Married for the Prince's Convenience

CHAPTER TWO

SHAME SHOULD HAVE been the paramount emotion ruling Jasmine as her gaze remained trapped in Prince Reyes’s stare.

Instead, the alien emotion from earlier pulsed through her again, and, impossibly, everything and everyone seemed to fade away. Even the sound of her own breathing slowed until she barely knew whether she breathed in or out.

Alarmed and more than a little unsettled, Jasmine wrenched her gaze away. All through the meal she barely tasted, she forced herself to make light conversation with Josh. But even with her focus firmly turned away from Prince Reyes, she could feel his stare, heavy and speculative, on her.

Now, realising just how precarious a position she’d put herself in, Jasmine was barely able to hold it together. Which was why she didn’t hear Josh clear his throat.

Once. Twice.

Her gaze jerked up to find Prince Reyes Navarre standing next to her. Startled, she dropped the knife and cringed as it clattered onto her plate.

‘Miss Nichols, was your meal satisfactory?’ He glanced pointedly at her half-eaten meal.

Aware of the countless pairs of eyes on her, Jasmine wasn’t sure whether to remain seated or stand and curtsy. She opted to remain seated. ‘Y-yes, it was, thank you.’

‘I am not interrupting, I hope?’ A glance at Josh that was at once courteous and incisive.

‘No, we’re...just two countrymen who find themselves at the same table.’ Josh laughed.

‘How...fortunate,’ Prince Reyes said, his gaze speculative as it rested on the other man.

Vaguely, she saw him gesture. Suddenly, the guests rose from their places and started to mingle. Sensing some sort of etiquette being observed, Jasmine stood shakily to her feet.

Snagging the edge of her heel on her chair, she stumbled.

Prince Reyes caught her arm. She gasped at the electricity sizzling over her skin. When she straightened, he dropped his arm and just stared at her.

A block of silence fell between them. For the life of her, Jasmine couldn’t form any words to ease the sudden tension. Heat crawled over her body and her dress felt suddenly very restrictive.

Josh cleared his throat a third time, glanced from one to the other, then put his glass down. ‘I need to find a business acquaintance. Please excuse me, Your Highness.’ He bowed quickly, then scurried away before Jasmine could draw breath.

And once again, Jasmine was trapped by a pair of compelling grey eyes.

‘Are you here with him?’ Prince Reyes asked.

Did she detect a hint of disapproval in his tone? She raised her chin. ‘No, I’m here on my own.’

If anything, his disapproval increased.

She scrambled to continue. ‘I was told Rio was safe. So far nothing’s happened to make me think otherwise.’

A gleam smouldered in his eyes. ‘Danger comes in all forms, Miss Nichols. Sometimes in least expected packages. I’d urge you to practise caution.’

Hearing him use her surname instead of her first name as he had on the terrace, made her realise how much she missed hearing it.

‘Thank you for the advice...umm...Your Highness.’ She didn’t add that she wouldn’t need it. She didn’t plan on being here long enough to get into any more danger than she was putting herself in tonight. In fact, as soon as she’d completed the hateful task, she was heading to the airport to catch the next flight out. ‘But it’s really not necessary.’

He continued to regard her in that disquieting manner. A tiny shiver shimmied along her skin; the enormity of her task hit her, sharp and forceful.

Again the instinct to run slammed through her and it took everything Jasmine possessed to stand her ground and continue to meet his eyes.

This man possessed her only means to save her stepfather. Instead of dismissing his concern, she should be using it. The shame welling inside her didn’t matter. The fear of stepping over the line couldn’t be allowed to overtake the most important thing—saving Stephen. Saving her family.

She watched, scrambling to keep her distressing thoughts from showing, as Prince Reyes held out his hand. ‘Very well. Far be it from me to cause offence by suggesting one of my bodyguards accompany you to your hotel. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Nichols.’ He turned away and she noticed said bodyguards take their protective stance behind him. One was carrying the briefcase containing the treaty.

He was leaving! Taking with him the only chance of saving her stepfather.

Gripping her purse, she cleared her throat and quickly back-pedalled. ‘Actually, you’re right. A strange city isn’t a place for a woman to be wandering at night. I’d be grateful for your assistance.’

She heard the indrawn breath of the nearest guests, but ignored it.

Letting Prince Reyes leave was unthinkable. She’d travelled thousands of miles to make sure her stepfather didn’t go to jail. Ten minutes was all she needed. Less, if she was really quick. She had to get her hands on that treaty. Even if it meant following a predator straight into his den.

He turned. Jasmine’s breath stalled as his eyes darkened. He stared at her for what felt like an eternity before his lids descended. She sensed his withdrawal before he spoke.

‘I’ll arrange for my chauffeur to deliver you to your hotel.’ He was already nodding to a dark-clad figure nearby.

Acute anxiety swelled inside her.

She couldn’t fail. She just couldn’t. Stephen might just survive prison but her mother wouldn’t make it.

‘Or I could come with you. Save your chauffeur making two trips,’ she offered, cringing at the breathless tone of her voice.

He held up a hand to stop the bodyguard who stepped forward, his gaze imprisoning hers. Silence pulsed between them. A silence filled with charged signals that made the blood pulse heavily between her thighs. Every sense sprang into super-awareness. She could hear every sound, smell every scent on the evening breeze, feel every whisper of air over her heating skin. Her nipples hardened and her cheeks heated at the blatant evidence of her awareness of him.

The thought that she was insanely attracted to a man whom she planned to deceive, albeit temporarily, caused hysterical laughter to bubble up.

She strained not to react. To keep the wrap draped over her arms and not use it to hide the proof of her arousal. She’d never used her feminine wiles to capture a man’s attention. Doing so now made her insides clench with disgust. All the same, a small part of her gave a cry of triumph when his eyes dropped to her chest for an infinitesimal moment.

‘You want to come with me? Now?’ His voice had altered, his eyes narrowing with icy suspicion that warned her to tread carefully.

Jasmine couldn’t afford to back away. She had too much to lose.

‘Yes. Take me with you. My hotel isn’t that far from here. I’ll even buy you a drink as a thank you.’ The single brain cell that remained shook with astonishment at her boldness. Afraid that her plea had emerged more of a command, and might perhaps cause offence, she hastily added, ‘If you don’t mind.’

His gaze darkened with a predatory gleam that made Jasmine swallow in trepidation. ‘Perhaps it is you who should mind, Miss Nichols. Some would advise you against what you’re asking.’

With deliberate slowness, she passed the tip of her tongue over her lower lip. Stark hunger blazed in his eyes, stealing her breath as the grey depths turned almost black. A warm rush of air whispered over her skin, but even that small change caused her to gasp as if he’d physically laid his hands on her.

‘Maybe, but something tells me I can trust you,’ she replied, her nerves jangling with terror at the uncharted waters she found herself in. Flirting and sexual games had never been her forte. Not since her one attempt at university had ended in humiliating disaster.

Another step brought Prince Reyes within touching distance. His narrowed eyes, still holding that trace of sadness she’d glimpsed earlier, were now laced with a healthy dose of bitterness.

Jasmine didn’t have time to dwell on his expression because his scent engulfed her, fuelling her already frenzied senses. She inhaled, filling her entire being with his essence. As if he sensed it too, his nostrils flared.

‘You’re playing a dangerous game, Jasmine,’ he murmured.

‘It...it’s just a lift back to my h-hotel,’ she croaked.

‘Perhaps. Or it is something else. Something neither of us is ready for.’ His voice was pitched low, for her ears alone. His gaze slid over her face, its path as forceful and yet as gentle as a silky caress.

‘I’ll be out of your hair in less than half an hour. Seriously, you have nothing to fear from me.’ Liar. She tried to curb the accusing voice, thankful when it faded away under the onslaught of the heavy emotion beating in her chest.

His jaw tightened. ‘I have everything to fear from you.’ Again the bitterness, sharper this time. ‘The curse of a beautiful woman has been my ancestors’ downfall.’

She forced a laugh. Beautiful? Her? Well, if he could flatter, so could she. ‘So prove it’s not true. Deliver me to my hotel and walk away. Then you’ll be free of this...curse.’

He tilted his head to one side, as if weighing her request. His hand rose again, this time to reach down to encircle her wrist.

With a subtle but firm tug, he pulled her to him.

‘If walking away resolved centuries-old issues, my kingdom wouldn’t be in shambles.’

‘I didn’t mean—’

He pulled her closer. Jasmine was too mesmerised by this enigmatic man to acknowledge the curious stares of the guests beyond the protective circle of Prince Reyes’s bodyguards. And he didn’t seem too disturbed by their growing audience.

His stare turned into a frown. ‘You intrigue me, Jasmine Nichols.’

‘Is that a bad thing?’

He stepped back and he seemed to come to a decision. ‘I’m not certain, but I wish to find out. Come.’

* * *

Reyes Navarre drew a deep breath.

What in Dios’s name was he doing? Not since Anaïs had he behaved so rashly. His carefree period of picking up liaisons for a night had come to a jagged halt five years ago when he’d experienced for himself just how duplicitous women could be. His own mother had hammered that lesson home forcefully in the weeks before her death.

Overnight, Reyes had witnessed the family he’d foolishly thought he could bring together disintegrate beyond recognition. He’d watched the will to live slowly extinguish from his father’s eyes until only a husk remained.

Reyes’s chest tightened painfully with equal parts of remorse and bitterness. Remorse that grew each day because he knew he’d failed to grant his father, King Carlos, his one wish—an heir to the throne while he was still alive. Bitterness because his father had condemned Reyes for choosing to learn from past mistakes. What his father didn’t know was the woman Reyes had thought would be his queen had turned out to be just as conniving and as faithless as his own mother.

The double blow had made abstinence a far better prospect. One he’d embraced and pushed to the back of his mind when his father’s health had worsened.

But tonight...

He glanced at the woman whose delicate scent filled every corner of the limo.

She hadn’t spoken since they’d driven away from the banquet, but Reyes had caught the fleeting glances she sent his way every now and then. Just as he’d glimpsed the little darts of her tongue at the corner of mouth when her gaze fell on him.

She did it again, just then. A different sort of tightening seized his body.

Grinding his teeth, Reyes forced himself to examine why Jasmine Nichols intrigued him. Perhaps it was being away from Santo Sierra for the first time in over a year. Perhaps it was the knowledge that, after months of tough negotiations, Mendez had finally agreed to sign the trade treaty.

Or it could be that he just needed to let himself feel something other than bitterness and recrimination...to experience a moment of oblivion before the relentless pressure of his birthright settled back on his shoulders.

Whatever the reason, he didn’t stop himself from pressing the intercom that connected him to the driver.

‘Take us to the boat,’ he instructed.

Jasmine immediately turned to him. ‘You’re not taking me to my hotel?’ Her voice held a touch of trepidation but no hint of panic.

She knew the score.

As he should.

Except he didn’t.

He was acting out of character. Had been from the moment he saw her.

His smile felt strained. ‘You owe me a drink, I believe. I’m choosing to take it before I have you delivered to your hotel, not after.’

‘Just in case I renege? You’re not very trusting, are you?’

The twinge in his chest stung deeper, but he refused to acknowledge it. ‘No, I’m not.’

Her eyes widened and she looked away. ‘Are we really going to your boat?’ she asked with a curious note in her voice.

‘Yes.’

Reyes remembered she didn’t like boats. Was that why he’d brought her to his yacht instead of the royal suite that awaited him at the Four Seasons? Was he hoping she would quail at the sight of the big floating palace and ask to be returned to her hotel?

Or had he brought her here for his own selfish reasons? Because, for some reason, focusing on her made his tumultuous feelings subside just a little?

All through the interminable dinner, he’d watched her, his gaze unable to stray from her for more than a few seconds because every time it had, he’d felt the darkness encroaching.

He watched her now from the corner of his eye, waiting for a reaction. But her hands remained folded in her lap, her gaze on the large vessel they’d pulled up to.

Unfortunately his thoughts and emotions suffered no such languor or calm. They churned in rhythm to the heavy pounding of his heart at what was to come.

Thoughts of sating himself on a woman had been pushed far back into the recesses of his mind, especially in the last year as he’d battled to salvage the trade treaty with Valderra. But his efforts had paid off.

He’d brought Mendez and Valderra to the treaty table, the result of which would mean a much-needed economic boost for his people.

Tomorrow they would complete the signing of the Santo-Valderra treaty. The concessions had been heavy. Mendez had made outrageous demands, like the excessively extravagant banquet held here tonight to honour his birthday. A ceremony Reyes had initially balked at attending, but had eventually given in to, because he suspected Mendez would use any excuse to postpone the final signing of the treaty.

The concessions Santo Sierra had given would be recouped with time. And, most importantly, the trade blockage had been removed.

He still faced an uphill battle in convincing his council members to accept the changes to come. And there was also his father...

Reyes pushed thoughts of his father and grief aside and reminded himself that his father was alive.

And for one night, this night, Reyes intended to turn his mind to more...pleasant matters.

Jasmine sat in silence beside him, a beacon in the gloom that threatened to swallow him whole. But Reyes sensed that she was almost as reluctant as he to test the depths of awareness that zinged between them, just as he was quietly amazed by the depth of his attraction for her.

The memory of her skin when he’d held her on the balcony returned. His hand tightened next to his thigh.

He’d taken one look at Jasmine and the foundations of his self-imposed celibacy had started to shake. All through the banquet he’d been unable to take his eyes off her, a notion that had at once fascinated and irritated him. By the time the banquet was over, he’d known his resistance was severely compromised.

Yet, he’d been determined to walk away. Bitter experience and the heavy burden of duty had taught him to weigh his decisions carefully.

One-night stands weren’t his modus operandi.

So what in the name of Dios was he doing?

He hadn’t touched her since that last electrifying contact, and yet a storm unlike anything he’d ever known raged inside him. From the corner of his eye, he watched her fiddle with one earring. The sweet, yet provocative movement fanned the inferno of his lust.

‘Are we going to get out?’ Her question emerged with that same breathy, husky quality that sent shivers racing through him. Her eyes, blue like the ocean surrounding his kingdom, slid to his and the throb in his groin accelerated.

‘Momentarily,’ he replied, hoping for some last-minute perspective.

But the only perspective his brain was willing to consider was the one where this enthralling woman ended up in his bed, her voluptuous body quenching his ferocious need.

She’d shown herself a worthy opponent, and yes, he considered the insane tug and pull of attraction between them a battleground. A battle from which he would emerge the victor and walk away with everything he held dear intact.

During their intriguing exchange not once had her gaze slid from his. In fact, more than once he’d seen a spark of defiance in the blue vividness of her eyes. That spark had ignited something inside him he’d long forgotten.

It had reminded him of a carefree time when life had been less fraught.

He glanced up at the lights of his yacht. He’d deliberately not moored at the same quay as Prince Mendez because he’d wanted to avoid the avid media attention Mendez courted.

Reyes preferred privacy...solitude...silence. His mother had created enough chaos in his life when she was alive.

So what are you doing bringing a total stranger on board?

He faced Jasmine.

Her gaze immediately riveted to his and heat surged through his bloodstream. She gave a nervous smile and pulled her wrap tighter around her. He frowned at the protective gesture. The interior of the car wasn’t cold, in fact the night air blowing gently through the half-open windows was sultry. So there could be only one other reason for the telling gesture.

‘It’s not too late to change your mind.’ His statement emerged harsher than he’d intended, partly, he realised, because he didn’t want her to leave.

Her eyes widened and she wavered for a second before a curiously resolute look settled over her face. ‘No. A deal is a deal. Although I’m not sure how to go about buying you a drink when we’re boarding your boat.’

Relief made him exhale unsteadily. He signalled to his bodyguard, who opened the door. Reyes handed him the briefcase holding the treaty and held out his hand to Jasmine. ‘We’ll continue our debate on board.’

She glanced from his hand to his yacht. He held his breath. Slowly, she reached out. His grip tightened on her fingers as he stepped out of the car and helped her out. He’d taken two steps when he felt her tug at his grip.

‘Wait. I can’t do this.’

Disappointment curled through him. Reyes bit back a sharp retort as he dropped her hand. In the time since his last liaison, the world hadn’t changed, then, he mused caustically. Women continued to tease, to engage in sexual games in the hope that playing hard to get would make them seem more attractive to the opposite sex. The bitterness he’d tried to douse welled up again.

‘Save the excuses, Miss Nichols. I’m disappointed that women seem to believe creating intrigue involves mind games, but I am not willing to indulge you.’ He nodded to his driver, who stepped forward. ‘You’ll be delivered to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Rio.’ He couldn’t stem the regret that settled gut-deep inside him. Not to mention the uncomfortable arousal that tightened his groin and made thinking straight difficult.

He turned away, wanting to be far away from her, from the temptation of her voluptuous body and seductive scent that insisted on lingering in the air around him.

‘Actually, that’s not what I want.’ She sounded hurt and a little confused. ‘I didn’t mean that I’d changed my mind about the drink.’

He whirled round. ‘Then what did you mean, Jasmine?’

An uneasy look crossed her face. ‘I told you, I don’t really like boats. But I thought I’d make an exception...just this once...’ She shook her head. ‘Anyway, I’m not coming aboard wearing these shoes.’ She gestured to her feet.

Puzzled, he frowned. ‘What?’

‘My step—umm, I read somewhere that heels and boats aren’t a good combination.’ Her shrug drew his attention to the silky curve of her shoulder. ‘Of course, I don’t know what sort of flooring you have on your yacht, but I don’t want to ruin it.’

Laughter replaced Reyes’s disappointment. It rumbled through his chest, a sensation he hadn’t felt for a while.

‘My floors? You don’t want to ruin the floors on my boat?’ His incredulity grew with his words and he barely stopped himself from shaking his head.

‘No, I don’t. Plus, my feet are seriously killing me. So if you don’t mind?’ She held out her hand for him to take. ‘It’ll only take a minute.’

Caught in the surreal moment, Reyes took her hand. He felt the rough ridge of scarred tissue and looked at the thin line crossing her palm. About to ask what had caused it, he was stalled by the sight of one graceful leg, lifted, one ankle strap unbuckled before the process was repeated with the other shoe.

His gaze dropped to her feet. They were small but perfectly formed with pink tips. The sight only aroused him further, tweaked his already dangerously heightened senses.

‘Good idea,’ he murmured inanely, his voice curiously hoarse.

She nodded and fell into step beside him. ‘I think it’s only fair to warn you, though, the last time I rode a dinghy, I ended up falling overboard. I hope you’ll rescue me if that happens again?’

A smile tugged at his lips. ‘As you can see, my boat is slightly bigger than your dinghy. It’ll take a lot of effort to accidentally go overboard. But be assured, I’ll come to your aid should the worst happen.’

‘Well, if you put it that way, then I have nothing to worry about,’ she said with a smile.

Reyes smiled, feeling less burdened than he had in a long time. He took her shoes as they approached the gangplank and followed her up the stairs onto the deck and through into the large, open salon. He watched her take in her surroundings, her mouth parting to inhale sharply at the opulence that embraced her.

Reyes had seen different reactions to his yacht, some openly covetous and some hidden behind careful indifference. Jasmine’s eyes widened in something close to childlike, uninhibited awe as she took in the polished wood panels, gold ornamentation and monogrammed accessories in royal Santo Sierran blue he’d commissioned for the vessel.