ROYAL BRIDE (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) by Bella Grant Page A

for it. By the time they stepped off the elevator into the main lobby, his heart had stopped pounding in his chest and his temper had simmered to a low heat.
    Once seated in the small bar off the main lobby, Antonio ordered his drink. “You haven’t been married very long.” Silver made the statement with a sly grin.
    “No. Barely a week,” Antonio acknowledged.
    “Is this your honeymoon?” Silver’s eyebrows rose up in surprise. “I would expect a royal couple to enjoy a much more exotic honeymoon than Chicago.”
    Antonio sipped his glass of brandy. “You could tell?”
    “That you’re royalty?” Silver laughed. “You have armed guards standing outside your suite, along with the security detail that follows you everywhere—although they do work pretty hard to blend in. If all of that didn’t confirm my suspicions, I was at the breakfast this morning when you gave a speech regarding the increase in human trafficking across soft borders.”
    Antonio eyed Silver carefully. “You are American?” he asked cautiously.
    “Yes. I own a security company that contracts with the American military. We do the work they aren’t really allowed to do.” The ice-cube in Silver’s glass clanked as he drank the last bit of the amber liquid.
    “Ah.” Antonio relaxed a bit. “Does Isabella know what you do?”
    “No. We truly did meet her for the first time at the elevators last night, and as you heard over dinner, we all seemed quite comfortable staying away from any truth in regard to our careers and political status.”
    Antonio had considered it a blessing that the conversation never turned to talk about their positions in life, but he hadn’t thought that Sliver would be just as happy about it as he was. “Well. I would consider it a personal favor if you did not let her know about your security company.” He took another sip of his brandy. “She would probably try to hire you,” he muttered into the glass.
    Silver must have heard him because he threw his head back and let out a loud laugh. “Trouble in paradise already?” He put a hand in the air. “Forgive me. That was rude. It’s only… I noticed the look you had on your face when you caught up to your wife at the elevators last night. I know that feeling all too well. When you want to strangle her but there are witnesses?”
    Antonio couldn’t help but laugh at his spot-on description. “Yeah, something like that.”
    “It was her dress, I bet.” Silver accepted another drink from their waitress, giving her a polite smile in exchange for his drink but not taking any more time to notice her generous breasts or her sensual curves. Antonio had to respect a man who stayed faithful to his wife, even with his eyes. “Maria’s dress didn’t make me very happy last night, either.” His shook his head and let out an exaggerated sigh. “No matter what I say, she does as she pleases anyway. Perhaps I should do as you did this evening and take away all of her clothes. I wouldn’t mind coming home to a naked wife every evening.” He winked across the table.
    “I didn’t take her clothing because of last night’s dress.” Antonio realized he had never gotten around to discussing his displeasure over the strip of clothing she had worn the night before. After they’d returned to the rooms, it was nearly two in the morning, and she’d fallen asleep before he finished in the shower. “I didn’t want her to leave the rooms.”
    Silver let out another laugh. “And you took her clothes so she couldn’t, unless she wanted to walk around Chicago in the buff! I love it.” He saluted him with his drink. “I may have to take a lesson or two from you. Maria only rolls her eyes at me when I try to keep her from doing what she wants. Stubborn woman, that one.”
    “You’ve been married long?”
    “Two years.” Silver nodded.
    Antonio relaxed into the conversation, finding Silver easy to speak with. It wasn’t often he was able to have a drink or two