The Irresistible Royal Read online

‘You accept I’ll be gone in the morning? You won’t try to change my mind?’

  What she told him was what he’d always wanted to hear—what he’d needed to hear from his lovers to make sure they understood there was no future for them and to know they weren’t going to be all emotional when the time came to part.

  So why the hell did he suddenly want Chloe to tell him she was already addicted? Why did he want to hear her say she could never imagine getting enough of him—couldn’t imagine walking away from him and never sharing this lovemaking again?

  The truth slammed into him.

  It was because he couldn’t imagine walking away from her at this point and it was a blow to think he was more attracted to her than she was to him.

  Inferno. Get a grip.

  Their lovemaking had been a potent drug. One round of lovemaking with Chloe and Marco was in danger of becoming addicted. He wanted the certainty he could reach for Chloe and have her whenever he wanted her. And he wanted her again. Now. He throbbed so hard he didn’t think he’d even make it back to her bedroom.

  Before he could sift through his alarming thoughts and formulate a response, Marco heard the soft sound of a key in the lock of the library door.

  In one lithe action, he lunged sideways and found the switch for the lamp. Barely a second before the door opened, he plunged the room into darkness.

  A slice of light from the hallway invaded the room. His first thought was to cover Chloe’s nudity, and he reached to a chair behind him where he’d noticed a folded throw rug. He managed to throw it to her before the main library lights flicked on.

  ‘Hello, darling,’ Lidia Stewart cooed without a trace of surprise as she looked at Chloe. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, clapping her hands. ‘You’re such a fast little worker.’ She looked over at Marco and her eyes lingered on his erect penis like a filthy caress. ‘Oh, my. You lucky, lucky girl.’

  Although he’d never been bothered by his nudity before, Marco felt repulsed to have their hostess eyeing him off as though he were a prize stallion. He grabbed for his underwear and trousers. ‘Go back to the party, Lidia.’

  ‘I think I’d rather party in here with you.’

  Merda. ‘We’re leaving,’ he said.

  ‘Congratulations, Chloe darling,’ Lidia continued. ‘So much for needing me to help you work out a strategy over the weekend.’

  Confusion clouded Marco’s mind and questions pounded at his skull as the scene played out in front of him. He felt like an onlooker rather than a participant.

  He pulled on his trousers and looked from the woman he loathed to the woman who’d become his lover. Chloe had turned almost beetroot red with embarrassment as she jerked her body into a sitting position and covered herself with the throw rug.

  ‘This has nothing to do with you, Lidia,’ Chloe told their hostess firmly.

  ‘Get out, Lidia.’ he insisted.

  ‘Oh, I don’t think so. After all, this is my house.’

  Not for much bloody longer, he vowed.

  ‘Thank you so much, darling,’ Lidia said to Chloe, ‘Here I was thinking I’d have to spend all weekend coaching you on how to catch yourself a prince, and you exceeded all my expectations.’

  Catching him?

  Expectations?

  Marco stilled in the act of fastening the button on his trousers. Lidia’s words pummelled against his solar plexus and left him temporarily winded.

  ‘Lidia.’ Every syllable Chloe uttered held a warning.

  Forcing himself to breathe, he spun toward Chloe. ‘What’s she talking about?’

  Chloe pulled the blanket up higher and drew back, cringing like a wounded animal. She went from mortified red to ghostly white in the space of a split second. She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.

  ‘I told Chloe to get your attention tonight, Marco. I pointed out what a sexy beast you are, and how much I’d like to have you in the sack myself. I have to say it was hard watching you ride her and have her thrashing about in obvious sensational pleasure. I wanted quite badly to change places with my daughter.’

  Daughter? Marco’s stomach hollowed. Watching? Looking up at each corner of the room, his gut twisted as he turned around and saw a single closed-circuit security camera high up in the corner of the room. The placement of the camera would’ve afforded a perfect view of their lovemaking.

  Merda. He hadn’t even thought about the possibility.

  ‘Smile, Marco.’ Lidia gestured to the lens. ‘You’re on security camera.’

  ‘What?’ Chloe’s voice emerged as a horrified whisper.

  ‘You’re her daughter?’ Marco demanded. It didn’t make any sense to him. Chloe was nothing like Lidia—not to look at and not in her personality.

  Chloe’s eyes didn’t quite meet his as she answered, ‘Yes. But—’

  ‘But you’re American. You told me your name is Salvatore.’ As soon as he made the accusation he kicked himself; he was aware Lidia had been married several times.

  ‘Barry isn’t my first husband,’ came the older woman’s triumphant explanation.

  No. From what he understood, Lidia must be close to holding the world record when it came to the number of times she’d been married. But it hardly mattered to him.

  Marco stared at Chloe. He’d seen Lidia speaking with her, but had thought it was merely a matter of a hostess speaking with a guest. Nothing in their interaction had suggested a closer relationship. But she’d said she hadn’t seen her mother in years...

  Fanculo. It was unbelievable he’d slept with the daughter of an amoral woman he completely loathed. He’d slept with the stepdaughter of Barry Stewart, the man he’d come here to destroy.

  ‘You were watching?’ Chloe demanded in stricken tone.

  ‘Oh yes, darling, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Incredible orgasms, you lucky thing. I told you Prince Marco would be a fabulous lover.’ A choked cry emerged from Chloe’s mouth as her mother continued, ‘The security guards and I were riveted and it made us all horny as hell.’

  Marco regarded Lidia with revulsion. Bile churned in his stomach as he realised she’d played voyeur, but there was something that made him even sicker. ‘I told you Prince Marco would be a fabulous lover,’ she’d said.

  She’d actually discussed him with Chloe in terms of sex? She’d told Chloe to get his attention?

  Chloe must’ve known exactly who he was when he’d introduced himself. She must’ve known he was a prince before she’d agreed to have sex with him. She hadn’t given the slightest indication she’d been aware. All the indecision she’d displayed was an act. There’d never been any question about her spending the night with him—she’d intended this all along.

  Dio! He’d been such a fool!

  ‘Anyway,’ Lidia said with a hugely satisfied smile, ‘your little show will be very popular and I’ve ordered copies made.’

  ‘No.’ Chloe’s voice was barely audible and she regarded Lidia with wide eyes.

  The threat of the video footage could be dealt with later. For now, Marco stared at the woman he’d made love to, absorbing the horror in her features, but unable to get his head around what’d happened, and how Lidia spoke of the whole thing as pre-planned—of catching him. Chloe’s reactions made him think she wasn’t part of this set-up—that she was as much a victim here as he was. Then again, she’d already proven herself quite the consummate actress.

  Lidia’s next words pointed to Chloe’s guilt.

  ‘You did very well having sex with him in the library so it could be filmed, darling. Your quick thinking certainly escalated our plans.’ Marco reeled at the implication of Lidia’s words. The library had been his idea, but Chloe had been insistent they stay when he’d suggested they change plans and go upstairs.

  Lidia levered herself away from the door and stalked toward them. ‘Here’s what’s going to happen now, Marco. Barry’s managed to get himself into some debt. You’re going to draw on your enormous personal wealth and e
nsure all his debts are cleared, or this lovely little interlude with my daughter will find its way onto the internet and go viral.’

  ‘You let this happen here knowing we were being filmed?’ he demanded of Chloe.

  ‘What?’ A huge crease appeared between Chloe’s finely arched eyebrows, and her expression was one of abject horror. ‘No. Of course not.’ She swung to face her mother. Snapping out of what had appeared to be shock, anger rolled off her now—black rage directed at Lidia. ‘Don’t you realise what you’re saying, Lidia? You’re threatening blackmail.’

  The rage was a quick turnabout. Was it real or had she sensed just how deeply he’d connected with her and how special it’d been, and she’d launched out with a solo plan of her own? ‘Did you or did you not discuss me with your mother?’ Marco demanded.

  ‘I... She... Yes, but it isn’t the way she’s making it seem,’ Chloe stuttered.

  It looked very much like the daughter was planning to distance herself from her mother and their original plan. Calling himself all manner of idiot, anger and the bitterness of betrayal swelled in his gut.

  ‘I pointed you out earlier to Chloe and gave her a little encouragement. Let’s just say the plans I made with my daughter have worked out much better than expected, Marco, and leave it at that,’ Lidia told him with a smirk. ‘She’s much more like I am than I’d given her credit for.’

  ‘You liar.’ Chloe railed at her mother as she clasped the throw rug firmly in front of her and stumbled awkwardly to her feet. ‘I am nothing like you. How could you possibly pretend I’m part of whatever sordid scheme you’ve planned?’

  ‘Don’t try to wriggle your way out of it now by pleading innocence, Chloe. You were more than happy to play your part—I saw how happy.’

  ‘Lidia, shut up. Every word you say is incriminating. I don’t even like you but I have to tell you that what you’re doing is criminal and everything you do and say can be held against you in a court of law.’

  Marco ignored the drama between the two women, unwilling to trust either of them in the face of Lidia’s revelations. He scooped up his shirt and pushed his arms through the sleeves angrily. It was unbelievable he’d allowed himself to be played like this—especially by Lidia bloody Stewart.

  More fool him.

  Chloe took a step toward him. ‘I’m not sure exactly what’s happening here, but I am completely innocent.’

  Against his better judgement, he wanted to believe her. ‘Are you telling me you and your mother didn’t discuss having sex with me? That you didn’t know exactly who I was before I introduced myself?’

  ‘I knew who you were,’ she said quietly as she lowered her head and looked at the carpet.

  The admission punched at him.

  ‘It wasn’t like that,’ Chloe vented. ‘Please, let me get dressed. We can talk and put this into perspective.’

  ‘Forget it.’ Acidic bile rose up his throat and tasted sour in his mouth. Part of him ached, wanting to believe her, but hadn’t he been warned all his life that his title and wealth made him an object of desire rather than a desirable person? ‘I may have fallen neatly in with your plans tonight, but this is as far as it goes.’

  Lidia cooed, ‘I’m so glad you thought of the security camera in here, Chloe. It was so clever of you.’

  ‘You bitch,’ Chloe exploded. ‘Marco, please don’t listen to her.’

  He couldn’t bring himself to look at Chloe again and remember how utterly she’d deceived him. ‘I wouldn’t congratulate yourself too soon, Lidia. I’ll never yield to blackmail. You have fifteen minutes to send your head of security to me to hand over the footage or I’ll bring criminal charges against you faster than you can blink. If you make copies or make the footage public, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. I’ll make sure you become a social pariah and everyone knows your darling daughter for the slut she is.’

  ‘Marco.’

  The way Chloe cried out was so full of anguish it reminded Marco of a dog he’d once owned as a boy. The dog’s leg had been caught in the steel jaws of a trap, and it’d howled so pitifully he’d had to have it put down. Marco had been inconsolable and cried for days afterwards. His dog had been faithful and true—unlike this woman.

  Chloe.

  The woman he’d thought was special enough to break through the stone wall he’d erected around his heart was a conniving bitch like her mother.

  ‘I had nothing to do with this,’ Chloe insisted.

  His stomach clenched again on rising nausea. He lashed out at her. ‘This was all an attempt at blackmail.’

  ‘No. Of course not. I’m a lawyer, for God’s sake.’

  He doubted even that much was true. ‘I’m not listening to any more lies.’

  Chloe’s beautiful face creased with despair. ‘I’ve never been to this house before tonight. I’ve never stepped into this room. I have no idea what’s been going on with my mother and her husband. I didn’t even know he was in debt.’

  He looked back at her and hardened his heart against her stricken denials as he remembered her words, ‘Trust me, Marco, tonight will be unforgettable.’

  She’d been right. It was a night he’d never forget. Tonight he’d been duped in spectacular fashion. She was a brilliant actress. A brilliant deceiver. While he’d made love to her wanting to make it as fabulous as possible for her—and bloody well felt protective of her—she’d bloody well known a video camera was rolling. He was furious with himself for being such a fool—for believing what they’d shared was special.

  He stared at Chloe with heated contempt. What sort of woman allowed this to happen? She may as well have been a porn star to be prepared to perform for a live audience and know the images could end up on the internet, going viral.

  ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ Gritting his back teeth together when Chloe’s features crumpled into an expression of utter misery and her eyes filled with tears, he warned himself not to fall for her act. He forced himself to turn and walk away from her and hated that it was so hard for him to distance himself from her when he longed to believe in her. Self-protection won out. ‘Both of you use your bodies for financial gain, but tonight, Chloe, you failed.’

  If he’d known she was Lidia’s daughter he would’ve avoided her like the plague. The only reason he’d agreed to come to the weekend party was to make sure he placed a word here and there to discourage anyone from sinking money into Barry Stewart’s failing development business.

  There was no man on earth Marco hated with the intensity he hated Stewart. He’d wanted to ensure Stewart received no financial reprieve from the bankruptcy awaiting him, and he wouldn’t be satisfied until Stewart lost everything he owned. Now he’d have even more reason to celebrate when Stewart went down. Victory would be even sweeter knowing Lidia would also feel the sting of the scorpion’s tail.

  As for Chloe... Dio. He wouldn’t even allow himself to think of her again.

  When he reached the library door, he paused. Without turning back to the women, he glanced at his watch and told Lidia, ‘You now have twelve minutes to deliver the security tape to my room.’

  There was little satisfaction to be had in hearing Lidia speak to one of her security people via the CCTV camera, ‘George, you heard our esteemed guest. Have someone take the tape to his room.’

  He opened the door and walked out.

  Chapter Three

  Shocked was too mild a word to describe how Chloe felt.

  Stifling a sob as Marco walked out of the library, Chloe directed all her anger and hurt toward the person who most deserved it. ‘I can’t believe what’s happened. How can you stand there so calmly? Don’t you realise how much trouble you’ve caused?’

  ‘Oh please, darling, don’t be so melodramatic,’ Lidia dismissed. ‘You should be celebrating. You’ve been shagged by a sex god. Didn’t I tell you he’d be fabulous? Not every woman gets to have one off-the-Richter-scale orgasm after another like you’ve had.’

  The room spun. ‘Y
ou really watched everything?’

  ‘Well, I missed the first few minutes because one of the security guards had to come and get me from the party, then we had to go to the video surveillance room, so—’

  ‘No.’ The champagne she’d drunk rose back up her throat. Her mother had mentioned it before, but now it truly sank in that her lovemaking with Marco had been watched by security guards too.

  Shit. They were probably still watching all the drama unfold.

  ‘I suppose I should thank you for playing your part. I wasn’t sure you had it in you.’

  ‘How can you believe for a second that I did this for you?’

  ‘I told you to go and talk to Marco. I have to admit you’re a much faster worker than I would’ve given you credit for.’

  ‘What happened had nothing to do with you. I can’t believe you’d think it. I still can’t believe you watched us. The number of laws you’ve broken here tonight...’ What was the point? Her mother didn’t care. ‘You disgust me.’ She simply couldn’t hold back the tears any longer as she stared at her mother and found no sign of remorse on the woman’s features.

  ‘Oh grow up, Chloe. This is life. It’s survival of the fittest. You have to take what you want from life, it doesn’t get handed to you on a platter.’

  ‘So you resort to blackmail?’

  ‘If necessary.’

  ‘Has it escaped your attention that I’m a lawyer, for God’s sake? You’ve embroiled me in a totally illegal scheme. What if Prince Marco decides to press charges?’

  ‘He won’t.’ Lidia was entirely confident. ‘He’ll hardly want people to know he’s been so stupid. Besides, it would be his word against ours, and—as you pointed out—you’re a lawyer.’

  Dear God. What a mess. ‘You should never have implicated me in your immoral and highly illegal scheme.’

  Although Chloe would’ve thought it was impossible, Lidia’s face grew harder.

  ‘Why not? I don’t owe you anything.’ Lidia half-turned away from her before she swung back with hatred on her features. ‘I gave you the gorgeous figure Marco just worshipped, and in the process I lost a little of mine.’