Royal Seducer / Bossman Billionaire: Royal Seducer

Despite the late night, Chris woke before dawn and for the life of him couldn’t get back to sleep. Too much on his mind. Namely Melissa. Things were progressing more quickly than he’d imagined. Than he could have possibly hoped. And he was eager to take it to the next step.

He also had the crops to think about. He’d been doing Internet research last night when he saw Melissa outside. And now that he was awake, he might as well see what else he could find.

He booted up his computer, opened his browser and returned to the site he’d bookmarked—a study of botanical diseases in organic crops—immersing himself in the text.

A while later Aaron poked his head in. “You’re up early,” he said.

Chris looked at the clock. “It’s half past seven.”

“Which is early for someone who spent half the night traipsing through the gardens,” Aaron said with a cocky grin.

Apparently Aaron hadn’t been asleep either. Chris shot him a look. “I don’t traipse.”

“I take it things are moving right along with your princess.”

“You might say that.” He could see that his brother wanted details, but he wasn’t going to get any. And he didn’t push the issue.

“Oh, and by the way,” Aaron said, “nice e-mail. You have a twisted sense of humor.”

Chris didn’t recall sending his brother anything lately, much less something that could be defined as twisted. “What e-mail?”

“The one you sent last night. I never knew you were such a poet.”

Poet? “Seriously, Aaron, I haven’t sent you an e-mail.”

Aaron unclipped his cell phone from his belt. He punched a few buttons, then handed it to Chris. “This e-mail.”

The address was definitely his. The subject was Funny, and the body of the e-mail read:

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo

String Prince Aaron by the toe

Light the fuse and watch him blow

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo

That was rather twisted, and it wasn’t from him.

“That’s my e-mail address,” Chris said. “But I didn’t send it.”

Aaron frowned, looking perplexed. “Seriously?”

“I would tell you if I did. I’ve never seen it before.”

“Do you think it could have been one of the girls?”

That wasn’t Louisa’s style, but he wouldn’t put it past Anne. “Why don’t you ask?”

The words were barely out of his mouth when Anne appeared at his bedroom door. She was still in her pajamas, her long hair pulled back in a pony tail and her face freshly scrubbed. In her hand she clutched a single sheet of paper. When she saw Aaron standing there, she speared daggers with her eyes.

“You’re a jerk,” she spat.

Aaron looked genuinely stunned. “What the hell did I do?”

She stormed over to him and shoved the paper at his chest.

He read it, his expression grim, then passed it over to Chris.

It was another e-mail with the subject Funny, and a similar, twisted version of a child’s nursery rhyme:

Anne be nimble

Anne be quick

Anne jump over

The candlestick

Anne jumped high

But lost her foot

She burst to flames

And now she’s soot

“I didn’t send this,” Aaron told Anne.

“Nice try,” she snapped back, snatching the paper from Chris and pointing to the header. “It’s your e-mail address, genius.”

It had indeed come from Aaron’s address.

Chris and Aaron exchanged a worried glance. It was disturbing to say the least. It was one thing to receive threatening e-mails, but from their own e-mail addresses?

“I didn’t send that, and Chris didn’t send this.” He showed her the e-mail on his phone.

As she read it, the anger slipped from her face. “What the heck is going on?”

“I’m not sure, but odds are pretty good I got one, too.” Chris opened his e-mail program. Sure enough, there was a message with the same subject, Funny, and it was sent from Louisa. But the contents were anything but humorous.

Star light, star bright

Crown Prince Christian will ignite

I wish I may, I wish I might

Watch him burst in flames tonight