‘For the most part, si, they were true,’ he stated tightly, his voice discouraging further interest.
It was clear this was a subject Zak didn’t like discussing. ‘Okay, but what does that have to do with the child I’m carrying?’
He regarded her with unwavering intent. ‘What do you think, Violet?’
Suspecting what was coming, she reeled in disbelief and shock. ‘Whatever it is, the answer is no.’
One eyebrow lifted. ‘I haven’t even asked you yet.’
‘No,’ she repeated.
‘Yes, Violet. I bear responsibility for the lack of protection when we had sex, but you also assured me that there was no risk of pregnancy. But what’s done is done. While I’m curious to know why your contraception failed, it’s immaterial at this point. You’re carrying my child and I intend to claim it.’
A handful of words with consequences that stretched far into her future. She folded her hands tightly in her lap to disguise their trembling. ‘What exactly does that mean?’
‘It means my child will bear my name, be brought up in Montegova under my care, take pride in his or her heritage, be afforded every privilege and welcome the responsibilities every royal Montegovan is due. And all of that will come about if his birth comes with the benefit of true legitimacy. Which is why the only sensible recourse is for you to marry me.’
Contrary to the near hysteria that had threatened to overwhelm her mere moments ago, an eerie sense of calm settled over Violet once he’d said the actual words.
‘No,’ she stated once again, thrilled when her voice emerged firm and solid.
Shock flashed crossed his face. Then his eyes narrowed. ‘No? That’s all you have to say? No?’
‘Pardon me, where are my manners? No, thank you,’ she amended, secretly thrilled when he immediately looked...perturbed again.
‘Perhaps you didn’t hear me properly. I want you to marry me, Violet. You will have the title of Princess, wealth beyond your wildest imagination, and, if you wish it a place in my trust to continue your career.’
Marry me.
Her heart lurched as those two words, contrary to everything she’d believed of herself and her future path, making her waver for a moment as she was inundated with might-have-beens. Her fingers bunched tighter. ‘I heard you, loud and clear. And you heard my answer.’
For a full minute Zak stared at her, his gaze unashamedly probing, seeming to delve beneath her skin. Then he eased back in his seat, his face turning alarmingly neutral.
She wasn’t fooled for a second by the arm he raised to rest on the back of his sofa, or the legs he casually crossed.
‘It’s been an...unsettling twenty-four hours. Perhaps you would like some time to consider all this?’ he suggested.
She summoned a small, hopefully dismissive smile. ‘What, the fragile little lady needs some time to wrap her head around everything that’s happening to her? Isn’t that just typical of your sort?’
One eyebrow elevated. And was that a tic going in his jaw? ‘My sort?’
‘Half-decent-looking men of means who believe all they need to do is crook their finger at a woman to have her swooning at their feet.’
‘Since I have first-hand evidence that you’ve never been intimately acquainted with any other man, even my sort, I’ll assume this is a sweeping generalisation?’
Her pretended calm threatened to evaporate as a warm flush consumed her face. Still, she managed a shrug. ‘Are you sure you can trust this evidence? For all you know, I could’ve been living it up in New York while you were...wherever you decided to swan off to.’
The tic intensified and the look he sent her was anything but neutral. It thrummed with volcanic fury. ‘I was in Australia. And for your sake, I hope you’re merely attempting to get a rise out of me.’
‘What if I am? Will that earn me a quick exit off this island?’ she countered.
His face tightened and she could’ve sworn his stomach muscles clenched hard. ‘It won’t, but confirmation of a dalliance with another man while you carry my child will definitely not sit well. Did you?’ he enquired with smooth, silky lethality.
Violet held his gaze in bold silence for a handful of seconds before the denial erupted from her throat. ‘No, I didn’t. But I assure you, I won’t be a well-behaved little prisoner
if you insist on keeping me here. In fact, I’m certain you will regret it if you don’t put me back on that plane immediately.’
A layer of that ferocious tension eased from his frame as he took a slow, controlled breath, that regal head cocked mockingly. ‘We have time. Please, enlighten me as to how you plan to make my life difficult.’