with hurting you.” He could see the involuntary flinch she tried hard to hide. Good. He needed her to know exactly where they stood with one another if his plan was going to work. “Spite is the last thing on my mind.” She might not believe him, but it was the truth. He wasn’t doing this just to anger her. That was a bonus. He was doing this because he had to, because all would be lost if he didn’t.
“Then, why do you want it?”
He stood up from his chair, walking around it until he stood close enough to her that he could smell the spicy fragrance she was wearing floating up from her skin.
“You, Reigna. I need you. And owning half of this house gets me exactly that.”
“What the hell could you possibly want from me?”
“That’s simple,” he smiled. “I need you to marry me.”
* * *
“What the hell?”
That was all she could manage after Jasiri’s unexpected declaration. Two years ago, he’d been spitting mad when he’d stormed from her office after she’d told him she wasn’t ready to be a wife.
“Jasiri, you made it very clear two years ago that you didn’t want me if I didn’t accept your proposal. Why would you want me now?”
He sat on the front of his desk, stretching his long legs out as he casually crossed one ankle over the other. Her breath caught as she marveled at the sexy picture he made. In or out of clothes, Jasiri had the most tempting body she’d ever known. A fact that hadn’t changed in the last two years since they’d broken up.
She could feel the blood rushing through her as memories of how he once used that strong, broad body of his to keep her writhing in pleasure. And even though she was livid that he’d stolen her family home from her, she couldn’t shake the need being this near to him caused.
“I didn’t say I wanted you, Reigna.” His mouth hitched in a sinister smile. “I said I needed you. There is a difference, and you’d do well to appreciate that.”
She could tell from the cold glare in his eyes that his pointing out that distinction was meant to cut her, and it certainly did. Who wouldn’t be offended if the man they’d once loved with all their heart plainly laid out that he couldn’t give a damn about them?
But Reigna was a Devereaux, and she’d be damned if she let this pompous man with his proper diction and his oversize ego see she was the slightest bit bothered by his lack of feeling for her or the time they’d shared together.
“Fine, then,” she huffed, trying her best to present a bored affect. “Why do you need me to marry you?”
The answer to her question really didn’t matter. It was just curiosity that was driving her to ask it. No matter what he said, once again, the answer would be no. Before, it was because she was building Gemini Queens cosmetics with Regina. Now, it was because he was an arrogant, entitled jerk who, from the confidence swimming in his dark eyes, thought he had her where he wanted her.
“My father is ill, Reigna.”
He folded his arms, his body tensing before her as a dark shadow fell over his dark brown skin. She could almost feel the tension emanating from his being. Instantly, she could feel a chink in the brick wall she’d erected from the moment she’d entered the consulate.
Without realizing it, she stepped closer to him, laying a hand on his. Purely running on instinct, she sat next to him and said, “I’m so sorry to hear that, Jasiri. The few times I video-called with your parents, they were both always so kind and gracious to me.”
“Thank you for that.” He whispered softly. “He always did and still does hold you in the highest esteem.”
Her fingers wrapped tighter around his and warmth flowed through her. She wasn’t sure why it mattered that his father still thought of her kindly, but it did.
“While I regret to hear of his poor health, that still doesn’t explain what you need from me.”
His jaw flexed, the muscle there jerking as he prepared to continue. “The office he holds back home has put a great deal of pressure and stress on his health. His doctors say if he doesn’t relinquish his duties, he could die. I won’t let that happen, so I’m stepping into the role. Unfortunately, there’s an archaic law on the books that forbids me from succeeding my father unless I’m married. Since this is a pressing matter and I don’t have time to find a wife in the usual manner, I need you to fulfill the role.”
Amusement bubbled up in her chest, spilling through her lips in a loud laugh until she nearly doubled over.
“I’m glad you find my father’s failing health amusing.”
His words cut her laughter short, and she leaned closer to him, closer than good sense warranted. Now she could smell that perfect mix of cool, sultry sweetness and him that she’d always loved to inhale whenever he’d held her.
“You know damn well I’m not laughing about your father’s health.”
Her rising anger should’ve pushed back the flashes of their past where her sense memory of that smell was taking her. Instantly she remembered long nights of their bodies pressing together until they were blissfully exhausted and damp with sweat. She tried to brace herself against them, but moments of them enveloped in each other’s arms attacked her senses, forcing her to shake her head.
She didn’t need to remember that. That was past, they were two different people, and currently he was holding her family home hostage. Forgetting that would put her at a disadvantage in these weird negotiations they were broaching.
She’d come here to get her family home back. Taking a trip down memory lane wasn’t part of that.
“Since we both know this can’t possibly be a real proposition, how about we begin the real negotiations. I’m willing to buy you out with a generous offer that’s well above market value. Name your price, and I’ll cut you a check.”
“This is not a joke, Reigna.”
She inhaled deeply, trying hard to gather her thoughts and keep her focus. Being around Jasiri had always mesmerized her. But falling into that old habit now would cost her too much.
“Why me, Jasiri? We both know as a fancy ambassador, there have got to be a bunch of women back home who would jump at the chance to marry you.”
“There are,” he agreed. “But my father doesn’t want me to marry just to take on his duties. He’s a romantic and wants me to marry for love. You’re the only woman I’ve been romantically involved with that my father has more than passing knowledge of.” He folded his arms, casting his soft gaze down to her, making her want to pull him into her arms. “If I marry you, he won’t be stressed, and he’ll let me take over his duties without further worry. My only goal is to protect my father, Reigna. Can you understand that?”
She definitely could. Especially after losing Ace, she understood more than most what happened when you lost someone you loved. But this? This couldn’t be the answer.
“Jasiri, my heart goes out to your father. You’re mistaken if you think this is the solution, though. Come on, let’s get down to the real negotiations because we both know me marrying you isn’t going to happen.”
He tilted his head, considering her for a moment before he stood, stepping in front of her, filling up her senses as his hard gaze bore down on her.
“You misunderstand the situation, Reigna.” He brought his large hand to her face, gently cupping her cheek. The feel of his skin against hers made need explode inside her. Her pulse ticked up and her breath lodged in her throat of anticipation of what his next move would be.
When they were together, him cupping her cheek was always followed by his full lips pressing against hers. She should be angered by that idea; she should be pushing him away. But as his eyes bore down into hers, her body decided—without her permission—that it would stay in this exact spot waiting for Jasiri to put her out of her misery and finally kiss her.
He was so close to her, all she had to do was lean in and their lips would touch. But she was frozen, too afraid to press forward and too hurt to walk away.
“There are no negotiations.” His voice was strong but quiet, lulling her into an almost trancelike state. “These are my terms. If you want full ownership of that house, you’ll have to marry me and live in my country as my devoted wife for two years. Refuse, and I will keep Ace Devereaux’s very generous gift, and you’ll just have to deal with me…”
He leaned down, the heat of his nearness scorching her, as the deep rumble of his voice caressed the shell of her ear.
“Forever.”
She was slightly dizzy, and her pulse was elevated, reactions that could come from anger and desire. But the problem was she couldn’t tell which was causing her to feel this way. Anger she could deal with. But desire…that was a totally different matter altogether and so very dangerous to her well-being. Because wanting Jasiri Adebesi was a weakness she couldn’t afford to succumb to if she was going to get her family’s home back.
“So what’s your answer, Reigna? Do you accept my terms?”
She stepped back, needing to get her bearings because there was no way she could think clearly with him sucking up all the oxygen in her personal space.
Once she’d put a safe amount of distance between them, she straightened her shoulders and stiffened her spine. Jasiri might be a powerful ambassador for his country, but she was determined that he would have no power over her.
He raised a brow, showing her he was still waiting for her answer. She wouldn’t make him wait, not because she was submitting to his demands but because she couldn’t wait to wipe the smug look sitting on his face off.
“My answer is simple.” She bent her lips into the broadest smile she could manage. “Go to hell.”