Chapter Six

The helicopter touched down in the early morning light and Robert let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes. The royal seal stood out on the side of the luxurious aircraft, and he had no doubt he’d been busted. Thankfully, his cousin Chris had given him a fifteen-minute warning. He’d have hated to get caught with his pants down.

That thought made him scowl as he felt an ache in his groin. Robert wasn’t used to women pushing him away — he was used to the opposite, in fact. On the rare occasion they didn’t actually know who he was, he still had no problem getting any woman he pleased. It appeared as if his track record was being broken when it came to one Isabella Shell. Damn, the woman was frustrating . . . and intriguing.

The propellers of the helicopter stopped spinning, and Robert decided to stay right where he was. He wasn’t giving his father the pleasure of rushing out to meet him. His thirtieth birthday was quickly approaching, and the ancient tradition of having to marry and live a life of servitude to his country still stood. He felt there was no need for him to stay in line with his oldest brother, who was set to rule the country, and his middle brother, who was waiting in the wings in case Ballasare couldn’t rule for some reason. Robert should be free. But his father was a traditional man with too many expectations.

When King Heinrich Demande stepped from the chopper it seemed as if the very air sizzled with power. It was odd, even though Robert did love his father and also resented him for his commands, he truly did respect the man and the power he wielded in a loyal and loving way. His people were faithful to him because he earned their respect. And there was something about the man that instantly made a person in the wrong shift on their feet and want to apologize.

Robert’s spine stiffened as he had these thoughts. This wasn’t only his king, it was his father. And Robert wasn’t a child anymore, though he had zero doubt he was about to get a mental spanking.

When Ballasare and Nicolino stepped from the chopper behind their father, Robert felt his muscles tense even further. It appeared as if this was a family intervention. As he looked past his father and met the eyes of Nic who smirked at him, Robert felt his blood pump through his veins. This family mediation stuff wasn’t nearly as fun when he was on the receiving end.

“Announcing his Royal Highness, King Heinrich of Rubare Virgina,” Theo, the very loyal and true royal advisor, said in far too loud a voice for this early morning hour.

“I think I know who YRH is,” Robert said as he winked at Theo who gave him a scowl for his joke. The advisor never found it amusing for Robert to shorten Your Royal Highness, or use nicknames when it came to the king or the princes. It was disrespectful in his opinion. People honestly needed to loosen up.

“I’m not here for jokes, Robert,” Heinrich said.

“If your lip gets any stiffer I’m going to be able to set a drink on it, Sir,” Robert told him.

Heinrich did something Robert hadn’t once in his life heard, and the sound was enough to stop the next words that had been about to slip off his tongue. His father let out a very short, but very powerful, growl as he scowled at his son.

Robert looked up and saw the shock on his brothers’ faces and knew his own expression mirrored theirs. He looked over at Theo, who tried to keep his expression impassive, but the loyal servant appeared as if he might faint. Such a sound didn’t come from the king — not ever.

“Wow, something wrong?” Robert finally asked after the initial shock wore off.

“I am one of the most powerful men in the world, and yet I’m surrounded by idiots who are supposed to be my strongest allies,” Heinrich said with a sigh. “Let us at least try to be civilized and go inside.”

The statement wasn’t a question. The king moved forward, knowing his sons would obediently follow. For once Robert would love to defy the man and walk in the opposite direction. Yes, he’d pulled a lot of crap while growing up, but when his father was acting as king, Robert knew to obey. He didn’t say a word to his brothers as he stepped to their side and walked behind their dad.

The servants of the castle smiled with joy before they bowed as the king passed them. No he wasn’t king of Rubare Collina, but it was their neighboring land and a king was to be revered. Each country might have their own customs and might even fault each other on how they chose to rule or run their countries, but at the end of the day, they were family, and they were loyal.

As soon as the staff had received notice that King Heinrich was coming, they had gone into panic mode to assure there was a proper place set up for him. They all stepped into a private chamber that was the size of a large house. Food and drink were set up and several servants were at the ready to give the king whatever he’d like.

“Leave us,” King Heinrich said. Though the staff obviously didn’t want to leave the king on his own to serve himself, they wouldn’t dream of arguing. The only person other than family who stayed was Theo, and with a single word, he’d also exit the room. But he had proven his loyalty long ago, and there truly wasn’t a need for him to go. If anything he’d be valuable to Heinrich in scolding Robert as well.

No one ever sat down before the king did, but Robert suddenly felt weary so he moved over to a grouping of chairs and dropped down in a very unroyal fashion.

“Have you lost sight of who you are?” Heinrich asked as he moved over to his son, deciding to remain standing. It was a position of power for sure.

“I know exactly who I am,” Robert assured his father.

“Then why is it so difficult for you to accept your responsibilities and be an example to your people?” Heinrich pushed.

“You have Ballasare and Nic for that,” Robert pointed out.

“And I have you,” Heinrich said.

“Doesn’t every family need to have at least one black sheep?” Robert asked.

“Enough!” Robert felt himself tense at his father’s outburst. It was rare the king felt the need to shout, and when he did it was as powerful as a lion’s roar.

“Maybe we need to stop the formalities and get right to the situation at hand,” Ballasare said. “Why did you kidnap a woman?” he asked as he stepped to their father’s side.

Robert shrugged his shoulders as he looked from his father to his brothers. Nic winked at him without anyone else knowing as he was a few paces back from the group. Robert knew better than to smile at him.

“A shrug won’t cut it,” Heinrich said. Robert caught the look of disapproval on Theo’s face.

“We don’t act as our cousins do and take women against their will,” Ballasare pointed out.

Robert scoffed before smiling at his brother. “Didn’t you refuse to let Jessica leave when she wanted to?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “I think that would be considered kidnapping.”

Ballasare stiffened. “That was a different circumstance. She’d been there for me and then wanted to run. I was showing her other options,” he explained as if he were being perfectly reasonable.

“Well, I lost a bet, and I don’t welch on them,” Robert said as if that was explanation enough.

“I’ve had the woman vetted. She is highly qualified to be your bride,” Heinrich said as if it were a done deal.

Robert again shifted as he let his father’s words sink in. He’d had the same thought that he might have to marry the woman to keep from creating a scandal, but now that his father was saying it, the situation really ticked him off.

“I haven’t done anything that would require I protect her honor,” Robert said.

He heard a short chuckle escape Nic before his brother cut the sound off. Yeah, he was losing his swagger if he’d had her all night and hadn’t managed to bed her yet. His brothers were really enjoying that fact.

“You’ve compromised her in our family’s land. Your birthday is in thirty days, and she is suitable. You will marry her,” King Heinrich commanded. That wasn’t the voice of his father at all — that was an order from his king.

Robert’s head cocked to the side as he gazed at Heinrich. Nic gave him a shrug of the shoulders, and Ballasare seemed deep in thought. What frightened Robert was his lack of will to fight this issue. He didn’t know this woman, had barely spent time with her, and yet, he wasn’t opposed to obeying his father’s command.

Was it because he did truly feel a sense of loyalty to his country and honor, or was it that he wanted to bed the woman so badly he was willing to put a diamond on her finger in order to do it? Maybe he needed to quit drinking so much because obviously he was frying his brain.

“Theo,” Heinrich said, and the man stepped forward, pulling a beautiful velvet box from his pocket. He presented it to the king and Heinrich drew closer, opening the box.

“It’s from the royal vault. It was my great-great-grandmother’s,” Heinrich said with a rare bit of emotion in his voice. A stunning five-carat, square diamond sparkled as it sat on black velvet.

“Then it should be passed down to family,” Robert told his father, in no way wanting to take that ring.

“Isabella will be family. She will provide me heirs,” he said before a slight smile lifted his lips. “My grandchildren.”

Robert was so shocked by this touch of emotion he didn’t even feel a need to argue. Heinrich took the opportunity to place the diamond in Robert’s hand before he stepped back.

“Do the right thing and keep our country strong, and our relationship civil with Rubare Collina,” Heinrich said.

“But our cousins kidnapped their brides. Why would they protest me doing it for fun?” Robert asked. “Chris was in on the entire thing.” He didn’t want to sell his cousin out, but he was being guilted into marrying someone, and he had to fight against that.

“That custom has been overruled now so for you to visit this land and go against their king shows a complete lack of respect. If it was done out of love, that can be forgiven,” Heinrich said.

“I’m not in love with her,” Robert told his father, his words finishing off on a high-pitched squeal he wasn’t proud of.

“Of course not,” Heinrich said. “But that comes later.”

Robert’s eyes met Ballasare’s as he looked for understanding in his oldest sibling’s expression. He didn’t see it. He turned to Nic, who again shrugged.

“I’d love to tell you he’s full of it,” Nic said. “But now that I have Diana, I’m a changed man. I’m in love with her and my country. I didn’t want to cave in either, but I’m truly happy I did. I’ve never been so happy.”

“Yes, the love of a good woman will give you a sense of purpose and make you more loyal to our country and our people,” Ballasare added.

“I’m not looking for love, I’m looking for hot sex,” Robert shouted.

Chuckles escaped both Ballasare and Nic. His father and Theo weren’t quite as amused.

“You can have both,” Nic finally said.

“I have no doubt you’ll do the right thing and have this fixed in no time,” Heinrich told him before he turned and walked from the room.

He didn’t need to say goodbye. He was the king, and he was the one who dismissed people, even his own disobedient children if the need arose.

“Good luck, brother,” Ballasare said before patting Robert on the shoulder and following their dad.

When they were both out of earshot Nic gave him a big grin before he moved closer and lowered his voice.

“Was it amazing to take the woman?” Nic asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

Robert felt his own lips turn up as he remembered the adventure of it all. “It’s still sending adrenaline through my body. I don’t regret a moment of it,” he admitted.

“Thatta boy. I want all the details as soon as possible,” Nic demanded.

“Of course,” Robert said.

“You’re going to have to marry the girl,” Nic told him.

Robert sighed. “I kind of figured that when I knew I’d taken the wrong woman,” he admitted.

“I thought so,” Nic said with approval. He then patted Robert’s shoulder and followed their father and brother from the room.

Robert sighed. It was time to go find his future bride. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to be too keen on the idea. That thought only made him smile more though, because he was ready to go a few rounds with the tempting beauty. She stirred his blood and made him want to become this alpha male who had to hunt his prey.

He’d had far too easy a time with women his entire life. It figured he’d be drawn the most to the one who thought he was nothing more than a plague to be stomped on. Tucking the ring away, Robert went to a window and watched as his father’s chopper ascended. He wanted to make sure his family was long gone before he went to the girl. He planned on getting both of them naked, and he really didn’t want any further interruptions. Once she was his, she would realize they would stay together.

It was a beautiful day on the island of Rubare Collina. Why not get engaged? Most successful royal marriages were arranged anyway, he thought with a careless shrug as he internally argued with himself.

He realized the customs of his land were so ingrained in him, he followed them without too much of a fight. Beyond that, he was loyal to his land and his family. And it didn’t hurt that the girl intrigued him.

His last thought, which would have Izzy kicking his ass, was that if he grew bored of her, he could always have a harem. Laughter echoed off the walls as he imagined what the American girl would have to say about that. He’d love to find out. Maybe he’d ask her. It had been a bit too long since he’d danced with danger.