The Wedding Night They Never Had by Jackie Ashenden, Millie Adams

“Annick, protocol never stops me from anything.”

She studied him. “No. I expect not.”

She had done so much reading about him. And she wondered which bits and pieces were true. She wondered if he was half so...wicked as the tabloids claimed.

And then she wondered why she was quite so interested. Yes, she had been prepared to offer her body to him. The very idea made her warm now. What would she have been if she had been free? What foods would she have liked? Would she have had a score of lovers by now?

She turned her focus back to the food, but she could feel his eyes on her.

“You must realize, Annick, that your plan will not work.”

She looked at him again. “What?”

“Adviser. Guard. These are not official titles. It is not a statement. It is not strong.”

“And you think you can do better than this plan?”

“I know I can. It isn’t enough to have me by your side. You want ‘the king’? I will be the king, Annick. But you will be my wife.”