Heir Untamed - By Danielle Bourdon Page 0,73
closer.
“Don't,” she hissed. “Don't.”
In the hallway, people were gasping again. Murmuring. Shock rippled through the Royals and staff alike.
“You're going to listen to me whether you like it or not,” he said, scowling. The blue of his eyes glimmered with determination.
“No, actually, I'm not. Arrange whatever with whoever—I'm going home. Make it happen by tomorrow.” Chey tugged her elbow out of his hand. He was intimidating looming over her like that, with his towering height and commanding presence. She turned her chin up, however, defiant in the face of his orders. A part of her was sick, just sick, at the turn of events. What she hated most of all was the ache around her heart. She'd allowed herself to get too close, to trust him and begin to believe in him.
“I don't think so. Not until you listen to what I have to say.” Gruff and abrupt, Sander stared at her as if he might bend her to his will by the sheer force of his gaze.
“I'm not your prisoner here. I'm an employee and I just quit.” Chey spun on a heel and headed for the stairs. She wanted off the private floor, wanted to put as much distance between herself and Sander—Dare—as she could. Panic over the money was a secondary concern.
Somehow, she would figure the whole sordid thing out.
. . .
Twenty minutes into packing her first suitcase, a knock came at her bedroom door. Changed into jeans and a sweater to make the task of preparing to go home easier, Chey at first refused to acknowledge the visitor. It was Sander, she was sure, ready to defend his reasons for lying.
The knock came again.
She ignored it.
Five minutes after that, another trio of knocks.
Exhaling her frustration, she tossed down the folded shirts and went to the door. Swinging it open, she found herself face to face with Mattias.
“I don't want to talk to you or anyone else. I'm leaving tomorrow,” she said, turning away from the door but leaving it open. She knew he would just come in anyway.
Mattias entered and closed the door behind him. Like her, he had changed out of his uniform into something more suitable for every day business. Black slacks, white shirt with the buttons open at the throat.
“Unfortunately, you won't be leaving tomorrow. The weather will not permit it. This storm is growing and becoming dangerous. You will have to stay until it passes.”
Chey put her hands on her hips and stared at the wall rather than Mattias. When her anger got the better of her, she turned a hot look his way.
“Were you in on it, too? Did you know the whole time?”
“I knew after the shooting in the woods. The day he took you to the cabin for the first time.” Mattias observed her with shrewd, dark eyes.
“Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't someone tell me who he was?”
“Because he preferred that we didn't,” Mattias said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“And what about what I prefer?”
“It wasn't your choice at the time. It was Dare's.”
“What is his name, anyway?” She loathed that she would always think of him as Sander rather than Dare. Which only added fuel to her ire.
“Sander Darrion Ahtissari, is his full name. Those of us closest to him call him Dare.”
Small relief. His real name was Sander. “And you're wrong, Mattias. Someone should have told me.”
“It would have changed things--”
“Of course it would have changed things!” She slapped her hands on her thighs in exasperation. “He's the heir to the throne!”
Mattias thinned his lips. “Precisely. Did you ever stop to think that maybe he wanted to just be himself without all the trappings of his position? If you would consider something besides yourself a moment, you would understand why he did what he did.”
Bristling at his insinuation, Chey paced from the bed to the window. Snow fell faster than it had earlier beyond the panes.
“What I know is that he lied.”
“He delayed the truth,” Mattias argued.
Chey scoffed. “Please, Mattias.”
“Do you really think he thought he could hide it forever? Ask yourself why he wanted a head start when he got to know you. Why would he have reason to wait?”
An answer popped into her mind immediately. She didn't want to admit the reasoning behind it. Mattias however, proved to be as quick witted as ever.
“Because he sensed something between you. He was interested and instinctually knew that if he told you who he was, it might have been impossible for you to bond the way