She’d been artless and eager, responsive to every touch, every taste, every look, the chemistry between them as explosive as ever. And she hadn’t been experienced, but at the same time he wasn’t her first.
He had wanted to throttle the bastard who she had lost her virginity to—and wished that it could have been him—which didn’t make a lot of sense either.
The questions just kept coming—the inconsistencies, the surprises, the strange feeling of déjà vu that first time he’d kissed her.
Why had she seemed so naïve and insecure about her role as Queen? Why had she been so unconventional in her approach to their royal duties, when she had seemed to be so serene and controlled when he had met her on previous occasions? Why had she turned him inside out with lust, and longing, this week, when she never had before? Why had he trusted her so easily with the truth about his father, blurted out all that revealing stuff about his mother’s funeral? And why had the mention of marriage caused her to freak out, when she’d discussed the offer with such pragmatism less than a month ago?
So many questions. Questions he’d put to one side but which were bombarding him now. Questions he needed answers to.
He walked back to the bed, scooped up his boxers and trousers and put them on. The sound of pounding water from the power shower covered the click as he tried the bathroom door.
It wasn’t locked. He stepped into the room.
She stood in the shower cubicle, with her back to him.
Soap suds slid over skin flushed pink under the pummelling jets and the familiar heat pounded back to life. He sank his fists into his pockets and leant back against the door to enjoy the show. He needed to calm down before he quizzed her.
He’d always been a cynical man, but whatever was going on here, it probably had a reasonable explanation.
She went about the ritual of washing all those beautiful curves. And he had the strange thought he could happily spend the rest of his life watching a show like this every morning.
Strange, because, even though tonight had only confirmed for him how much potential a marriage between them had, he doubted even the stupendous chemistry they shared would lead to a lifelong commitment to his royal wife.
He just wasn’t built for that kind of emotional investment...
He had wanted this marriage, not just because of the diplomatic and financial benefits for both their monarchies, but also because a marriage based on expediencies would not require him to give more than he was capable of. This week’s events, though, had created something of a problem in that regard, because Jade intrigued and fascinated him enough to complicate his feelings towards her.
Not only did he want her more than expected, he was now even more invested in getting her to agree to the marriage.
She lifted her arms to finish rinsing the shampoo from her hair, giving him a tantalising view of her breast in profile, the puckered nipple still reddened by his attentions.
The heat spiked and he forced himself to banish the unhelpful thoughts. Just because he wanted her, in bed as well as out, theirs would still have to be a marriage of convenience.
‘We can’t get married. Ever.’
He recalled the panicked expression on her face when she’d refused him. Again.
Why couldn’t she marry him? She hadn’t given him an answer.
The flood of unease helped to dampen the heat as she switched off the jets and reached for the pile of towels on the vanity. The steam that had obscured his vision was sucked away, giving him a view of every luscious inch as she dried herself.
She bent forward to dry her legs, and he spotted something on her hip that he hadn’t noticed in the shadows of the bedroom.
What was that? A birthmark? No, a tattoo... A faded tattoo of a unicorn...
His heartbeat kicked up another notch, and the erection stiffened.
Jade had a tattoo... Of a unicorn? How had she managed to get that past her father?
‘I love unicorns, they’re a symbol of magic and freedom. I think I’m going to get a tattoo of one as soon as it’s legal.’
The passionate voice of another princess stabbed at his consciousness from eight long years ago.
What the...?
The shocking truth barrelled into him—and the knot in his gut became a nuclear bomb.
He shuddered so violently, the door behind him rattled against the frame.