Harlequin
January 1, 2013
ISBN 9781460300565

At His Majesty’s Request

(Stavros’s Story)

Marry the jaded prince and receive a title, a small island, a castle and a tiara.

Matchmaker extraordinaire Jessica Carter arranges marriages that work. And that is exactly what Prince Drakos is looking for. The last thing he needs is someone as unsuitable as herbut none of the beautiful socialites paraded before him excite Stavros as Jessica does.

Usually unchallenged, Stavros welcomes Jessica's defiance—his fingers itch to lower her prickly facade and discover what lies beneath. Will Jessica agree to his final request? One month to exorcise their scorching passion, before he marries someone fit to be his queen.

Also In this Series:

A Royal World Apart

December 1, 2012
#1
(Mak and Eva’s Story)
Pretender to the Throne

February 18, 2014
#3
(Xander's Story)
His Diamond of Convenience

April 1, 2015
(Victoria's Book)

Also In this Series:

His Virgin Acquisition

October 5, 2010
An Accidental Birthright/A Mistake, A Prince and A Pregnancy

March 22, 2011
(Maximo’s Story)
The Inherited Bride

May 3, 2011
(Isabella’s Story)
The Highest Price to Pay

July 15, 2011
Marriage Made On Paper

September 1, 2011
(Gage’s Story)
The Petrov Proposal

February 1, 2012
(Maddy’s Story)
The Life She Left Behind

March 1, 2012
(Part of the Santina Crown Collection)
Hajar’s Hidden Legacy

August 7, 2012
Princess From the Shadows

October 1, 2012
(Part of the Santina Crown Collection)
A Royal World Apart

December 1, 2012
#1
(Mak and Eva’s Story)
At His Majesty’s Request

January 1, 2013
#2
(Stavros’s Story)
Heir to a Desert Legacy

March 19, 2013
(Part of Secret Heirs of Powerful Men)
Heir to a Dark Inheritance

April 23, 2013
(Part of Secret Heirs of Powerful Men)
His Pregnant Princess

June 1, 2013
The Couple Who Fooled the World

June 18, 2013
His Ring is Not Enough

August 20, 2013
A Hunger For the Forbidden/The Highest Price to Pay 2-in-1

November 19, 2013
Forged in the Desert Heat

December 17, 2013
Her Little White Lie

February 3, 2014
A Game of Vows

February 3, 2014
(Hannah’s Story)
Pretender to the Throne

February 18, 2014
#3
(Xander's Story)
The Argentine’s Price

April 15, 2014
One Night in Paradise

April 15, 2014
(Zack’s Story)
Girl on a Diamond Pedestal

April 15, 2014
One Night to Risk it All

May 15, 2014
(Alex and Rachel’s Book)
Avenge Me

May 27, 2014
#1
Take Me

June 2, 2014
#Prequel
Christmas with a Billionaire – Snowed in with Her Boss

October 7, 2014
To Defy A Sheikh

November 1, 2014
Sheikh’s Desert Duty (The Chatsfield)

January 1, 2015
(Book 1 in Chatsfield Part 2)
The Billionaire’s Intern

June 7, 2015
#1
(Addison Treffen's Book)
Married For Amari’s Heir

July 1, 2015
Bound to the Warrior King

September 1, 2015
The Queen’s New Year Secret

January 1, 2016
#2
(Kairos & Tabitha)
The Greek’s Nine-Month Redemption

June 1, 2016
Carides’s Forgotten Wife

August 1, 2016
The Spaniard’s Pregnant Bride

October 1, 2016
#1
The Prince’s Pregnant Mistress

December 1, 2016
#2
The Italian’s Pregnant Virgin

January 1, 2017
#3
The Last Di Sione Claims His Prize

February 1, 2017
The Prince’s Stolen Virgin

August 1, 2017
#2
The Italian’s Pregnant Prisoner

October 1, 2017
#3
The Spaniard’s Untouched Bride

January 1, 2019
#Brides of Innocence
The Spaniard’s Stolen Bride
His Forbidden Pregnant Princess

September 1, 2019
The Queen’s Baby Scandal

December 1, 2019
Crowning His Convenient Princess

January 1, 2020
His Majesty’s Forbidden Temptation
Crowned For His Christmas Baby

November 30, 2021
#1
The Secret That Shocked Cinderella

August 23, 2022
Forbidden to the Desert Prince

November 29, 2022
A Virgin For the Desert King

December 27, 2022
The Italian’s Pregnant Enemy

January 30, 2024
Crowned For My Royal Baby

August 25, 2020
Pregnant Enemy, Christmas Bride

November 26, 2024

Excerpt

“There is a science to matching people.” Jessica Carter tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and lifted her computer, a flat, all-in-one device shaped like a clipboard, so that it obscured her figure. Pity, Stavros was enjoying the look of her. Even if she was starch and pearls, rather than spandex and diamonds.

She continued, her eyes never leaving the screen. “A matching of social status, values, education and life experience are very important to creating a successful, enduring marriage. I think most match services realize that.” She paused and took a breath, pink lips parting slightly, her green eyes locking with his just for a moment before dropping back down. “However, I have taken things a step further. Matching is not just a science. It’s an art. The art is in the attraction, and it’s not to be underestimated.”

Prince Stavros Drakos, second son of the Kyonosian royal family, and named heir to the throne, leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. “I am not so much concerned about the art, Ms. Carter. The essentials are general compatibility and suitability for my country. Childbearing hips would help.”

Her pale cheeks flushed crimson, her lush mouth tightening. “Isn’t that what all men want?”

“I’m not sure. And frankly, I don’t care. Most men don’t have to consider the entire populace of their country when they go about selecting a wife.”

But it didn’t matter what most men did. He wasn’t most men. Ever since he’d been forced to step into the place of his older brother, he had been different. It didn’t matter what normal was, it didn’t matter what he wanted. All that mattered was that he be the best king possible for Kyonos.

His methods might be unorthodox, and they might grieve his father, but what he did, he did for the good of his people. It just wasn’t in his nature to be too traditional.

She blew out a breath. “Of course.” She smiled, bright and pristine, like a tooth paste commercial. She was so clean and polished she hardly seemed like a real woman, more like a throwback from a nineteen fifties television show. In technicolor. “I…not that I’m complaining of course, but why exactly have you hired me to find you a wife? I’ve read the newspaper articles written about you and you seem perfectly able to attract women on all your own.”

“When I want to find a suit for an event, I hire I stylist. When I need to organize a party, I hire an events coordinator. Why should this be any different?”

She tilted her head to the side. Her hair was in a low, neat bun, her dress high-collared, buttoned-up and belted at the waist. A place for everything and everything in its place. She all-but begged to be disheveled.

Any other time, he might have done so.

“I see you have a…practical outlook on things,” she said.

“I have a country to run, I don’t have time to deal with peripherals.”

“I’ve compiled a list of candidates, to be refined of course…”

He took the monitor from her hand and hit the home button, tapping a few icons and not managing to find a list. “What is this?”

She took the device back from him. “An iPad. It’s a tablet computer. They’re pretty commonly used these days. Shall I put that technologically savvy women need not apply?”

“Not necessary, but you can put down that women with smart mouths need not apply.”

Her full lips curved slightly. “Someone has to keep you in line.”

“No one has to keep me in line. I’m going to be king.” That hadn’t kept Xander in line. In fact, he’d pulled himself straight out of line and put Stavros in front. But Stavros wouldn’t falter. He wouldn’t quit.

One well-shaped eyebrow lifted upward. “Oh? Is that so.” She typed something on her onscreen keyboard.

“What? What did you write?”

“Strong tyrannical tendencies. A possible negative in social interactions, possible positive in BA.”

“BA?”

“Bedroom activities. It’s shorthand. Don’t dwell on it,” she said, her tone snappy. “I told you attraction is considered. That said, do you require a virgin bride, Prince Drakos?”

“Stavros will do, and no, I don’t.” He shouldn’t be surprised by her frankness. She had a reputation for being bold, brash even. She also had a reputation for making marriages that lasted. For setting up unions that had led to successful mergers and increased fortunes. She was a relationships strategist, more than a matchmaker, and he’d been assured that there was no one better. She knew the rules of society, knew the function a practical marriage served.

His marriage, and securing it, meant nothing to him personally, and being able to pawn the leg work off on Jessica Carter had been too good of an idea to pass up. And if the press happened to pick it up, all the better. He had a reputation for doing things differently. Doing things his way. Turning away from how his father had run the country.

And this was as far from something his father would do as he could think of.

“That’s good,” she said. “It’s always awkward to ask women to submit proof of sexual history.”

“Do you do that?”

“I have. Though not just women.”

“Who?” he asked.

“Ah, now, if I told you I would have to kill you. I operate on the basis of strict anonymity. Unless those involved are seeking publicity, I don’t talk about my clients.”

“But word does spread,” he said. He’d seen an old school friend three weeks earlier, and the smug had practically been dripping from him as he stood there with his new fiancee. Oxford educated. And a model. She was everything he’d asked for. Beauty and brains. And who had accomplished the feat?

Jessica Carter.

The woman the media called the World’s Most Elite Matchmaker. She catered to billionaires. CEOs, tycoons. Royalty. And she was renowned for making matches that lasted.

That was what he needed. He’d given up and allowing himself any sort of personal interest in the selection of his bride since he’d discovered that it was likely he would be assuming the throne for his absentee brother. His wants didn’t matter. He needed a woman who could be a princess, an icon for his country, and aide to his rule. Aside from that, he had some of his own ideas. Someone beautiful, of course. Someone smart. Philanthropic. Fertile.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find.

“This isn’t just about me, Ms. Carter, this is about Kyonos. My family has seen too much tragedy, too much…upheaval. I have to be the rock. I have to provide a solid foundation for my people to rest on, and establishing a solid marriage is essential to that plan.”

The death of his mother, nineteen years ago, had shaken his people to the core. The abandonment of his older brother, the rightful heir. had caused months of instability. Stocks had tanked, trade stalled, the housing market going into a deep freeze.

Why had the future ruler really left? Would he truly abdicate? What secrets were the Drakos family guarding beneath that veneer of polish and old world sophistication?

He had been determined to undo all of the unrest brought about by his brother. And he had done it. He’d revitalized Thysius, the largest city on the island, with posh hotels and trendy boutiques. He’d brought in new revenue by having the seat of his corporation on the island, a country much too small to house companies the size of his, when the owner wasn’t the crown prince.

He’d done much to drag his country back from the brink. From the age of fourteen his entire life had altered so that it revolved around his homeland. He hadn’t had the luxury of being a boy. Hadn’t had the luxury of feeling fear or sadness. He’d learned early on that feeling had no place in his world. A ruler, an effective ruler, had to be above such things.

“I understand that this is a big deal,” she said. “Not just in terms of your country, but for you. She is going to be your wife.”

He shrugged. “An acquisition I’ve long known I would make.”

Jessica let out a long, slow breath. “Mr…Prince Drakos, will you please stop being so candid? It’s remarkably hard to sell a man who clearly has no interest in romantic love.”

“Try this for a tagline: Marry the jaded prince and receive a title, a small island, a castle and a tiara. That might make up for it.”

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Print:

eBook:

UK Edition

Mills & Boon
November 16, 2012
ISBN 9780263891409

At His Majesty’s Request

Also In this Series:

A Royal World Apart

Pretender to the Throne

His Diamond of Convenience

Also In this Series:

His Virgin Acquisition

An Accidental Birthright/A Mistake, A Prince and A Pregnancy

The Inherited Bride

The Highest Price to Pay

Marriage Made On Paper

The Petrov Proposal

The Life She Left Behind

Hajar’s Hidden Legacy

Princess From the Shadows

A Royal World Apart