Guarding His Royal Bride. C.J. Miller

closest I have to that is Acacia.”

      The idea of her returning to Acacia panicked him. He felt her slipping away. Her connection to the king of Valencia was important to him and to Icarus. He needed her.

      He would offer everything he had to keep her close. “I will be your rock. I will be anything you need to get through this.”

      She blinked, and tears slipped down her temple. “I don’t think so. We made a mistake.” She sat up. “Please be reasonable. Marrying you was impulsive. I was caught up in the moment.”

      Marrying her had been part of his careful plan. But revealing that wouldn’t make things better.

      “We can fix this. We can have the marriage annulled. The rumors will die in a week, and we can return to our lives as they were before,” she said matter-of-factly, as if she had been thinking about it and had resolved the problem entirely with that one decision.

      Their lives before what? Before he had met her? Before he knew about her? “Could you do that? Walk away from me and forget any of this happened?” He could have told her to forget about a divorce and hold that line, but he wanted to convince her. He didn’t want to look too deeply into why it mattered that she accept their marriage as real.

      “I wouldn’t forget you. But I could move on.”

      Unacceptable and intolerable. “I won’t pretend that I didn’t marry you.”

      “You want my inheritance that much? Then take it. Take it and let me go.”

      “I can’t do that.” The laws of Valencia were clear. The money she’d inherit was useless to him. He needed her title and her power granted with that title. She was naive if she thought she could walk away without this following her. She wouldn’t survive on her own. The person or people targeting her would succeed in killing her without him to keep her safe.

      Apparently he wasn’t the only one interested in Iliana’s inheritance.

      She wiped at her eyes and looked at the ceiling. “You’re boxing me into a situation I don’t want.”

      “Give me time to prove to you that I am the man you married. I haven’t changed.”

      “But who is that? I didn’t know you at all.”

      “Let me prove to you I am an honorable man.”

      “You have already hurt me and lied to me.”

      Demetrius wasn’t accustomed to negotiating. He gave directions, and the people around him followed without question. He struggled to find a compromise, an offer that would change her mind about leaving. “Give me until the king’s will is read. Much will be revealed, and events will be set into motion. I will keep you safe. I will protect you. If after the reading and after you understand the consequences of your inheritance, you don’t want me in your life, I’ll walk away and let you go.” He could offer that because she would change her mind about leaving him. They’d had an undeniable chemistry and given enough time, she would fall to his charms.

      “If I refuse my inheritance?” Iliana asked.

      He hid his reaction to those words. “That will be your choice, but Valencia has their customs and traditions. Walking away free and clear isn’t an option. The inheritance cannot be given away or denied.”

      She shook her head. “What if I had not been found? What if no one knew I was the king’s daughter?”

      “He named you in his will. You would have been found, or it would have waited for you.”

      “Forever?”

      “Perhaps.”

      She sighed. “I will stay with you until the reading, then. For my safety.”

      Though he was pushing his luck, he set the terms. “You will give our relationship effort. You will sleep beside me, and you will behave as my wife. Give me a chance to convince you that what we have is good and it works. No silent treatment.”

      She narrowed her gaze on him. “You are not in a position to negotiate.”

      “Do you think I will agree to a quiet annulment? If you want your way, you will give me mine in this. You can trust my words.”

      “If I behave as your wife, then you’ll give me an annulment after the reading of the king’s will?”

      Her words set his teeth on edge. He nodded once, reminding himself their marriage would not end in an annulment or a divorce. “Yes.”

      His phone buzzed, and Demetrius reached into his pocket and glanced at the display. It was the head of the National Security Service, a man who went by the name Amon. He answered. “Yes.”

      “Nicholas Floros was found dead, floating in the Mediterranean this morning at 11:00 a.m.”

      Nicholas Floros, the king’s second son, born to his first wife, Kaliope. Nicholas was a playboy who partied too hard, but if the head of the NSS was calling, his death wasn’t accidental. The timing alone was suspicious.

      “Persons responsible?” Demetrius asked.

      Iliana was watching him, her mouth pursed. He found her sexy even when she was brooding.

      “No leads yet. The body had been in the water since the early-morning hours.”

      “Thank you for your call.” Demetrius disconnected.

      “Problem?” Iliana asked.

      Demetrius could pretend it was a state matter that didn’t concern her. But she seemed eager to flee. Despite her agreement that she wouldn’t, Iliana was a fiery and passionate woman. She could take off running and find herself in danger. “The king’s son Nicholas died this morning.”

      Iliana inhaled sharply. “How? Was he murdered?”

      Demetrius needed to give her a compelling reason to stay close to him. “I suspect he was. An autopsy will determine cause of death.”

      “Someone wants to kill the king’s heirs,” Iliana said.

      “Yes.” He would have Amon follow up and see if attempts had been made on the other heirs or if any suspicious incidents had occurred of late that had been reported to the police or the royal guards.

      Iliana shivered. “I don’t want the inheritance. I don’t know the king. I won’t ever know him. Why should I be given anything? And at what cost? My life?”

      “You are safe with me.”

      Demetrius’s phone buzzed again. Another call he needed to take. He excused himself and stepped into the living room.

      * * *

      Iliana thought she might come out of her skin. She was tired and cranky and felt completely out of sorts.

      She had imagined spending the days following her wedding wrapped in her husband’s arms, perhaps lounging on a hot beach or swimming in the warm waters off the Hawaiian Islands. Not holed up in a hotel room in Valencia, worried about being killed because of her newly discovered connection to the king.

      Iliana dialed Serena and was pleased when her cousin answered.

      “How is the bride today?” Serena asked.

      Serena sounded happy, and Iliana wished she had good news to share in return. “Haven’t you heard? I’m in Valencia.”

      “That’s a strange place for a honeymoon.”

      “Not on my honeymoon. Demetrius brought me here after he told me that my father is the king of Valencia.”

      Serena scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. I knew your father and your mother. Was it a strange cover story for an elaborate surprise?”

      She wished it had been a weird joke. “The king confirmed it’s true.”

      Serena’s silence indicated she was as bewildered