Page 23 of Back to Claim His Crown
She shot him another sharp look. ‘No, that was all Anders.’
‘What’s number two?’ he prompted.
Her lips pursed. ‘Are you going to respond in kind?’
‘You’re here asmyentertainment. Not the other way round.’
‘So I’m now your court jester.’
‘If you like.’ He succumbed to a devilish urge. ‘I feel like you’d prefer that option to courtesan...’
‘I think I’d make a marvellous courtesan if it weren’t for my frigidity.’
He shrugged. ‘You could always fake it.’
‘True.’ She suddenly sparkled and leaned a little closer. ‘After all. You wouldn’t know any better either.’
He slowly smiled. ‘Intrigued by that fact, aren’t you?’
‘Surprised,’ she corrected. ‘There must have been the opportunity...’
‘I’ve been very busy.’ But she was right. There’d been opportunity both before the accident and after in Piri-nu all these years. But he’d not taken up the chances entirely before and he’d been determined to be duty-focused since.
‘For all that time?’ She shook her head. ‘All work and no play...’
Made him better at his job. And he needed to be better still. But for this one moment he couldn’t resist. ‘Why are we talking about me?’
She pulled a face. ‘You enjoy teasing me.’
Yes. He’d discovered a keen pleasure in teasing Princess Zara. She was ridiculously talkative. She didn’t seem to consider what might pop out of her mouth—as if this environment were completely safe. It wasn’t entirely. His inner predator itched to devour her, but he ruthlessly suppressed that part. But he let himself enjoy her artless chatter as she sampled the array of dishes the palace cooks prepared. He enjoyed watching her eat and, better still, watching her laugh. It could only be a brief interlude before going back to work. Yet he lingered over dinner. So did she.
On his way to dinner the next night his private phone rang. As only one person had the number, he answered it immediately. ‘Niko?’
‘You’ve caused quite the furore my friend.’
‘Apologies if it has meant more problems or media intrusion than usual for you.’
‘Oh, I can handle all that. The question is, can you?’ Niko paused. ‘It’s been a while since you’ve fronted the crowds. Is there anything I can do to help?’
‘I have it in hand for now, though it might be good if you visited soon to help reassure the rest of the world that we’ve not descended into lawless anarchy.’
‘Name the date and I’ll be there,’ Niko immediately promised. ‘What’s happened to the bride? She seems to have vanished.’
Lucian hesitated. His loyalty to Niko was strong but he’d made a promise to Zara this time. ‘I believe she’s taking refuge while the interest rages on.’
‘And Anders?’
‘Won’t survive long in the wild. We’ll pick him up soon.’ Several women had come forward, prepared to press charges against him. Anders would face justice the moment he surfaced. Lucian was confident that wouldn’t be long now. ‘Garth is chastened and the prosecutors are putting together the case.’
‘Good,’ Niko said grimly. ‘Stay in touch.’
‘Of course.’
Zara was already in the dining room. Preoccupied with Niko’s questions, he took his seat silently and barely noticed the numerous dishes. A few minutes passed before he realised she was sitting perfectly still and staring at him.
‘What?’ he asked.
‘Are you going to take your sunglasses off? Maybe say hello?’
