“Did you know it was me?” she asked, ignoring his statement.
“Of course,” he said simply. “I would never forget you.”
“Oh, come on. You’re full of—” Her cheeks flushed, and she seemed to be seconds from punching him, or killing him, but she took a calming breath, shaking her head. “Can you get me out of here, or not?”
“No.”
“Seriously?” She stiffened even more. “Why not?”
He flexed his jaw and stared at her, knowing it was now or never. “Because I’m the one who brought you here. So, clearly, I’m not about to let you go.”
“But…” She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, finally staring at the gold stitching on his chest pocket. “Are you saying…you’re…are you…?”
“Prince Leopold William George Worthington, at your service.” He bowed at the waist, never dropping her gaze. “Nice to formally meet you, my lady.”
“Prince—?” She stumbled back, clearly less than pleased with this new information, as she pressed a hand to her stomach. “Well… Shit.”
Chapter Six
So many emotions were flying through her right now, that it was a miracle her head hadn’t started spinning Exorcist style. Anger. Frustration. Joy. Confusion. Sadness. Pain. All because the boy she’d fallen in love with all those years ago was standing in front of her…after calling out a nationwide manhunt to find her again, and basically kidnapping her off the streets to bring her here.
Which was crazy.
Like something you’d read in a book.
She licked her lips, trying to form intelligible words. “You’re the…the…prince.”
It wasn’t a question, but he nodded anyway.
She let out a small laugh, rubbing her forehead. “So back in America, that story about you being the son of a wealthy fisherman…?”
“Is true. Father loves to fish.” He shrugged. “Just not for a living.”
“Wow.” She shoved her hair away from her eyes, but it fell right back in place again. “Just…wow.”
He moved it out of the way for her, and she jerked back because his touch sent a burning knife of desire right through her. He might be an asshole prince, and she might hate him for what he’d done to her all those years ago, but damn if she didn’t want him, too, with a passion that couldn’t be denied.
No matter how hard she tried.
“It’s a lot to take in, but I’m the same guy I was back then,” he said slowly, locking eyes with her. “I’m still Leo.”
The boy who had left her and then acted as if she didn’t exist? Yeah. She remembered that boy very well, thank you very much. And that was just the reminder she needed to ignore the need he brought to life inside of her with nothing more than a simple touch. “You’ve made that very clear.”
He blinked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” She shook her head, swallowing hard, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “So you brought me here under royal guard to…what? Say hello? To let me know we slept together last night?”
His hard, emotionless face didn’t even waver. From the moment he walked in that door, he’d been in control, seeming to have no feeling inside of him besides his weird determination to keep her here. And yet, when he thought she wasn’t paying attention, he stared at her as if he’d like nothing more than to be back in that hallway, touching her and making her scream again. It was unnerving.
“That’s not why I brought you here.”
“Then why?” She crossed her arms. “What do you need from me?”
“Why are you in this country?” he asked.
She tipped her head to the side. Leave it to him to answer a question with a question. “The company I work for is trying to secure a contract with your military to provide high quality Kevlar to—”
He held a hand up, and she broke off immediately.