Page 8 of Back to Claim His Crown
Suddenly her dress felt too tight. It ought to be her wedding night and here she was, being helped by the man who’d destroyed her day. Whose arrival had led to her absolute humiliation. And yet—she finally admitted to herself—she was more physically aware of him than she’d been of any other man in her life. She needed to get away from him and out of here. ASAP.
‘Are you ever going to help me out of this dress?’ she muttered impatiently.
‘Are you ever going to turn around?’
CHAPTER FOUR
ZARA’SPULSERACEDand she frowned at him. ‘Are you going to use your sword?’
‘No.’
Was he going to shred her dress with his bare hands?
To her fascination—and horror—he swiftly retrieved a small dagger that was strapped to his ankle. ‘I’m going to use this.’
The blade glinted. It was no ceremonial weapon. He’d concealed that he carried it. It was for real.
She shivered. ‘You have that with you at all times?’
‘This and more.’ He looked at her directly. ‘But I also know how to kill with my bare hands.’
She wasn’t surprised and she knew he was trying to shock her. Sherefusedto be intimidated.
‘Yes, but my new nails might give you a run for your money.’
There was the slightest tightening at the corner of his mouth. ‘If you were to push your thumbs into the eye sockets of an assailant then perhaps those nails could actually be useful.’
She swallowed. He wasn’t smiling. He was perfectly serious.
‘You should know how to take care of yourself,’ he added.
The anger she’d kept at bay all afternoon seeped through her final defences. ‘You don’t think I already do?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘You can’t even seem to get yourself undressed.’
Seem?Did hedoubther struggles with this? Did he truly imagine that she’d been deliberately waiting for him to show up and strip her?
Perhaps your mother wanted you to be stuck here.
Didn’t he believe that she’d been here with no idea that he’d walk in on her? Did he really thinkshe’dtried to engineer this somehow?
The thing was, if Lucian had been the fiancé on offer in the first place, her sister Ana would have said yes in a heartbeat—even though he too was still younger than her. Because Lucian Monrayne hadn’t just been gorgeous as a teenager, he’d been charming and intelligent and an all-round superstar.
Now fully grown, he was lethally attractive-looking. But he wasn’tcharmingany more. He was hardened. Zara guessed he’d survived who knew what and, as a result, a sense of danger emanated from him. Yet he still stoked a different response within her. One that couldn’t be more inappropriate. Angry about it, she pushed back, unable to restrain her curiosity.
‘Why did you reveal yourself today?’ she asked baldly.
He regarded her steadily and she knew he was deciding what—if anything—to reveal. He was irritatingly measured in his responses. Every word was considered and used sparingly.
‘I required a public occasion for my return.’
He’d wanted a big show? Was that all?
‘The coronation would have been even more public,’ she pointed out.
‘I didn’t want to leave it that late,’ he said with slow precision. ‘I needed to ensure safety. For everyone. I needed time to ensure the coronation—’
‘Was your own?’ she interrupted as fierce emotion swamped her. ‘And I was just collateral damage?’
