Christmas in His Royal Bed (Silhouette Desire #1833)

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Only she would do.Prince Stephan Nicolas Braedon of Glendovia watched the ebony-haired beauty from afar. Tall and lithe, with an hourglass figure, she had silky black hair that fell in a straight curtain to her hips. He was too far away to know the color of her eyes or see the full pout of her lips, but he trusted the feeling in his gut that told him both would be just as alluring as the rest of her.Cocking his head toward the tall, suited man at his side, he said in a low voice, "Find out her name."His bodyguard followed the direction of his gaze, then gave a stiff nod before moving away. Nicolas didn't need to ask how Osric intended to get the information, nor did he care.A few minutes later, his bodyguard returned, standing at attention at Nicolas's side."Her name is Alandra Sanchez, Your Highness. She is in charge of the organization of this evening's event."Alandra. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. She floated around the large, crowded ballroom, smiling, chatting with guests, making sure everything was running smoothly. The full-length lavender gown she wore shimmered in the muted lighting every time she moved, and fit her perfect feminine curves like a glove.Nicolas hadn't attended this fund-raising dinner in hopes of finding a lover, but now that he'd seen her, he knew he wouldn't be leaving the United States without making arrangements for her to become his next mistress.It was true that he was the member of the royal family in charge of overseeing Glendovia's charitable organizations, but his duties did not extend to attending charitable events outside of his own country. That, he usually left to his sister or one of his two brothers.But though his sister, Mia, had been scheduled to make the trip to the States and attend this dinner to raise funds for a new children's wing at a central Texas hospital, she'd had to cancel at the last minute. Since Nicolas was to meet with very wealthy oilmen to discuss fuel for his country, he decided to attend.Until a few minutes ago, he had been resenting the interruption of his own life and plans, and all but cursing his sister for being the cause. Now, however, he was considering sending Mia a bouquet of flowers or a box of her favorite truffles. He wanted to thank her for putting him on a path to what could turn out to be an extremely pleasurable experience.Smiling so brightly the muscles in her cheeks ached, Alandra Sanchez moved around the room, making sure everything was running smoothly. She'd been working to set up this gala for months now, in hopes of raising both awareness and money for the new children's hospital wing.Unfortunately, things weren't going quite as well as she'd hoped, and Alandra knew she had only herself to blame.Everyone in the room seemed to be watching her. She could see their curiosity. Sense their condemnation.All because she'd had the dreadful misfortune to get mixed up with the wrong man.Of all the things that could have happened to put a damper on this evening's event, this was the worst. A hurricane, a flash flood, even the hotel catching on fire...Those were all disasters she could have handled. They barely would have caused a blip on her radar. But instead, she was being personally attacked, her reputation besmirched.It served her right for ever getting involved with Blake Winters in the first place. She should have known the minute she met him that he would end up causing her nothing but trouble.And now everyone in this room--everyone in Gabriel's Crossing, the great state of Texas and possibly the entire United States of America-- thought she was a home-wrecking adulteress.That's what the newspaper gossip columns were saying about her. Her picture, along with Blake's and that of his wife and two children, had been plastered everywhere, with glaring, slanderous headlines.Ignoring the stares and whispers she knew were aimed in her direction, Alandra held her