Page 79 of The Duke's Virgin

“Don’t lie.” The tone was implacable and hard—the tone of a man not used to being ignored.Or disobeyed. “It doesn’t suit you, and you’re not very good at it.”

Knowing my blush would be my undoing, I twisted away from him and stepped away from the bed. I felt completely exposed, and he wore the only robe. There was a soft throw that looked to be chenille draped over the wingchair, and I grabbed it, wrapping it around me like a sarong. “I just don’t want the champagne, Luka. Why is that such an issue?”

“If that was theissue, fine. But it’s not.” He rose and closed the robe, loosely tying it at his waist. Crossing his arms over his chest, he skewered me with a look that seemed to go right through me. “There’s something else. I can see it in your eyes. Something you don’t want to tell me. What is it?”

A headache pounded at the base of my skull, and the wary, watchful look in his eyes only added to its intensity. I’d come here to getawayfrom judgmental looks and doubt, and now I was getting it from theoneman I absolutely couldn’t handle it from.

Clenching my jaw, I stared at him for a long moment, then averted my eyes. “I think I’ll go back to the palace now.”

He caught my arm as I went to pass. “I want a fucking answer!”

“I’m pregnant!” I half-shouted at him as he swung me around.

His face went slack, mouth falling open.

“I can’t drink the champagne because I’m pregnant! Okay?” The words spilled out of me, and I jerked out of his grip, his fingers suddenly lax.

Setting my jaw, I glared at him, not certain how he’d respond.

“You…” He straightened and looked down, his hair falling into his eyes and shielding his face. A shudder went through him, then he went incredibly still, deathly still.

A chill went down my spine, and I stopped breathing for a few seconds.

When he looked back at me, his entire expression had changed. He’d never looked at me like that. His eyes were nothing but chips of amber ice, set in a face harder than stone, his mouth flat and unsmiling.

“Get out,” he said.

He turned away, and I gaped at him.

“What?”

“I’ll take some of the blame here.” He glanced back at me, raking me up and down with a disdainful look. “I knew you were dating Emmett, which was why Iaskedif there was any reason you couldn’t come back to my hotel with me. If it was serious between you two, I would havethoughtyou’d consider him a reason. Ababydamn well should have been a reason. At least inmymind. And I know him well enough to say that Emmett would consider a baby a good fucking reason not to come to my room with me. But I was stupid and wanted you enough to think that maybe things weren’t serious between you two, that you’d be honest with me. Clearly, I was wrong. But I’ll rectify that mistake.”

I felt like I’d been hollowed out, completely scraped empty, with nothing but ragged, bleeding gouges left as evidence to show there’d once been something more inside me. Throat locked down so tight, I shook my head and cleared my throat twice before I could even speak. “Luka, I don’t know what it is you’re thinking, but—”

“Don’t you?” He cut me off and gave me a bored, derisive look. “Stacia, darling, you’re good in bed, butnobodyis that good, and you’re far from the first to try and pull this sort of scheme.”

My blood went cold at the expression in his eyes. Predatory and hostile.

“I’m trying to decide what your goal is here…money or marriage.” His lids drooped, a look that had been so seductive and enticing earlier was now enough to make me sick inside. “I bet it’s money. You’re connected to a royal family yourself…barely. But you’re smart enough to know there are rules when it comes to marriage among royals and marryingwellis one of those rules.”

That was it. I was going to vomit. I knew it. I pressed my lips together and tried to control the impulse, thankful the nausea was brought on by…this, instead of the baby inside me. Instinctively, I placed a hand over my belly, staring at Luka as I thought,I’m glad you can’t hear this right now, little one.

Luka noticed, and his lip curled.

I flinched and curled in on myself as he stalked closer.

It took all of my courage not to look away when he bent down and glared at me, staring me right in the eye.

“Let me make one thing absolutely clear…darling. You fooled me once. It won’t happen again.” He jerked his chin toward the door and bared his teeth in a cold, mocking smile. “Now, get thefuckout of here before I have you thrown out. Aeric’s a friend, so right now, I’m restraining myself out of respect for him and his family, but my patience is about to snap. Much longer, and you’ll end up as gossip fodder becausesomebodywill witness security dragging your lying, manipulative ass out of here.”

That hurt enough, drove the knife in deep enough, that I reacted, sucking in a breath that sounded more like a sob.

Cutting around him, still clutching the chenille thrown to my breasts, I headed for the other room where my gown, shoes, and clutch purse waited. I gathered them all up, holding them to my chest and hoping desperately that nothing fell—especially the throw. But if it did, it couldn’t humiliate me any worse than what Luka had done.

“Get dressed out here,” he said in a surly tone. “I don’t want to see—”

Ignoring him, I opened the door to the suite. “I’ll stop by the front desk and pay for the cost of the throw,” I said in a wooden voice, staring straight ahead and not once looking at the man glaring daggers into the back of my head. “You’re wrong, though. The baby isn’t Emmett’s. You’re the only man I’ve ever been with.”

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