Page 5 of Awakened On Her Royal Wedding Night
Felipe used one bent knuckle to caress her cheek soothingly. “Let’s attend to your injuries first. Then we’ll talk about what happens next.”
She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes in rejection.
That shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. It was proof that Francois continued to leak poisonous lies about him and that people continued to believe them. Usually he didn’t care, but he found himself bothered thatshebelieved them.
Così è la vita.Such is life.
He took up one of the handholds of the sling himself, helping to carry her up the cliffs, then inside the castle walls to the infirmary.
Claudine woke in a dimly lit room. She was in a hospital bed with an IV tube stuck into the back of her hand, but the room looked like a five-star hotel. A Tiffany-style lamp stood on a Renaissance-style night table. Judging by the closed drapes, there was an adjoining terrace of some kind. Two wingback chairs faced a big-screen television above the mantel of a fireplace.
Was she back on Stella Vista? Thank God!
She tried to sit up and couldn’t help the guttural noise that came out of her. Every muscle protested as though thoroughly bruised. She grabbed at the bed rail, trying to pull herself up, only to watch a specter-like shadow rise from a wingback and come toward her.
Her heart tripped and her throat went dry, making it impossible to swallow.
“Good morning,” Felipe said. He was even more imposing in the weak daylight, wearing a crisp white shirt and gray trousers. His dark hair was short and precise. His jaw was shiny with a fresh shave.
That scar on his cheek was both reassuring and terrifying. He wasn’t Francois, but what kind of man was he? What did he intend to do with her?
She sank back onto her pillow.
“My medical staff cleaned your injuries and topped up your fluids.” Felipe nodded at the IV bag, then pressed the back of his fingers to her forehead and cheek.
A teetering sensation arrived in her midsection.Don’t trust him, her logical mind cautioned. A more instinctual side of her yearned for someone to look after her.
“No fever. That’s good.” He reached across her to press a button, filling her senses with the spicy fragrance of aftershave. “Our guest is awake,” he said, then released the button and straightened. “Are you hungry?”
“What time is it?” Her voice came out raspy and weak.
He turned his head to look at where a clock hung on the wall. “Six twenty.”
Time enough to make the photo shoot? She was supposed to be there by eight.
“Dr. Esposito.” The Prince greeted the man who came into the room. “Did you sleep in your clothes?”
“In case I was needed, yes.” The doctor looked to be in his seventies. He stifled a yawn as he buttoned his white coat over his creased clothing. “Good morning, Claudine. How are you feeling? Are you in pain?”
“How do you know my name?” She darted her gaze back to Felipe.
“My security team are all highly trained operatives who employ the latest technologies in facial recognition,” Felipe told her impassively. “None of which was necessary. I looked up this year’s Miss Pangea contestants and there you were, second from the left.”
“Your pulse is elevated,” the doctor said, holding her wrist while watching the clock. “The Prince has been known to have that effect on a woman. Should I ask him to step out of the room?”
Was that supposed to be a joke? Felipe seemed to think so. His eyelids floated down over his dark brown eyes, heavy with amusement.
She sealed her lips. If she said yes, it would confirm she was reacting to him. If she said no, it would seem as though she wanted him to stay.
It’sfear, she wanted to spit at him. Contemptuously.
As if he read her mind and was deeply unimpressed, the smug curl at the corner of his mouth deepened.
“I have to use the bathroom,” she told the doctor. “Can you take this out of my hand?”
He made a noise of agreement and slid open a panel above her where supplies were kept. He unplugged the IV tube, smoothly removed the cannula and pressed a ball of cotton over the puncture, taping it in place.
He would have lowered the bed rail then, but Felipe swiftly did it on the other side.
