CHAPTER FIVE
RAFE GREW MORE and more agitated the longer he had to wait on the tarmac for his new wife, his usual cool deserting him. Not that he had to wonder too hard to figure out why that was. He was married. A state he’d thought he’d never find himself in. And okay, it wasn’t a real marriage—but it damn well felt like one, with the ceremony, the two hundred plus well-wishers and the stunning bride.
His heart had all but leapt into his throat when he’d first caught sight of Alexa holding on to her father’s arm at the end of the aisle. Covered head to toe in a lace gown that had outlined every slim curve, her floor-length veil hiding her face, she had been a vision in white.
Over the last couple of weeks he’d told himself that he’d imagined how sensually alluring she was. Exaggerated how potent his response to her was. Then she’d walked towards him with a smooth, graceful stride and he’d known that he hadn’t exaggerated any of it. If anything, he had underestimated her appeal.
A shocking realisation for a man who had decided long ago that he would never let himself be trapped into matrimony under any conditions and now found himself desperately attracted to his wife!
A wife he didn’t want, but who he would neatly use to repay Jag for the debt he’d incurred when his brother had been forced to leave his studies and return to Santara to become king after their father had died. At the time Rafe knew the ins and outs of the palace like no one else and could have smoothed the way for his brother, but he’d been desperate to leave and make his own mark on the world and Jag had seen that.
He’d told him to leave, to go find himself, and so far he’d never found cause to call on Rafe to help out. Something that was a little galling, because he’d told Jag that should he ever need him he’d be there.
But Jag had never needed him. However, his brother had needed a way to repair the relationship between Santara and Berenia and Rafe had seized the opportunity to repay his debt of gratitude by marrying Alexa.
And he didn’t regret it. He hated being in debt to anyone more than anything and doing this for his brother—for his country—would ease his conscience whenever his siblings got up in his face about the way he lived his life.
But that’s not the only reason you married her, a sly voice reminded him.
It was a voice he’d ignored over the past two weeks, burying himself in his latest business endeavour to the point of exhaustion. Now, though...now it was hard to deny that perhaps he’d also been under the influence of a shocking sexual attraction when he’d decided to marry Alexa that had exceeded anything he’d experienced before. That, and a deep-seated need to keep her from Lord Richton.
And who’s going to keep her from you?
Rafe exhaled roughly. Nobody would keep her from him because nobody would need to. He might want her in his bed but that didn’t mean he’d follow through on it. Alexa was not a woman a man toyed with. Not only was she the future queen of Berenia, but she was ultimately looking for something long-term, something permanent, and the last thing he wanted was to sleep with her and give her the impression that he was the right man for her.
Because he was most definitely not that man.
A truth that bothered him, though why it should he couldn’t fathom. He’d never wanted to be any woman’s ‘right’ man. Ever. His life was just fine as it was, even if Alexa believed it to be ‘hedonistic’.
He shook his head. A Buddhist monk probably had a more exciting life than he had of late. Even the Spanish supermodel hadn’t inspired him enough to take her to his bed while they’d been dating.
But Alexa did. Alexa, with her potent combination of steel and sweetness. Alexa who he couldn’t seem to get out of his head. Who lit a fire inside of him that made his body throb with need.
Alexa who he wasn’t going to touch.
And no doubt she’d be happy with that decision if the horrified expression on her face when he’d raised her veil at the altar was anything to go by.
He exhaled a long breath and rechecked his watch. Realistically, he’d only been waiting on her for twenty minutes. It felt like twenty years.
And then finally she appeared from the side door of the palace, looking extremely tantalising in a casual pair of jeans and a lightweight jacket held closed with a zip that begged to be tugged downwards, the cool desert breeze teasing the long strands of her ponytail.
For some reason the tension inside his chest eased at the sight of her. Had he been worried she wouldn’t show?
Irritated at the very idea, he scowled down at her. ‘I hope you have a thicker jacket than that. March in London isn’t exactly warm.’
Jewel-green eyes blinked up at him and he reminded himself that this situation wasn’t exactly her fault so he needed to calm down.
‘I believe Nasrin packed one, yes.’
Her assistant, who stood behind her, nodded enthusiastically. ‘I did, Your Highness. I also know that you stowed your laptop into your satchel before you left.’ She gave Alexa a firm look. ‘No matter who contacts you, your father specifically told me that you are on your honeymoon and therefore not to do any work.’
Alexa stiffened at the mention of their ‘honeymoon’ but then gave her assistant a warm smile. ‘Duly noted.’
Nasrin made an unconvinced sound in the back of her throat, piquing Rafe’s interest in their relationship. Alexa had a reputation for being cool and remote, and yet it was clear that she and this woman shared a strong connection that went beyond simple employee
and employer. There weren’t many things Rafe admired more than those in positions of power treating the people who served them with respect and kindness.
‘Ready to leave?’ he asked, aware that as he spoke her body went stiff with tension. Which irritated him even more. How were they going to convince anyone that their union was more than a marriage of convenience if she turned to stone every time he spoke to her?