Rich, Rugged And Royal: The Maverick Prince. Catherine Mann

long they would stir up all the crap about her thief of a dead husband. He tucked away his phone in disgust.

      “That bad?” Shannon asked from the archway.

      She’d changed into jeans and a simple blue tank top. Her silky blond hair glided loosely down her shoulders, straight except for a slight crimped ring where she’d bound it up on her head for work. She didn’t look much older than the babysitter, except in her weary—wary—eyes.

      Leaning back, he extended his legs, leather creaking as he stayed on the sofa so as not to spook her. “The internet is exploding. My lawyers and my brothers’ lawyers are all looking into it. Hopefully we’ll have the leak plugged soon and start some damage control. But we can’t stuff the genie back into the bottle.”

      “I’m not going away with you.” She perched a fist on one shapely hip.

      “This isn’t going to die down.” He kept his voice even and low, reasonable. The stakes were too important for all of them. “The reporters will swarm you by morning, if not sooner. Your babysitter will almost inevitably cave in to one of those gossip rag offers. Your friends will sell photos of the two of us together. There’s a chance people could use Kolby to get to me.”

      “Then we’re through, you and I.” She reached for her sleeping son on the sofa, smoothing his hair before sliding a hand under his shoulders as if to scoop him up.

      Tony touched her arm lightly, stopping her. “Hold on before you settle him into his room.” As far as Tony was concerned, they would be back in his Escalade in less than ten minutes. “Do you honestly think anyone’s going to believe the breakup is for real? The timing will seem too convenient.”

      She sagged onto the arm of the sofa, right over the silver X. “We ended things last weekend.”

      Like hell. “Tell that to the papers and see if they believe you. The truth doesn’t matter to these people. They probably printed photos of an alien baby last week. Pleading a breakup isn’t going to buy you any kind of freedom from their interest.”

      “I know I need to move away from Galveston.” She glanced around her sparsely decorated apartment, two pictures of Kolby the only personal items. “I’ve accepted that.”

      There wouldn’t be much packing to do.

      “They’ll find you.”

      She studied him through narrowed eyes. “How do I know you’re not just using this as an excuse to get back together?”

      Was he? An hour ago, he would have done anything to get into her bed again. While the attraction hadn’t diminished, since his cover was blown, he had other concerns that overshadowed everything else. He needed to determine the best way to inoculate her from the toxic fallout that came from associating with Medinas. One thing for certain, he couldn’t risk her striking out on her own.

      “You made it clear where we stand last weekend. I get that. You want nothing to do with me or my money.” He didn’t move closer, wasn’t going to crowd her. The draw between them filled the space separating them just fine on its own. “We had sex together. Damn good sex. But that’s over now. Neither one of us ever asked for or expected more.”

      Her gaze locked with his, the room silent but for their breathing and the light snore of the sleeping child. Kolby. Another reminder of why they needed to stay in control.

      In fact, holding back made the edge sharper. He skimmed his knuckles along her collarbone, barely touching. A week ago, that pale skin had worn the rasp of his beard. She didn’t move closer, but she didn’t back away, either.

      Shannon blinked first, her long lashes sweeping closed while she swallowed hard. “What am I supposed to do?”

      More than anything he wanted to gather her up and tell her everything would be okay. He wouldn’t allow anything less. But he also wouldn’t make shallow promises.

      Twenty-seven years ago, when they’d been leaving San Rinaldo on a moonless night, his father had assured them everything would be fine. They would be reunited soon.

      His father had been so very wrong.

      Tony focused on what he could assure. “A lot has happened in a few hours. We need to take a step back for damage assessment tonight at my home, where there are security gates, alarms, guards watching and surveillance cameras.”

      “And after tonight?”

      “We’ll let the press think we are a couple, still deep in that affair.” He indulged himself in one lengthy, heated eye-stroke of her slim, supple body. “Then we’ll stage a more public breakup later, on our terms, when we’ve prepared a backup plan.”

      She exhaled a shaky breath. “That makes sense.”

      “Meanwhile, my number one priority is shielding you and Kolby.” He sifted through options, eliminating one idea after another until he was left with only a single alternative.

      Her hand fell to rest on her sleeping son’s head. “How do you intend to do that?”

      “By taking you to the safest place I know.” A place he’d vowed never to return. “Tomorrow, we’re going to visit my father.”

       Three

      “Visit your father?” Shannon asked in total shock. Had Tony lost his mind? “The King of San Rinaldo? You’ve got to be kidding.”

      “I’m completely serious.” He stared back at her from the far end of the leather sofa, her sleeping son between them.

      Resisting Tony had been tough enough this past week just knowing he was in the same town. How much more difficult would it be with him in the same house for one night much less days on end? God, she wanted to run. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from blurting out something she would regret later. Sorting through her options could take more time than they appeared to have.

      Kolby wriggled restlessly, hugging his comfort blanket tighter. Needing a moment to collect her thoughts and her resolve, she scooped up her son.

      “Tony, we’ll have to put this discussion on hold.” She cradled her child closer and angled down the hall, ever aware of a certain looming prince at her back. “Keep the lights off, please.”

      Shadows playing tag on the ceiling, she lowered Kolby into the red caboose bed they’d picked out together when she moved into the apartment. She’d been trying so hard to make up for all her son had lost. As if there was some way to compensate for the loss of his father, the loss of security. Shannon pressed a kiss to his forehead, inhaling his precious baby-shampoo smell.

      When she turned back, she found Tony waiting in the doorway, determination stamped on his square jaw. Well, she could be mighty resolute too, especially when it came to her son. Shannon closed the curtains before she left the room and stepped into the narrow hall.

      She shut the door quietly behind her. “You have to know your suggestion is outrageous.”

      “The whole situation is outrageous, which calls for extraordinary measures.”

      “Hiding out with a king? That’s definitely what I would call extraordinary.” She pulled off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

      Before Nolan’s death she’d worn contacts, but couldn’t afford the extra expense now. How much longer until she would grow accustomed to glasses again?

      She stared at Tony, his face clear up close, everything in the distance blurred. “Do you honestly think I would want to expose myself, not to mention Kolby, to more scrutiny by going to your father’s? Why not just hide out at your place as we originally discussed?”

      God, had she just agreed to stay with him indefinitely?

      “My house is secure, up to a point. People will figure out where