He had turned an already difficult situation into an impossible one. He had been wrong, but not like the other times when he had pranked his friends, or messed a girl around and made her believe he wanted her when he wanted everything but. Usually, he could walk away from this situation—it was only one girl. His parents hadn’t specified who he was to marry, so maybe he should cut his losses and pick one of the other girls. Anyone would do. But even thinking about it made him squirm. He couldn’t imagine himself with the other prissy, fake women he had met so far.

He hopped out of bed, not noticing the lumps like he had before. Maybe he could take time out, give her some space, and see if her rage would blow over. But Christ! She was a virgin. How was this ever going to blow over?

Instead of chasing Elena, he went home. Maybe the change in environment, if even for a day, would turn the tide for him.

His mother was only too happy to see him. “Oh, Jason, you’ve found someone. Jaimie, Jason is back!”

“Mom, I’m not back,” he told her and removed her hands from his cheeks. “I merely stopped by.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, how hard could it be to find a girl and marry her? There are girls there, right?”

He gave her an incredulous stare. “Did you really think it would be that easy? Mom, I’m a prince. Imagine you taking one of those farmers or cattle herders for a husband.” Her face wrinkled into a scowl. “Exactly. Of course there are many girls there.” He walked past her before she searched his face and saw more than he was willing to share.

“Jason!” King Jaimie called as he entered the drawing room. “Saved the kingdom, have you?”

“Not yet, Dad.” He grinned mockingly. “I have to get used to the idea of my soul being gone after I sell it to assure that.”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

“That’s what I said,” the queen added. “I know they are all poor, but surely there must be at least one who is pretty or capable of being a wife.”

Jason grunted. “Yes. At least one.” His shoulders sagged as he made his way to the kitchen, where he found Ellie busily preparing lunch.

“Hey, Ellie. What you got there?”

“Prince Jason. Nice to see you.” She smiled. “I was making a garden salad and chicken club sandwiches. Would you like one?”

“Would I like one? You bet I do. Bring it to my room when you’re done, please.”

“Very well, Your Grace.” She nodded and returned her attention to the chopping board where she was busily hammering away at vegetables and deli meats.

“Why did you come?” his mother asked as soon as he met her in the drawing room again.

“This is still my house, right?

“You don’t understand the seriousness of this. The Wyatts have been calling, and they are making threats. The survival of the kingdom, or our reign rather, rests on you.”

“Yeah, Dad, like it’s simply a milk run—go and get a wife and return home and we will save the kingdom. No pressure.” He rolled his eyes and walked away as he headed to his bedroom, the one place he’d truly missed since he had been gone.

But his mother’s footsteps echoed in the hallway as she ran after him. “Come on, talk to me.”

“There is nothing to say.” He tried to blow her off, but she refused to be ignored. He sighed. “There were a few girls…none exceptional…” His voice trailed off after that last word when he remembered Elena’s innocence. He walked to his window overlooking the village and shoved his hands into his pockets. He inhaled deeply and turned to her again.

“There is someone,” the queen marveled and rushed to him, her eyes glistening with hope. “I know that look. A woman knows.”

“What look? Don’t be absurd.”

“No, no, no. You aren’t fooling me, Jason Burgess. Someone got under your skin, didn’t she? Who is she? Is she pretty?”

“Mom…” Jason drawled, feeling like a ten-year-old again.

“Spit it out,” she commanded and sat on the footstool while she waited for what she knew was coming.

Jason wiped his hand down his face. “Fine. There is one girl. But it’s nothing.”

“Nothing? Please. What’s she like?”

“You won’t even like her. She is different than the girls you’re familiar with.”

“Different how?” she wanted to know. She sat on the edge of the stool like she was getting a briefing about an exciting adventure.

“She is pretty. Prettier than most of the girls, but it isn’t obvious at first.” He paused when he saw her knitted brow and question marks. “She keeps her head covered most of the time, and she hides her body under overalls and baggy clothes.”

“Oh, that sounds horrid,” Queen Clarise replied with concern. “Are you sure about her?”

“More than the others. I mean, underneath all that is a beautiful woman.”

His words weren’t lost on his mother, and she caught his insinuation. “Underneath? Jason! Did you have sex with her?”

Jason’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Not my best moment.”

“Well, I guess you did make up your mind. So, what’s the problem? When’s the wedding?”

Jason paced the room for a few minutes as he searched his brain for an answer. Then he returned to the window. “I’m not sure there will be a wedding. She doesn’t want to marry me.”

“And she still slept with you?” Queen Clarise was confused, but as usual, she would never understand how the minds of young people worked.

“It’s more complicated. She thinks I took advantage of her, but that wasn’t it. I…” He raked his hand through his hair and turned about like he had lost something. Panic surfaced in his eyes when he faced his mother again. “I’m not used to women like her. She was stubborn before, and I knew she liked me. I thought that…that if I slept with her, it would make her see that she wanted me too.”

“Oh, Jason,” his mother crooned. “That’s not how it works. I’m sure she doesn’t have much experience. Girls like her are more sheltered. You were probably her first—”

His head snapped from its downcast position and found her eyes as she spoke the words, and she clearly realized what she said was true.

“You were?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded his head, afraid the words would come out wrong. “I didn’t know. Now she hates me for it.”

Queen Clarise rose and walked to her son. She cupped his face and smiled. “This can be fixed. You simply need to make her understand it wasn’t about the sex. That you actually want her.”

“But she won’t talk to me. She practically threw me off her farm last night.”

“Hmmm,” she mused. “Might be harder than I thought.”

He pulled away. “What do you think I’ve been doing all this time? I’ve gone out of my way to see her, even while the rest of the village girls threw themselves at me. I bought her father farming supplies—”

“Farming supplies!” Queen Clarise exclaimed. “You can’t woo a girl with farming tools. You need something more personal.” He looked confused. “Oh, for God’s sake, Jason, don’t tell me you’ve never bought a woman a gift.”

“I have,” he defended. “I’ve treated them to rides on the yacht, trips to Milan, Egypt, bought them diamonds and custom-made jewelry…but Elena won’t go for things like that.”

“Oh, that’s a pretty name. And if she is as beautiful as you say she is, surely there must be something she wants. She is poor. She should want a lot of things.”

“She wants to be left alone to raise her animals on her father’s farm,” Jason snarled and punched the wall. “I mean, what kind of a woman would prefer that over being a princess?”

“Apparently the one you happened to fall in love with,” his mother replied as she tried to stifle her laugh.

“It’s not funny, Mom!”

“Well, it sort of is. It’s strange that I’ve seen you partying with all those princesses and rich girls, bedding them and leaving them. You never listened to me when I told you karma would get you. Now look at you, in love with a poor girl who doesn’t even want you.”

Jason’s temper got the better of him, and he forgot she was his mother. His eyes darkened as anger took root inside him. “You caused this! If you weren’t so obsessed with the damned crown, willing to throw me to the wolves to secure it, none of this would have happened.”

Queen Clarise was silent for a moment, and she walked to the window where he had been earlier. “Perhaps you should come home and start packing with the rest of us.” She paused and waited for him to make a nasty comeback. “Nothing?” she asked as she turned. “You have nothing to say?” He hung his head. “That’s what I thought. See, you aren’t doing this for only your father or for me. You’re doing it for you. We’ll soon be gone. We’ve reigned a long time. The future belongs to you and your family, so you’d better get back down there and make that girl marry you!” she said through clenched teeth.

“How?” he barked.

“I don’t know,” she snapped.

There was a tap at the door, and Ellie stuck her head inside. She was carrying a silver platter.

“Leave it there, Ellie,” Jason told her as calmly as he could. Ellie must have sensed the tension because she hurried from the room.

Queen Clarise looked at her son, smoothed her dress, and walked to the door. “I do wish you luck,” she paused to say before she hurried away.

Jason stared at the open door for a long time before fixating on the silver tray. He had lost his appetite. He returned to the window and stared out across the lush green landscape for a long time. He walked miserably to his California king-sized bed and curled up. He needed rest for what he had to face. Elena had proven to be more of a challenge than he had anticipated. He had been sure that by now, he would have worn her down, but he had driven her further away. He didn’t know what to do, and he wasn’t going to simply choose another of the village girls. He wanted her, and he would have to make her see that she wanted him too and stop fighting it.

He stayed the night at the castle and left with the morning sun. He didn’t want her to feel abandoned right after he had taken her virginity. He had never had that experience before, and his cock twitched as he thought about it.

When he drove through town square, he wasn’t greeted by any of the women who craved his attention before. There was only peace and an uncomfortable silence.

“Here we are, sir,” Rick said as he pulled up to the cottage.

“No, keep going,” Jason told him.

The man glanced at him through the mirror, a curious expression on his face. “Okay, sir. Any idea where?”

“I’ll let you know.”

Jason stared out the window and noticed that, like before, most of the village was still asleep. He watched the neat rows of cottages as they disappeared, no evidence of life in any. His heart started beating faster the closer he got to Elena’s farm as he anticipated the greeting he would get. He probably deserved it.

“Here!”

Rick slowed the car to a crawl and kept sneaking looks at Jason through the mirror. “Would you like me to wait?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. I can walk back from here.”

Rick nodded and drove away slowly after Jason got out of the car, as if he was giving him time to change his mind and tell him to wait. Jason stood outside the gate for a considerable time, feeling like he had been locked out of his own house. He looked around and was happy no one was there to witness his embarrassment. He sucked in a deep breath and walked across the grassy surface that led to the front door. He rapped on the door and waited uncomfortably for someone to answer. The face that came was not the one he had hoped for.

“Prince Jason,” Olivia gasped and looked behind her. She brushed her hair behind her ear and wiped her hand on her apron. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I’m sorry for showing up like this. I didn’t mean to disturb you, but is Elena…awake, or about?”

Gregory came to the door, curious about who was calling at that time of the morning. “Oh, Prince Jason.” Jason noticed he didn’t seem as happy to see him as before when he had visited and stayed for breakfast. He held his hand out to him and waited for a handshake. “Thank you for the…the farm tools and feed. They are much appreciated.”

Jason grabbed his rough, calloused hand and shook it. “No problem. We should have helped you folks a long time ago. I hope you know you can always come to my family for anything. We may not have been the best rulers, but we do mean well.”

“Thank you.” Olivia beamed and touched her husband on the shoulder.

Jason was impatient for a different conversation. “So…Elena?”

“Oh,” Gregory replied as he pulled his hand back and looked at his wife. “She hasn’t been out of bed since yesterday. I think she got the flu or something. She won’t even come down for tea.”

“Oh,” Jason managed to say. “I hoped I could see her. If there is any chance…”

“Maybe later,” Gregory told him.

Jason’s heart sank in disappointment. “All right. Maybe later. Please tell her I was here.”

He was halfway down the walk when Gregory called to him. “Prince Jason. Do you have your eye on my daughter?”

He paused and looked back. There was no sense in denying it. “I do, sir.”

Gregory walked down to meet him. Olivia remained at the door, fiddling with the lock and intermittently wiping her hands down her apron. “I promised my little girl she didn’t have to marry you if she doesn’t want to. I would really appreciate if you…if you…don’t force her. I would hate to have to come between you two and make a quarrel.”

Jason locked his hands behind him and stared to his right at the huge, green, still damp property. “I appreciate you saying that. Most of the other parents are more than happy to gift wrap their daughters for me. But I assure you, sir, I won’t force Elena to marry me. I’ll only marry her if she wants to.”

Gregory’s chest heaved with relieved sigh and a smile spread across his face. “I’m glad we understand each other.”

“I don’t think you understand, sir. I mean no disrespect, but I will marry Elena. She will choose to marry me. I always get what I want. And I want her.”

Gregory’s face tightened. “I thought you said you wouldn’t force her.”

“I won’t. She will come around. And I will leave now, but I will be back. As many times as I have to until she sees me.” He nodded and walked away.

Jason wore his disappointment like a mask all the way to the cottage. Just when he thought Elena would be difficult, he realized he might have to get to her through her father. He could prevent him from seeing her, and Jason wasn’t going to force his way past him, as much as he had the power to. He wanted Elena to come to him on her own, but in the meantime, he would need some help. He remembered his mother’s advice—to charm his way into her heart—but he wasn’t sure charm worked on a girl like her.

But he had nothing to lose. His entire life and kingdom rested on Elena saying yes. He would accept no other answer. The answer proved most elusive, and he dreaded the coming days. He was getting a bitter taste of life in the real world, where money couldn’t buy everything. Still, it could buy some things. He reached the cottage and into his pocket for his phone. He would need reinforcements, the more the better.