Christmas in His Royal Bed by Heidi Betts Page A

to be ready.

    Refolding the note, she stuffed it back in the envelope before returning her attention to the servant. “Tell the prince I’ll be in the main foyer by seven o’clock. Thank you.”

    The woman nodded and hurried off, ostensibly to deliver the message. More like announce Alandra’s compliance, she thought crossly as she shut the door and headed back to the bedroom.

    Though she wasn’t particularly happy about this new development, she dragged an overnight bag from one of the closets and began to pack.

    By the time she’d finished, she was truly exhausted. Climbing into bed, she hoped for a good night’s sleep.

    She would need all the rest she could get if she was going to be alone with Nicolas—away from the palace. Overnight.

    She met Nicolas outside the palace at exactly 7:00 a.m. The entire place, inside and out, was decorated to the nines in anticipation of the Christmas Eve party the royal family was hosting in only two days’ time.

    “Good morning,” he said.

    “Good morning.”

    “I’m glad you were able to accompany me to this meeting,” he told her once they were inside the car and heading down the driveway.

    “I didn’t have much choice in the matter, did I?” she replied, avoiding his gaze by staring out the window.

    “You always have a choice.”

    She turned her head, meeting his blue eyes. “Well, your note didn’t seem to ask if I’d like to go with you.”

    “I was afraid that if I did ask, you would have said no,” he confessed.

    “Of course I wouldn’t have said no. As long as this meeting actually does concern the Dream a Little Dream Foundation. Or did you just say that to get me alone and away from the palace for a few days?” she asked quietly.

    A moment passed before he responded. “This trip is about the foundation, and though I could probably handle things well enough on my own, I think it’s important that you’re there. I think you’ll be glad you came.”

    He paused again, letting the silence fill with tension as his sharp gaze bored into hers. “But I’m also quite happy to get you away from the palace and to myself. I think you’ll be glad for that, too—eventually.”

    His voice lowered to a warm, honeyed tone, and it took all of Alandra’s willpower not to suck in a deep breath of air to replace what had gotten stuck in her throat.

    She should be angry. He was manipulating her again, moving her how and where he wanted her in an effort to change her mind about sleeping with him.

    One thing could be said for Nicolas Braedon—he knew what he wanted and didn’t take no for an answer.

    She didn’t want to admit it, not even to herself, but the truth was his single-minded determination to seduce her made her feel…special.

    It wasn’t her intention to play with him, to turn this…whatever it was between them…into a game, but she suddenly realized she was enjoying herself. She enjoyed knowing that he wanted her.

    Instead of arguing or giving in too soon, she merely shrugged and said, “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

    The flight to the other side of the island was a short one, and they went straight from the small private airstrip to the office where the meeting was scheduled.

    Alandra was stunned to learn that they weren’t simply meeting with a few people about establishing the new foundation, but were meeting with many people to actually get the organization up and running.

    As the morning meetings progressed, she realized Nicolas had been right. She was glad she’d come along.

    She was also thrilled with the amount of progress they were making in such a short time. Over a working lunch she met wonderfully enthusiastic people raring to get started. She had no doubt they would do an excellent job of running the organization, whether she was there or not.

    She and the prince said goodbye to the future Dream a Little Dream staff at five, and Nicolas instructed his driver to take them to a hotel where the royal