Anne McAllister - Luxury Escapes - A Mistake, A Prince and A Pregnancy / Hired by Her Husband / Captured and Crowned

“This just gets more and more complicated.” She put her hand over her face and pressed hard on her eyes, trying to stop tears from overflowing. It was overwhelming in so many ways. Being pregnant, actually knowing she was having a baby, had been change enough, but to add all of this seemed impossible.

“They have every right to their grandchild, as I have every right to my child. Just as much right as you have, Alison. I will not allow you to deny my family this chance.”

Anger rolled through her, heating her blood, giving her strength. “By royal decree, is that it? Is this where the dungeon comes into play?”

“What is it with you and dungeons? Do you have some kind of weird fetish?”

“Just concerned I might end up on a twenty-four-hour cable news channel. American held captive by primitive prince ,” she snapped. She pressed cool hands to her cheeks in an effort to release some of the heat that had mounted at his mention of fetishes. As if she would ever, ever , let a man tie her up so he could have his way with her.

Oddly, instead of the distaste she expected the thought to evoke, when she placed Maximo in the role of her captor, a sensual thrill tightened her stomach. Completely shocked by the direction of her usually sexless thoughts she turned her burning face away from Maximo and opened her own door, not waiting for any of the overeager staff who had appeared outside the palace, to assist her.

Maximo caught up to her in two easy strides, his long legs eating up the ground much faster than her five foot four inches would allow her to do. “Have I embarrassed you, tesoro ?”

She ignored him, thrusting her chin up and trying to look unaffected by him, his presence and his innuendos.

He gripped her hand and stopped her from walking, drawing her close to him. Her heart began to pound so hard she was certain he must be able to hear it. Standing this close to him she could feel the heat emanating from his body, smell the heady, masculine scent that was one hundred percent raw, sexual man. One hundred percent Maximo.

Since when had she noticed how a man smelled? Unless she was at the gym and it was in a negative connotation she didn’t think she ever had. So why did Maximo’s smell appeal to her like this? Why did it make her pulse race and her breasts feel heavy? He wasn’t wearing cologne or any other kind of added scent. It was just him.

“I would have thought that a sophisticated career woman like you wouldn’t be so easy to embarrass.” He brushed his thumb across her burning cheek. She knew she was flushed, could tell by how hot she felt. “But it seems as though I’ve made you blush, cara. ”

“Stop with the foreign endearments,” she said, her voice sounding breathless rather than snappy as she’d intended. “I don’t like them.”

“Really?” He dipped his head and her stomach dropped. She had thought, for one breathless moment, that he might be leaning in to kiss her. “Most women find them very sexy.”

“I’m not most women.”

He frowned, his dark gaze searching. “No, you’re not.”

She didn’t know whether or not she should feel complimented by that, but she did. Not that she would let him know it. His words shouldn’t have the power to flatter or hurt her in any way. They shouldn’t have any effect on her at all. He shouldn’t have any effect on her. The only thing they had between them was their baby. Their relationship had nothing to do with personal feelings. If not for the mistake at the clinic they never would have met. They ran in totally different social spheres. He never would have given her a second look if it weren’t for the baby.

It was important for her to remember that.

“When are you seeing the doctor?” she asked, hoping to distract him, eager to not be the focus of his undivided attention.

“She will come as soon as I call her.”

She nodded, not knowing why she’d thought he might need an appointment. Maximo wasn’t the sort of man who made appointments. People made them to meet with him, not the other way around.

“When will you call her?” she asked, pretending that all of the edginess she was feeling was over the test, and that none of it was due to Maximo’s proximity and the way it made her feel.

“Right away, if you like.”

She nodded, her stomach fluttering. “Yes, please. I’d like that.”

The doctor came immediately, and Alison followed Maximo and the beautiful young physician into his office. When he’d mentioned having a personal physician she’d imagined an elderly man, not a blonde in her early thirties who was tall and willowy enough to be a model.

It shouldn’t really surprise her. Maximo was a handsome man. A very handsome man, she amended herself. He was rich. And powerful. Plus, of course, there was that very basic feminine nurturing instinct that likely made women want to heal all of his wounds. He probably attracted women in droves. It was likely he welcomed the female attention. He was in his prime; a powerful, sexually attractive man who probably took pleasure when it was offered.

She felt hot all over again and she tried hard to quell that physical response that had become so darn instant and predictable. Maximo was entitled to do as he liked, with whom he liked, which included the sexy doctor, and that was fine by her. Because she didn’t want to engage in those kinds of relationships. She had no desire to sacrifice her independence and self-sufficiency for a few hours of hedonistic enjoyment in a man’s bed. None at all.

Besides, she seriously doubted she would actually find it enjoyable. It was fine with her if other women wanted to have affairs just for the sake of them, but she never had, and her aversion to relationships had prevented her from actually finding out about physical relationships in a practical, hands-on kind of way. But she was twenty-eight and she wasn’t born yesterday. She had a full intellectual knowledge of sex, even if she didn’t have actual firsthand experience, and she couldn’t imagine such an intimate activity holding any appeal to her. She avoided intimate relationships altogether. She was hardly going to pursue something so … so … profound with a man when maintaining a healthy distance between herself and others was an important matter of self-preservation, as far as she was concerned.

So why did it make her stomach clench when the beautiful doctor slid her feminine hands over Maximo’s arm? The sexy blonde drew his shirtsleeve up and wiped at the inside of his elbow with a small cleansing pad, her movements seeming slower, more sensual than was strictly necessary.

“We just need a little blood,” she said, her attention on Maximo, her eyes never once straying to Alison.

Alison had to turn her face away when the doctor drew a phial of dark blood from Maximo’s arm. She was never very good with things like that and being pregnant made her feel all the more fragile about it. And the last thing she wanted to do was something as ridiculously weak as passing out in front of him. As much as she imagined he was used to women falling at his feet, she couldn’t afford to show that kind of vulnerability.

“All done.” The doctor all but purred as she tugged Maximo’s shirtsleeve back into place, covering up his sexy, well-muscled arm. “It will take five days for us to run the complete carrier screening. As soon as I know, I’ll be in touch. If you need anything before then let me know. I’m always available.” The good doctor offered Maximo a sympathetic arm squeeze and Alison couldn’t help but think that she knew exactly what the other woman would be available for if Maximo needed her.

After the doctor left she and Maximo simply sat, silence stretching between them. Anxiety gnawed at Alison’s stomach. A few more days and she would know if there was a chance their child might be affected.