ROYAL BRIDE (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (7 page)

“No, it’s not that. Antonio is the perfect gentleman.” Most of the time, anyway. When he did let down his Royal Guard, he was anything but… And she didn’t mind it so much. That morning, he had shoved his way into the shower stall and without even making a suggestion, he spun her around and took her. Standing in the shower, her face pressed against the cool marble tiling, he had pounded into her. As animalistic as it was, he made sure she found as much fulfillment as he had.

“Bella.” Elisabeth slid her sunglasses back down, covering her eyes. “Spit it out.”

“Fine. Before we left, I went into the city. While I was there, I got turned around and went down a wrong street. I saw a girl being kidnapped. I watched her get kidnapped!” Just saying it again made her guilt bubble up in her chest.

“What? Were you hurt? Did they see you? What happened to the girl?”

Isabella pushed her bangs back from her forehead, exposing the healing cut from the dumpster on her head. “I knocked my head, but no, they didn’t see me, I saw them. I took pictures of their van, but that’s all I did.”

“All you did? You could’ve been killed!” Elisabeth had always been an alarmist. She and Antonio would get along perfectly.

“I was hiding while that woman was being taken. Who knows what they are doing to her.”

“Did you tell Antonio? I’m sure his security team can track her down.” She raised her voice and gave a solid glare at the two men standing nearby. As was usual for them, they made no sign that they’d even heard the girls.

“I did tell him. He said they are looking into it, but every time I bring up the subject, he just tells me his men are on it and not to worry.”

Elisabeth laughed. “He wants you to let him handle it and not worry? Has he actually met you?”

Isabella looked disgruntled. “That’s not funny. I’m not a control freak, I just… well…” She cracked a smile. “Okay, in this instance, I might be a tad controlling. His men won’t give me any information either, and Raphael is completely ignoring my texts.”

“Well, let me see what I can do.” She glanced at her watch again and cursed. “I have to get back to the office. I have a meeting. When I see you for dinner, I should have a plan.” With a serious nod, she adjusted her purse strap and pointed to one of the security men. “Hey, can you grab a cab for me?” she called to him, and Isabella couldn’t help but laugh. “If they are going to follow us around and eavesdrop, they could at least be a little useful.”

Isabella walked with her to the cab that had pulled to the curb next to Tony, the larger of the two men. She hugged her friend.

“I’m sure it will be fine. We’ll talk to your husband about it tonight, and I’m sure he’ll see how important this issue is.” She sounded hopeful, but Isabella reminded herself that Elisabeth hadn’t met Antonio yet. But maybe, if the two of them spoke to him, he would listen. Maybe he would see how important it was for her to know that the kidnapped woman was alive and safe and would let his wife stay in the loop of information concerning her.

***

Antonio was a stubborn, unfeeling ass. Isabella glared at him over the table in their private dining room at the restaurant he had chosen for their meal. She tried to explain that Elisabeth and she always went for sushi when they got together, but he wouldn’t listen. “I already made reservations, and that’s where we’re going.”

She couldn’t move him from his decision, and when she tried to complain about it to Elisabeth, she had laughed and assured her it was fine. “We’ve done sushi over and over again. This sounds nice.” Elisabeth was too accommodating, gave in too easily. How could she ever have seen her as a partner in crime?

“Elisabeth, my wife tells me her mother was your godmother?” Antonio ignored Isabella’s irritated state and addressed her friend.

“Yes, she and my mother were friends. Until she married my father, my mother lived near the royal estates. But she met my dad, and they moved to the US. He was traveling when he met Mom.” Elisabeth sipped her wine.

“You should have been invited to the wedding, then.” He glanced at Isabella, who looked as though she were about to launch herself into a small tirade.

“That wouldn’t have been possible. But thanks for the thought.”

“My father never approved of our mothers being friends,” Isabella commented with some distaste in her mouth. Her father’s views on the people of his own country sometimes caused bile to rush up her throat.

“My mother met Isabella’s when they were young. Mom was a maid in the palace, and Isabella’s mother had been brought to the palace to await her marriage to King Renaldo. “

“My father can be difficult at times,” Isabella conceded. Even she could not get him to allow Elisabeth to visit her home, and he very rarely put his foot down about anything she wanted. “But enough about that. I want to hear about what your men have found about that woman.” She turned the conversation to Antonio. He had avoided her questions before they arrived for dinner, but she hoped, with Elisabeth’s assistance, they could get some information from him.

“Yes, Bella told me what happened. I hope the woman is found quickly and unharmed.” Elisabeth could always be counted on. Their dinners were brought out before Antonio could respond, but once the wait staff disappeared, Elisabeth looked to Antonio for his answer.

“My security team is working on finding her.” Those were the same words he ground out for Isabella when she pressed the issue in the car on the way over.

“Yes, I’m sure they are. Have you heard any news from them? I’m sure they check in with you about important matters such as this.” Isabella smiled widely as her friend continued to coax the issue.

Antonio let out an exaggerated sigh and turned his eyes to his wife. “I should learn never to doubt your stubbornness.” He shook his head before spearing a piece of chicken and shoving it into his mouth.

“You really should,” Elisabeth laughed.

“I’m worried about the woman. It’s been almost two days.”

“Her name is Karen. My men have tracked down the van, but it was found empty.” He took another bite of his chicken.

Isabella’s eyes narrowed, and her lips thinned. He had that information and wouldn’t give it to her? She had to involve a third party in order to get basic information out of him?

“Bella, are you available for lunch tomorrow? I had a cancellation and thought we could meet for sandwiches.” Elisabeth’s eyes had a little sparkle in them.

“Yes—”

“No,” Antonio cut in.

“Yes,” she repeated herself. “You have a lunch meeting. I’m going out with Elisabeth.”

“Bella.” Elisabeth gave a small shake of her head as she sipped her wine.

“We can discuss it later. Right now, I’m interested in learning about Elisabeth. What is it you do again?”

“I work for a web designer.”

“Ha! She owns half the company, acquires most of the accounts, and oversees all of the creative teams,” Isabella boasted. She had always been quite proud of her friend. She worked herself ragged and was extremely successful for it.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s always bragging.” Elisabeth blushed at the attention.

Antonio glanced at Isabella as he sipped his drink. He didn’t look irritated to her, but she didn’t see the sparkle of approval she had that morning after the shower. It was unsettling to think he wasn’t happy with her at that moment.

“It’s not bragging when it’s the truth,” she muttered into her wine glass as she took a sip.

“Though she never brags about herself.” Elisabeth must have sensed the change in Antonio’s demeanor.

“What would she brag about?”

Antonio’s words cut Isabella. Not that he was completely wrong—she really hadn’t accomplished much. As a princess, she had ignored almost all of her royal duties, spending her time with her nose in a book or tanning on the beach. She attended functions as demanded and accompanied Raphael on several of his trips to Europe for his fundraising activities, but she was merely present, more on vacation than doing actual work. Of course Antonio wouldn’t think she was something to brag about. She couldn’t think of anything at that moment, either.

“I’m not very hungry.” She pushed her plate aside and rose from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” Before he could give her leave, she walked way. Keeping her head up and her hands relaxed at her side became her life’s work. She would not allow him to see how much his words hurt her. She wouldn’t give him that.

ANTONIO

Antonio sat beside his silent wife on the bed. Isabella was propped up against the headboard, reading a magazine, her hair pulled back in a sloppy bun and the covers over her legs.

She had barely said three sentences to him after leaving the restaurant. Dinner had been awkward because he had messed up. What was meant to be a joke, a little ribbing, had completely upset her. She held herself regally, but he saw the pain in her eyes after his comment.

Elisabeth must have seen it as well. She didn’t comment, but the rest of the evening was spent exchanging quiet pleasantries. He’d had deeper conversations with his pet turtle as a child.

“Isabella.” He flipped on to his side to face her, removing the magazine from her hands. She glared at him in response but kept her mouth sealed. He should apologize. He knew he should.

“Fine.” She sighed and pushed the covers back from the bed. Sliding out, she stood before him in a satin night gown that hugged her hips and showed her pert nipples through the fabric. Before he understood her intentions, she grabbed the hem of her nightgown, yanked it over her head, and tossed it to the foot of the bed.

“What are you doing?” He sat up. Not that he didn’t love seeing her naked body, but he didn’t enjoy the implication. Had his comment worn her down so much that she reduced herself to a sex slave?

“I thought you wanted sex.” She shrugged, no longer showing as much confidence as she had earlier in the day.

“I wanted to talk.” He reached for her, but she moved quickly out of his grasp, grabbing her nightgown and throwing it back on with flash-like reflexes.

“Would you mind if we talked tomorrow? I’m really tired and just want to sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow, too,” she pointed out. He had his calendar synched to her phone so she would know what they both had upcoming. She was right, he had three meetings over the course of the day, none of which he would force her to attend. Politics, mostly military concerns, didn’t warrant his wife’s presence.

“Your day—”

“I was hoping you would reconsider allowing me to go to with Elisabeth for lunch.” Her eyes didn’t meet his at first, but when they did, there was a distance there that turned his stomach.

“The reason I said no was because I was hoping to meet with you for lunch between my meetings.” This elicited no change in her expression. He sighed. “I do have a busy day tomorrow. We can meet at dinner. Don’t make any plans for the evening. Once my meetings are over, you belong to me.” His voice dipped, but she showed no reaction to his authoritative tone. The day before, her eyes would have dilated and he could have smelled her arousal at his domination. But at the moment, she looked at him with a cool expression.

“Very well.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her.

“I thought you were tired,” he said to the empty room.

***

Walking into their rooms later the following day, he expected to find his wife still sulking, but instead, he found her on her phone, laughing and peeking out of the curtains at the city skyline. Feeling the tension ease in his shoulders, he walked to her and tapped her gently on her shoulder.

Isabella spun around with wide eyes, obviously surprised to see him. Her smile faltered slightly before recovering. Had he not been studying her reaction to his appearance, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all. She held up one newly manicured finger and pointed to her phone.

Nodding, he went over to the couch to plunk down and scroll though his phone. The day had been completely daunting and full of political crap that irritated him to no end. He could not get simple-minded leaders to agree that unified efforts to keep international kidnappings from rising would be more productive than squabbling about who stood to reap most of the rewards.

While he scrolled through his social media accounts, he half listened to her conversation. As far as he knew, she had met with Elisabeth for lunch. According to the security team, she spent the rest of her afternoon in a bookstore and getting her nails done.

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to get back to you on that. I think what we have so far is great. If you’ll email me the application, I can get started on it right away.”

His ears perked up. Application?

“Yes, of course. I’ll have it sent back right away. When is the start date? Oh, that soon? Excellent. Thank you!” He watched her finish the call and click off. She gave him a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you until dinner.”

“It’s nearly five o’clock.” Antonio tossed his phone on the coffee table and pushed off the couch, needing to touch her. He pulled her into his arms, feeling her body relax beneath his touch. “Who were you talking with?” he asked, placing a kiss to her forehead.

“An admissions counselor. Where are we going for dinner?”

“Admissions for what?” He released her and followed her into the bedroom when she walked away.

“The University of Chicago. Are we meeting any more of your political people or is it just us for dinner?” She slid open the closet that housed the dresses she’d purchased.

“University? What for?” He had to follow her again when she disappeared into the washroom, nearly knocking into her when she stepped back out.

“For school,” she answered and went back to the closet. “If it’s just us, I think I’ll wear a simple dress.” She paused and turned to him, giving him her best sarcastic look. “Unless, of course, you’d like to approve my choice? I wouldn’t want to embarrass you with a plunging neckline you find unsuitable.”

“I’ll let you know once you’re dressed.” His ire with her attitude was returning. The guilt he felt over hurting her feelings the night before still lingered beneath the surface, but if she wanted to pretend that it hadn’t happened and go back to sparring with their words, who was he to deny her?