The Billionaire's Cinderella Contract Read online

  He paused, and she seemed to startle, as if she’d never heard of such a thing. “Of course. Yes. The official announcement.”

  That struck him as disingenuous, but he wrestled his temper into place, locked up tight inside him.

  “It will take place in two days’ time, at the first holiday ball of the season.” She didn’t react to that, so he carried on with his talking points. “We will discuss our whirlwind relationship and how it was a bright light during the dark days before and after my father’s death. We will talk about hope, and a new dawn, not only for ourselves, but for Idylla. As is tradition, we will be married six weeks from the first ball, on Christmas Eve, captivating the hearts and minds of not only the kingdom, but the world. Yet as spectacular as our wedding will be, as is customary, our marriage will be reserved. Competent.”

  “And sane,” she chimed in. And smiled when he lifted a brow at her, though he rather thought the curve of her lips had an edge to it. That was unexpected. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. But I have heard your speeches.”

  Was that a slap at him? He shoved it aside. “Excellent. Then you already know how things will go.”

  “I admire your...” She paused. “...certainty.”

  “I am certain,” Orion said quietly. “Because I will make it so.”

  “How...monocratic.”

  “Indeed. As I am the monarch.” He waited for her to swallow, hard. “I will marry you, Lady Calista, because I gave my word that I would. I will make you my queen and consort, because that is the bargain your father made with mine. But hear me.”

  And this time, she only stared back at him mutely. No clever comments at the ready.

  “I will tolerate no scandals,” he told her. “And I understand that this might be hard for you, as scandals are your stock in trade.” He saw something flash in her eyes like the sea, but she only pressed her lips into a firm line. “But there will be no anonymous stories from this palace. There will be no salacious insider exposés. If you cannot comply with this requirement, I am sorry to tell you that you will find our marriage...challenging.”

  “‘Challenging?’” Her voice was huskier than before. “What, precisely, does ‘challenging’ mean?”

  He allowed himself a faint smile. “I will take a page from kings of old,” he told her, the vow of it in his voice. He felt certain she could hear it. “If you defy me I will install you in Castle Crag.”

  “Castle Crag.” She blinked. “You don’t mean Castle Crag.”

  “I have never meant anything more.”

  “Castle Crag is in the middle of the Aegean.” She stared at him, her eyes widening at whatever she saw. “It’s a slab of rock with an ancient fortress on it. I don’t think it has electricity. It’s a prison.”

  “That is precisely why any number of my ancestors preferred to keep their wives and assorted other dissidents there,” Orion said, his voice even and his gaze hard on hers. “I plan to rule as a progressive king, Lady Calista. But when it comes to the queen I was blackmailed into accepting, know this. Where you are concerned, you can expect me to be purely medieval.”

  Copyright © 2020 by Caitlin Crews

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  ISBN-13: 9781488068669

  The Billionaire’s Cinderella Contract

  Copyright © 2020 by Michelle Smart

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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