âBut you do want me, Liana,â Sandro said softly. âYou want me very much. And even if you try to deny it Iâll know. Iâll feel your response in your lips that open to mine, in your hands that reach for me, in your body that responds to me.â
I know that,â she choked. âIâm not denying anything.â
She turned her face with all its naked emotion away from him.
âNo,â he agreed, his voice as hard as iron now, as hard as his gunmetal-grey eyes. âYouâre not denying it. Youâre just resisting it with every fibre of your being. Resisting me.â
She let out a shudder and he shook his head.
âWhy, Liana? You agreed to this marriage, as I did. Why canât we find this pleasurable at least?â
âBecause â¦â
Because she wasnât strong enough. Sheâd open herself up to him just a little and a tidal wave of emotion would rush through her. She wouldnât be able to hold it back and it would devastate her. She knew it instinctivelyâknew that giving in just a little to Sandro would crack her right open, shatter her into pieces. Sheâd never come together again.
How could she explain all of that?
THE DIOMEDI HEIRS
Who will become the next King of Maldinia?
The worldâs media is waiting with bated breath for the estranged Diomedi Princes to be reunited and the rightful Kingâwith his chosen Queenâto be seated upon the throne!
Read Prince Leoâs story in:
THE PRINCE SHE NEVER KNEW
To restore the reputation of the monarchy, darkly brooding Prince Leo has sacrificed everything. His marriage might be for show, but the feelings his new bride Alyse evokes in him are threatening his iron-clad control.
Read Prince Alessandroâs story in:
A QUEEN FOR THE TAKING?
Black sheep Prince Alessandro has returned home to claim the throneâand the woman he discarded years agoâbut he meets his match in the woman Liana has now become!
KATE HEWITT discovered her first Mills & Boon® romance on a trip to England when she was thirteen, and sheâs continued to read them ever since. She wrote her first story at the age of five, simply because her older brother had written one and she thought she could do it too. That story was one sentence longâfortunately theyâve become a bit more detailed as sheâs grown older. She has written plays, short stories and magazine serials for many years, but writing romance remains her first love. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, travelling and learning to knit.
After marrying the man of her dreamsâher older brotherâs childhood friendâshe lived in England for six years, and now resides in Connecticut with her husband, her three young children and the possibility of one day getting a dog.
Kate loves to hear from readersâyou can contact her through her website: www.kate-hewitt.com
Recent titles by the same author:
THE PRINCE SHE NEVER KNEW
(The Diomedi Heirs) HIS BRAND OF PASSION (The Bryants: Powerful & Proud) IN THE HEAT OF THE SPOTLIGHT (The Bryants: Powerful & Proud) BENEATH THE VEIL OF PARADISE (The Bryants: Powerful & Proud)
Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
CHAPTER ONE
ALESSANDRO DIOMEDI, KING of Maldinia, opened the door to the opulent reception room and gazed resolutely upon the woman intended to be his bride. Liana Aterno, the daughter of the duke of Abruzzo, stood in the centre of the room, her body elegant and straight, her gaze clear and steady and even cold. She looked remarkably composed, considering the situation.
Carefully Sandro closed the door, the final click seeming to sound the end of his freedom. But no, that was being fanciful, for his freedom had surely ended six months ago, when heâd left his life in California to return to Maldinia and accept his place as first in line to the throne. Any tattered remnant of it had gone when heâd buried his father and taken his place as king.
âGood afternoon.â His voice seemed to echo through the large room with its gilt walls and frescoed ceilings, the only furniture a few ornate tables of gold and marble set against the walls. Not exactly the most welcoming of spaces, and for a moment Sandro wished heâd specified to put Lady Liana into a more comfortable chamber.
Although, he acknowledged cynically, considering the nature of their imminent discussionâand probable relationshipâperhaps this room was appropriate.
âGood afternoon, Your Highness.â She didnât curtsey, which he was glad of, because he hated all the ostentatious trappings of royalty and obeisance, but she did bend her head in a gesture of respect so for a moment he could see the bare, vulnerable nape of her neck. It almost made him soften. Then she lifted her head and pinned him with that cold, clear-eyed gaze and he felt his heart harden once more. He didnât want this. He never would. But she obviously did.