Crown Prince, Pregnant Bride! / Valentine Bride: Crown Prince, Pregnant Bride! / Valentine Bride

He knew she was right and he let her pull away, but reluctantly. Still, he’d found out what he needed to know. The magic still lived between them and they could turn it on effortlessly. And, he hoped, a bit later, they would.

But now she opened the door tentatively and looked out. There was no one in the hall. She slipped out and he followed and they hurried to her gate, alert for any hint of anyone else coming their way. But they were lucky. She used a remote to open the gate as they approached. In seconds, they were safely inside.

The moment the gate closed, Monte turned and tried to take her into his arms again, but she backed away, trying hard to glare at him.

“Just stop it,” she told him.

But he was shaking his head. “You can’t marry Leonardo. Not when you can kiss me like that.”

She stared at him for a moment. How could she have let this happen? He knew, he could tell that she was so in love with him, she could hardly contain it. She could protest all she wanted, he wasn’t going to believe her. If she wasn’t very careful, he would realize the precious secret that she was keeping from him, and if that happened, they would both be in terrible trouble.

Feeling overwhelmed, she groaned, her head in her hands. “Why are you torturing me like this?

He put a finger under her chin and forced her head up to meet his gaze. “Maybe a little torture will make you see the light.”

“There’s no light,” she said sadly, her eyes huge with tragedy. “There’s only darkness.”

He’d been about to try to kiss her again, but something in her tone stopped him and he hesitated. Just a few weeks before, their relationship had been light and exciting, a romp despite the dangers they faced. They had made love, but they had also laughed a lot, and teased and played and generally enjoyed each other. Something had changed since then. Was it doubt? Wariness? Or fear?

He wasn’t sure, but it bothered him and it held him off long enough for her to pivot out of his control.

“Gotta go,” she said as she started for the gate, prepared to dash off again.

He took a step after her. “You’re not planning to tell Leonardo I’m here, are you?” he said. His tone was teasing, as though he was confident she had no such plans.

She turned and looked at him, tempted to do or say something that would shake that annoying surety he had. But she resisted that temptation. Instead, she told the truth.

“I’m hoping you won’t be here any longer by the time I get back.”

He appeared surprised. “Where would I go?”

She shook her head. It was obviously no use to try, but she had to make her case quickly and clearly. “Please, Monte,” she said earnestly. “Go back the way you came in. Just do this for me. It will make my life a whole lot easier.”

“Pellea, this is not your problem. I’ll handle it.”

She half laughed at his confidence. “What do you mean, not my problem? That’s exactly what you are. My problem.”

“Relax,” he advised. “I’m just going to work on my objective.”

“Which is?”

“I told you. I’m here to kidnap you and take you back to the continent with me.”

“Oh, get off it. You can’t kidnap me. I’m guarded day and night.”

“Really? Well, where were your wonderful guards when I found my way into your chambers?”

She didn’t have an answer for that one so she changed the subject. “What’s the point? Why would you kidnap me?”

He shrugged. “To show them I can.”

She threw up her hands. “Oh, brother.”

“I want to show the Granvillis that I’ve been here and taken something precious to them.”

Her eyes widened. “You think I’m precious?”

His smile was almost too personal. “I know you are. You’re their most beautiful, desirable woman.”

That gave her pause. Was she supposed to feel flattered by that? Well, she sort of did, but she wouldn’t admit it.

“Gee, thanks. You make me feel like a prize horse.” She shook her head. “So to you, this is just part of some war game?”

The laughter left his gaze. “Oh, no. This is no game. This is deadly serious.”

There was something chilling in the way he said that. She shivered and tried to pretend she hadn’t.

“So you grab me. You throw me over your shoulder and carry me back to your cave. You go ‘nah nah nah’ to the powers that be in Ambria.” She shrugged. “What does that gain you?”

He watched her steadily, making her wonder what he saw. “The purpose is not just to thumb my nose at the Granvillis. The purpose is to cast them into disarray, to make them feel vulnerable and stupid. To throw them off their game. Let them spend their time obsessing on how I could have possibly gotten into the castle, how I could have possibly taken you out without someone seeing. Let them worry. It will make them weaker.”

“You’re crazy,” she said for lack of anything else to say. And he was crazy if he thought the Granvillis would tumble into ruin because of a kidnapping or two.

“I’d like to see them tightening their defenses all around,” he went on, “and begin scurrying about, looking for the chinks in their armor. There are people here who watch what they do and report to us. This will give us a better idea of where the weak spots are.”

She nodded. She understood the theory behind all this. But it didn’t make her any happier with it.

“So when you get right down to it, it doesn’t have to be me,” she noted. “You could take back something else of importance. The tiara, for instance.”

Something moved behind his eyes, but he only smiled. “I’d rather take you.”

“Well, you’re not going to. So why not just get out of my hair and go back where you came from?”

He shook his head slowly, his blue eyes dark with shadows. “Sorry, Pellea. I’ve got things I must do here.”

She sighed. She knew exactly what he would be doing while she was gone. He would be in her secret room, checking out what was going on all over the castle. Making his plans. Ruining her life. A wave of despair flooded through her. What had she done? Why hadn’t she been more careful?

“Arrgghh!” she said, making a small wail of agony.

But right now she couldn’t think about that. She had to go meet Leonardo or he would show up here.

“You stay out of my closet room,” she told him with a warning look, knowing he wouldn’t listen to a word she said. “Okay?” She glared at him, not bothering to wait for an answer. “I’ll be back quicker than you think.”

He laughed, watching her go, enjoying the way her hips swayed in time with her gorgeous hair. And then she was gone and he headed straight for the closet.

To the casual eye, there was nothing of note to suggest a door to another room. The wall seemed solid enough. He tried to remember what she’d done to close it, but he hadn’t been paying attention at the time. There had to be something—a special knock or a latch or a pressure point. He banged and pushed and tried to slide things, but nothing gave way.

“If this needs a magic password, I’m out of luck,” he muttered to himself as he made his various attempts.