Carefully he shifted his weight. Chivalry could only take you so far. If he hadn’t moved, the evidence of his still-rampant desire would be all too obvious.
Gently he lifted her face to his and kissed her.
“You know what?” he said, smiling.
“What?”
“If I don’t eat something soon, my ribs are gonna say hello to my backbone.”
She laughed. “How come I keep forgetting you’re a Texas boy at heart?”
“No joke, sweetheart. I’m starved. How about you?”
Her stomach growled in response. Cam chuckled and turned his back as he slipped into his jeans and rose to his feet. “Come on, little lady. Let’s see if we can find ourselves some good ol’ barbecue in that spread Shalla provided.”
His Salome laughed as he drew her to her feet. Smiling, he kept his eyes on her face as he buttoned her caftan but when his knuckles accidentally brushed her skin, he bit back a groan.
Sweet Jesus, how was he going to survive this night?
They sat at a round glass table on the balcony, talking as they ate. Then, gradually, Salome fell silent. Cam put down his plate and reached for her hand.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Why so sad?”
Because none of this would last. Because he really was the beautiful prince who’d stumbled across a sleeping princess. Because she knew, as well as he did, that they might not survive.
Because if she were going to leave this earth, she wanted to know she had, if only for a little while, belonged to Cameron Knight.
“Sweetheart?”
Leanna reached out and touched her fingers to his face. He caught her hand and pressed his lips to her palm.
“Cam.” She took a long breath. “I want to ask you something. If you don’t want to do it…if you think I’m being too forward…”
“Salome. Ask me anything you want.”
“You said—you said you don’t want to sleep with me.”
“No.” He cleared his throat. “What I said was, I can’t sleep with you, baby. God knows I want to.”
“But there are—I mean, there are other things…”
Her face turned pink as her voice trailed away. He stared at her and thought of those other things, and knew he’d never be strong enough to live through them.
“Salome. Sweetheart, you’re right, there are other things. But I’m not a saint. If I put my mouth on…” Holy hell. Just the image was going to make him come. “If I do those other things, I’m afraid I’ll—that I’ll—”
“We could take a bath together.”
The words came out so swiftly that at first, he wasn’t sure he understood what she’d said. He ran them over in his mind, sorted them out…
“A bath?” For the first time since he’d turned thirteen, Cam’s voice broke. “Together?”
“Yes. In that big old tub. You in one end. Me in the other. Lots of bubbles so nobody can see anything and—and—” Leanna buried her face in her hands. “Oh God, don’t look at me that way! I’m sorry. I never should have—”
Cam caught her hands and drew them down. “It’s a great idea,” he said bravely.
“It is?”
“Yes.” He swallowed. “You take the bath. I’ll keep you company.”