Royals Untamed!. Annie West

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      A tremor of nerves, mixing with the same attraction she’d felt when they’d first met, raced through her. She clutched the tray of glasses she’d been collecting even tighter, desperate to stop them clinking together. For almost a year she’d dreamt he’d seek her out and declare his love but, from the look on his face, she knew such hopes were futile.

      He had never loved her and she dreaded his reason for being here. She wasn’t sure she could take another brutal rejection from the man she’d loved once with such adoration. He had been her dream come true. The only man she had ever loved.

      Thankful the sultry lighting in the club would enable her to slip away virtually unnoticed, she put down the tray and, without taking her eyes from his tall body, moved backwards into the shadows. The music thumped as wildly as her heart when she saw him pause, his brow furrowed into a suspicious frown as he stood rigid and tall. His eyes rested briefly on her and she couldn’t help but hold his gaze.

      Kazim took one step towards her and she thought the game was up. Then he looked around the club once more and relief washed over her. He hadn’t recognised her. She should be glad, but a dart of pain stabbed at her.

      Just when she thought she could breathe again, his gaze returned once more to her, this time with unnerving accuracy. He took another step towards her, oblivious to the customers and waitresses trying to pass him, his piercing gaze not leaving her face. Judging by the tight line of his lips and the firmness of his jaw, he knew it was her and wasn’t pleased.

      Amber’s hands shot up to her hair, checking the blonde, pink-streaked wig she used at work was in place. Surely he hadn’t recognised her like this—had he? But she wasn’t about to take any chances. She wasn’t ready to face him yet—not here, not like this. She needed time to compose herself, time to put aside all the dreams he’d shattered.

      Kazim looked once more at the dancers then back at her. The distance between them suddenly closed, even though neither had moved, and she felt his suspicion and shock with every nerve in her body. She had to go. Right now.

      Quickly, she moved between the customers, seeing only the door to the dressing rooms. The door to sanctuary and, hopefully, escape. She couldn’t face him yet. She needed time to find her strength.

      She pushed open the heavy door, rushing along the narrow corridor towards the dressing rooms, her eyes blinking against the bright lights. Her heart pounded; she couldn’t believe he was here, not after his cruel words to her that one and only night they’d spent together.

      ‘Amber.’ His accented voice rang with command, leaving her in no doubt that he had recognised her.

      She froze. Her name on his lips, so full of authority, she didn’t dare move. She couldn’t even turn around. Her heart galloped faster than a racehorse as she heard his footsteps behind her on the tiled floor, coming closer, until a shiver of something she refused to acknowledge ran down her spine. How could he still have that effect on her?

      The door to the club closed, muffling the beat of the music, and all she could hear was the tap of expensive leather shoes on the tiled floor. Then silence. She knew he stood almost right behind her. She could feel him, her whole body aware of his, but still she couldn’t turn.

      Finally her feet were able to move and she hurried on towards the dressing rooms, not looking back. She didn’t dare. One look at him would unleash all the memories of her spoiled dreams. Dreams he had crushed.

      ‘You can run, Amber, but you can’t hide.’ The undercurrent of steel in his voice made her stop just as she reached the dressing room door. Slowly she turned, knowing the time had come, whether she liked it or not—this was the moment she’d dreaded for almost a year.

      It was time to face her past.

      ‘I’m not running.’ The words rushed out boldly as she looked into his face. She surprised herself with the courage in them.

      As Amber looked at Kazim she lifted her chin and pushed her shoulders back. He’d changed. He was still undeniably handsome, but different. She watched him take a few more paces towards her. The severe fluorescent light of the narrow corridor highlighted the angles of his face, the slant of his cheekbones and the firm set of his lips. She had to hold her ground now. She couldn’t let him see how unnerved she was. ‘Neither am I trying to hide, Kazim.’

      ‘I don’t think you can do much hiding in that ridiculous thing.’ His black eyes blazed with fury as he looked at her wig.

      She couldn’t help herself and reached up again to touch it. ‘Part of the job,’ she said flippantly as he came to stand directly in front of her and way too close. His annoyance at the wig pleased her, fuelling much needed resistance to him.

      His gaze snapped back to hers, his contempt washing over her, just as it had done when she’d last seen him. Images replayed frantically in her mind, as clear as if it had all happened last night instead of many months ago.

      That night he’d rejected her, rebuffed her clumsy advances and scorned her love. He’d turned her away without a second thought of what it would mean to her, not caring how such a dismissal would affect her. Because of that, she was now a different woman to the one she had been that night. She had to be stronger. She was stronger. He wouldn’t hurt her again.

      ‘And this?’ He reached out, his fingers plucking at the feathers which adorned the bottom of her corset-style outfit, bringing her sharply back to the present. She wanted to jump quickly away from the heat of his touch but refused to give into the urge. ‘Is this part of the job too?’

      ‘Yes,’ she snapped, roughly brushing his hand away. She would never let him know how he’d hurt her, how he’d destroyed her life. ‘What I do for a living is no longer any of your concern. You made sure of that.’

      Indignation simmered inside her as she remembered how he’d sent her away, turned his back on her as if she could just return to her life and it would all be the same. In reality, it had changed beyond comprehension and he hadn’t cared.

      His posture stiffened, making him appear taller, dominating the small space. ‘A living? You call this a living?’ Dark eyes, glittering with barely concealed anger, pierced hers, as if trying to extract every secret from her soul.

      ‘Don’t worry.’ She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, exasperated at his obvious scorn for her. ‘Nobody knows who I really am.’

      She didn’t know who she was any more, managing to convince herself, as well as her flatmate, that she was just a regular girl trying to earn a living and get over a broken heart.

      ‘That explains why you were so hard to find.’ Irritation filled his voice, but it didn’t matter; she knew what his presence at the club meant.

      ‘It was never my intention to be found.’ She glowered at him as anger pushed aside those futile flutters of hope. ‘I have moved on.’

      ‘To a dubious lifestyle like this?’ The mockery in his voice was painfully clear, but she wouldn’t let him crush her dreams, not a second time.

      ‘I have plans, Kazim. I’ve signed up for an art course.’ As soon as she said the words she wished she could snatch them back.

      He took a deep breath, as if seeking patience. ‘What of your duty?’

      ‘Duty?’ She almost spat the word at him. ‘What was it you said on СКАЧАТЬ