Pregnant with the Prince's Child by Raye Morgan Read Free Book Online Page A

advice. But you’re not going to set any agendas. I’ll do that.” He gave her a challenging look. “No rules.”
    She nodded reluctantly. “Okay.” She drew in a deep breath. “But…”
    “Uh-uh.” He shook his head. “This is my game. I’ll play it my way. If you can’t handle that, it’s time for you to go.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    J ANIS ’ S pivot wasn’t graceful but at least she didn’t fall on her face, shaky as she was. He couldn’t have been clearer. He wanted her gone. She headed back into the room and reached for her satchel. This time she really would go. If he wanted to risk ruining his life, she wasn’t going to try to stop him.
    She stopped and looked around the room, making sure she wasn’t leaving anything. She was angry and feeling wounded. She’d only been trying to help. She’d had enough.
    Where would she go? She wasn’t sure. It was getting pretty late. This was a nice neighborhood. Maybe there was a hotel nearby. Maybe. If not, she would wander around until she got her bearings. She only hoped she wouldn’t have to end up sleeping under a bridge in the cold.
    One last glance back over her shoulder and she was stepping out the door. And that was the moment she heard his gasp of pain.
    She was back in the room in a flash. He was leaning against the doorjamb, his eyes closed.
    “Oh, no, oh, no,” she whispered like a prayer as she rushed to help him. He’d managed to put on pajama bottoms, but his chest was still bare. She quickly slipped under his shoulder and became a crutch for him.
    “What happened?” she asked.
    His mouth twisted into something resembling a sort of grin, but he shook his head. “I’m just too damn weak to support myself once the pain starts shooting through me,” he muttered, sounding resentful.
    “Lean on me,” she told him firmly. “Come on. I’ll get you back into bed.”
    He felt like heaven, even this way—all hard muscle and slick skin. She turned her face toward him and took in his familiar smell and then wished she hadn’t. Emotion came surging up her throat. She’d missed him so.
    She hardened her heart and forced herself to hold him steady as they made their way across the floor. And then she had him at the edge of the bed and he groaned as he slid down onto the covers.
    For just a moment, she caught a glimpse of his back, at the horrible red scarring, and her heart lurched. Horror shivered through her and then she steadied herself and thought of basics instead of pain.
    Where was his brace? He should be in it. And surely he’d had bandages on the wounds when he’d been brought in here. He must have taken them off when he went into the shower. Should he have done that? She highly doubted it. But there wasn’t much she could do about it right now. He’d been very clear. This was his game. Carefully, she pulled the sheets from under him and then pulled them over and tucked him in, looking down at him anxiously.
    He was looking up at her. He didn’t smile, but there was something going on behind his crystal gaze.
    “Okay,” he said roughly. “Just let me rest a minute.”
    She nodded, thankful he seemed to be tired but largely okay. She resisted the impulse to tell him to wiggle his toes and prove nothing had touched his spinal cord at this point. Making a quick trip back into the bathroom, she saw where he’d thrown away the old bandaging. She opened the cabinet and grabbed a round of tape and a package of fresh gauze pads, snagged the brace and took it all back out into the bedroom.
    His eyes were open and he looked alert, but he shook his head when he saw what she had.
    “I want to let air get to it,” he told her.
    She hesitated, not sure that was a good idea, but she couldn’t argue with him, could she? With a sigh, she put her supplies down and sank onto the couch.
    “You always have to do it your way, don’t you?” she grumbled.
    He was feeling better by the minute and he managed a lopsided smile. “Is it that obvious?”