âIâll not have you calling me Your Highness in bed.
âCall me Gabriel.â
âGabriel,â she echoed, her soft voice low and intimate in a way that warmed his blood. âI promise to remember never to refer to you as Your Royal Highness or Prince Gabriel while we are making love.â
Away from the public eye, Olivia was no longer the enigmatic, cultured woman heâd decided to marry. Impish humor sparkled in her eyes. Intelligence shone there, as well. Why had she hidden her sharp mind from him?
âAll of a sudden, it occurs to me that Iâve never kissed you.â
âYou kissed me the day you proposed.â
âIn front of a dozen witnesses,â he murmured. It had been a formality, really, not a true proposal. âAnd not the way I wanted to.â
âHow did you want to?â
âLike this.â
* * *
Royal Heirs Required is part of the No.1 bestselling series from Mills & Boon>® Desireâ¢, Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men ⦠wrapped around their babiesâ little fingers.
CAT SCHIELD has been reading and writing romance since high school. Although she graduated from college with a BA in business, her idea of a perfect career was writing books for Mills & Boon. And now, after winning the Romance Writers of America 2010 Golden Heart>® Award for series contemporary romance, that dream has come true. Cat lives in Minnesota with her daughter, Emily, and their Burmese cat. When sheâs not writing sexy, romantic stories for Mills & Boon>® Desireâ¢, she can be found sailing with friends on the St Croix River, or in more exotic locales, like the Caribbean and Europe. She loves to hear from readers. Find her at www.catschield.com. Follow her on Twitter: @catschield.
One
âSheâs the perfect choice for you,â Gabriel Alessandroâs brother joked, nudging his shoulder.
The two princes were standing at the edge of the dance floor watching their father, the king, sweep Gabrielâs future bride through a series of elegant turns while their mother concentrated on keeping her toes from beneath the prime ministerâs clumsy feet.
Gabriel released an audible sigh. With his future brideâs father building a high-tech manufacturing plant just outside the capital, Sherdanaâs economy would receive the boost it badly needed. âOf course she is.â
Lady Olivia Darcy, daughter of a wealthy British earl, was just a little too perfect. While she exuded poise and warmth in public, in private she never relaxed, never let down her guard. This hadnât bothered him at all in the days leading up to their engagement. From the moment heâd begun looking for a wife heâd decided to listen to his head and not his heart. Past experience had demonstrated losing himself in passion led to nothing but heartache and disappointment.
âThen why are you looking so grim?â
Why indeed? Even though Gabriel didnât have to pretend to be besotted with his fiancée in front of his brother, he wasnât about to admit his regret that his personal life would have less passion and drama once he was married.
Until the wedding planning had begun in earnest, heâd considered himself well and thoroughly lucky to have found a woman who wouldnât drive him mad with her theatrics and demands. It was in sharp contrast to his affair with Marissa, which had been a tempestuous four-year romance with no future.
Gabriel was not a world-famous musician or a dashing Hollywood actor or even a wealthy playboy. He was the heir apparent of a small European country with strict laws that dictated his wife must be either an aristocrat or a citizen of Sherdana. Marissa had been neither.
âHow happy would you be if you were marrying a virtual stranger?â Gabriel kept his voice soft, but there was no hiding his bitterness.
Christianâs grin was positively wicked. âThe best part about being the youngest is that I donât have to worry about getting married at all.â
Gabriel muttered an expletive. He was well aware that neither of his brothers envied him. In many ways that was a relief. In centuries past Sherdana had seen its fair share of plots against the crown both from without and within. It would have been awful if either of his brothers had schemed to keep him off the throne. But that was highly unlikely. Nic lived in the US, building rocket ships that might someday carry regularâwealthyâcitizens into space while Christian was very happy buying and selling companies.
â...hot.â
âHot?â Gabriel caught the final word his brother had spoken. âWhatâs hot?â
âNot what.â Christian shot him a wry glance. âWho. Your future bride. I was just remarking that you should spend some time getting to know her. It might be more enjoyable than you think. Sheâs hot.â
Lady Olivia Darcy was many things, but Gabriel wouldnât label her as hot. A gorgeous package of stylish sophistication, she had the fashion designers competing to dress her. Her features were delicate and feminine, her skin pale and unblemished. She was slender, but not boyish, with long legs, graceful arms and an elegant neck. There was a serene expression in her keen blue gaze.