One Night Of Consequences Collection. Annie West

and toss you in the gutter, like you deserve.

      I couldn’t give him control over me, ever again. I couldn’t be tempted. My only hope was to get away. My only hope was...

      Oh, heaven...what time was it?

      “I need to...” As I saw the time on the dashboard of the limo, my heart nearly burst in panic. “Stop the car!” I leaned forward desperately toward the driver. “Let me out!”

      Looking confused, Dowell pulled over on the side of the busy road.

      “What are you doing?” Alejandro demanded, looking at me as if I was crazy. I felt crazy.

      I unbuckled our baby, who’d just stopped crying and was looking drowsy. “Miguel needs a walk to help him sleep....”

      “Is that a joke?”

      I didn’t answer. Cradling our baby, I stepped out on the sidewalk in front of Kensington Palace, and started running into the park, toward the playground. Toward Edward.

       CHAPTER THREE

      THE PRINCESS DIANA PLAYGROUND was in the corner of Kensington Gardens, just north of the palace. It was still early, and the playground had just opened, but in the midst of August holidays it was already starting to fill with children of every age, laughing and whooping as they raced toward the teepees and leaped on the ropes of the life-size pirate ship. It was a magical place, as you might expect of a children’s playground, near a palace, based around a Peter Pan theme and named after a lost princess.

      But I was here desperate for a different kind of magic.

      Protection.

      Edward St. Cyr had protected me more than once. We’d first properly met three years earlier, when I’d been walking up from the Tube late at night and I’d passed a group of rowdy teenagers on Kensington High Street. I’d been weighed down with groceries, and tried to keep my head down as they passed. But some of the boys had followed me up the dark street, taunting me crudely. As one started to knock the grocery bags out of my hand, there’d been a flash of headlights on the street and the slam of a car door, and suddenly a tall man in a dark coat was there, his face a threatening scowl, and the young men who’d scared me fled like rabbits into the snow. Then he’d turned to me.

      “Are you all right, miss...?” Then his expression had changed. “But wait. I know you. You’re Claudie Carlisle’s cousin.”

      “Yes, I...”

      “You’re all right now.” He’d gently taken my trembling hand. “I’m Edward St. Cyr. I live a few streets from here. May I give you a ride home?”

      “No, I couldn’t possibly. I...”

      “I wouldn’t mind a walk myself,” he said briskly, and with a nod to the driver of his Rolls-Royce, he’d insisted on walking me home, though it took ten minutes.

      “Thank you,” I’d said at the door. “I never meant to impose....”

      “You didn’t.” He’d paused. “I remember what it’s like to feel alone and afraid. Will you let me check on you in the morning?”

      I’d shaken my head. “It’s truly not necessary.”

      “But you must.” He’d lifted a dark eyebrow. “If for no other reason than it will annoy your cousin, whom I’ve despised for years. I insist.”

      Now, as I looked out at Kensington Gardens in the distance, I saw the paths where we’d once walked together, he and I. He’d been kind to me. We’d been—friends.

      Or had we? Had he always wanted more?

      I’m tired of waiting for you to forget that Spanish bastard. It’s time for you to belong to me.

      I shivered. When we left Mexico yesterday, I had been prepared to make any sacrifice to save my baby from Alejandro. Even if the price would have been going to bed with a man I did not love.

      But now I was starting to wonder if that was truly necessary. Perhaps Alejandro was not entirely the heartless monster I’d once feared him to be....

      “You shouldn’t have run.”

      Hearing Alejandro’s dark voice behind me, I whirled around. “How did you catch up so fast?”

      He was scowling. “Did you think I’d let you disappear with Miguel?”

      “I didn’t disappear. I...”

      “Had some kind of baby emergency?” He folded his arms. “You ran for a reason. And we both know what it is.”

      Could he have somehow found out about Edward St. Cyr? The two men were slightly acquainted. And far from being friends. I didn’t think he would take it well. I bit my lip, breathing, “I...”

      “You panicked because I asked you to marry me,” he accused.

      Oh. I exhaled. “We both know you weren’t serious.”

      “We both know I was.”

      “You won’t be, once you have a chance to think about it. You don’t want to get married. You said so a million times.”

      “I never intended to have a child, either,” he pointed out, “so there was no reason to marry. But now... You heard what Claudie said. Marrying you will make clear to the whole world that he’s my son. That he’s my heir. Right or wrong,” he said tightly.

      Right or wrong? Meaning I wasn’t good enough? That Miguel wasn’t? My eyes narrowed. “I don’t love you.”

      “I can live with that,” he said sardonically. “We both love our son. That is the only love that matters.”

      “You’re wrong,” I said stubbornly. “My parents loved me, but they also loved each other, till the day they died. I remember how they looked at each other....”

      “Most people are not so fortunate,” he said harshly. “I’ve spent a year pursuing you, Lena. I don’t want to fight over custody now. I don’t want to worry, anytime you take him for a walk, that you might try to run away with him. I want this matter settled between us, once and for all.”

      Ah. Now we were getting down to it. “You mean I should give you total control over me, body and soul, so you can avoid the inconvenience of a custody battle?” I said incredulously, then shook my head. “This idea of marriage is just a momentary madness with you—it will pass....”

      My voice trailed off as I saw Hildy on the edge of the playground, frantically signaling.

      Alejandro frowned. “What is it?” He started to turn his head. “What are you...”

      “On second thought, let me think it over,” I said quickly. Touching his arm, I gave him a weak smile. “So much has happened since yesterday. Maybe I’m too exhausted to think straight.” I pointed toward the outdoor café at the front of the playground. “Could you...please...get me some coffee?”

      Alejandro’s dark gaze flickered over my bedraggled dress, the dark circles under my eyes. “Of course, querida,” he murmured courteously. Turning away, he started toward the outdoor café.

      The instant he was gone, I rushed to meet Hildy.

      “Where’s Edward?” I said desperately.

      She was already shaking her head. “Mr. St. Cyr wasn’t home. They said he’s in Tokyo.”

      Of all the bad luck! “Can I borrow your phone?”

      “Yes....” She reached into her pocket, then looked up, her mouth a round O. “I didn’t bring it! It’s still at home!”

      Alejandro was already handing over money at the café. I saw him pick up two coffees from the counter. No time.

      My