And she was about to prove it.
‘Monsieur Caras, I would like you to meet Monsieur Faron—the man who is keen to take your brother’s place, as you were not…’
Theo turned his head to find Prince Andreas standing behind him in his dress-up uniform with a balding man he recognised by his side.
He gave the French investment banker a curt nod. ‘Faron.’
He’d met the nondescript bureaucrat before, but then the prince’s statement about Faron registered.
The man who is keen to take your brother’s place…
‘What did you say?’ he managed, feeling shell-shocked.
The prince’s smile became even smugger, but it was Faron who spoke.
‘Bonsoir, Monsieur Caras,’ he said as his chest puffed up and he offered Theo his hand. Theo ignored it.
‘I should inform you…’ Faron continued, withdrawing his hand awkwardly ‘…out of professional courtesy, that my consortium has had our generous offer for the Galicos Port tract accepted by the prince. The deal will be finalised in the new year with my marriage to the princess.’
Alarm bells clanged discordantly in Theo’s ears, and his whole body went rigid.
‘I see…’ Theo gave Faron a dismissive nod while noting the sparkle of triumph in the prince’s eyes.
He recognised that look because he’d seen it before, in the eyes of a gang boss in Piraeus when the guy had been in the process of kicking him half to death as a kid. He’d never made the mistake of trying to best someone three times his size again after that.
He was bigger now, a lot more ruthless, and much better able to defend himself, but something about the prince’s expression made him feel as if he’d just been sucker-punched in the gut again.
‘Where is Freya tonight?’ he demanded, suddenly desperate to see her.
The prince’s gaze narrowed. ‘Her Royal Highness is unwell, but she is happy for us to announce her engagement tonight…’ His lips twisted in a mockery of a smile. ‘To Monsieur Faron.’
Theo tensed, determined to prevent the emotions exploding inside him—anger, revulsion and that brutal feeling of inadequacy that had dogged so much of his childhood—from being visible on his face.
Freya had agreed to marry this old man? When she’d made it clear she would never marry him?
‘I see…’ he ground out again, the strain of keeping his expression neutral making it impossible for him to deliver a suitably couldn’t-give-a-shit response.
Because he did give a shit. He gave a lot of a shit. How could that vibrant, beautiful, intoxicating girl contemplate marrying a boring bureaucrat like Faron, who was her father’s age?
‘You seem surprised, Mr Caras?’ the prince sneered. ‘Did you really believe she would ever marry the likes of you? Or that I would deign to sell a portion of my kingdom to Caras Shipping after your disrespectful behaviour towards my daughter?’
Disrespectful, my ass.
One thing Theo did know was that their chemistry had been real. He could still feel the rigid throb of her nipple against his tongue, still hear her shocked sob of surrender when she’d come. Still see the startled expression on her face before her father had discovered them. He hadn’t imagined any of that. He knew when a woman wanted him.
His gaze swept over Faron. No way was he letting this man have her. No matter what deal he’d made with her father, or her.
She belongs to me.
And the land… That land belonged to Caras, too.
He clenched his teeth, aware that something was going on here he didn’t understand. And also aware that those damn alarm bells in his head, the shocking rush of heat swelling in his groin and the emotion tightening his ribs were making it impossible for him to respond coherently. He needed to regroup, get his emotions under control and figure out a solution.
It would be easy to stop Faron’s consortium from closing the deal though… Because Caras had investments in their stock that Theo could leverage.
But first, he wanted to confront Freya. And demand an explanation. Why had she agreed to bed an old man? How much of an operator was she?
‘You don’t have to like me to do business with me, Andreas,’ he said, dropping the honorific title deliberately. ‘And I’d think twice, if I were you, about doing business with Faron here, when Caras Shipping own a large piece of that pie, too.’
