‘This is wrong.’ Aksel’s eyes rested on her slender figure and her rose-flushed face. ‘You should not have come to Storvhal.’

Mina felt sick as the realisation sank in that he was rejecting her. ‘Last night—’ she began. But he cut her off.

‘Last night was a mistake that I am not going to repeat.’

‘Why?’

Mina was unaware of the raw emotion in her voice, and Aksel schooled his features to hide the pang of guilt he felt.

She bit her lip. Her pride demanded that she should accept his rejection and try to salvage a little of her dignity, but she did not understand why he had suddenly backed off. ‘Is it because I’m deaf? You desired me when you didn’t know about my hearing loss,’ she reminded him when he frowned. ‘What else am I supposed to blame for your sudden change of heart?’

‘My heart was never involved,’ he said bluntly. ‘Learning of your hearing impairment is not the reason why I can’t have sex with you again.’

‘Then what is the reason?’ The frustration Mina had felt as a child when she had first lost her hearing surged through her again now. She wished she could hear Aksel. It wasn’t that she had a problem reading his lips, but not being able to hear his voice made her feel that there was a wide gulf between them.

‘I can’t have an affair with you. I am the Prince of Storvhal, and my loyalty and duty must be to my country.’

CHANTELLE SHAW lives on the Kent coast, five minutes from the sea, and does much of her thinking about the characters in her books while walking on the beach. An avid reader from an early age, her schoolfriends used to hide their books when she visited—but Chantelle would retreat into her own world, and still writes stories in her head all the time.

Chantelle has been blissfully married to her own tall, dark and very patient hero for over twenty years and has six children. She began to read Harlequin Mills & Boon® romances as a teenager, and throughout the years of being a stay-at-home mum to her brood found romantic fiction helped her to stay sane!

Her aim is to write books that provide an element of escapism, fun, and of course romance for the countless women who juggle work and home-life and who need their precious moments of ‘me’ time. She enjoys reading and writing about strong-willed, feisty women and even stronger-willed sexy heroes. Chantelle is at her happiest when writing. She is particularly inspired while cooking dinner, which unfortunately results in a lot of culinary disasters! She also loves gardening, taking her very badly behaved terrier for walks and eating chocolate (followed by more walking … at least the dog is slim!).

Chantelle is on Facebook and would love you to drop by and say hello.

A Night in the Prince’s Bed
Chantelle Shaw

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

Cover

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

HE WAS HERE. Again.

Mina had told herself that she would not look for him, but as she stepped out from the wings her eyes darted to the audience thronged in the standing area in front of the stage, and her heart gave a jolt when she saw him.

The unique design of Shakespeare’s Globe on London’s South Bank meant that the actors on stage could see the individual faces of the audience. The theatre was a modern reconstruction of the famous Elizabethan playhouse, an amphitheatre with an open roof, above which the sky was now turning to indigo as dusk gathered. To try to recreate the atmosphere of the original theatre, minimal lighting was used, and without the glare of footlights Mina could clearly see the man’s chiselled features; his razor-edged cheekbones and resolute jaw shaded with stubble that exacerbated his raw masculinity.

His mouth was unsmiling, almost stern, yet his lips held a sensual promise that Mina found intriguing. From the stage she could not make out the colour of his eyes, but she noted the lighter streaks in his dark blond hair. He was wearing the same black leather jacket he had worn on the three previous evenings, and he was so devastatingly sexy that Mina could not tear her eyes from him.

She was curious about why he was in the audience again. It was true that Joshua Hart’s directorial debut of William Shakespeare’s iconic love story Romeo and Juliet had received rave reviews, but why would anyone choose to stand for two and a half hours to watch the same play for three evenings in a row? Maybe he couldn’t afford a seat in one of the galleries, she mused. Tickets for the standing area—known as the yard—were inexpensive and popular, providing the best view of the stage and offering a unique sense of intimacy between the audience and the actors.

Mina tried to look away from him, but her head turned in his direction of its own accord, as if she were a puppet and he had pulled one of her strings. He was staring at her, and the intensity of his gaze stole her breath. Everything faded—the audience and the members of the cast on stage with her—and she was only aware of him.

On the periphery of her consciousness Mina became aware of the lengthening silence. She sensed the growing tension of the actors around her and realised that they were waiting for her to speak. Her mind went blank. She stared at the audience and sickening fear churned in her stomach as she registered the hundreds of pairs of eyes staring back at her.

Oh, God! Stage-fright was an actor’s worst nightmare. Her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth and sweat beaded on her brow. Instinctively she raised her hands to her ears to check that her hearing aids were in place.

‘Focus, Mina!’ A fierce whisper from one of the other actors dragged her from the brink of panic. Her brain clicked into gear and, snatching a breath, she delivered her first line.

‘“How now, who calls?”’

Kat Nichols, who was playing the role of Nurse, let out an audible sigh of relief.

‘“Your mother.”’

‘“Madam, I am here. What is your will?”’

The actress playing Lady Capulet stepped forward to speak her lines, and the conversation between Lady Capulet and the Nurse allowed Mina a few seconds to compose herself. Her hesitation had been brief and she prayed that the audience had been unaware of her lapse in concentration. But Joshua would not have missed it. The play’s director was standing in the wings and even without glancing at him Mina sensed his irritation. Joshua Hart demanded perfection from every member of the cast, but especially from his daughter.

Mina knew she had ignored one of acting’s golden rules when she had broken the ‘fourth wall’—the imaginary wall between the actors on stage and the audience. For a few moments she had stepped out of character of the teenage Juliet and given the audience a glimpse of her true self—Mina Hart, a twenty-five year-old partially deaf actress.

It was unlikely that anyone in the audience was aware of her hearing impairment. Few people outside the circle of her family and close friends knew that as a result of contracting meningitis when she was eight she had been left with serious hearing loss. The digital hearing aids she wore were small enough to fit discreetly inside her ears and were hidden by her long hair. The latest designed aids enabled her to have a telephone conversation and listen to music. Sometimes she could almost forget how lonely and cut off she had felt as a deaf child who had struggled to cope in a world that overnight had become silent.

Although Mina had complete confidence in her hearing aids, old habits remained. She was an expert at lip-reading and from instinct rather than necessity she watched Lady Capulet’s lips move as she spoke.

‘“Tell me, daughter Juliet, how stands your dispositions to be married?”’

The exquisite poetry of Shakespeare’s prose was music to Mina’s ears and touched her soul. Reality slipped away. She was not an actress, she was Juliet, a maid of not yet fourteen who was expected to marry a man of her parents’ choosing, a girl on the brink of womanhood who was not free to fall in love, unaware that by the end of the night she would have lost her heart irrevocably to Romeo.

Speaking in a clear voice, Juliet replied to her mother.

‘“It is an honour that I dream not of.”’

The play continued without further hitches, but in one corner of her mind Mina was aware that the man in the audience didn’t take his eyes off her.

* * *

Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers was drawing to its tragic conclusion. After standing for more than two hours, Prince Aksel Thoresen’s legs were beginning to ache, but he barely registered the discomfort. His eyes were riveted on the stage, as Juliet, kneeling by her dead husband Romeo, picked up a dagger and plunged the blade into her heart.

A collective sigh from the audience rippled around the theatre like a mournful breeze. Everyone knew how the ill-fated love story ended, but as Juliet’s lifeless form slumped across the body of her lover Aksel felt a sudden constriction in his throat. All the members of the cast were skilled actors, but Mina Hart, who played Juliet, was outstanding. Her vivid and emotive portrayal of a young woman falling in love was electrifying.

Aksel’s decision to visit Shakespeare’s Globe three nights ago had been at the end of another frustrating day of discussions between the governing council of Storvhal and British government ministers. Storvhal was a principality stretching above Norway and Russia in the Arctic Circle. The country had been governed by the Thoresen royal dynasty for eight hundred years, and Aksel, as monarch and head of state, had supreme authority over his elected council of government. It was a position of great privilege and responsibility that he had shouldered since the death of his father, Prince Geir. He had never admitted to anyone that sometimes the role that had been his destiny from birth felt like a burden.

His visit to London had been to discuss proposals for a new trade agreement between Britain and Storvhal, but negotiations had been hampered by endless red tape. A trip to the theatre had seemed a good way to unwind, away from the rounds of diplomatic talks. He had certainly not expected that he would develop a fascination with the play’s leading actress.

The play ended, and as the actors walked onto the stage and bowed to the audience Aksel could not tear his eyes from Mina. This was the last evening that the play would be performed at the Globe. It was also his last night in London. Having finally secured a trade agreement with the UK, tomorrow he was returning to Storvhal and his royal duties, which, as his grandmother constantly reminded him, meant that he must choose a suitable bride to be his princess and produce an heir.

‘It is your duty to ensure the continuation of the Thoresen royal dynasty,’ Princess Eldrun had insisted in a surprisingly fierce voice for a woman of ninety who had recently been seriously ill with pneumonia. ‘It is my greatest wish to see you married before I die.’

Emotional blackmail from anyone else would have left Aksel unmoved. From childhood it had been impressed on him that duty and responsibility took precedence over his personal feelings. Only once had he allowed his heart to rule his head. He had been in his twenties when he had fallen in love with a beautiful Russian model, but the discovery that Karena had betrayed him was only one of the reasons why he had built an impenetrable wall around his emotions.

His grandmother was the single chink in his armour. Princess Eldrun had helped her husband, Prince Fredrik, to rule Storvhal for fifty years and Aksel had immense respect for her. When she had fallen ill and the doctors had warned him to prepare for the worst he had realised just how much he valued her wise counsel. But even for his grandmother’s sake Aksel was not going to rush into marriage. He would choose a bride when he was ready, but it would not be a love match. Being Prince of Storvhal allowed Aksel many privileges but falling in love was not one of them, just as it had not been for his Viking ancestors.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that his grandmother’s health was failing that had caused his uncharacteristic emotional response to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, he brooded. Today was the twelfth anniversary of when his father had been killed in a helicopter crash in Monaco—the playground of the rich and famous where Prince Geir had spent most of his time—to the dismay of the Storvhalian people. In contrast to his father Aksel had devoted himself to affairs of state and slowly won back support for the monarchy, but his popularity came with a price.

In Storvhal he could rarely escape the limelight. The media watched him closely, determined to report any sign of him becoming a party-loving playboy as his father had been. There would be no opportunities for him to go out alone as he had been able to do in London. If he went to the theatre he would have to sit in the royal box, in full view of everyone in the auditorium. He would not be able to stand unrecognised in a crowd and be moved almost to tears by the greatest love story ever told.

He stared at Mina Hart. The cast wore Renaissance costumes and she was dressed in a simple white gown made of gauzy material that skimmed her slender figure. Her long auburn hair framed her heart-shaped face and she looked innocent yet sensual. Aksel felt his body tauten with desire. For a moment he allowed himself to imagine what might happen if he were free to pursue her. But the inescapable truth was that his life was bound by duty. For the past three evenings he had escaped to a fantasy world, but now he must step back to reality.

This was the last time he would see Mina. He studied her face as if he could imprint her features on his memory, and felt a curious ache in his chest as he murmured beneath his breath, ‘Goodbye, sweet Juliet.’

* * *

‘Are you coming for a drink?’ Kat Nichols asked as she followed Mina out of the theatre. ‘Everyone’s meeting up at the Riverside Arms to celebrate the play’s successful run.’

Mina had planned to go straight home after the evening performance but she changed her mind when Kat gave a persuasive smile. ‘Okay, I’ll come for one drink. It’s strange to think that we won’t be appearing at the Globe any more.’

‘But maybe we’ll be appearing on Broadway soon.’ Kat gave Mina a sideways glance as they walked the short distance to the pub. ‘Everyone knows that your father has been in negotiations to take the production to New York. Has he said anything to you about what’s going to happen?’

Mina shook her head. ‘I know everyone thinks Joshua confides in me because I’m his daughter, but he doesn’t treat me any differently from the rest of the cast. I had to audition three times for the role of Juliet. Dad doesn’t give me any special favours.’

If anything, her father was tougher on her than other members of the cast, Mina thought ruefully. Joshua Hart was himself a brilliant actor, and a demanding perfectionist. He was not the easiest man to get on with, and Mina’s relationship with him had been strained since the events that had happened while she had been filming in America had led Joshua to accuse her of bringing the Hart name into disrepute.

Kat was not deterred. ‘Just imagine if we do appear on Broadway! It would be a fantastic career opportunity. You never know, we might even get spotted by a top film director and whisked off to LA.’

‘Take it from me, LA isn’t so wonderful,’ Mina said drily.

Kat gave her a close look. ‘I’ve heard rumours, but what did actually happen when you went to America to make a film?’

Mina hesitated. She had become good friends with Kat, but even so she could not bear to talk about the darkest period of her life. Her memories of the film director Dexter Price were still painful two years after their relationship had ended in a storm of newspaper headlines. She couldn’t believe she had been such a gullible fool to have fallen in love with Dex, but she had been alone in LA for her first major film role—young, naïve, and desperately insecure about her hearing impairment. The American film industry demanded perfection, and she had felt acutely conscious of her disability.

She had been grateful for Dexter’s reassurance, and within a short time she had fallen for his blend of sophistication and easy charm. Looking back, Mina wondered if one reason why she had been drawn to Dex was because he had reminded her of her father. Both were powerful men who were highly regarded in the acting world, and Dex had given her the support she had always craved from Joshua Hart. When Mina had found out that Dex had lied to her it was not only his betrayal that had left her heartbroken, but the fact that once again her father had failed to support her when she had needed him.

‘Mina?’

Kat’s voice jolted Mina from her thoughts. She gave her friend an apologetic smile as they reached the pub and she opened the door. ‘I’ll tell you about it another time.’

The pub was busy and fortunately the din of voices was too loud for Kat to pursue the subject. Mina spotted some of the play’s cast sitting at a nearby table. ‘I’ll get the first round,’ she told Kat. ‘Save me a seat.’

As she fought her way to the bar Mina decided she would have one drink and then leave. The noisy pub made her feel disorientated and she longed for the peace and quiet of her flat. She suspected that there were a few journalists amongst the crowd. Rumours that Joshua Hart’s production of Romeo and Juliet might go to New York were circulating, and for the past week the paparazzi had been hanging about the theatre hoping for a scoop.

Mina squeezed through the crowd of people gathered in front of the bar and tried to catch the barman’s eye. ‘Excuse me!’

The barman walked straight past her and she wondered if he hadn’t heard her. The loud background noise inside the pub made it difficult for her to hear her own voice and so regulate how loud or softly she spoke. Moments later the same thing happened again when another barman ignored her and went to serve someone else. It was situations like this that made her conscious of her hearing impairment. Her hearing aids worked incredibly well, but as the bar staff continued to take no notice of her she felt a resurgence of her old insecurities about her deafness. She felt invisible, even though she could see herself in the mirror behind the bar.

As she watched her reflection a figure appeared at her shoulder. Mina tensed as she met his gaze in the mirror and her heart slammed against her ribs as she recognised him. It was him—the man who had been in the audience—and close up he was even more gorgeous than she’d thought when she had seen him from the stage.

His eyes were a brilliant topaz-blue, glittering like gemstones beneath his well-defined brows that were a shade darker than his streaked blond hair. When Mina had seen him at the theatre the firm line of his mouth had looked forbidding, but as she watched him in the mirror he gave her a smoulderingly sexy smile that made her catch her breath.

‘Perhaps I can be of assistance?’

The gravelly huskiness of his voice caused the tiny hairs on the back of Mina’s neck to stand on end. She could not place his accent. Slowly she turned to face him, conscious that her pulse was racing.

‘One advantage of my height is that I can usually attract the attention of bar staff,’ he murmured. ‘Can I buy you a drink?’

His stunning looks and sheer magnetism ensured that he would never be ignored. Mina flushed when she realised that she was staring at him. ‘Actually, I’m trying to order drinks for my friends...but thanks for the offer.’

Her voice trailed off as her eyes locked with his. She could feel the vibration of her blood pounding in her ears as she studied his lean, handsome face. He was ruggedly male and utterly beautiful. Was this how Juliet had felt when she had first set eyes on Romeo? Mina wondered. In her character study of the role of Juliet she had tried to imagine how it felt to be a teenage girl who had fallen desperately in love at first sight with a young man. It had been more difficult than Mina had expected to step into Juliet’s shoes. Could you really feel such intense emotion for someone you had just met, before you had got to know them?

Her common sense had rejected the idea. The story of Romeo and Juliet was just a fantasy. But now, in a heartbeat, Mina understood that it was possible to feel an overwhelming connection with a stranger. Even more startling was her certainty that the man felt it too. His eyes narrowed on her face and his body tensed like a jungle cat watching its prey.

Someone pushed past her on their way to the bar and knocked her against the stranger. Her breasts brushed his chest and an electrical current shot through her. Every nerve ending tingled and her nipples instantly hardened and throbbed. For a few seconds she felt dizzy as the heat of his body and the spicy scent of his aftershave hijacked her senses and filled her with a fierce yearning that pooled hot and molten in the pit of her stomach.

With a little gasp she jerked away from him. He was watching her intently, as if he could read her mind. In a desperate attempt to return to normality, she blurted out, ‘You were at the theatre tonight. I saw you. Did you enjoy the play?’

His bright blue eyes burned into her. ‘You were— astonishing.’

He spoke in a low, intense voice, and Mina was startled to see colour flare briefly along his sharp cheekbones. She had the impression that he had intended to make a casual response to her question but the words had escaped his lips before he could prevent them.

Thinking about his lips was fatal. Her eyes focused on the sensual curve of his mouth and her breath caught in her throat.

‘You came last night, too...and the night before that,’ she said huskily.

‘I couldn’t keep away.’ He stared deeply into her eyes, trapping her with his sensual magic so that Mina could not look away from him. Weakness washed over her and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She swayed towards him, unable to control her body’s response to the invisible lure of male pheromones and sizzling sexual chemistry.

A bemused expression crossed the man’s face and he shook his head as if he was trying to snap back to reality. He pulled a hand through his dark blond hair, raking it back from his brow.

‘Tell me what your friends want to drink and I’ll place your order.’

Friends? The spell broke and Mina glanced around the busy pub. Somehow she gathered her thoughts and reeled off a list of drinks. The stranger had no trouble catching the attention of the bar staff and minutes later Mina paid for the round and wondered how she was going to carry a tray of drinks across the crowded room.

Once again the stranger came to her rescue and picked up the tray. ‘I’ll carry this. Show me where your friends are sitting.’

Kat’s eyes widened when she spotted Mina approaching the table followed by a tall, fair-haired man who resembled a Viking. The stranger put the tray of drinks down on the table and Mina wondered if she should invite him to join her and her friends. She wished Kat would stop staring at him.

‘Thanks for your help. I’m Mina, by the way.’ Worried that she might not hear him in the noisy pub, she watched his mouth closely so that she could read his lips.

Amusement flashed in his blue eyes. ‘I know. Your name was on the theatre programme.’ He held out his hand. ‘I’m Aksel.’

‘That’s not an English name,’ Mina murmured, trying not to think about the firm grip of his fingers as she placed her hand in his. The touch of his skin on hers sent a tingling sensation up her arm and she felt strangely reluctant to withdraw her hand again.

He hesitated fractionally before replying, ‘You’re right. I am from Storvhal.’

‘That’s near Russia, isn’t it—in the Arctic Circle?’

His brows lifted. ‘I’m impressed. Storvhal is a very small country and most people haven’t a clue where it is.’

‘I’m addicted to playing general knowledge quizzes,’ Mina admitted. ‘The location of Storvhal often comes up.’

God, did that make her sound like a boring nerd who spent a lot of time on her own? People often assumed that actors led exciting and glamorous lives, but that was far from the truth, Mina thought wryly. There had been plenty of times when she’d been between acting roles and had to take cleaning jobs or stack shelves in a supermarket. Most actors, unless they made it big in the American film industry, struggled to earn a good living. But Mina was not driven by money and had been drawn to the stage because acting was in her blood.

The Harts were a renowned theatrical family, headed by Joshua Hart, who was regarded as the greatest Shakespearean actor of the past thirty years. Mina had wanted to be an actress since she was a small child and she had refused to allow her hearing loss to destroy her dream. But the dream had turned sour in LA. Making a film there had been an eye-opener and she had hated the celebrity culture, the gossip and backbiting. The events in LA had had a profound effect on her and when she had returned to England she had re-evaluated what she wanted to do with her life, and she had recently qualified as a drama therapist.

One thing she was certain of was that she never wanted her private life to be splashed across the front pages of the tabloids ever again. It still made her shudder when she remembered the humiliation of reading explicit and inaccurate details about her relationship with Dexter Price in the newspapers. The paparazzi did not seem to care about reporting the truth, and Mina had been a target of their ruthless desire for scandal. She had developed a deep mistrust of the press—and in particular of the man she had just spotted entering the pub.

She froze when she recognised him. Steve Garratt was the journalist who had exposed her affair with Dexter. Garratt had written a scurrilous article in which he had accused Mina of sleeping with the film director to further her career while Dexter’s wife had been undergoing treatment for cancer. Most of the article had been untrue. Mina had never been to bed with Dex—although she had been in love with him, and ready to take the next step in their relationship, before she had discovered that he was married. But no one had been interested in her side of the story, certainly not Steve Garratt.

What was Garratt doing here in the UK? It was unlikely to be a coincidence that he had turned up at the same time as rumours were rife that Joshua Hart’s production of Romeo and Juliet might be performed on Broadway. Garratt was after a story and Mina’s heart sank when the journalist looked over in her direction and gave her a cocky smile of recognition.

As he began to thread his way across the pub she felt a surge of panic. She could not bear the embarrassment of the journalist talking about the LA scandal in front of her friends from the theatre company. The story had been mostly forgotten after two years, and she had hoped it would remain dead and buried.

She glanced at the good-looking man who had introduced himself as Aksel. They were strangers, she reminded herself. The curious connection she felt with him must be a figment of her imagination.

‘Well, it was nice to meet you,’ she murmured. ‘Thanks for your help.’

Aksel realised he was being dismissed. It was a novel experience for a prince and in different circumstances he might have been amused, but inexplicably he felt a rush of jealousy when he noticed that Mina was staring at a man who had just entered the pub. Was the man her boyfriend? It was of no interest to him, he reminded himself. He was regretting his decision to follow Mina into the pub, and her obvious interest in the man who was now approaching them was a signal to Aksel that it was time he left.

‘You’re welcome.’ His eyes met hers, and for a split second he felt a crazy urge to grab hold of her hand and whisk her away from the crowded pub to somewhere they could be alone.

What the hell had got into him tonight? he asked himself irritably. His behaviour was completely out of character and he must end his ridiculous fascination with Mina Hart right now. ‘Enjoy the rest of your evening,’ he bade her curtly, and strode out of the pub without glancing back at her.

* * *

‘Mina Hart, what a pleasant surprise!’ Steve Garratt drawled. He smelled of stale cigarette smoke and Mina wrinkled her nose as he leaned too close to her.

‘I find nothing pleasant about meeting you,’ she said coldly. ‘And I doubt you’re surprised to see me. You’re here for a reason, and I can guess what it is.’

The journalist grinned to reveal nicotine-stained teeth. It was warm inside the pub and his florid face was turning pinker. ‘A little bird told me you’ll soon be making your Broadway debut.’

‘Who told you that?’ Mina asked sharply. She glanced at his shifty expression and realised that he was hoping to goad her into giving him information.

‘Come on, sweetheart. Everyone wants to know if your father will be directing Romeo and Juliet in New York. He must have told you whether it’s going to happen. All the hacks are hoping to break the story. Give me an exclusive and I’ll make sure you get good reviews if you do open on Broadway.’

‘Joshua hasn’t told me anything, but even if he had confided in me I wouldn’t tell you. You’re a weasel, Garratt. You nose around in people’s private lives looking for scandal and if none exist you make up lies—like you did to me.’ Mina broke off, breathing hard as she struggled to control her temper.

The journalist gave a cynical laugh. ‘Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Don’t give me that bull about journalists respecting celebrities’ private lives. Actors need publicity. You don’t really believe that a film starring an unknown English actress would have been a box-office success on its own merits, do you? People went to see Girl in the Mirror because they were curious about the bimbo who screwed Dexter Price.’

Steve Garratt’s mocking words made Mina’s stomach churn. The pub felt claustrophobic and she was suddenly desperate for some fresh air. She pushed past the journalist, unable to bear being in his company for another second. ‘You disgust me,’ she told him bitterly.

Kat was chatting with the other members of the cast and Mina did not interrupt them. They would guess she had gone home, she told herself as she made her way across the crowded pub towards the door. Outside, it was dark. The October nights were drawing in and Mina’s lightweight jacket did not offer much protection against the chilly wind. Head bowed, she walked briskly along the pavement that ran alongside the river. The reflection of the street lights made golden orbs on the black water, but soon she turned off the well-lit main road down a narrow alleyway that provided the quickest route to the tube station.

Her footsteps echoed loudly in the enclosed space. It wasn’t late, but there was no one around, except for a gang of youths who were loitering at the other end of the alleyway. From the sound of their raucous voices Mina guessed they had been drinking. She thought about turning back and going the long route to the station, but she was tired and, having grown up in central London, she considered herself fairly streetwise. Keeping her head down, she continued walking, but as she drew nearer to the gang she noticed they were passing something between them and guessed it was a joint.

Her warning instincts flared. Something about the youths’ body language told her that they were waiting for her to walk to the far end of the alley. She stopped abruptly and turned round, but as she hurriedly retraced her steps the gang followed her.

‘Hey, pretty woman, why don’t you want to walk this way?’ one of them called out.

Another youth laughed. ‘There’s a film called Pretty Woman, about a slag who makes a living on the streets.’ The owner of the voice, a skinhead with a tattoo on his neck, caught up with Mina and stood in front of her so that she was forced to stop walking. ‘Is that what you do—sell your body? How much do you charge?’ As the gang crowded around Mina the skinhead laughed. ‘Do you do a discount for group sex?’

Mina swallowed, trying not to show that she was scared. ‘Look, I don’t want any trouble.’ She took a step forwards and froze when the skinhead gripped her arm. ‘Let go of me,’ she demanded, sounding more confident than she felt.

‘What if I don’t want to let go of you?’ the skinhead taunted. ‘What are you going to do about it?’ He slid his hand inside Mina’s jacket and she felt a surge of fear and revulsion when he tugged her shirt buttons open. The situation was rapidly spiralling out of control. The youths were drunk, or high—probably both—and on a cold autumn night it was unlikely that anyone was around to help her.

‘You’d better let me go. I’m meeting someone, and if I don’t show up they’ll start looking for me,’ she improvised, thinking as she spoke that her friends at the pub would assume she had gone home.

The skinhead must have sensed that she was bluffing. ‘So, where’s your friend?’

‘Here,’ said a soft, menacing voice.

Mina’s gaze shot to the end of the alleyway that she had entered a few minutes earlier and her heart did a somersault in her chest. The light from the street lamp behind him made his blond hair look like a halo. Surely no angel could be so devastatingly sexy, but to Mina, scared out of her wits, he was her guardian angel, her saviour.

The skinhead, surprised by the interruption, had loosed his grip on her arm, and Mina wrenched herself free.

‘Aksel,’ she said on a half-sob, and ran towards him.

CHAPTER TWO

‘IT’S ALL RIGHT, Mina, you’re safe,’ Aksel murmured. He felt the tremors that shook her slender frame. When she had raced down the alleyway he had instinctively opened his arms and she had flown into them. He stroked her auburn hair, one part of his brain marvelling at how silky it felt. At the same time he eyed the gang of youths and felt a cold knot of rage in the pit of his stomach when the skinhead who had been terrorising Mina stepped forwards.

‘Can’t you count, mate? There’s six of us and only one of you,’ the gang leader said with a show of bravado.

‘True, but I am worth more than the six of you combined,’ Aksel drawled in an icy tone that cut through the air like tempered steel. He never lost his temper. A lifetime of controlling his emotions had taught him that anger was far more effective served ice-cold and deadly. ‘I’m willing to take you all on.’ He flicked his gaze over the gang members. ‘But one at a time is fair, man to man—if you’ve got the guts of real men.’

He gently put Mina to one side and gave her a reassuring smile when her eyes widened in fear as she realised what he intended to do.

‘Aksel...you can’t fight them all,’ she whispered.

He ignored her and strolled towards the skinhead youth. ‘If you’re the leader of this pack of sewer rats I guess you’ll want to go first.’

The skinhead had to tilt his head to look Aksel in the face, and doubt flickered in his eyes when he realised that his adversary was not only tall but powerfully built. Realising that he was in serious danger of losing face, he spat out a string of crude profanities as he backed up the alleyway. The other youths followed him and Aksel watched them until they reached the far end of the alley and disappeared.

‘You have got to be nuts!’ Mina sagged against the wall. Reaction to the knowledge that Aksel had saved her from being mugged or worse was setting in and her legs felt wobbly. ‘They could have been carrying a weapon. You could have been hurt.’

She stared at him and felt weak for another reason as she studied his chiselled features and dark blond hair that had fallen forwards onto his brow. He raked it back with his hand and gave her a disarming smile that stole her breath.

‘I could have handled them.’ He frowned as Mina moved and the edges of her jacket parted to reveal her partially open shirt. ‘That punk had no right to lay a finger on you. Did he hurt you?’ Aksel felt a resurgence of the scalding anger that had gripped him when he had seen the skinhead gang leader seize hold of Mina. A lifetime of practice had made him adept at controlling his emotions, but when he had seen her scared face as the gang of youths crowded round her he had been filled with a murderous rage.

‘No, I’m fine. Oh...’ Mina coloured hotly as she glanced down and saw that her shirt was half open, exposing her lacy bra and the upper slopes of her breasts. She fumbled to refasten the buttons with trembling fingers. Nausea swept over her as her vivid imagination pictured what the gang of youths might have done to her if Aksel had not shown up.

‘Thank you for coming to my rescue—again,’ she said shakily, remembering how he had helped her order drinks at the bar earlier. The memory of how she had thrown herself into his arms when he had appeared in the alley brought another stain of colour to her cheeks. ‘By the way, I’m sorry I behaved like an idiot and hugged you.’

His lips twitched. ‘No problem. Feel free to hug me any time you like.’

‘Oh,’ Mina said again on a whispery breath that did not sound like her normal voice. But nothing about this evening was normal, and it was not surprising she felt breathless when Aksel was looking at her in a way that made her think he was remembering those few moments when he had caught her in his arms and held her so close to him that her breasts had been squashed against his chest.

Keen to move on from that embarrassing moment, she quickly changed the subject. ‘What are you doing here?’

Aksel had been asking himself the same question since he had left the Globe Theatre after the performance. His car had been waiting for him, but as his chauffeur had opened the door he’d felt a surge of rebellion against the constrictions of his life. He knew that back at his hotel his council members who had accompanied him from Storvhal would be waiting to discuss the new trade deal. But Aksel’s mind had been full of the Shakespearean tragedy that had stirred his soul, and the prospect of spending the rest of the evening discussing politics had seemed unendurable.

No doubt Harald Petersen, his elderly chief advisor and close friend of his grandmother, would be critical of the fact that he had dismissed his driver and bodyguard.

‘I am sure I don’t need to remind you that Storvhal’s wealth and political importance in the world are growing, and there is an increased risk to your personal safety, sir,’ Harald had said when Aksel had argued against the necessity of being accompanied by a bodyguard while he was in London.

‘I think it’s unlikely that I’d be recognised anywhere other than in my own country,’ Aksel had pointed out. ‘I’ve always kept a low media profile at home and abroad.’ Unlike his father, whose dubious business dealings and playboy lifestyle had often made headlines around the world.

After he had sent his driver away, Aksel had strolled beside the river when he had spotted Mina entering a pub, and without stopping to question what he was doing he had followed her inside. His immediate thought when he had met her at the bar was that, close up, she was even more beautiful than he’d thought when he had seen her on stage. He’d looked into her deep green eyes and felt as if he were drowning.

‘When you left the pub, I assumed I would never see you again.’ Her soft voice pulled Aksel back to the alleyway.

‘I was about to get into a taxi when I saw you come out of the pub. I watched you turn down this alleyway and decided to follow you. A badly lit alley doesn’t seem a good place to walk on your own at night.’

Mina gave him a rueful glance. ‘I’m on my way home and this is the quickest way to the station.’

‘Why didn’t you stay with your friends?’ Aksel hesitated. ‘You looked over at a man who walked into the pub and I thought he must be someone you knew.’

Aksel must be referring to Steve Garratt. Supressing a shudder, Mina shook her head. ‘He was no one—just...a guy.’ She swallowed, thinking that the only reason she had left the pub and started to walk to the station alone at night was because she’d wanted to get away from the journalist she despised.

She had a flashback to the terrifying moment when the gang of youths had surrounded her, and the colour drained from her face.

‘Are you all right?’ Aksel looked at her intently. ‘You’re in shock. Do you feel faint?’

Mina was not going to admit that she felt close to tears. ‘I probably feel wobbly because I’m hungry. I’m always too nervous to eat before a performance,’ she explained ruefully. ‘That’s why I was going home to get something to eat.’

His sensual smile evoked a coiling sensation in the pit of Mina’s stomach.

‘I have an idea. Why don’t you have dinner with me? My hotel isn’t far from here, and it has an excellent restaurant. I’m sure you won’t feel like cooking a meal when you get home,’ he said persuasively.

‘I...I couldn’t impose on you any further.’ For a crazy moment she wanted to accept Aksel’s invitation. It would be madness, she told herself. He was a stranger she had met in a pub and she knew nothing about him other than that he came from a country most people had never heard of. She looked at him curiously. ‘Are you on holiday in England?’

‘A business trip—I’m flying home tomorrow.’

She crushed her ridiculous feeling of disappointment. ‘What line of business are you in?’

Was it her imagination, or did an awkward expression flit across his face before he replied? ‘I work as an advisor for my country’s government. My visit to London was with a delegation to discuss trade policies with Britain.’

Mina could not hide her surprise. With his streaked blond hair and leather jacket he looked more like a rock star than a government advisor. ‘It sounds interesting,’ she murmured.

His laughter echoed through the alleyway; a warm, mellow sound that melted Mina’s insides. ‘I would have expected an actress to be more convincing at pretending that my job sounds fascinating,’ he said softly. ‘Can I persuade you to have dinner with me if I promise I won’t bore you with details about trade policies?’

As she met his glinting, bright blue gaze Mina thought it would be impossible for Aksel to bore her. Her common sense told her to walk back out to the main street and hail a taxi to take her home. She would be mad to go to dinner with a stranger, even if he was the sexiest man she had ever laid eyes on. She had followed her heart in LA but her experience with Dexter Price had left her wary and mistrustful, not just of other men but of her own judgement.

‘I’m not dressed for dinner at a restaurant.’ She made another attempt to ignore the voice of temptation that was telling her to throw caution to the wind and go with Aksel. Besides, it was the truth. Her cotton gypsy skirt and cheesecloth shirt were very boho chic, according to Kat, but not a suitable outfit to wear to dinner.

‘You look fine to me,’ Aksel assured her in his seductive, gravelly voice. ‘There’s just one thing. You’ve done your buttons up in the wrong order.’

He moved closer, and Mina caught her breath as he lifted his hands and fastened her shirt buttons properly. He smelled of sandalwood cologne, mingled with a clean, fresh fragrance of soap and another barely discernible scent that was intensely male and caused Mina’s stomach muscles to tighten.

As if he sensed her indecision, Aksel gave her another of his sexy smiles that set Mina’s pulse racing. ‘I understand the hotel restaurant serves a rich chocolate mousse that is utterly decadent. What do you say to us both sampling it this evening?’

His gravelly voice was electrifying, or maybe it was the expression in his eyes as he’d put a subtle emphasis on the word decadent. They both knew he hadn’t been thinking about chocolate dessert as he’d said it, and Mina was unable to control the tiny tremor that ran through her.

He frowned. ‘You’re cold. Here...’ Before she could protest he slipped off his leather jacket and draped it around her shoulders. The silk lining was warm from his body and Mina felt a wild, wanton heat steal through her veins. He caught hold of her hand and led her back to the entrance of the alleyway, but then he stopped and glanced down at her, his expression enigmatic.

‘I have a taxi waiting. I’ll ask the driver to take us to my hotel, or take you home. It’s your choice.’

It was crunch time, Mina realised. She sensed that if she chose to go home Aksel would not argue. It would be sensible to refuse his offer of dinner, but a spark of rebellion flared inside her. Since she had returned from LA she had built a shell around herself and stayed firmly inside her comfort zone, afraid to try new experiences. But what harm could there be in agreeing to have dinner with Aksel, who had rescued her from the youths and behaved like a perfect gentleman? Was she going to run a mile from every handsome man she met and allow what had happened with Dexter Price to affect her for the rest of her life?

She hoped he could not tell that butterflies were dancing in her stomach. ‘All right, you win. You’ve seduced me with talk of chocolate mousse, and I’d like to come back to your hotel.’

The moment the words left her lips she realised how suggestive they sounded and colour rushed into her cheeks. ‘To have dinner, I meant,’ she added quickly. Oh, God, why had she said seduced? She didn’t want him to guess that she wished he would kiss her, she thought numbly as her eyes locked with his.

He gave a husky laugh and lowered his head towards her so that his warm breath whispered across her lips. ‘I know you meant dinner,’ he assured her. His smile was wolfish as he said softly, ‘Seduction will come later.’

And then Aksel did what he had wanted to do since he had first set eyes on Juliet three nights ago, what he had ached to do since he had drowned in Mina’s deep green gaze when he had met her in the pub. He cupped her face in his hands and brushed his mouth over hers, once, twice, until she parted her lips beneath his.

Mina dissolved instantly when Aksel slanted his mouth over hers. She had fantasised about him kissing her since she had first noticed him in the audience three nights ago, and now fantasy and reality merged in a firestorm of passion. Her heart pounded as he pulled her hard against him. His body was all powerful muscle and sinew but the heat of his skin through his shirt made her melt into him as he deepened the kiss and it became achingly sensual.

‘Oh,’ she whispered helplessly as he probed his tongue between her lips. Her little gasp gave Aksel the access he desired, and he slid his hand beneath Mina’s hair to cup her nape while he crushed her mouth beneath his. The sweet eagerness of her response drew a ragged groan from him. He could have kissed her for ever, but one part of his brain reminded him that he was a prince and he was breaking every rule of protocol by kissing a woman he barely knew in a public alleyway.

Reluctantly he lifted his mouth from hers. ‘Will you come with me, Mina?’

Mina stared into Aksel’s eyes that glittered as brightly as the stars she could see winking in the black strip of sky above the alleyway. Her common sense warned her to refuse, but on a deeper instinctive level she knew she would be safe with him. She nodded mutely and followed him out of the alley to the main road where a taxi was waiting.

She couldn’t stop looking at him, drinking in the chiselled masculine beauty of his face and his sensual mouth that had wreaked havoc on hers. And he could not stop looking at her. They were both blind to everything around them, and as they climbed into the taxi neither of them noticed the man who had just emerged from the pub and watched them from the shadows before he got into his car and followed the taxi at a discreet distance.

* * *

Some time soon his common sense was going to return, Aksel assured himself as he gave the taxi driver the name of his hotel and leaned back against the seat. He glanced at Mina and was shocked by how out of control she made him feel. He wanted to kiss her again. Hell, he wanted to do a lot more than kiss her, he acknowledged derisively. His body throbbed with desire, and only the knowledge that the taxi driver was watching them in the rear-view mirror stopped him from drawing her into his arms and running his hands over the soft contours of her body that she had pressed against him when they had kissed in the alleyway.

The taxi driver’s curiosity reminded Aksel that he had not thought things through when he had invited Mina to dinner. Journalists from Storvhal had accompanied the trade delegation to London and they would jump at the chance to report that the prince had entertained a beautiful actress at his hotel. It was the kind of story his enemies would seize on to fuel rumours that he was turning into a playboy like his father had been.

Scandal had followed Prince Geir like a bad smell, Aksel remembered grimly. During his reign there had even been a move by some of the population to overthrow the monarchy. The protest groups had grown quiet since Aksel had become Prince of Storvhal, but he was conscious of the necessity to conduct his private life with absolute discretion.

While he was debating what to do, his phone rang and presented him with a solution to the problem. Aksel knew that his personal assistant was completely trustworthy, and he instructed Benedict to arrange a private dinner for him and a guest.

Mina did not recognise the language Aksel was speaking when he answered his phone, but she guessed it was Storvhalian. It was a more guttural sound than Italian, which she had learned to speak a little when she had spent a month in Sicily with her sister Darcey.

Listening to Aksel talking in an unfamiliar language reminded Mina that she knew nothing about him other than that he worked as some kind of advisor for his government. She had also discovered that he was an amazing kisser, which suggested he’d had plenty of practice at kissing women, she thought ruefully. She glanced at his chiselled profile and acknowledged that with his stunning looks he was likely to be very sexually experienced. Maybe he had a girlfriend in Storvhal. She stiffened as another thought struck her. Maybe he had a wife.

He finished his phone conversation and must have mistaken the reason for her tension because he said softly, ‘Forgive my rudeness. I am used to speaking to my PA in my own language.’

‘It’s late to be talking to a member of your staff.’ Mina hesitated. ‘I wondered if it was a girlfriend who called you...or your wife.’

His brows lifted. ‘I’m not married. Do you think I would have asked you to dinner—hell, do you think I would have kissed you if I was in a relationship?’

Mina held her ground. ‘Some men would.’

‘I’m not one of them.’

The quiet implacability of his tone convinced her. Perhaps she was a fool to trust him, but Mina sensed that Aksel had a strong code of honour. He had a curious, almost regal air about him that made her wonder if his role in the Storvhalian government was more important that he had led her to believe. Perhaps he was actually a member of the government rather than an advisor.

But would a government minister have kissed her with such fierce passion? Why not? she mused. Not all politicians were crusty old men. Aksel was an incredibly handsome, sexy, unmarried man who was free to kiss her, just as she was free to kiss him. Heat flooded through her as she recalled the firm pressure of his lips on hers, the hunger that had exploded in her belly when he had pushed his tongue into her mouth.

‘You spoke as if you have personal experience of the type of man who would cheat on his wife.’

Mina shrugged. ‘I was just making a general comment.’ She sensed from the assessing look Aksel gave her that he wasn’t convinced, but to her relief he did not pursue the subject as the taxi came to a halt outside one of London’s most exclusive hotels.

‘You didn’t say you were staying at The Erskine,’ she muttered, panic creeping into her voice as she watched a doorman dressed in a top hat and tailcoat usher a group of people into the hotel. The men were in tuxedos and the women were all wearing evening gowns. Mina glanced doubtfully at her gypsy skirt and flat ballet pumps. ‘I’m definitely not wearing the right clothes for a place like this.’

‘I’d forgotten that there’s a charity function being held at the hotel this evening.’ Aksel frowned as a flashbulb went off and he saw a pack of press photographers outside the hotel, telescopic lenses extended to snap pictures of celebrities attending the event. The last thing he wanted was to be photographed entering the hotel with a beautiful and very noticeable actress. It was the kind of thing that would trigger frantic speculation about his love-life back in Storvhal. He leaned forwards and spoke to the taxi driver, and seconds later the car pulled away from the kerb.

‘There’s another entrance we can use,’ he told Mina. ‘I’ve arranged for us to have dinner privately,’ he explained as she slipped his leather jacket from her shoulders and handed it back to him. ‘I’m not dressed for a black-tie event either.’

As the taxi turned down a narrow side street Mina checked her phone and read a text message from Kat, reminding her that Joshua Hart had asked the cast to meet at the Globe Theatre at nine a.m. the following day. After quickly texting a reply, she scrambled out of the taxi after Aksel. She stumbled on the uneven pavement and he shot an arm around her waist to steady her. The contact with his body made her catch her breath, and her pulse accelerated when he pulled her close. Keeping his arm around her, Aksel escorted her through an unremarkable-looking door into the hotel. Neither of them noticed the car that had pulled up behind the taxi.

Although they had entered the hotel via a back entrance, they still had to walk across the lobby: an oasis of marble and gold-leaf décor, which this evening was filled with sophisticated guests attending the charity function. Mina felt like a street urchin in her casual clothes and was glad that Aksel whisked her over to the lifts, away from the haughty glances of the reception staff.

As the doors closed she was intensely aware of him in the confined space and her heart lurched when he reached out a hand and brushed her hair back from her face. She tensed. Her hearing aids were tiny but they were fitted into the outer shell of her ears and were visible to someone standing close to her. There seemed no point telling him about her hearing loss when she would not see him again after this evening. He had already told her that he was returning to Storvhal tomorrow. She did not understand why he had asked her to have dinner with him, or why she had agreed, and she suddenly felt out of her depth. What on earth was she doing in a luxurious five-star hotel with a man she did not know?

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked softly. ‘If you’ve changed your mind about dinner I can arrange for you to be taken home.’ He paused, and his husky voice sent a shiver across Mina’s skin. ‘But I hope you’ll stay.’

She could feel her blood pounding in her ears, echoing her erratic heartbeat. It terrified her that he had such a devastating effect on her. ‘It’s ridiculous for two strangers to have dinner,’ she blurted out. ‘I don’t know anything about you.’

‘You know that I am a fan of Shakespeare—and chocolate mousse.’ His blue eyes glinted as bright as diamonds. ‘And I have discovered that you have an incredible talent for acting, and kissing.’

Her breath caught in her throat. ‘You shouldn’t say that,’ she whispered.

‘Do you want me to say you’re bad at kissing?’ His lips twitched with amusement but the expression in his eyes was serious. ‘I can’t lie, angel, you are amazing, and all I can think of is how much I want to kiss you again.’

Mina did not know if she was relieved or disappointed when the lift stopped and the doors slid smoothly apart. As she followed Aksel along a carpeted corridor the voice of caution inside her head told her to race back to the lift. Her eyes widened when he opened a set of double doors into an exquisitely decorated room where a polished dining table set with silver cutlery and candles reflected the ornate chandelier suspended above it. Vases of oriental lilies placed around the room filled the air with their sweet perfume, and the lamps were dimmed to create an ambiance that was unsettlingly intimate.

Aksel strolled over to the bar and picked up a bottle of champagne from an ice bucket. He popped the cork with a deftness that suggested he was no stranger to champagne, filled two tall flutes and handed one to Mina.

‘We’ll have a drink while we look at the menu.’

Mina watched his throat move as he swallowed a mouthful of champagne. His dark blond hair had fallen forwards onto his brow again and she longed to run her fingers through it. Conscious that she was staring at him, she took a gulp of her drink and belatedly realised that champagne on an empty stomach was not a good idea. The bubbles hit the back of her throat and seemed to instantly enter her bloodstream, making her head spin.

‘Come and sit down.’ Aksel draped his jacket over the arm of a sofa and sat down, patting the empty space beside him. He hooked his ankle over his thigh and stretched one arm along the back of the sofa, causing his black silk shirt to strain across his broad chest. He looked indolent and so dangerously sexy that the thought of joining him on the sofa made Mina’s heart hammer.

‘Um...I’d like to use the bathroom before we eat.’

‘The first door on your left along the corridor,’ he advised.

Get a grip, Mina told herself sternly a few moments later as she stared at her flushed face in the bathroom mirror. She looked different, more alive, as if a lightbulb had been switched on inside her. Even her hair seemed to crackle with electricity, and her eyes looked enormous, the pupils dilated, reflecting the wild excitement that she could not control. She traced her tongue over her lips, remembering how the firm pressure of Aksel’s mouth had forced them apart when he had kissed her.

She held her wrists under the cold tap, hoping to lower her temperature that seemed in danger of boiling over. Maybe if she took her jacket off she would cool down—but the sight of her pebble-hard nipples jutting provocatively beneath her thin shirt put paid to that idea. The jacket would have to stay on. It was better to look hot than desperate!

Oh, hell! Tempting though it was to hide in the bathroom, she had to go out and face him. You’re an actress, she reminded herself. You can play cool and collected if you pretend he’s in the audience and don’t make eye contact with him.

Taking a deep breath, she returned to the dining room and to avoid looking at Aksel she picked up her glass and finished her champagne. He was standing by the window, but turned when she came in and walked towards her.

‘I’d love to know what thoughts are going on behind those mysterious deep green eyes,’ he murmured as she swept her long eyelashes down.

‘Actually, I was wondering why someone who can afford to stay at a five-star hotel would choose to buy the cheapest ticket at the theatre and stand for a two-hour performance, not just once, but on three evenings. But I suppose,’ Mina voiced her thoughts, ‘as you are in London on a business trip, your employer would pay for your hotel. You must be very good at your job for your government to put you up at The Erskine.’

Aksel hesitated. Although Mina had heard of Storvhal, she clearly had no idea of his identity, and he did not feel obliged to reveal that he was the ruling monarch of the principality. For one night he wanted to forget his royal responsibilities.

‘It’s true that my accommodation was arranged for me,’ he murmured. ‘The first evening when I visited the Globe the only tickets available were for the yard in front of the stage. I probably could have booked a seat in the gallery on the second and third night, but I’ll admit I chose to stand so that I had a clear view of you.’

His voice roughened. ‘The first time I saw you walk onto the stage you blew me away.’

Mina felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She understood what he meant because she had felt exactly the same when she had seen him in the audience: utterly blown away by his raw sexuality. Her eyes flew to his face, and the primitive hunger in his gaze mirrored the inexplicable, inescapable need that was flowing like a wild river through her body.

‘Aksel...’ She had meant it to sound like a remonstration but his name left her lips on a breathy whisper, an invitation, a plea.

‘Angel.’ He moved towards her, or maybe she moved first. Mina did not know how she came to be in his arms, only that they felt like bands of steel around her as he pulled her into the hard, warm strength of his body and bent his head to capture her mouth in a kiss that set her on fire.

CHAPTER THREE

MINA REMEMBERED HOW she had run into Aksel’s arms when she had fled from the youths in the alleyway. Her instincts had told her she would be safe with him, and she felt that same sense of security now, as if—ridiculous as it seemed—she belonged with him.

He kissed her with increasing passion until she trembled with the intensity of need he was arousing in her. When he eventually lifted his mouth from hers she pressed her lips to his cheek. The blond stubble on his jaw scraped against her skin, heightening her awareness of his raw masculinity. She arched her neck as he traced his lips down her throat, but when he smoothed her hair back behind her ear she quickly turned her head so that he did not see her hearing aids.

He moved his hands over her body, shaping her shoulders, tracing the length of her spine and finally cupping her bottom. She gasped when he jerked her against his pelvis and she felt the unmistakable hard ridge of his arousal. Perhaps she should have felt shocked, or pulled away from him, but she had no control over the molten warmth of her own desire.

‘You have no idea how many times in the last three days I have imagined doing this—holding you, kissing you—’ Aksel’s voice lowered to a husky growl ‘—making love to you.’

Mina’s heart turned over at the thought of where this was leading. Was she really contemplating making love with a man she had only spoken to for the first time a few hours ago? It was madness—and yet hadn’t she thought of him constantly since she had spotted him in the audience three nights ago? She had tried to tell herself that she had become too absorbed in the role of Juliet, and had been looking for a real-life Romeo. Fantasising about the blond man in the audience had been just that—a fantasy. But being here with Aksel was real, and so was the urgent, all-consuming desire that was making her heart pound in her chest.

A tiny shred of her sanity still remained and she said almost desperately, ‘I don’t do things like this. I don’t go back to strangers’ hotels...’ She broke off helplessly as he gave her a crooked smile.

‘Will you believe that this is a new experience for me too, angel?’ Aksel raked his hair back from his brow with an unsteady hand. The restrictions of being a prince meant that he had rarely had the opportunity, and never the inclination, to pick up a woman in a bar. He assured himself that he’d had no ulterior motive when he had invited Mina to his hotel other than that he wanted to get to know her a little better. But the minute they had been alone and he had looked into her deep green eyes his usual restraint had been swept away by a storm surge of desire, and now the situation was rapidly getting out of hand.

‘I’ve never felt like this before,’ he admitted rawly. ‘I have never wanted any woman as desperately as I want you.’

They were supposed to be having dinner, Aksel reminded himself. Perhaps if they sat down at the table and studied the menu the madness that was making him behave so out of character would pass.

‘Are you hungry?’

Aksel spoke in such a low tone that Mina struggled to hear him, but as she watched his lips shape the question she remembered that she had not eaten anything since breakfast. She felt light-headed, probably from the effects of the champagne, she acknowledged ruefully. But hunger seemed to heighten her other senses and evoked a different physical need inside her. Just the thought of Aksel making love to her made her gut twist with desire.

‘Yes, I’m hungry,’ she replied in a husky, sensual voice that did not sound like her own.

‘Do you want to order some food?’

She hesitated for a heartbeat. ‘It’s not food I want,’ she whispered.

He said something in his own language. Mina did not understand the words but the glitter in his eyes was unmistakable as he hauled her against him and brought his mouth down on hers in a kiss that plundered her soul. She did not protest when he lifted her into his arms and strode through a door at the far end of the dining room. With her hands linked at his nape and her face pressed against his throat she was barely aware of her surroundings until he set her on her feet and she saw that they were in a huge bedroom dominated by an enormous bed.

It occurred to her vaguely that he must have a very good job for his country’s government to have arranged for him to stay in such a luxurious room. But then he placed his mouth over hers once more and she instantly succumbed to the sensual mastery of his kiss. She was barely aware of him removing her jacket or unbuttoning her shirt and sliding it off her shoulders. Her sheer white bra decorated with tiny lace flowers pushed her breasts high and her dark pink nipples tilted provocatively beneath the semi-transparent material.

Aksel made a harsh sound in his throat as he lifted his hand and traced a finger lightly over her breasts. ‘You are even more beautiful than I imagined. You take my breath away.’

Mina’s heart gave a jolt as he reached behind her and undid her bra, but she made no attempt to stop him. Not even his ragged groan pierced the mist of unreality that had descended over her, and she gave a little shiver of excitement as her bra cups fell away and her breasts spilled into his palms. She lifted her eyes to his face and saw dull colour streak along his high cheekbones. His reaction to her, the feral glitter in his eyes, made her feel intensely aware of her femininity and her sexual allure. After what had happened with Dexter she had deliberately kept her body hidden beneath shapeless clothes, unwilling to risk attracting any man’s attention. But the past and all its humiliating horror seemed far away.

Her sense of unreality deepened. It seemed incredible that her fantasies about the man in the audience were coming true. She had imagined him kissing her, undressing her, and now, as Aksel unzipped her skirt and it fluttered to the floor, Mina allowed herself to sink deeper into the dream.

‘Sweet Juliet,’ he murmured as he bent his head and closed his lips around the tight bud of her nipple. The sensation was so exquisite that she cried out and arched her body like a slender bow, offering him her breasts and gasping with pleasure when he suckled her nipples in turn until they were swollen and tender.

She wanted to touch him as he was touching her and tore open his shirt buttons, parting the edges of his black silk shirt to reveal his golden tanned body. His skin gleamed like satin stretched taut over the defined ridges of his abdominal muscles. Dark blond hairs covered his chest and arrowed down over his flat stomach. Mina traced the fuzzy path with her fingers, but hesitated when she reached the waistband of his trousers as a voice of caution inside her head reminded her that her last sexual experience had been three years ago with a boyfriend she had dated for over a year.

Her heart-rate slowed and thudded painfully beneath her ribs. She must be crazy to think of having sex with a stranger. Aksel had proved that she could trust him when he had rescued her from the youths in the alleyway, and she was certain that if she called a halt now he would accept her decision. The sensible thing to do would be to tell him that she had changed her mind, but as she stared at his sculpted face with its slashing cheekbones and sensual mouth she could not formulate the words. The fire in his ice-blue eyes melted her resolve to walk away from him, and desire pooled hotly between her thighs when he stroked the bare strip of skin above the lace band of her hold-up stockings.

He held her gaze as he eased her panties aside and ran a finger up and down her moist opening until he felt her relax, allowing him to gently part her and slide deep into her silken heat.

‘Beautiful,’ he murmured when he discovered how aroused she was. He kissed her again with a blatant sensuality that drugged her senses so that she was barely aware of him removing the rest of her underwear before stripping out of his own clothes. He moved away from her for a moment, and she drew a shaky breath as she watched him take a protective sheath from the bedside drawer and slide it over his erection.

‘I’m sure you agree that we don’t want to take any risks,’ he murmured.

Mina nodded mutely, shocked to realise that she was so caught up in the heat of sexual excitement she had not given a thought to contraception. Luckily Aksel was thinking clearly, but the fact that he was prepared for sex emphasised that his level of experience was far greater than hers. Doubt crept into her mind and she hoped he would not find her disappointing.

Her thoughts were distracted as he drew her into his arms once more. His powerful, muscular body reminded Mina of a golden-haired Norse god, but although he looked as formidable as a Viking warrior his hands were gentle as he cupped her bottom and lifted her against him.

She caught her breath when she felt the solid length of his erection jab into her belly.

‘Wrap your legs around me,’ he bade her tautly.

Trembling with anticipation, she gripped his shoulders for support and locked her ankles behind his back. Carefully he guided his thick shaft between her thighs and Mina buried her face against his neck to muffle her soft moan as he possessed her with a devastating powerful thrust. Her internal muscles stretched as he filled her. He withdrew slowly and then drove into her again, each thrust harder than the last so that her excitement swiftly mounted to fever pitch.

His shoulder muscles rippled beneath her hands as he supported her, making her aware of his immense strength. The sensation of him moving inside her was amazing, incredible, and indescribably beautiful. The world was spinning faster and faster, drawing her into a vortex of pleasure that grew more intense as he increased his pace. It was all happening too quickly. She gasped, feeling overwhelmed by Aksel’s urgent passion and her equally urgent response to him.

‘Angel, I’m sorry, I can’t wait,’ he groaned. He tightened his grip on her bottom and thrust so deeply into her that Mina wondered how much more she could take before her body shattered. She looked into his brilliant blue eyes and saw her need reflected in his burning gaze. His expression was almost tortured and she sensed he was fighting for control. He tipped his head back so that the veins on his neck stood out, and at the moment he exploded inside her Mina felt the first powerful ripples of her orgasm radiate out from her central core, and she gave a keening cry as she fell with him into ecstasy.

* * *

It was a long time before the world settled back on its axis, but eventually reality returned, bringing with it a tidal wave of guilt.

‘I...I should go,’ Mina whispered. She could taste tears at the back of her throat and forced herself to swallow them. There would be time for recriminations later, but her immediate aim was to slide off the bed where Aksel had laid her a few moments ago, and get dressed with as much dignity as possible—given the circumstances.

She stifled the urge to laugh hysterically as she considered the circumstances. It wasn’t every night that she had wild and abandoned sex with a stranger—or any kind of sex, for that matter. A little moan of pain and shame rose in her throat and she bit down hard on her lip as she forced herself to look at the blond Viking sprawled beside her. Now that they were lying down she could admire the full glory of his naked body, the long legs and lean hips, the powerful abdominal muscles and broad chest.

Her eyes jerked to the one area of his body that she had avoided looking at. Even half aroused he was—magnificent. Her stomach squirmed as she remembered how big he had felt when he had slowly filled her. Oh, God, what had she been thinking? Pretty much the same thoughts that were in her head now, Mina acknowledged with a choked sound of self-disgust.

She sat up and told herself it was ridiculous to feel shy that he was looking at her bare breasts when—let’s face it—he’d done a lot more than simply look.

‘Hey—angel?’ Aksel propped himself up on one elbow and frowned when Mina quickly turned away from him. His gut clenched as he glimpsed a betraying shimmer in her eyes. She was crying! The idea that he had caused her to cry filled him with guilt. He had acted like a barbarian, he thought disgustedly. It was no excuse that for the first time in his life his iron self-restraint had been breached by her achingly sweet response to him. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked softly. ‘Where are you going?’

Were there rules for this sort of occasion? If so, Mina did not know the rules. ‘I thought I’d go home...now that...now that we’ve...’ She watched his frown deepen and hoped he wasn’t going to suggest they had dinner. The idea of sitting in that plush dining room while they were served by waiters who could probably guess what they’d had for an appetiser sent a shudder through her.

She tensed as he cupped her jaw and tilted her face to him.

‘I didn’t mean to make you cry, angel,’ he said roughly. ‘I’m sorry—I was too fast—too impatient...’

‘No—’ Mina did not want him to take the blame. He had nothing to blame himself for. ‘It’s not your fault—it’s mine. It’s just that I’ve never in my life gone to bed with a complete stranger...’ her voice wobbled ‘...and I’m embarrassed.’

He did not seem to have listened to her, and doubt and remorse darkened his eyes. ‘Angel...I should have—’

She shook her head, desperate to reassure him. ‘You did everything right. It was...perfect.’ She swallowed, thinking of those moments when she had come apart in his arms. Nothing had prepared her for the physical or emotional intensity of her orgasm. She had connected with him on a deeply fundamental level—as if they were each two halves of a whole—and even now she could not forget that feeling. ‘It was beautiful,’ she said huskily.

‘For me too.’ Aksel was surprised to find it was the truth. He leaned forwards and brushed his mouth over hers, felt the soft tremble of her lips and gently pulled her down so her head lay on his chest, and he stroked her hair. She reminded him of a young colt, nervous and unsure, ready to run away at any moment. Certainly she was not like the sophisticated women who occasionally shared his bed. Not at the palace, of course. Royal protocol demanded that only his wife could sleep with him in the prince’s bedchamber. But he owned a private house a few kilometres out of Storvhal’s capital city, Jonja, where he took his lovers, and also a cabin in the mountains where he took no one.

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