She stared into the distance, biting her bottom lip, and heat shafted to his groin.

His mouth firmed. He didn’t need the distraction of sexual awareness on top of everything else. But it had been there from the moment she’d marched into his office and it wasn’t fading. Seeing her in casual clothes, in something like her own environment, only heightened his response. As did her ignorance of or interest in her own sexual allure.

How long since he’d met a woman like that? Even in college the women he met were supremely conscious of their appearance and his reaction to them.

And that you were heir to a throne and a fortune.

Excitement tickled his backbone as he surveyed Annalena.

The sexual awareness wasn’t one-sided. He’d seen the way her pupils dilated, her gaze on his mouth when he spoke. The way she leaned closer until she realised what she was doing and abruptly pulled back.

Yet she didn’t care about his money or status. If anything, those counted against him.

That mutual attraction was the only positive he could see in this whole tangled mess. It would be useful when—

She shook her head, pink lips forming a moue of concentration that made him harden. How could he be susceptible to such an innocent expression?

‘I can’t see we have any other alternative but an agreement like I proposed.’

Benedikt took his time replying, tamping down his unsettling physical reaction.

He’d come up with an alternative and spent the night and all today testing its weaknesses. It would be difficult but not impossible. Unconventional, but so were the circumstances.

That fact that it was something he’d rather avoid was immaterial. It would be manipulative and ruthlessly efficient, but then wasn’t he Karl’s son? He swallowed bitterness that perhaps he’d inherited his father’s conniving mindset after all.

‘I have a solution. You’ll get what you want for your province, no dam. I’ll get security of tenure as king. And the country gets the stability and leadership it needs.’ He paused. ‘That’s vital. It’s not public knowledge and I don’t want it to be, but Prinzenberg is facing serious problems. My father and his supporters stripped public assets for their own gain. There are other issues too that will take time to sort out.’

His heart thudded against his ribs. He hated sharing that but needed to make her understand the gravity of the situation.

This wasn’t just about Annalena and Benedikt and their personal preferences. It was about the well-being of their homeland. He couldn’t renege on that responsibility.

‘And I thought it would be straightforward.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘What’s your win-win solution?’

‘Now you’ve opened this can of worms, we can’t pretend it didn’t happen. We have to move forward. We’ll make the best of the situation, for everyone’s sake.’

Her frowning stare met his. ‘I get a bad feeling when you don’t give me a straight answer. What’s so bad you have to cajole me into accepting it?’

Benedikt spread his hands, palms up in a gesture of openness to show he had no hidden agenda.

‘My coronation goes ahead in a couple of weeks and you’ll be at my side.’ He watched her eyes widen. ‘As my bride. We’ll be crowned together.’