fingertips to her firm, delectable bottom eliciting the full stare of its owner.
He shut the door on her pensive face because there were some things a man simply couldn’t resist and that had been one of them. Nodding at the driver, who was perched by the front of the car along with Darius and his own bodyguard, he walked around to the other side and slid in.
She eyed him from a safe distance away. “You are exhausted. You need sleep.”
He rested his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes. “Clone me. That would help.”
“At least you’ll be able to relax this evening with Tassos. I like him.”
“All woman like Tassos. He’s good-looking and he flies fast, dangerous planes.”
“His occupation certainly doesn’t hurt.” Amusement laced her voice. “How did you two meet?”
“In military training. First here, then in England and California. We were on the same path and we clicked. Then we were deployed together in the navy.”
“He’s the light to your dark,” she said. “You are good foils for one another.”
“Perhaps.”
A silence. “You’re upset about the editorial.”
“ Frustrated is a better description.” The scathing piece by the business editor of the Carnelian daily newspaper this morning had felt like a betrayal. He’d unleashed the stranglehold his father had kept on the media as one of his first actions as king.
The editor had paid him back by describing him as an “unyielding force determined to push through modernization plans the people weren’t ready for.” “The new king,” the piece had gone on to say, “is showing shades of his father.”
“Why don’t you meet with him?” Stella suggested. “It would be good to establish that relationship. Another key influencer.”
He opened his eyes. “What’s the point? He clearly doesn’t comprehend or care about the facts.”
“Kostas.” She shook her head. “There’s been significant pushback on your plans from more than one group. You need to educate, but more than that, you need to listen . The more you push forward without doing that, the angrier they are going to become. If you don’t want to lose the goodwill you’ve built up, you need to create some bridges.”
He trained his gaze on her. “He accused me of having my father’s dictatorial tendencies .”
“Then prove him wrong.” She shook her head. “He is not entirely incorrect in that portrayal. You are dogmatic. You see the world in black-and-white. You need to acknowledge the gray, find a middle ground.”
Antagonism stiffened his shoulders. “It’s the people who need to wake up. They all want the gain and no pain. I am trying to give them a future. If they are too shortsighted to recognize it, that’s not my problem, it’s theirs.”
“It will be yours if they turn their backs on you.”
Blood throbbed against his temples. Pushing his head back against the seat, he stared straight ahead. “I’m getting enough on all sides, Stella. I don’t need it from you.”
“Then why marry me? You said you wanted a partner, so here I am, telling you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear.”
His lashes fluttered closed. He had asked for that, yes. He just didn’t need it right now . Nor did he need his fiancée agreeing with that damn editor. He couldn’t believe she’d gone there, knowing who he was. What he was.
* * *
Stella considered her combustible fiancé as the car pulled up in front of the restaurant. Darius and Kostas’s bodyguard got out first to scan the area. So much for her stress-free, enjoyable evening getting to know Tassos better. He was the one person, it seemed, who knew the king beyond a superficial level.
Kostas was like an explosive device, primed and ready to go off. Clearly the insane amount of pressure he was under was taking a toll, and how could it not? Still, she knew her role was to help guide him and she wasn’t about to pull any punches for both their sakes. Not with
He shut the door on her pensive face because there were some things a man simply couldn’t resist and that had been one of them. Nodding at the driver, who was perched by the front of the car along with Darius and his own bodyguard, he walked around to the other side and slid in.
She eyed him from a safe distance away. “You are exhausted. You need sleep.”
He rested his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes. “Clone me. That would help.”
“At least you’ll be able to relax this evening with Tassos. I like him.”
“All woman like Tassos. He’s good-looking and he flies fast, dangerous planes.”
“His occupation certainly doesn’t hurt.” Amusement laced her voice. “How did you two meet?”
“In military training. First here, then in England and California. We were on the same path and we clicked. Then we were deployed together in the navy.”
“He’s the light to your dark,” she said. “You are good foils for one another.”
“Perhaps.”
A silence. “You’re upset about the editorial.”
“ Frustrated is a better description.” The scathing piece by the business editor of the Carnelian daily newspaper this morning had felt like a betrayal. He’d unleashed the stranglehold his father had kept on the media as one of his first actions as king.
The editor had paid him back by describing him as an “unyielding force determined to push through modernization plans the people weren’t ready for.” “The new king,” the piece had gone on to say, “is showing shades of his father.”
“Why don’t you meet with him?” Stella suggested. “It would be good to establish that relationship. Another key influencer.”
He opened his eyes. “What’s the point? He clearly doesn’t comprehend or care about the facts.”
“Kostas.” She shook her head. “There’s been significant pushback on your plans from more than one group. You need to educate, but more than that, you need to listen . The more you push forward without doing that, the angrier they are going to become. If you don’t want to lose the goodwill you’ve built up, you need to create some bridges.”
He trained his gaze on her. “He accused me of having my father’s dictatorial tendencies .”
“Then prove him wrong.” She shook her head. “He is not entirely incorrect in that portrayal. You are dogmatic. You see the world in black-and-white. You need to acknowledge the gray, find a middle ground.”
Antagonism stiffened his shoulders. “It’s the people who need to wake up. They all want the gain and no pain. I am trying to give them a future. If they are too shortsighted to recognize it, that’s not my problem, it’s theirs.”
“It will be yours if they turn their backs on you.”
Blood throbbed against his temples. Pushing his head back against the seat, he stared straight ahead. “I’m getting enough on all sides, Stella. I don’t need it from you.”
“Then why marry me? You said you wanted a partner, so here I am, telling you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear.”
His lashes fluttered closed. He had asked for that, yes. He just didn’t need it right now . Nor did he need his fiancée agreeing with that damn editor. He couldn’t believe she’d gone there, knowing who he was. What he was.
* * *
Stella considered her combustible fiancé as the car pulled up in front of the restaurant. Darius and Kostas’s bodyguard got out first to scan the area. So much for her stress-free, enjoyable evening getting to know Tassos better. He was the one person, it seemed, who knew the king beyond a superficial level.
Kostas was like an explosive device, primed and ready to go off. Clearly the insane amount of pressure he was under was taking a toll, and how could it not? Still, she knew her role was to help guide him and she wasn’t about to pull any punches for both their sakes. Not with
Similar Books
