Page 101 of One Night with a Prince

She eyed him warily. “N-Not really.”

A slow smile lit his face. “It means we have something to bargain with.”

“I don’t follow—”

“Don’t worry,” he said, “leave it to me. If we can’t go to the letters, perhaps we can make the letters come to us.”

“You have a plan!”

“I have a plan.” He removed her fan from her fingers and tossed it aside, then slid his arms about her waist to draw her near.

She strained back from him. “What is it?”

“I’m not telling you.”

Her heart sank. “Because you mean to get them for yourself.”

“Have a little faith in me, darling,” he said softly. “Have a little faith in yourself. Did you think I could remain immune to your heartfelt pleas forever?”

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“Actually, I did,” she said, with a lift of her chin.

“Then you don’t realize the effect you have on me. What you said last night made sense. Iwas doing it for myself, when all I ever wanted was justice for my mother. But if using the letters would hurt her more—would hurtyou more—how can I do it?”

A cautious hope sprouted in her chest. “So you’re going to help me get them back? And let me return them to the prince?”

At the mention of His Highness, his face grew pained. “I’ll do whatever you want, darling. Just don’t expect me to enjoy it.”

Hope sprang to full flower. “Oh, Gavin!” she cried, throwing her arms about his neck and showering his face with kisses. “Thank you, my love, thank you!”

After a moment, he drew back, a suspicious gleam in his eyes. “I’m not done, lass. I do expect you to meet one condition before I’ll help you.”

She eyed him warily. “Oh?”

“You have to agree to marry me.”

Marry him. The wordyes was on the tip of her tongue before she caught herself. She’d leaped into marriage without a thought once before—she was not going to do so again without settling a few things first.

Nor did it bode well for their future that he would use the letters to try forcing her into marriage. “Let me see if I understand you—you will only help me regain the letters and return them to their rightful place if I agree to marry you.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s blackmail, you know.”

“Of course,” he said without an ounce of remorse in his face. “By now, you should know I’m capable of worse.”

“So if I refuse to marry you? Would you then go off to get the letters on your own and ruin my family?”

“Absolutely.”

She frowned. “You wouldn’t help me out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Let me tell you a secret, lass.” He bent close to her ear and added in a whisper, “I don’t have any goodness in my heart.”

When he then proceeded to kiss a path along her jaw, she said, “Then why should I marry you?”

“Because you want to.”