Page 20 of A Ring to Claim Her Crown
As she stood frozen in place, he raked his gaze over her slowly, from the top of her head all the way down to the strappy flat sandals she wore on feet. He met her eyes once more, showing her a brief glimpse of burning heat that took her breath away. It was the kind of look that she should have immediately turned tail and run from, if she’d had any sense. She was already too unsettled by this interaction, byhim, to make the imperious speech she’d planned.
‘You had no right, bidding on me last night. Why did you do it?’
‘I don’t like to lose,’ he said, without a hint of remorse.
‘You said yourself that you were never in the running.’ she replied, fighting the urge to growl at the superior look on his impossibly handsome face. ‘You say that as though you believe that this stunt has resulted in you winning.’
‘You’re here, aren’t you?’
Minerva fought the urge to launch herself towards the ship to throttle him. ‘I am not a commodity for you to bid upon or trade, or whatever it is that you are used to doing in your world.’
They were interrupted momentarily by the arrival of one of the yacht’s staff, who needed Liro’s signature upon something.
‘If you have quite finished your speech, Your Highness, now that you’re here, we might as well begin.’ He turned to walk away towards the interior of the yacht.
‘I have not finished.’
He paused but did not turn round, tension rippling through the ridiculously defined muscles of his gigantic shoulders. ‘You wanted to discuss the past—this is the only way I will do that. I paid an exorbitant amount of money to have dinner with the Crown Princess, so get on the yacht.’
She hesitated, watching as he walked away from her and disappeared down a stairwell built into the polished wood. The question lay in the shape of the gangplank that separated them—five feet of wood and rope that separated her from the adventure he offered.
She remembered the wistful way he’d recounted his love of life at sea the night before. How he’d described it as healing, quieting something in him. This particular port wasn’t quiet by any means, but the lulling sounds of the harbour had an oddly peaceful quality. For a moment she closed her eyes and simply listened to gulls cawing in the distance realising that, the longer she remained frozen in place, the further she was from getting actual closure on their past. Decision made, she boarded the giant yacht.
CHAPTER SEVEN
STAFFAWAITEDHERto take her bag and offer refreshments while she waited for Liro to return from wherever he was freshening up. She hadn’t taken any security with her and noticed that Liro didn’t seem to have any here either. She was shown to the entertainment deck, where a large open-air terrace took up most of the space, overlooking the lower-deck pool and hot tub.
She wondered how many wild parties this vessel had seen, how many women he’d entertained in his entertainment deck. He was a handsome man, not to mention a self-made owner of his own shipping empire. He probably had a woman waiting for him in every major port in the world. She stabbed her toothpick into a cherry and almost didn’t hear Liro slide into the seat across from her.
His hair was wet from the shower and he had changed into a black T-shirt and jeans combo that hugged his thick muscles while still managing to look effortlessly stylish. She forced herself not to stare down at how the denim framed his strong thighs; she didn’t need to boost his massive ego any more than she already had.
‘This counts as your first course,’ she said quickly, gesturing to the bowl of pretzels that had been placed on the table between them.
‘Learning how to negotiate... I approve.’
His maddening smile irked her, even as she fought not to let her own lips curve. She wished that she didn’t find him so entertaining, but it had always been this way. His dry humour was the perfect match for her, and he had always succeeded in pulling a laugh from her when most had failed.
But that was in the past. And if last night had showed her anything it was that their past would always be far too much to overcome. There were far too many things left unsaid, too much time had passed...and time was something she simply no longer had. Any other person at thirty-three would have had the luxury of time to consider what they truly wanted, where they wished to live and what career they wanted. But Minerva had simply been spinning her wheels for the past decade, never looking too far ahead. She had always known that one day the bell would ring and she would be obligated to fulfil the next step of her duty: a marriage of convenience, an alliance to strengthen her position, before she became queen.
There was only one person to blame for the fact that this cold reality now felt heavier than ever and he sat across from her at this very moment, looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world as he stared out at the sea.
‘Having me here on your yacht...is it supposed to have a specific effect?’ she asked, idly twirling her glass. ‘Am I supposed to see this lavish vessel that you’ve purchased for yourself and be jealous? Or did you hope I would be too distracted by you to remember that you had promised to tell me the truth?’
He was silent for a moment, his eyes scanning her face in a way that made him seem almost dangerous. Hewasdangerous...to her, anyway...to her plans, to her peace of mind. This man was a walking threat to everything she had fought so hard to contain within herself.
‘This vessel is my home, Your Highness. I can give you the grand tour, if you like, once we’re at sea.’
As he spoke, she became vaguely aware that the soft bobbing beneath her feet had turned into a rapid thrum. One look beyond the porthole behind her showed the harbour slowly slipping away from focus. She stood up, clenching her fists by her sides and looking down at him with full incrimination.
‘Take me back to port!’
‘I will, once we have completed our meal.’
‘When I said I’d board your ridiculous yacht, I did not agree to leave the country.’
‘You agreed to a five-course meal with me—the location is at my discretion.’
‘You...you absolutecheat. Do you think that every tiny detail can just be manipulated and taken advantage of?’
