Free Corrupted by the Prince (A is for Alpha Book 5) by Shelli Stevens

time to analyze why this time it did. It was time to become a new man and leave the past behind him.
    He was a king now, and he’d damn well start act liking one.

 
     
     
Chapter 16
     
     
    “Wait a minute, let me get this straight.” Annalise waved her hands and shook her head. “You lost your virginity last night?”
    Eva closed her eyes to block out the disbelief and eagerness in her oldest sister’s gaze.
    “Yes.”
    And then she’d woken up alone the next morning. And what bothered her most was not Kostas’s actions, but her reaction to them.
    It cut deep, and she hadn’t expected it to. She’d braced for the possibility that it would be a one-night stand. She just hadn’t prepared for him to flee his own home like it was a crime scene.
    “I’m only telling you because I needed to talk to someone about it.” And even though she and Annalise were like night and day, they were close friends as well as sisters.
    Though Eva drew the line with confessing just whom she’d slept with.
    “The whole night was incredible,” she said softly, “and yet I hate myself this morning. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone, Anna.”
    “Discretion is my middle name.” Annalise cleared her throat. “Ugh, most the time.”
    Eva’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile. “When you’re not on a gossip blog with your nipple popping out.”
    “Total accident when a wave caught me off guard. I can’t help it if some tourist caught it on camera and sold it to that trashy blogger.”
    Eva had to laugh, but it turned into sigh as reality sunk in.
    “But he left me alone this morning. I should’ve known this was going to happen. I mean he had something called an Elaine Elaine candle burning before we even got in the room. His bodyguard lit it ahead of time.”
    “He had a ylang-ylang candle burning?” Her sister pursed her lips. “That scent is a well-known aphrodisiac. Did he have expensive champagne at the ready too? Sexy music?”
    “Umm, yes.” Heat burned Eva’s cheeks.
    “Oh, sweetie. That man had one purpose in mind when he brought you home.”
    “I know. And I knew it when I went with him. I don’t know why I’m so upset about this now.”
    “Because you let him into your heart a little.” Annalise grabbed her hand. “And hey, maybe he just freaked out at the virgin part.”
    “It didn’t exactly come up at the time.”
    Her sister gave a harrumph. “Clearly something else came up first?”
    Eva wanted to laugh, but she was a little too depressed.
    “Who is he?” Annalise gave her a look of curiosity. “Do I know him? Do you think you’ll see him again?”
    “It doesn’t matter who he is, because no. I don’t think I’ll see him again.” Or she hoped not. In the future she’d have to make sure she was out of town when he came here on vacation.
    And that was the crux of it, she reminded herself later that night. She’d known that when she slept with him Kostas was never going to be more than the one-night stand.
    He was one of the most handsome, sought-after bachelors in the world. Add that to the fact that he was a bona fide prince and their ending up together was as likely as world peace.
    So she’d move on with her life and take it for what it was. An incredible night with a sinfully handsome prince who’d shown her passion and pleasure for her first time. End of story.
    Or it would’ve been if she hadn’t found herself staring down the positive end of a pregnancy test two weeks later.
     
    “Here are the profiles of women in the running.”
    In the running. As if this were some form of a game show.
    Kostas held back a sigh as his mother dropped a stack of manila folders on the desk that had formerly belonged to the king.
    It had been nearly three weeks since the earthquake and his days were filled to the brim. The funerals of his father and brother. Addressing his people. Addressing the media. Holding meetings with the necessary people to discuss the damage and rebuilding of