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No, he acknowledged with a gri to calm his fears, I have no choice Not anyoal—to take his destined place as king of Zakhar—that goal was still attainablebut only with the Bratva’s help “So what are you going to do?”

“The Pakhan says,” the Russian stated flatly, referring to Vishenko, “that the woh It is tiinal plan”

Alone and restless, Juliana stood on the balcony outside her bedroo up at the full moon So in a horse-drawn carriage beneath that fullthe precariousness of Sabrina’s situation, she would have traded places with her friend in a heartbeat Not to be with Dirk, but to be with Andre To know herself loved the way Dirk loved Sabrina To be carrying Andre’s children, even at the risk to herself

“No!” she whispered in a desperate undertone, appalled at where her thoughts had strayed How can you even think that? Haven’t you learned the hard way that Andre doesn’t love you?

But she wanted him to It wasn’t just that her body craved his touch Her heart yearned for hi And her desire for Andre’s children was a part of that yearning The scene they’d filly to life

She wondered if Eleonora had ever faced a situation like this It seemed unlikely, but you could never know for sure The chroniclers of the tiranting him all the virtues and none of the vices Had he really been faithful to Eleonora for nearly five empty years?

There was nothing in the history of the day to suggest otherwise In other words, no bastards attributed to hiht with a wry tilt to her lips And that was at a time when royal bastards were an everyday occurrence and rarely hidden It wasn’t as if he didn’t have what it took sexually—Eleonora had conceived their first night together, and then had borne him six more children in the sixteen years after she’d been ransomed So it seemed likely Andre Alexei had remained faithful

But had he really paid a king’s ransom to redeem her and her son, the son whose paternity had yet to be proved? Again, relying on the historians at the tidom—that was a known fact

And Raoul had been his son, she reo, although it had taken a genetic defect to prove it—a crook in the pinkies of both hands, in father and son A doh the centuries, but that hadn’t i abilities Both Andre Alexei and Raoul had been fearsoers had all been perfectly straight But Andre had

Juliana reht they’d beco that had made such a vast difference in whether or not Zakhar accepted Raoul as Andre Alexei’s legitiive hienetic defect

The children I will never have, she reht was nearly unbearable

Alone and restless, Andre stood on the balcony outside his bedroo up at the fullJuliana here had been a terrible er for Juliana he could not

He’d lost his temper with his cousin—fear did that to a man Not fear for hi his constant companion Just as he’d wanted Mara safely out of the country after the second assassination atte her to the United States, noondered hoas going to keep Juliana safe here in Zakhar Not just during the fil of the movie, but forever and a day

Seeing her on the set this afternoon, her body rounded with the pregnancy she was faking for the movie, he’d suddenly realized just how ht have If she stayed in Zakhar, if she married him, if they created a child from their lovethe risk of assassination would be there

Whoever was behind these atteht He could not be allowed to re they had a child Assuh to make that a possibility

He breathed sharply Even if the ht, he still wasn’t sure if she would ever love hiain Yes, her physical attraction to hi those simple words from her that had thrilled him when she’d first said them? Thrilled him at the time and then haunted him over the years “Please, AndreI love youand I have to know”