That startled her. The idea of getting to lay down her weapons because someone else would protect her affected her on a level so deep, she could feel its impact running through her blood and bone. Black women in America didn’t get to rest. They had to be three times better than anyone else to get marginally ahead. They were expected to be the mules of society, carrying all its burdens and nurturing everyone else except their families and loved ones. What he was offering her…felt like a balm to her soul.
Discomfort twisted in the bottom of her belly as reality screamed at her with a metaphorical bullhorn to make sure she heard it. She did, and recognized it for what it was, doubt. She still doubted him. Not that she believed he was lying, because his conviction came through in the steel of his voice. It was that history, both her personal history and the history of her people, that taught her to make people show and prove when it came to garnering her trust.
“Regina.” He whispered her name, letting the sound pin her right where she sat. “Ultimately it comes down to this: Do you think you can trust me? If you can, I believe we can give each other everything we want.”
Hearing his words was like being submerged in an ice river during a blizzard, shocking her system.
“Aléx, we’re not each getting everything we want.”
“All right then, what else is missing?”
Love, that’s what’s missing. Love.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. After Ace had rescued her and her sister from their terrible parents, she’d promised herself she’d never beg for love again, never believe blindly. And she never would.
“You’re asking for marriage and a child, and devoted companionship. I need something more than that.”
There wasn’t a single second of hesitation in his voice. “Name it and it’s yours.”
“I need you to provide the seed capital and a fully stocked and staffed laboratory so I can create the Black hair care line I want to start.”
This wasn’t about being mercenary or transactional. This was about him taking on as much risk as her. In her estimation, the phrase “put your money where your mouth is” was an unassailable truth. If this all went to hell, at least she knew she’dwalk away with something, even if she wound up losing her heart.
She didn’t need his money or resources for this. She could pull the funds from her own accounts. She could find investors right here in the States. Her family owned a venture capital company, for goodness’ sake. The money was literally at her fingertips. But if she chose any of those options, her sister would know. And if Reigna knew, she’d find a way to name all the logical reasons Regina was making a bad decision. Damn her logical brain. Regina’s penchant for reason over emotion would force her to give in to her sister.
That could not happen again. Regina needed this. If she couldn’t have the love she wanted, perhaps the child and the business of her heart would more than make up for it.
“Agreed,” Aléx replied. “Now I just need to know when you want to get married.”
“How soon can you get us back to Obsidian Island?”
And just like that, they were entering into an agreement to get married and have a kid. Panic should have been assailing her, should have had her clawing at her own throat to get air. Strangely, there was no panic, only rightness. Which meant one of two things. She was either in need of a mental competency exam, or maybe, just maybe, her instincts were forcing her to do what her mind and heart could never conceive of. Maybe, with Aléx’s help, she could actually reach for her dreams and step out of her sister’s shadow.
Chapter Eight
Aléx tapped hisfinger against the arm of the plush leather chair of his plane. He looked around the large cabin, trying to distract himself, trying to pretend he wasn’t worried that Regina would come to her senses and realize she could do so much better than a man who could never love her.
Love had gutted him, carved a cavernous hole in his chest that left him unable to hold something so precious. He’d tried it. Had given it everything he had, and when life cruelly snatched it away, he’d barely been able to survive. Thank God his father was still around then to fill in the gaps as his regent, and his sister had taken on as many of Aléx’s duties as she could. Together they had borne the weight of the crown when he could hardly find a reason to get out of bed, to breathe, to live.
His chest tightened with long-buried memories that tried to climb out of the pit he’d thrown them in, making him physically shudder as he beat them back into the darkness. He would not go back there. He couldn’t. Not again, not ever. He could never be that weak, broken and useless again.
“Your Majesty.”
The sound of his personal secretary’s voice using his courtesy title pulled him from his morose thoughts and forced him to step into the role he was literally born to play. King Aléxandros of Obsidian Island. That man was strong and could endure anything.
“Ms. Devereaux’s car is pulling up to the tarmac,” Michael continued. “Would you like me to have her brought directly on board when she arrives?”
If she were anyone else, he would have been more than fine with that. The problem was, Regina never was anyone else. Even when he thought she was her sister, she was so different from anyone else he’d ever met, including the actual Reigna Devereaux.
“No, I’ll bring her on myself.”
He stood to his full height, squaring his shoulders and straightening his spine. His strides were long, eating up the path through the cabin, down the steps and to the tarmac. He arrived in time to see his security team opening the back door of the black limousine he’d sent for her.
Forever the charming king, he offered her a waiting hand and was gifted with a wide grin that lit up her face. It rocked him, forcing him to plant his feet so that they both didn’t tip over when she placed a foot outside the car and stood on the skinniest pair of red stilettos he’d ever seen. Those shoes made electricity thrum through him, making him want to forget they stood in the open for all to see.
The sound of staffers pulling her luggage out of the car made him keep a tight leash on the desire her mere presence was stoking in him. It was a damn inconvenient time for his body to wrestle against his control.
He took a breath before taking in the full view of her. Regina was a beautiful woman in any circumstance. She’d been breathtaking in that cocktail dress when he’d met her. Today she was stunning in a fitted silk tee with cap sleeves paired with black high-waisted tailored pants that stopped just under her bust. She had business casual down to a science, and instead of making him want to crunch numbers, it made him want to peel every stitch of clothing she wore away from what he knew wasthe plush body of a voluptuous goddess with the softest skin he’d ever touched.
