The King's Bride By Arrangement - Annie West Page 0,2

the music swelled, Paul swept her into a waltz with the superb grace of a natural athlete and all the warmth of an automaton.

Paul danced the last dance of the night with Karen Villiers, head of the new software company he’d lured to set up headquarters in the capital city’s business park. Lured with tax incentives designed to make St Ancilla an appealing long-term investment prospect.

Right now, though, it seemed it wasn’t St Ancilla that she saw as appealing. It was him.

Keeping a smile on his face, Paul put a little distance between himself and Karen’s sinuously seductive body. A curvaceous blonde, she was very attractive. He hadn’t missed how her minimalist silver dress showed off her spectacular body.

But he wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend. Not even a dalliance, especially under the glare of public attention.

He wasn’t free. He had a fiancée! Here, at the ball.

The thought of Eva tightened the iron bands clamping his skull and the dull pounding in his temples intensified.

It had been a long day, a long month, and the day was far from over. He couldn’t allow it to end without talking to his fiancée. No matter how little he relished the prospect.

There’d been a moment, as he’d looked up and seen her at the head of the staircase, when he’d been glad she was here. Not because it meant that at last they could have the interview he’d been dreading but because it was good to see her.

The feeling hadn’t lasted.

Eva being here meant unpalatable duty, even if it was for the best.

Then there was the way she’d reacted to him or, more precisely, not reacted. As usual. In her teens she’d been shy but engaging, and everything he’d heard about her from Leo and others indicated she was warm and generous. But in adulthood—with Paul, at least—it was another story.

To others she was charming and gracious, but with him cool and distant. To the extent that he’d wondered why she’d agreed to their engagement. Except he knew the answer to that. It had been arranged by their parents and she’d been left little choice.

It rankled that she didn’t care for him. That she’d never have chosen him for herself.

No wonder she held herself aloof. Never unfriendly, but guarded. Distant.

Unlike the woman leaning too close in his arms.

For a moment Paul wondered what it would be like to accept the implicit invitation in Karen Villiers’s wide eyes and sultry body. And instantly stifled the thought.

Honour dictated there would be no other women while he was betrothed. Even if he and his fiancée had never got more intimate than him kissing her hand.

Fire shot to Paul’s belly as the effects of four years of celibacy made themselves felt.

That was one thing that would change after tonight.

Was it any wonder he felt on edge? He was torn between the almost impossible demands of St Ancilla, and the need to preserve an illusion that all was well here, while keeping a lid on natural masculine desires. After four years of continuous strain he felt perilously close to the breaking point.

As the music reached its closing bars his gaze sought Eva. There she was, dancing with the famous film director who was here checking out locations for his next movie. Paul’s staff had labelled him difficult yet the guy was laughing at something Eva had said.

A dart of something sharp pierced Paul’s chest as he saw Eva’s answering smile. It transformed her composed features into something altogether different.

‘So, Your Majesty,’ said a throaty feminine voice. ‘I thought I’d end the night at the new night club everyone’s talking about. Is there a chance I’ll see you there?’

He looked into Karen Villiers’s face and read the invitation in her saucy smile. Not just to a night club but to something far more intimate.

‘I’m afraid not. I have further commitments tonight.’

Once more his gaze turned towards his fiancée, still deep in conversation with her dance partner, even though the music had ceased. Paul’s brow twitched. What did she find so fascinating about a man so famously self-absorbed? Her slim frame was tilted towards him as if she drank in his every word.

‘Ah, of course. I’d forgotten Princess Eva is here now.’

Paul turned his attention back to the woman before him. Did she really think he’d lope off to a rendezvous with her, leaving his fiancée in the palace? Or that he’d been available for an affair until the Princess had arrived, as if out of sight was out