‘It was sex, Princess,’ he said dismissively. ‘It was a primal need. It was a scratch following an itch. Nothing more. So don’t go reading anything romantic into it.’
‘You say that, but I’m grateful to you. I’m so glad you gave me that experience, that you were my first. So that I know how good making love can be. So that I can remember. In all the rubbish days and nights ahead.’
He shook his head. ‘I wish you’d stop lying to me. You led me to believe you were an innocent.’
‘I never told you that. That’s what you’d been told. All I said was that I’d met other men.’
‘You lied by omission!’
‘I never lied, by omission or by any other means. If you assumed something, that’s all down to you. You believed what you wanted to believe. You’d been informed in your dossier on me that I was a virgin. I mentioned meeting Mateo and Luke and how hot they were, and your mind goes there. That was never me. That was you, filling in gaps, the way you wanted to fill them. I told you from the start, I wanted to marry for love.’
He arched an eyebrow at her. ‘So what was last night about? If not trying to seduce me around to your cause so I might look more benevolently upon you. So I might be more inclined to take your side and be less willing to return you to Rubanestein?’
She looked down. ‘That was my plan. True.’
‘You admit it. Bravo.’
‘Except,’ she added, licking her lips, ‘I think there’s something we’re both missing.’
He sighed. ‘And what would that be?’
‘Last night was amazing. You can’t deny that. Last night wasn’t an accident. Last night was mutual. You wanted to make love to me as much as I wanted to make love to you.’
‘Princess…’
‘No, listen to me. Whatever plan I might have to make you relent and to bend you to my will—and I admit that was my hope—what was your plan? Why did you make love to me?’
Because he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t prevent himself. Because this pint-sized princess had somehow wormed her way into his senses, and he couldn’t resist her any longer.
But he could hardly admit that. ‘It was a mistake,’ he said, needing to shut this conversation down. ‘Why can’t you simply accept that?’
Why was he even arguing with her? What was the point? After he’d made some necessary calls making arrangements for the next morning, he’d spent the night trying to work out where he’d made the fatal mistake of crossing not just a line, but an entire eight-lane expressway. He’d beaten himself up about it until his psyche was bruised, his mind bloodied, and yet still, there was a part of him that couldn’t forget how good she’d felt in his arms.
And he hated himself all the more for the fact it wasn’t clear-cut. That he was conflicted. That he couldn’t simply put her out of his mind. That part of him was drawn to her even when he knew she’d played him every way until Sunday.
He wished he could tear that part of him down, rip it away and toss it asunder. He had a job to do. He had to focus. She was a princess. A rescue he had to get home. Nothing more.
She couldn’t be more.
It was impossible.
The arrival of Tom Parker’s van in the driveway was a relief. Finally, they would be on their way.
Tom loaded the bags into the back of the van. ‘Unusual to be leaving this early for the airport,’ he said. ‘The flight’s not until eleven.’
‘Private flight,’ Theo said. ‘Beating the rush of all the people backed up wanting to get off the island,’ he added by way of explanations. ‘But that’s just between us. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pass it on.’
‘Got you,’ Tom said, conspiratorially tapping the side of his nose with one fingertip, as Isabella emerged from the apartment. Tom smiled a greeting at her. ‘I’m just glad you managed to find your friend. I hope you had a happy birthday, Izzy.’
Theo thought back to that first day, when he’d first shown that picture of the Princess to Tom and asked if he’d seen her, leading to him finding her that night at the café.
Theo clapped his hand on the other man’s shoulder, ‘You helped me no end,’ he said, before holding that same hand out to the Princess, throwing her a warning expression at the same time. ‘You got a big surprise when I found you, Izzy, didn’t you,’ he said.
She regarded him warily, her eye twitching at his informality, but still she took Theo’s hand. ‘A bit of an understatement,’ she said, adding a small laugh. ‘But thank you, yes, it was most definitely a surprise.’
‘I’m glad,’ said the beaming Tom. ‘The island prides itself for being a magical space. I’m glad the magic worked for you both.’
Theo pressed his lips together as they climbed into the car. There had been moments of something resembling magic, but they had been few and far between, most of his time here marred by frustration borne by both lack of sleep and exasperation. Ultimately any magic the island could bestow had been wasted on them. Okay, so it would be pointless denying that there was an attraction between them, but no amount of island magic could change the facts of their situation. Bodyguard and rescue. Commoner and Princess. He was a professional first and foremost. He’d always been going to bring the Princess home.
