‘Tell me,’ she said, narrowing her eyes, ‘are you concerned about your sister’s welfare because she’s your sister or because she might ruin your precious plans with this so-called Crown Prince?’
‘Are you questioning my affection for my sister?’ he asked with deadly softness.
‘No. I’m saying that if it’s true and she and Chad are in love, what can you do about it? I mean, it’s not like you can punish my brother for falling in love with your sister. You might not think it’s important but falling in love is surely not a crime. Even here.’
The smile he gave her didn’t reach his eyes. ‘You don’t know my country very well at all, Miss James, do you?’ He stalked towards her and leaned over her chair, caging her in with his hands on either armrest.
Regan’s heart knocked against her chest so loudly she thought he’d be able to hear it. She wasn’t afraid of him, although perhaps if she had any sense she would be, because the look in his eyes could chill lava. ‘I can have your brother executed for just looking at my sister.’
Regan drew in a shocked breath. ‘You cannot.’
His mouth twisted into a grim smile. ‘You have no idea what I’m capable of.’ His eyes drifted over her face and down to her body. Regan’s breath hitched inside her chest. He was so close, his scent filled her senses and started acting like solvent on her brain. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t care what he was capable of but neither her brain nor her body seemed to be functioning on normal speed.
‘But all that is irrelevant. If you and your brother are as close as you claim to be then he will come running soon.’
With that arrogant prediction he straightened away from her, giving her body enough respite that she could finally drag air into her lungs.
‘Goodnight, Miss James. I hope you enjoyed your dinner.’
Discombobulated by his nearness and the vacuum left by his sudden departure, Regan jumped to her feet and went after him, grabbing hold of the sleeve of his robe. ‘Hold on a minute.’ She blinked a few times to clear her head. ‘What do you mean by that? Why will my brother come running?’
‘Because hopefully he’s seen the photos I’ve had released of the two of us.’
‘Photos?’
‘Yes.’ His blue eyes glittered down into hers. ‘It seems you and I were photographed together in the hotel lobby. By now they should be splashed all over the European news networks with your name attached.’
‘You’re using me as bait,’ she whispered on a rushed breath.
‘I like to think of it as insurance.’ His superior smile did little to ease her rising temper. ‘When your brother finds out you’re here I’m hoping those familial connections you spoke so movingly about will have him scurrying out of the woodwork.’
‘Oh, you are t-truly awful,’ she stammered furiously. ‘Your sister has run away because you’re mean and trying to marry her off to someone who is probably just as horrible as you, and you’re going to scare my brother in the process.’
‘Your brother will pay for his sins, Miss James, and if you two are as close as you say you are he’ll come running.’
Regan shook her head. ‘I’ve never met a man as cold and heartless as you. Something you’re no doubt very proud of.’ She shoved her hands on her hips and stared him down. ‘You can’t keep me here like this. When I tell the American consulate what you’ve done you’ll be an international pariah.’
The look he gave her was cold and deadly, not a shred of compassion on the stark planes of his beautiful face. ‘Are you threatening me, Miss James? You do know it’s a crime to threaten the King?’
Regan tossed her hair back from her face. ‘It’s no doubt a crime to hit him as well but if I had a baseball bat handy, Sheikh Hadrid, or King Jaeger, or whatever your title is, I’d use it.’
She saw his nostrils flare and she suddenly realised how close together they were standing. If she took another step forward they’d be plastered up against each other. She told herself to do the opposite and step back but once again her body and her brain were on divergent paths.
‘The correct title is Your Majesty,’ he said softly. ‘Unless we’re in bed. Then you can call me Jaeger, or Jag.’
Oh, God, why had he said that?
And why was he looking at her as if he wanted to devour her? As if he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him?
This is stupid, Regan, she warned herself. Step back. Step back before it’s too late.
But she didn’t step back; instead she poked the bear. Quite literally, with her pointer finger. ‘Like that will ever happen,’ she threw at him. ‘I hate you. The only time I would ever sleep with you is in your dreams.’
‘Is that so??
?
He grabbed hold of the finger she was using to jab him and brought it to his mouth. Regan’s breath backed up in her lungs as he ran the tip of her finger back and forth across his lower lip. Heat raced through her, consuming every ounce of good sense she’d ever owned. ‘Don’t do that,’ she begged, her voice husky.