ena

negotiation with a prince, I would not conduct it while looming over a man in a wheelchair like a nurse over a pa

al, wheezing cough. "Lady McLaughlin. To

lanket draped over his legs, even though the room was warm. The hands on the armrests,

ispense with t

e, Your Highness. I am not

issue a reprimand, but Dante silenced

descending smile. "Oh? And here I was told y

ountered. "And I'm quite certain

. "A 'tainted' woman, publicly cast off by the Alpha Heir, shackled to a 'useless'

s, watching for a reaction, a crack

f his gray eyes, but his sickly smile remained in place. "Fate ha

smiled, and there was no warm

. "I'm offering you t

esence makes your delicate condition worse. I don't care what excuse you use. Find a way to make this marriage disappear. In return, I

er, and I had just offered him a tempting chip

ifted, the casual negotiator replaced by the professional.

I said slowly, "i

nded like a

solidify. Rhys's jaw dropped,

ailty went still. The coughing stopped. The faint amusement in his gray eyes sharp

s voice losing its feigned weakne

pped closer and leaned in, my hands braced on the arms of hi

e in this palace has the skill to treat it." I paused, letting the weight of my claim si

the tendons stood out beneath his pale skin. Rhys had gone utterly silent beside him,

f it had fallen away for a breath. What remained was a man who had spent years hiding his stre

infatuation, no pity, no fear. Only the cold, detached c

s, broken only by the sound of his own br

voice low and dangero

ile-touching my lips. "I don't want a dying h

ke your