A Royal Amnesia Scandal. Jules Bennett

grew.

      Shaking his head, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started leading them off the dock. “I must’ve hit my head harder than I thought. Why isn’t it coming to me?”

      Kate pressed a hand to his abdomen, halting his progress. She shifted just enough to look him in the eyes. Since she wasn’t a medic and never had any kind of training other than a basic CPR course, she had no idea what signs to look for with a head trauma.

      “Look at me,” she ordered. “You know me, Luc. You know my name.”

      Blowing out a breath, he hung his head. “I... It’s on the tip of my tongue. Damn, why can’t I remember?”

      He glanced back up at her, worry filling his dark eyes. This was not good, not good at all. She was going to have to get him back to the house and call the palace doctor. Obviously, Luc’s memory wasn’t cooperating. But she didn’t want him panicking; she could do enough of that for both of them.

      “My name is Kate.” She watched his eyes, hoping to see some recognition, but there was nothing. “I’m your—”

      “Fiancée.” A wide smile spread across his face. “Now I remember you.”

      Luc leaned in to capture her lips once more, with a passion she’d never known.

       Three

      Fiancée? What the hell?

      Mustering all her willpower, Kate pushed Luc and his intoxicating mouth away as his words slammed into her.

      “Let’s get you inside,” she told him, trying not to focus on how hard he must’ve hit his head, because he was clearly not in his right mind. “I’m not comfortable with that knot you have, and you may have a concussion. I need to call your doctor. Hopefully, with the storm gone, we’ll have cell service.”

      Luc stared at her another minute, then nodded. Slipping his arm around her shoulders again, he let her lead him up to the house. Something was definitely wrong with him. The Luc from only twenty minutes ago would be arguing that he didn’t need a doctor, and he certainly wouldn’t be leaning on her for support.

      She couldn’t even think about the fact that he believed they were engaged. Because if he thought they were sleeping together, this situation would get extremely awkward really fast.

      Though she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to herself just how much she liked him thinking they were a couple. How long would his mind play this trick on him? How would he treat her now that he believed they were together?

      Once she had him inside and settled on the sofa, she stood up and caught her breath. Luc was one massive, thick, muscular man. She’d known he was cut, but she’d had no clue how solid and heavy he would be.

      His body had leaned against hers, twisting her dress on their walk. As Kate readjusted herself, trying to refill her lungs with air and not panic, she found him staring up at her, that darkened gaze holding her in place. Shivers rippled through her at the intensity of the moment—and the man.

      “What?” she asked.

      “Why are you all wet?”

      Plucking at the damp material that clung to her thighs, Kate shook her head. “I got caught outside in the storm earlier.”

      Those eyes continued to rake over her body. “You’re sexy like this,” he murmured as his heated stare traveled back up. “With your dress clinging to your curves and your hair messy and wavy.”

      Kate swallowed, because any reply she had to those intimate words would lead to a lie, and she couldn’t let him keep thinking they were anything more than employee-employer, servant-royal.

      “Where’s your cell?” If she didn’t stay on task, she’d get caught up in all those sultry looks he was giving her...and she desperately wanted to get caught up in the promise behind those sexy stares. But he wasn’t himself right now. “I need to call the doctor. I hope we have service.”

      Luc glanced around, raking a hand through his hair. “I have no idea. I don’t even remember why I was outside.”

      He slapped his hand on the cushion beside him and let out a string of curses. “Why can’t I remember anything?”

      The worry lacing his voice concerned her even more than the fact he thought they were engaged. Luc Silva never let his guard down. Even when faced with losing the crown, the man was the epitome of control and power. Sexy and strong and she wanted him. Plain and simple...or maybe not so simple considering she could never have him.

      “It’s okay,” she assured him as she leaned down to pat his shoulder. “I’ll find it. Once the doctor comes, we’ll know more. Maybe this will only last a few minutes. Try not to panic.”

      That last bit of advice was for herself as much as him, because she was seriously in panic mode right now. She didn’t know much about memory loss, but the fact that something had set his mind so off balance concerned her. She couldn’t even imagine how he felt.

      Kate walked around the spacious but sparsely decorated living room, into the dated kitchen and then back to the living room. Crossing to the patio doors they’d just entered, she finally spotted his cell lying on the old, worn accent table most likely left by the last tenants.

      Thankfully, she knew the passcode to get into the phone. “I’m just going to step out here,” she told him, trying to assure him he wouldn’t be alone. “I’ll be right back.”

      She didn’t want Luc to hear any worry in her tone when she described the incident to the doctor. And for now, she wasn’t going to mention the whole “fiancée” bit. She would ride this out as long as possible. Yes, that was selfish, but, well...everyone had their moments of weakness and Luc Silva was definitely her weakness.

      Kate was relieved to get the doctor on the phone and even more relieved when he promised to be there within the next hour. For the next sixty minutes, Luc would most likely believe they were engaged and she would play right along until she was told otherwise.

      Luc’s private beach villa just off the coast of Portugal wasn’t far from his own country. He was pretty much hiding in plain sight. This way he could be home quickly in an emergency—or someone could come to him.

      Kate was grateful the doctor could use the private boat to get to the island. There was no airstrip and the only way in or out was via boat. Only yesterday she and Luc had been dropped off by her father, so Luc could keep his hideout a secret.

      When she walked back inside, Luc had his head tipped back against the sofa cushions. Eyes closed, he held a hand to his head, massaging his temples with his fingers.

      “The doctor is on his way.”

      Without opening his eyes, he simply gave a brief nod.

      “I know you’re hurting, but I don’t want to give you anything before the doctor can examine you.”

      What if his injuries were more serious than she thought? Amnesia, temporary or not, wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. People died from simple falls all the time. Even when they felt fine, they could have some underlying issue that went unnoticed.

      The possibilities flooded her mind as she continued to stand across the room and stare at Luc. Should he be resting or should she keep him awake? She prayed she didn’t do the wrong thing. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him because they’d been fighting and he’d stormed off. If she didn’t always feel the need to challenge him, this wouldn’t have happened.

      The kiss wouldn’t have happened, either, because that was obviously spawned from sexual frustration and anger. Luc’s full-on mouth attack had been forceful, not gentle or restrained. She’d loved every delicious second of it. But now she needed to focus, not think about how good it had felt to finally have him touch her the way she’d