Many of the men gazed at him with awe and a bit of envy.

He looked out at them, at all the interested faces. Just like the onlookers who didn't know they were merely part of the audience to this play. It was all part of the show-just like the two young ladies who were his guests here this evening, just like the gaming, just like the setting. He looked at the snifter of cognac that no one ever seemed to notice he seldom touched. Or maybe he was just getting tired of this lifestyle. Or maybe it was the throbbing pain from the shrapnel that still lodged in his leg from the near miss he'd had in the explosion of his car the previous year. Maybe it was the early spring heat wave coming in on the winds through the high mountain pass and numbing his senses. That usually kept his attention razor-sharp.īut for some reason not tonight. Though few around him realized it, he had a far more dangerous game to play. 'Let it ride,' he said, his voice hoarse. He glanced back at the roulette wheel and shrugged, pulling his tie loose and shoving back the sleeves of his Italian suit. 'Your Highness?' the croupier nudged, waiting for his call.

Lately the women had become as interchangeable as all the other decorative items in his life. What was her name again? It didn't really matter. The noise of the crowd in the casino was giving him a headache, and he found himself shrugging away the caresses of the exotic lady who had draped herself up against his body like a sleazy silk scarf. Crown Prince Andre Rastava of the Royal House of Diamante, rulers of Gemania, was bored, and when he got bored he tended to get restless.

Royal Wedding Bells by Raye Morgan