“How do you think this can work, Adriane?” she asked. Maybe he’d see reason.
“I want it to work; therefore it will,” he stated firmly. He spoke as if his words were law. Of course, here in Corythia, what he said probably was law.
“I was raised in both Italy and America so you’re not my king. I’m sorry, but I don’t allow dictators to tell me what to do. I make my own decisions. I certainly won’t marry a man because he demands it or tells me that’s the way it’s going to be. You will release me, and then, and only then, will I consider what I will do next. Right now, you aren’t gaining any points with me in the father department. I won’t be jerked around just because I’m your living incubator. Do you understand me?”
Her breathing was heavy as she finished speaking. She’d wanted so badly to keep calm, but the more he looked down his arrogant straight nose at her, the more upset she became. He wasn’t listening to what she was saying.
Sure, he was letting her speak, but he certainly wasn’t paying attention. He thought he was too important to listen to the peasant, obviously.
“Oh, Rachel, I am so grateful that if I am to have a child before I am ready to have one, it is with you. I will never tire of your temper; nor will I ever grow bored with you. Everyone all around me agrees with everything I say. I need your dose of reality in my world,” he said with a smile.
Rachel’s face heated as he chuckled while bending down to pick up a glass. Then he began to fill it with bourbon as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He was seriously going to turn his attention from her while she was steaming mad, and laugh at her on top of it?
That was it. Rachel reached for the vase and threw it before she could convince herself it wasn’t the best idea. Right before it hit him, Adriane looked up, shocked.
Take that! Rachel thought before turning on her heels and running full speed toward the open door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
IT WAS A good thing he’d been trained in the military practically from the time he could walk. Adriane dodged the vase at the last second, and it crashed into the wall behind him. Then he just stood, stunned, as Rachel sprinted away toward the door.
He knew that running too hard couldn’t be good for her at this point, but she was incredibly fit and a bit of exercise wasn’t going to damage the baby. The blood pressure, on the other hand, he had to worry about. Maybe he should let her go for a while, cool down.
She wouldn’t be able to escape his castle. It was well guarded. Even if she did manage to get outside the walls, she would be sadly disappointed when she discovered where they were.
He decided to sit back and wait for her return. After contemplating the shattered crystal, he chose a seat that faced the door through which she’d have to return. He didn’t want her launching another item at his head without any warning.
Taking his double shot of bourbon, he sat and waited. It wouldn’t take long.
No more than ten minutes had passed when Rachel came back through the door, her eyes blazing as she stalked closer.
His body pulsed back to life as he saw her chest heaving beneath her shirt and color splashing across her cheeks. She caused his blood to turn to lava, bubbling hot and flowing thickly through his veins.
Rachel was beautiful, and it would be no hardship for him to lead her — hell, drag her — to the altar. It would be his great pleasure, in fact. He’d not been happy when he first learned he’d have to wed because of an unplanned child, but since then, he’d grown more than used to the idea.
He was actually looking forward to it. That meant he’d get her in his bed. Every night.
There would never be a need for other women to entertain him — not as long as he had Rachel by his side every day, and beneath his blankets after the sun went down.
A smile curved his lips at the thought. He could just imagine her reaction if she knew his countrymen didn’t frown upon mistresses — they even thought it healthy for the king to have a voracious sexual appetite. And he did.
The queen was to produce heirs and stand by the king’s side, or rather two paces back. She wasn’t expected to like or enjoy sex. Ah, but his queen certainly enjoyed sex. She would never bore him, just as he would never bore her, or grow tired of their play.
The thought of her beneath him again had his body hardening to a painful degree. He hoped he had her beneath him very soon — tonight if he could manage it.
“Did you have a nice stroll?” he asked, knowing he was pushing his luck with her, but unable to stop himself. Her fire was too bright for him to ever try to dim it. All he could think was that temper of hers would lead to some amazing makeup sex.
“I am going to remain calm and I’m going to refrain from throwing another priceless artifact at your head. However, you are going to show me a phone. You will let me leave.”
She was trying hard to act as if she had it all under control, but she was far from calm. It was too bad he couldn’t push her further. He didn’t mind her flying at him. He’d take her, claws and all.
“What’s so wrong with being here with me? Our week together in Florida was…intense. If you would simply stop fighting me, we could get…better acquainted again,” he said, his eyes flashing with a desire he made no attempt to hide.
Rachel stared at him, trying to figure out whether the man had lost his mind. Did he seriously think she was going to simply walk on over and make his fantasies come true? “Really, Adriane? You are either the dumbest man alive, or you have one hell of a false image of yourself. This may come as quite the shock to you, but you are resistible,” she said scathingly.
“Ouch,” he replied, a grin spreading over his face.
“Wait. You’re King Adriano,” she said in a sugary voice, dragging out the o in the name that he rarely used. “I should, of course, fall to your feet and strip off all of my clothes, and then thank you repeatedly for the honor of being chosen to please you.”
His eyebrows rose and his grin grew even wider. “Well, if you insist.”
“Ugh, you are unbelievable. You take me from my home, leave me for hours on end trapped in this ridiculous castle, and then actually expect me to roll over for you. Sorry to disappoint, but it’s not happening. Not in this century,” she said as she resumed pacing so he couldn’t see the blush overtaking her features.
Sadly, the thought of him throwing her across his bed wasn’t quite as abhorrent as she wanted him to believe.