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All at once, he knew, goddammit, he knew that even though she’d decided to end their relationship she’d never have left him without a word. A note. Something. She wouldn’t have just vanished from his life. She was too decent, too giving.

How come he’d never considered that before?

“Annie,” he said, trying to sound as if he wasn’t already feeling anger building in his blood, “you didn’t just leave Santa Barbara, did you?”

She looked away from him.

This was the one part she wished she could keep secret. Bad enough she’d told him her uncle had kept her prisoner and sold her to the King of Tharsalonia. The rest would enrage him and she knew enough about STUD to know that her Declan would want to avenge her.

“Annie.” Declan turned her on his lap so that she was straddling him. His eyes bored into hers. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

So she did.

She told about waking in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. Told him about the threats they’d made to hurt someone she cared about.

“Someone you cared about.” Dec’s tone was ominously calm. “Was I that someone?”

Annie looked away from him. Dec grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his eyes.

“I did what I had to do,” she whispered.

“I could have handled them,” he said calmly. Much too calmly. “And then?”

“They had a car waiting. A black SUV with tinted windows and diplomatic plates.” Annie ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. “They took me to the airport. To a part I’d never seen before.”

“The area reserved for private planes.”

“Yes. They put me on a plane and we flew to Qaram.”

“And when you got there?”

Once again, she tried to turn her face away. Dec wouldn’t let her.

“Tell me the rest.”

&nbs

p; His touch was gentle. His voice was steady. But his eyes were flat; his breathing was swift. She could almost feel his body humming with rage.

“My uncle confined me to my rooms. Not all the time. If he had guests—important guests—he expected me to join him.” Her head lifted in defiance. “But I refused. No matter how angry he got, how much he threatened, I wouldn’t do it. It made him furious. He said I was a drain on the kingdom and he promised he’d find some way to make me useful.”

Dec nodded. His Annie. His Anoushka. His brave, honorable princess who had given up everything for him…

“And this marriage would make you useful.”

“Yes. He’s planning to invade the kingdom of Suwaith. It’s a small country—”

“—on Qaram’s southern border,” Dec said grimly. “One of our allies, rich in oil and minerals.”

“Yes. And Tharsalonia is—it was an ally of Suwaith. So my uncle made a deal with the Tharsalonian king. He’d give him several million dollars to turn a blind eye to the planned invasion.” She hesitated. “And he’d give him me.”

“And you told your uncle you wouldn’t agree.”

She shuddered. “I told him I would never—that I would never…” Her voice hardened. “It’s why I told you not to worry about us making love without a condom. My uncle sent me to—to be examined. To be sure I was a virgin. Otherwise, my bridal price would not have been high enough.”

Declan said nothing. How could he, when he was so filled with fury?

“The doctor who examined me had been a friend of my mother’s.” Annie’s tone softened. “She said she would assure my uncle that I was a virgin—but she knew I was unhappy. I cried, you know? I couldn’t help it. I cried when she asked me how I felt about the marriage. About—about bearing the king’s children.”