‘I guess so,’ Theo said, keeping his gaze on the girl. Because she was a lot more intriguing than her old man. But then he couldn’t resist taking her father up on the invitation he probably hadn’t intended and clasped the girl’s outstretched hand.
Her brows lifted as a ripple of sensation flowed through her cool, delicate fingers.
‘Great to finally meet you, Princess Freya,’ Theo said, before raising her trembling hand to press his lips to the knuckles.
Her shocked gasp at his audacity made her breasts sway under the glittery panels of her gown.
Definitely, no bra.
He inhaled her scent—a sultry mix of female musk and delicate rose perfume… And his mind filled with the enticing image of his thumb—dark against her pale flesh—drawing aside one of the glittery panels barely covering her breasts.
Heat surged.
Whoa, boy.
He blinked, struggling to control the vicious hunger before things got uncomfortable.
‘It is a pleasure to meet you too, Monsieur Caras,’ she replied, her voice a captivating mix of husky and tense. ‘I have already had the pleasure of meeting your brother, Alexander.’
The mention of his brother’s name—the guy she’d been due to announce her engagement to tonight—helped quell the heat, a little. He forced himself to release her fingers.
He supposed he ought to say sorry for his brother’s no-show. But he held off on the apology. Because she didn’t look heartbroken… Was she even disappointed?
He knew Xander had never slept with her. In fact, Theo had been teasing his brother about his restraint just before Xander had jumped from their limo after spotting his waitress.
But now he had to wonder, why hadn’t Xander seduced this woman when he had the chance? Then again, Xander had always had more restraint than Theo when it came to women—and pretty much everything else.
Xander always suppressed his baser instincts—his worst impulses—with a rigid control that Theo had always lacked. Probably because Theo did not consider his baser instincts a problem. He liked the quick release good, hard, sweaty sex could bring. Why would he deny the desire to take what he wanted if it was offered to him? And, where women were concerned, it always was. He didn’t have to seduce women, they came to him—partly because he had a well-earned reputation for being able to fulfil all their sexual fantasies. But also, because he never made demands beyond the physical. Some women found that a turn-on, and the ones who didn’t, he avoided.
But, if he’d agreed to marrythiswoman months ago, he would have wanted to sample her charms.
Of course, Xander had believed she was a virgin. He’d mentioned as much during their conversation that night. Theo didn’t think so.
Although the peek-a-boo cocktail dress—which was playing havoc with his self-control—was no more revealing than the designer couture other women here were wearing, it was way too bold a choice for a girl who had never shared a man’s bed.
Then again, he didn’t know a lot about virgins—having lost his own virginity when he was still a boy and never having slept with one, to his knowledge.
But hell, how could they possibly be this alluring? Especially to a guy like him.
‘Monsieur Caras, would you like to escort my daughter for the evening?’ the prince said, interrupting Theo’s thoughts again… ‘She is keen to make your acquaintance as she found your brother fascinating.’
While Theo had no objections whatsoever to the man’s suggestion, the prince’s smug tone was a red flag—and his eagerness to get Theo alone with his daughter so transparent, he almost laughed.
So, the prince had marked Theo out as a stand-in son-in-law? Unfortunately for the prince though, Theo wasn’t—and would never be—in the market for a wife. Not only did he have no desire to tie himself that closely to anyone, he was even less interested in letting his business needs dictate his leisure activities.
That said, Theo was here to get Xander the land he wanted. So, why not make the prince believe hemightbe interested in stepping into his brother’s shoes? He happened to know, from his contacts in European finance, that Andreas had a compound-interest loan he would need to pay off by January sixth if he was going to avoid plunging his principality into bankruptcy.
Cosying up to the man’s daughter tonight—which also had the potential to make this tedious non-event a lot more interesting—would keep Andreas on the hook. And the longer Andreas was on the hook, the more bargaining power Theo would have as that January sixth deadline neared.
The daughter was obviously in on her old man’s scheme. Why else would she have worn that barely-there gown, when she’d been selling his brother the ‘demure virgin queen’ act for months?
The change of approach just made her more fascinating to Theo. He admired people prepared to do whatever it took to get what they wanted. Because he’d had to play dirty himself often enough to survive on the mean streets of Athens, and in the cut-throat world of maritime logistics.
‘Sure, let me show you around, Your Highness.’ He offered her his arm. ‘You can tell me all about your impressions of my brother.’And why you chose not to wear a gown like this for him.
Because it suggested a level of desperation on her part he could also use.
She hesitated for less than a second, before placing her fingers on his sleeve. He covered her hand with his. Her delicious shiver of reaction echoed in his groin as he led her away from her father’s smug grin.
