Princess in the Iron Mask Read Online Free PDF

No, he was using her weakness against her. Bizarrely, instead of hatred she felt utter disappointment. In both of them. Why in Lucas she had no idea. But in herself it was the heart-pumping, blood-fizzing desire that brought her such misery. So there ended her life lesson on physical attraction. She couldn’t even trust her body to decipher the good from the bad. Then again, her body had let her down since she was ten years old.
    ‘What exactly are these conditions?’ she asked, proud of her unwavering voice.
    ‘Three weeks’ leave. Effective from nine this morning. Coupled with your return to Arunthia.’
    Claudia shook her head slowly. ‘Have you no conscience?’
    Whether it was his words—spoken like an automaton, as if he were programmed—or his face—a picture of haughty detachment—her heart was torn wide open.
    ‘I have a duty, Claudia. As do you. The choice is yours.’

CHAPTER THREE
    D ON ’ T YOU DARE crumble in front of this man, Claudia. Don’t you dare.
    An hour ago she’d prayed for a miracle and, as if the gods were playing tricks on her, they’d sent a warrior hell-bent on her destruction. The stronghold she kept on her emotions teetered precariously and her bones throbbed with the effort to stand tall.
    Three weeks in exchange for three and a half million pounds.
    Breathing in and out, slow and even, she locked her knees so tightly, a sharp pain shot up her thighs. But it was nothing compared to the blood dripping from her heart.
    Lucas, the blackmailing beast, stood in the centre of the room, a dark lock of his hair falling over his brow in bad-boy disarray. Tall and gladiator-strong, he waited patiently—no doubt for a sign of her surrender. If she didn’t loathe him so much she would melt at the sheer sight of him. He’d played her since the moment he’d arrived.
    ‘Choice?’ she said, and thank God her voice didn’t falter. ‘My so-called choice is either to follow you or lose my job, Mr Garcia. I’m fairly certain my refusal to comply with your conditions would land me in the unemployment line.’ Oh, she could beg Ryan Tate to give her time to find the money elsewhere, but it would be a useless pursuit. There was a reason he was known as a hard-ass among her colleagues. Ryan Tate would question her sanity. Tell her to swallow her damn pride and think of the bigger picture. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all that. ‘Then again, you knew that, Lucas , didn’t you?’ she said bitterly.
    His throat convulsed and after a few seconds he relaxed his stance and rolled his broad shoulders. The fact that he didn’t answer made her madder still.
    ‘Who on earth do you think you are?’ she said, her control slipping a notch. ‘You went to Tate’s office without even consulting me. Is this what I have to look forward to? A life of being coerced, controlled and dictated to?’
    A light flashed in his intense stare before his face contorted with stunned incredulity. ‘Since when does three weeks equate to a lifetime?’
    It might seem a measly three weeks to him, but what would they demand after that? It didn’t bear thinking about. ‘Since you’ve given me a taste of the new regime!’
    Lucas scrubbed his palm over his mouth, his chest heaving. ‘Claudia,’ he growled, his hand dropping into a large fist by his side, ‘I am attempting to do my job, but your obdurate attitude leaves me with few options. Instead of focusing on how this happened, why not take some pleasure from what you will benefit from. Three and a half million pounds, to be precise.’
    ‘But at what cost to me? ’ she asked. Then immediately bit her lip when the words echoed through the room.
    ‘Three weeks of your time. It is nothing,’ he said, with a savage slash of his hand.
    A pitiful laugh broke through her thick throat. How wrong he was. Lucas had no idea of the personal price she’d pay. He was oblivious to her inner turmoil. But that didn’t excuse his behaviour in her eyes. She was