Read Online Sweet as the Devil by Susan Johnson - Free Book Online Page A

wanted for an enemy.
    “He said he liked the sea,” Ernst said drily. “An obvious lie. But there’s no question that he offered to buy the duchy.”
    “Fucking vulture. He couldn’t even wait until your mourning was over?” Jamie pursed his lips in a grim line. “You’re not selling, are you?”
    “What do you think?” the prince acidly replied.
    “I think you want an eye for an eye. We both do.”
    “I want him to suffer. Understood?”
    “I’ll find the Albanian to flay him alive.” Jamie’s voice was cold as ice. “Hajdu’s the best. I’ll see if I can track him down. If he’s in hiding somewhere, I’ll do it myself.”
    “I’ll leave the details up to you.”
    It was approval and consent. “The planning will require some time. Our esteemed minister of police is guarded like a harem houri,” Jamie noted. “Although, come to think of it,” he added, “Von Welden’s latest inamorata might be useful. Katia hates him. Von Welden exiled her rebel brother to that godforsaken prison monastery at Heiligenkreuz. She’ll cooperate if we guarantee her and her brother’s safety. I’ll talk to her.”
    “Not just yet. More pressing matters brought me to London.”
    Jamie hoped like hell it wasn’t some woman, although with Ernst’s track record, he wouldn’t be surprised. On the other hand, he was a bodyguard, not a priest. “What sort of matters?”
    “I have to find someone.”
    “Male or female? Friendly or dangerous?”
    “Female, and I’m hoping friendly,” Ernst said with a smile.
    Oh Christ, it is a woman.
    Unaware of Jamie’s misgivings, Ernst raised his glass as though to underscore the significance of his remark. “Do you believe in miracles?”
    “No, and you don’t either.”
    “You’re right. I didn’t.” The prince leaned forward, a rare earnestness in his gaze. “But something unusual happened to me during my meeting with Von Welden. An idea came to me out of the blue—a vision, revelation, call it what you will. I may be able to secure the future of the duchy.”
    “An heir, you mean.” The covenant was well-known to the Blackwood family. “Need I remind you that legitimacy is required?” Ernst was a libertine of wide and democratic scope.
    “No, you needn’t,” Ernst replied with another startling smile.
    Jamie’s brows rose.
    “My miracle concerns the magic of first love.”
    “Are you drunk?” Ernst and love were incompatible.
    The prince smiled again, which was several more smiles than Jamie had seen in years.
    “You don’t think I could love?”
    “Jesus,” Jamie muttered. “What do you want me to say?”
    “Have you ever been in love?”
    “Hell no.”
    “Well, I was once.” The prince looked away for a moment, overcome by nostalgia. “We spent a summer together in the Lake Country,” Ernst went on in a conversational tone, having regained his composure. “It was sheer paradise. None were happier; we made glorious plans for the future: marriage, children, eternal bliss. Unfortunately, my family didn’t agree. Amelia was unacceptable, British, a commoner; my parents were inflexible, Mother in particular—”
    “And you married her anyway.”
    The prince met Jamie’s quizzing gaze and nodded.
    “Then you later divorced?”
    “No.” Ernst shrugged. “Amelia may have, but it doesn’t alter the circumstances.”
    Jamie’s eyes widened slightly. “Which means your marriage to the Princess of Bohemia—”
    “Was bigamous.” Another shrug. “No longer of any consequence, of course, with Marie dead these many years—and now Rupert. And frankly, money buys anything at the Vatican, so I knew if problems arose, they could be remedied.”
    “Are you sure your English marriage was legal?”
    “We were married in the Austrian embassy—secretly, of course. The few people who were involved could be trusted.”
    Jamie softly whistled. “An unforseen obstacle for Von Welden. Not that he couldn’t have you both killed.”
    “I’m sure