She’d been blunt with him so far. She couldn’t back down now. ‘I’m no good in bed,’ she said, staring him straight in the eyes as if daring him to disagree.
‘Surely, that’s for me to judge?’ Luca said quietly.
‘I don’t care to be judged.’
‘Perhaps judged is the wrong expression,’ he conceded. ‘What I meant was, this would be a new beginning...for both of us.’
She perched on the edge of the bed to give herself a chance to think. Luca was leaning against the wall with his unbelted robe slipping off one shoulder, which exposed the thick column of his neck, and a wealth of impossibly powerful muscle. That wasn’t exactly helpful when it came to clear thinking.
She took her time, and then said, ‘It isn’t wrong not to like sex.’
‘Wrong? No,’ Luca agreed. ‘I just find it impossible to believe you fall into that category.’
He’d neatly sidestepped the marriage question, she noticed, but his remark was due an answer. ‘I don’t know why you find it so hard to believe.’
Those shoulders eased in a lazy shrug that made her heart thunder. ‘I’ve seen you come apart in my arms,’ he murmured, fixing his gaze on her face. ‘I’ve heard you beg for more. I’ve felt you respond, and I’ve tasted your passion. I’ve seen the tiger inside you unleash its claws, and yet now you’re asking me to believe you don’t enjoy sex. Forgive me if I don’t believe you.’
‘But what if I can’t...?’ A dry throat was bad enough. A strangled throat was worse.
‘Can’t what?’ Luca demanded, refusing to let her off the hook.
‘What if I can’t go the whole way and give you a proper marriage?’ The humiliation of giving voice to her fears was so overwhelming, she wasn’t sure she could hold back the tears.
‘Like every other couple,’ Luca responded in a matter-of-fact tone, ‘we’ll face that hurdle when we come to it.’
‘No,’ she said decisively. ‘You don’t understand. I can’t—I really can’t.’
‘Because...?’
‘Because I can’t face it—’
‘Face what? Go on, say it,’ he insisted as she pressed her lips together.
‘I can’t stand penetrative sex,’ she blurted. ‘There. You’ve got what you wanted. I’ve said it. And why are we even discussing this?’ she added before Luca had the chance to say a word. ‘Why must you torment me, when it’s obvious that marriage between us is a ridiculous idea?’
‘I don’t agree. We can marry, and we will.’ He let that fact settle in, and then he added, ‘Are there any other issues you’d like to raise?’
A fist maybe? To plant in his arrogant face. Apart from that...?
Feelings exploded inside her.
‘Nothing more to say?’ he prompted. ‘Then, let me reassure you that you can safely leave those concerns to me.’
‘Why bother?’ she flared. ‘There must be countless women gagging for the job of Princess!’
‘But none I want,’ Luca said flatly. ‘I will marry you. And here’s why. I need a bride to reassure my people. You say you’re unsuitable. Let’s think about that. Who could be more fitting to sit on the throne of Madlena than a woman who’s suffered, and experienced life on the outside? You’ve haven’t been hiding away in an ivory tower, you’ve been working. You’ve coped with your mother’s death, and you did everything you could to help your father, while living through a personal trauma. Who better to mould the Pirate Prince into a decent human being than a tried and tested survivor who has come out on the other side, armed with knowledge and experience? Not only are you ready to help my people, you’re eager to do it too.’
‘So your argument is, I will influence you in a positive way?’
‘My argument is that it will look that way.’
‘As I thought. Even you have to admit that’s hardly persuasive.’
Luca shrugged. ‘If you want to pick holes in my argument, neither of us is a suitable candidate for the throne. We’re both tainted, but I believe this can work, if we want it to. With our joint experience of the world, we can make the type of difference Madlena needs. Our people will take you to their hearts and I’ll join you on that ride. Who can resist a “bad boy turned good” story?’
‘Someone who doesn’t see the world from your cynical point of view. You want your people to love you, but you’re frightened to give them your heart.’
What chance do I stand?she wondered.
