The Prince marriage to the Gold Digger

chapter 20. A High Price w***e .

Her heels clicking as she strode into the Con'Tech building, Ursula strove to control her temper until she was alone with William , but the determined

clatter of her heels gave her away and she tried to lighten her step. Her soft lips tightened ominously.

Just wait until she saw him!

Good afternoon, Mrs. Stanton," said the receptionist with a friendly smile, and Ursula automatically returned the greeting. In a few short weeks,

William had turned her world around; people smiled and greeted her now, and everyone connected with

Con'Tech treated her with the utmost courtesy. But recognizing his enormous influence didn't make her feel more charitable toward him; she wanted to

throttle him instead!

As she left the elevator, a familiar figure exited

William's office, and Ursula lifted her chin as she

neared Diana Murray. Diana paused, waiting for Ursula to approach her, and good manners forced Ursula to greet her

"My, isn't Prince William busy this afternoon?" purred Diana, her beautiful eyes watching Ursula sharply

for any signs of jealousy

"I don't know; is he?" countere Ursula coolly

"It doesn't matter; he'll see me anyway."

"I'm sure he will. But give him a minute, Diana advised in a sweet voice which made Ursula long to slap her. She preferred unvarnished hostility to

Diana's saccharine poison. Diana smiled and added,

"Let him have time to smooth himself down. You know how he is." Then she walked away, her hips swaying with just the right touch of exaggeration.

Men probably found Diana irresistible Ursula thought savagely, and she promised herself that if Prince William didn't walk carefully, he was going to find a storm breaking over his arrogant

head.

She thrust open the door, and Andros looked up from his never-deserted post. As always when he saw her, his eyes conveyed cold dislike.

"Mrs. Stanton. I don't believe Prince William is expecting you,"

"No, he isn't," agreed Ursula.

"Tell him I'm here, please."

Reluctantly Andros did her bidding, and almost as soon as he had replaced the receiver, William opened the doors and smiled at her. "Hello, darling.

You're a pleasant surprise; I didn't expect to see you

until later. Have you decided to sign the papers?"

This reference to his purchase of her shares only

served to fan higher the flame of her anger, but she trolled herself until she had entered his office and he had closed the doors firmly behind them. Out of

comer of her eye, she saw him approaching,

obviously intent on taking her in his arms, and she briskly removed herself from his reach.

"No, I haven't decided to sign anything," she said crisply."I came here to get an explanation for this."

She reached into her purse and withdrew a slim packet of papers attached with a paper clip to a

creased envelope. She thrust them at him and he took them, a frown wrinkling his forehead.

"What are these?" he asked, studying the darkened green of her eyes and gauging her temper.

"You tell me," she snapped. "I believe you're the responsible party."

He removed the paper clip and rapidly scanned the papers, flipping them one by one. It took only a minute, then he replaced thhe paper clip. "Is anything

wrong? Everything looks in order."

"I'm certain everything is in perfect legal order,"

she said impatiently. "That isn't the problem, and you know it."

"Then exactly what is the problem?" he inquired, his lashes drooping to cover the expression in his eyes, but she knew that he was watching her and saw

every nuance of her expręssion before she, too,shuttered her face.

He hooked one leg over the corner of the desk and sat down, his body relaxed.

"I don't see why you're upset, he said smoothly. "Suppose you tell me

exactly what you don't like about the agreement. It hasn't been signed yet; we can always make changes. I hadn't meant for you to receive your copy by

mail," he added thoughtfully. I can only suppose that my attorney tried to anticipate my wishes, and.he'll certainly hear from me on that."

"I don't care about your attorney, and it doesn t make any difference how I received this piece of trash, because I won't sign it!" she shouted at him,

her cheeks scarlet with anger " You're the most arrogant man I' ve ever met, and I hate you!"

The amusement that had been lurking in his eyes vanished abruptly, and when she spun on her heel.and started for the door, too incensed even to yell at

him, he lunged from his position on the desk to intercept her before she'd taken three steps. As his.hand closed on her arm, she lashed out at him with

her free hand. He threw his arm up to ward off the.blow, then deftly twisted and caught that arm, too,

and drew her against him.

"Let me go!" she spat, too infuriated to care if Andros heard her. She twisted and struggled, heaving herself against the iron band of his arms in an effort to break free; she was given stamina by her

anger, but at last even that was exhausted. When she shuddered and dropped her head against his shoulder, he lifted her easily and stepped around the

desk, where he sat down in his chair and cradled her on his lap.

Ursula felt faint, drained by her rage and the struggle with him, and she lay limply against him.

His heart was beating strongly, steadily, under her cheek, and she noticed the

rapidly. He'd simply subdued her and let her tire herself out. He stretched to reach the telephone and.dialed a single number, then spoke quietly.

"Hold all calls, Andros. I don't want to be disturbed for anyreason." Then he dropped the receiver back onto

the cradle and wrapped both arms about her, hugging her securely to him.

"Darling," he whispered into her hair. "There's no need to be so upset. It's only a simple document....."

"There's nothing simple about it! she interrupted Violently, "You're trying to treat me like a high priced w***e, but I won't let you! If that's the way you think of me, then I don't want to see you again."

"I don't think of you as a whore." He soothed her.

"You're not thinking clearly; all you're thinking now is that I've offered you payment for going to bed with me, and that isn't what I intended."

"Oh, no, of course it wasn't," she mocked in a bitter tone. She struggled to sit up and get away from the intimate heat of his body, but his enfolding arms

tightened and she couldn't move.