She wanted to cry when he finally disentangled himself.
She couldn’t speak. She could hardly think.
What was he doing to her?
‘You’re cold,’ he chided, his voice hoarse.
So she was. After the warmth of the bath and the heat of Theseus’s body the chill felt particularly acute.
He pulled a large fluffy white towel from the heated towel rack and gently wrapped it around her.
It was such a touching gesture that her heart doubled over, aching with a need she knew could never be fulfilled no matter what beautiful things he did to her body.
‘I need to get some sleep,’ she muttered, no longer able to look at him.
‘We both do,’ he agreed. ‘But first I need a shower. I’ll join you in a few minutes.’
Anxiety fluttered through her. ‘You can’t sleep here,’ she said, ignoring the fact that this was Theseus’s home and he could sleep wherever he liked.
His eyes narrowed.
‘If Toby wakes up and sees you in my bed it will confuse him.’
‘He’s not used to seeing you with men?’ Theseus’s question was delivered evenly, but with an undertone she couldn’t distinguish.
‘No. Never.’
His lips clamped into a tight line before he nodded. ‘We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. He will have to get used to us sleeping together.’
‘You mean we’ll share a bed?’
‘It’s the only upside of marriage,’ he said sardonically, pulling his trousers up. ‘We’ll have our own separate rooms, but I have no intention of sleeping in a cold bed alone when we can keep each other warm.’
‘It’s too soon. Toby will need time.’
I’ll need time, she almost added. Night after night of being held in his arms, made love to... Where would that leave her already frazzled emotions?
Theseus slipped his shirt back on and fixed her with a hard stare.
‘I will allow you to sleep alone for the next couple of nights, so Toby isn’t upset in the morning, but from then on we will sleep together. For the avoidance of any doubt: our marriage might not be a love match but it will be a real marriage.’
She nodded, her chin jutting up. ‘Fine. But just so you know, I snore.’
He shook his head and laughed, killing the dark atmosphere that had been brewing between them. ‘I thought you said you didn’t want there to be any more lies between us?’
* * *
Theseus slept long and deep, but when he awoke he didn’t feel refreshed. On the contrary—he felt as if he’d slept through a battle.
Apprehension lay heavily on him. He debated with himself whether to have his breakfast brought to his room but then dismissed the idea. He’d never been scared of anything in his life. Why should he be frightened of a four-year-old boy?
Making his way downstairs, he headed towards the dining room, where voices could be heard.
Swallowing to try and rid himself of the lump in his throat, he entered to find Jo and Toby seated at the table.
They fell silent. Toby’s spoon hovered between his cereal bowl and his mouth, his dark brown eyes widening.
Jo placed a hand on his back and shuffled her chair closer to him. ‘Toby, this is Theseus.’
‘Are you the Prince?’ Toby asked, his eyes still as wide as an owl’s.
Theseus nodded. That damn lump in his throat was still there.
One of the maids came into the dining room to take his breakfast order. He used the time to collect his thoughts and sit opposite his family.
After his coffee was poured for him the maid bustled off, leaving the three of them alone in the most awkward silence he had ever experienced.
Toby gawped at him as if he’d been taking lessons from a goldfish. ‘Do you have a crown?’
‘No.’ Theseus could not take his eyes off him. He hadn’t known children could be so perfectly formed and so damnably cute. ‘My grandfather does, though.’
‘Is he the King?’
‘He is.’
Toby’s face screwed up. ‘Does he have a flying carpet?’
‘I’m sure he would like one,’ he said, and laughed, feeling the tension slowly lessen.
‘Do you have a flying carpet?’
‘No, but I do have some really fast sports cars I can take you for a drive in.’
Toby pulled a face Theseus recognised as the one which Jo made when she was unimpressed about something.
‘If I ever get a flying carpet you’ll be the first person I take on it,’ Theseus said, ignoring Jo’s raised eyebrows.