Pregnant with the Prince's Child Read Online Free

seemed to have drifted. Maybe it was the drug they’d given him. Maybe she could still slip out and…
    Suddenly, he turned his gaze and looked at her penetratingly.
    “Did my brother hire you?” he asked.
    She stared at him, completely at sea. What was he talking about?
    Mykal, she wanted to say. It’s me. Janis.
    But she couldn’t say a thing. All she could do was stare at him. His eyes were just as blue as ever, just as beautiful, but nothing in there seemed to recognize her.
    Was he playing a game with her? Torturing her in some creative new way? But no, he wasn’t the type to do that, and anyway, he looked completely sincere. And what would be the point?
    “Or did the castle send you over?” he went on, stretching back and closing his eyes. “I’ll bet that’s it.”
    What? The castle again. What was going on here?
    “I…no, uh…” What could she say? She knew very well what she should say. She should tell him who she was and remind him of their past together. That was why she was here, wasn’t it? But did she dare? Wouldn’t that be inviting the very thing she had to avoid in order to keep him calm?
    “I guess they thought I could use a day nurse,” he muttered, sounding more irritable than friendly. “If they would just stop with the medication, I have a feeling I would do just fine without anybody’s help.”
    She stood on the spot, paralyzed. He didn’t seem to know who she was. But that was crazy. How could he forget? They were married, for heaven’s sake. It might not have been a traditional sort of marriage, but it had been intense and wonderful while it lasted. Disappointing him had been a big mistake, and it had been ugly when he realized what she’d done. He’d lost all trust in her, and his response had broken her heart.
    She looked at him, at the pale complexion, the short dark hair that curled about his head like a laurel wreath. He seemed very tired and as she gazed into the depths of his eyes, she could see that his injuries had done deep psychic damage along with the physical wounds. Soon, whatever the paramedic had given him would kick in and he would fall asleep. She had to leave.
    But she hesitated. This was the man she had loved with all her heart and all her passion. This was the father of her coming child. How could he not see who she was?
    Deliberately, she stepped into the light right in front of him. He looked surprised.
    “Don’t you know who I am?” she said, hating that her voice trembled as she spoke. “Don’t you know why I’m here?”
    He stared at her as though he were trying to see through a fog. “Sorry. Have we met before?”
    She stared at him, frozen in wonder. Was she dreaming this? Searching his face, looking for answers, she had to conclude it was real. He was disgruntled, but there was no lurking animosity. And there was definitely no lurking recognition. He really didn’t know who she was.
    “If you were a nurse at the hospital, I really am sorry.” He managed a crooked grin of boyish-looking apology. “I wasn’t exactly a model patient at all times.” He winced as though something hurt. “I guess I was pretty much out of it a lot of the time. I just might not have ever noticed you.”
    She half laughed, nervous and unsure. “I’m not a real nurse, you know,” she said quickly. “I’m actually more of a…a…”
    “A guard?” He nodded as though her puzzling behavior was finally becoming clear to him. “I understand. With these negotiations going on endlessly, I guess someone decided I might need extra protection. Especially considering the condition I’m in.”
    “Protection.” She felt like a fool, parroting his words. But she needed something to give her a clue as to how she should act. She had no idea what negotiations he was talking about and the casual way he brought them up made her think they were somehow common knowledge—at least to anyone who had paid attention to the news and hadn’t been wasting away in prison camp