Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
Annalena shot to her feet and across the room. When she reached the window and spun around it was to find him on his feet, watching her.
Did he think she was going to make a run for it?
He had the determined look of a man ready to stop her.
She stifled a snort of despairing amusement. How could she run? She was as mired in this situation as he. All through their discussion she’d told herself there would be a way out. Surely they could control things so everything went back to the way it had been.
But she’d found herself agreeing with every point he made.
Except the last one.
A huff of gasping laughter escaped. She’d been right to worry. His solution wasn’t merely bad. It was catastrophic .
She folded her arms across her heaving chest, holding in the rackety thud of her heart pounding against her ribs.
‘That’s preposterous.’
‘It’s logical.’
‘Maybe to a robot that doesn’t understand the nuances of people’s lives. Not to a person .’ She hefted another breath. ‘It’s inhuman.’
She stared at the man watching her so steadily. How could he even think it possible? He looked totally unruffled. Had he no sensibility? No feelings?
Yet there it was again, the throb of awareness that made it seem as though they stood a mere breath apart instead of metres away. She experienced it each time they met. As if there were a link between them. Even his far-fetched suggestion hadn’t dimmed it.
His eyes glowed as they locked on hers and suddenly the tight feeling in her chest and her rapid heartbeat weren’t just about his outrageous idea.
No, he wasn’t a robot. He wasn’t unfeeling.
He was human and very, very male.
A twisting sensation started up in the vicinity of her womb.
A moment ago she’d been shocked. Now she was swamped by the certainty she was completely out of her depth with him.
Her head spun and she planted her feet wider.
‘Actually, it’s a very human solution.’ His voice was low, almost intimate.
‘We both have issues that need resolution. By combining our resources we solve both problems and do it amicably. Then we can move forward and so can our country. You love Edelforst but it’s part of Prinzenberg and I assume you care what happens to the nation. ’
‘Marrying is a little more than combining our resources .’ To her chagrin, heat climbed her throat and into her cheeks. ‘You’re talking about joining our lives.’
And your bodies. Don’t forget that. He’s not the sort of man to be satisfied with a paper marriage. And he’ll want an heir to the throne.
That twisting ache low in her body intensified.
From the first she’d been aware of Benedikt’s intense masculine charisma. It wasn’t the aggressive, boisterous masculinity some men exuded. But he was a powerful, virile man, an intelligent man who challenged and intrigued her. She was always intensely aware of him, mind and body.
She wasn’t gullible enough to think he was proposing a temporary arrangement. Royal marriages didn’t work like that, especially when both husband and wife had claims to the throne.
His eyes narrowed. ‘You have plans to spend your life with someone else? You have a fiancé? A partner?’
Her chin lifted. She’d bet he knew there was no such person in her life. As well as researching her birth and her right to the throne, his staff would have compiled a report on her.
‘Not at the moment.’ Not ever. Because there’d never seemed time with her family obligations and her career.
The circumstances of her birth and her parents’ deaths had impacted her ability to throw herself carelessly into romantic love.
Deep in her psyche, love and tragedy were inextricably entwined.
Was it any wonder she hadn’t taken that risk yet?
Wariness, even fear, had kept her from the possibility of an intimate relationship.
‘That doesn’t mean I won’t meet someone right for me in the future. ’
He lifted his shoulders, the lazy action emphasising the leashed power in his rangy form.
‘Perhaps with time we could be the right person for each other. Successful matches don’t always begin with romance.’
He was talking about a match for dynastic reasons. What about the personal? Finding someone to share your hopes and dreams, your fears and delights?
She’d never been hung up on dreams of white bridal dresses and confetti.
But through her rather isolated childhood and adolescence she’d hankered for someone with whom she could share her life.
Now, approaching thirty, that had solidified into a desire for family, a partner and maybe children.
But above all someone who loved her for herself, not for what she could do for her country.
‘What about you? Do you have a partner? A fiancée?’
She waited for his instant denial. And waited. Her eyes rounded.
For the first time since the conversation began, his gaze strayed away from her. ‘I—’
‘You have a long-term lover and you’d throw her over without a second thought? Just to shore up your position?’ Annalena backed a step and found herself pressed against the French door, hands splayed against glass. ‘How could you—?’
‘It’s not like that.’ He dragged his fingers through his hair, then, as if realising the gesture betrayed emotion, pushed his hands into his trouser pockets.
She stalked across the room to stand before him. She wanted to be close enough to read every nuance of his expression. ‘What is it like, then, Benedikt ?’
Annalena dropped her voice on his name, allowing him to hear the ponderous weight of her distrust and disapproval.
A muscle flicked in his jaw and he rolled his shoulders, standing taller. ‘There’s no partner, but I have been thinking about marriage.’
Surely the two went together. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Isn’t it obvious? I’ve been considering potential brides. Someone to share the burden of royalty.’
Considering potential brides. He didn’t sound happy about it. Did he have a list of requirements? Did he interview candidates? Or did he delegate that to his staff?
No doubt every woman on his list was gorgeous, talented and would make an admirable royal hostess. She’d have to be sexy too. Annalena couldn’t imagine him accepting anything less. Especially as sharing the burdens of royalty no doubt included producing an heir.
Swallowing an acid taste, she asked, ‘You have someone particular in mind?’
A brief pause before he nodded. ‘But there was no agreement, no proposal.’
Annalena shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Oh, that’s all right, then. If there was no agreement .’ Her lip curled. ‘You’ve led her on to believe—’
‘Marriage hasn’t been mentioned. I haven’t led her on.’
Did he really believe that? He must know the effect he had on women. If he’d been seeing her seriously he must have raised expectations.
Benedikt was well-built and imposingly tall with even—okay, handsome—features. Charismatic. Not to mention rich and royal. She suspected he merely had to smile at a woman to raise her hopes.
Unless that woman was clear-eyed enough to recognise his autocratic tendencies. His unyielding drive to get what he wanted. How else could you describe his idea of them marrying?
Cold-blooded, that was what he was. Even if he made her feel hot and bothered.
His gaze snared hers and held it. And despite her distaste for what he was doing, she felt that frisson of awareness, not just of him, but of herself. The heat under her skin, the weight of her breasts against her lace bra and an achy emptiness in her pelvis.
‘It’s true. I take my duty seriously and that includes choosing a queen. I was in no rush. The woman in question and I know each other but that’s all. No promises were made.’
Just how well did they know each other? It wasn’t any of Annalena’s business, but she couldn’t help wondering.
That worried her . He worried her .
Their interactions had been fraught with tension and distrust. Yet there’d been brief moments of something like communion, as when they’d entered this room. And too many other moments when she’d thought of him as a man instead of an opponent.
He messed with her head and she knew it wasn’t all intentional. Much of the time she sabotaged herself with her wayward thoughts. Her mind strayed to last night’s restless sleep and those disturbing dreams, all featuring Benedikt. And he hadn’t always been so formally dressed.
Her gaze skittered away.
‘Even so, it wouldn’t work. I couldn’t marry a man I can’t respect.’ In her peripheral vision she saw his head rock back. ‘Not even for my country.’
‘I told you, I’m not my father.’
His voice was colourless, the deliberate absence of emotion making her nerves jangle. Because only someone suppressing every emotion could sound so barren.
She looked back at him. Sure enough, despite his stillness, she saw traces of anger and wounded pride in his strong features.
‘Yet, even knowing how disastrous that hydroelectric project will be, you didn’t stop it when you came to power. You ignored all the evidence that proves it’s a mistake. Do you have a personal financial interest in it too?’
Benedikt didn’t step closer but his deep breath lifted his shoulders, expanding his chest, making her more aware than ever that she faced a formidable adversary. She felt a jitter of nerves but stood her ground.
‘That project is one of many. Until yesterday I hadn’t dug deeply into it.
I’d accepted that a full feasibility study had been completed.
’ As if anticipating her protest, he raised his hand.
‘Last night I read all the files. The only material there fully supports the benefits of the project. There’s no record of representations against the scheme.
No other studies, no petitions, nothing. ’
‘What?’ She moved closer, as if proximity could force the truth. ‘They have to be there.’