Page 120 of To Pleasure a Prince

“That I had no clue, of course. The answer didn’t exactly please him.”

Marcus chuckled.

She lifted her head to eye him askance. “You can be a very wicked man, you know. And whatisgoing on, anyway?”

He only laughed again. “I know as much as you, believe it or not.”

He related his conversation with Louisa, and Regina shook her head. “What can she possibly mean to do to Simon? If His Highness is the one who orchestrated the courtship, then—”

“I know, but she seems to think she has a way to strike at him. And I certainly hope she does.”

“So do I.”

A bemused look crossed his face. “Heisyour brother.”

“Yes, and he’s behaved very badly. I hope Louisa brings him to his knees.”

“The way you’ve brought me to my knees?” he said softly, but without a hint of bitterness.

She grinned. “Oh, yes. I like you on your knees.”

Eyes gleaming, he rolled her under him, then parted her thighs until he could kneel between them. “Like this, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

“Siren,” he murmured as he bent to take her mouth in a kiss.

And as he entered her, she decided she liked being a siren sometimes. She liked it very much.

Chapter Twenty-six

Be careful if your charge is clever. She will lead you a merry dance.

—Miss Cicely Tremaine,The Ideal Chaperone

They’d been waiting in the drawing room for twenty minutes, and still there was no sign of the prince. To Regina’s surprise, it didn’t seem to bother Marcus nearly as much as it bothered Louisa.

Regina cast a worried glance to where the young woman paced back and forth. “Louisa, dear, he’ll be here, I’m sure. Don’t work yourself into a tizzy.”

Marcus settled back in his chair. “It’s just his way of reminding us who is the one with the power, that’s all.”

“You know me so well,” a voice said bitterly from beyond them.

Regina jumped to her feet, and Marcus followed more slowly as the prince entered the room with Simon at his side.

The proper bows and curtsies followed, but immediately afterward, the prince faced Louisa. “Don’t you have a kiss for Uncle George, poppet? When you were a girl, you used to greet me with a kiss.”

Stiffly, Louisa stepped forward to press one to his cheek. “If you will permit me to ask, Your Highness, how is it that I came to call you ‘uncle’ when we are of no relation whatsoever?”

Simon groaned, Marcus choked down a laugh, and Regina fought hard not to smile.

The prince, however, actually chuckled. “You haven’t changed a bit. You always did speak your mind.” He moved slowly to a chair and dropped into it.

Regina glanced at Marcus. As her husband watched the prince grimace in pain when lifting his gouty leg onto a footstool, Marcus’s expression held first shock, then concern. Concern?

George caught him staring.“Ihave changed, haven’t I, Draker? In nine years, I have aged twenty. That’s what being Regent will do to you.”

Marcus stiffened. “That’s what living a life of debauchery will do to you.”