Free Invitation to the Prince's Palace by Jennie Adams Page B

see you do that properly one day…
    Melanie’s words rang in Rik’s ears as he put his Italian sports car through its paces on the way to his mountain retreat home.
    Her words were a salve to the anger he’d bitten back over the stupidity of those two men. Had they wanted to get themselves killed? The other one, when questioned, had said he was waiting for his turn to go out ‘alone’ and that ice rappelling was ‘easy, man’.
    The man had been so far gone that he hadn’t even comprehended the danger his friend was in. Well, they were both safe now.
    Rik let the thoughts go and turned his attention to his driving. He’d held back until he reached the private road that led to his home. This road, he knew better than the back of his hand, every turn, just how much he could give behind the wheel to release the pent-up energy that came from that stressful rappel in someone else’s untested equipment. He’d needed this.
    * * *
    He’s going too fast. Mel couldn’t get the thought out of her head. Her logical mind understood that Rik had control of the car. It was clear he knew this road well. The road itself was wide with plenty of room for dual traffic and yet it was a private road. They hadn’t seen any other cars and she guessed they were quite unlikely to do so.
    All of this made infinite sense. The paralysing fear inside Mel did not make sense. Her fingers curled into the edges of her seat. Her heart pounded with a mixture of apprehension and the need to get out of this situation at any cost.
    ‘Please stop.’ The words whispered through her clenched teeth, whispered so quietly that she didn’t know how Rik could have heard them.
    All Mel knew was that she wanted out of this car. Now.
    ‘Melanie.’ A voice tinged with remorse broke through her fear. The car began immediately to slow and Rik said, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you were uncomfortable.’
    It’s all right. I’m fine. There’s no need to slow down or stop.
    In her mind, Mel entertained these polite thoughts. But her instincts were in a very different place. She struggled to breathe normally, to not throw her door open and try to get out. The reaction was so intense and so deep that it completely unnerved her. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t think clearly, didn’t know what to say to him, didn’t understand why she had ended up feeling like this.
    Within moments the car moved much more slowly and fingers wrapped firmly around the hand nearest to him. ‘Do you need me to stop the car completely, Melanie? My house is less than a minute away and I’d rather get you there if possible.’
    The roaring in her ears started to recede but Mel was still a long way from calm. Her fingers tightened around his. ‘I don’t know what came over me. I feel stupid for the way I’ve reacted.’
    ‘You are certainly not stupid.’ Rik spoke these words softly as he drew the car to a stop in front of his mountain home. The place was maintained for him, but did not have permanent staff. They would be alone here, and he was glad for that now to give Melanie a chance to recover.
    Whatever had happened during the trip had affected her deeply, and he felt she would benefit from space and not having to deal with anyone new just for the moment.
    Had the panic come on because of all the pressure he’d put on her? It was a lot to ask a woman to become his temporary princess, to work with him to fool his father into believing the marriage was intended to last a lifetime.
    It was a lot for her to find herself here under confused circumstances let alone the pressure Rik had added to that load for her.
    You must take care of her. Give her time to calm down.
    He got out of the car, opened her door for her and took her hand to help her out. His home was chalet-style, built of log and with a sharply pitched roof. Large windows gave beautiful views from every part of the home and were one-way tinted for privacy. Rik doubted that Melanie noticed any of it. Her face