‘You will listen, Hasselbeck. No security. She’s safe with me.’ Safer than in a palace full of enemies. Enemies whose job security would be addressed, once he’d repaired the damage he’d done to her on his own. ‘I’ll bring her back when she’s ready.’
Not before. He hung up, tossed the phone on the couch, and took the stairs to the lower level two at a time. If she was never ready to return?
So be it. He would take her wherever she wished to go.
Lise placed her hand on the door handle. It wasn’t locked as she turned it, so she pushed the door open and walked inside. Rafe stood in the entrance. Hair an unruly mess of black curls. Delicious stubble grazing his jaw. Dressed in low-slung jeans, a dark T-shirt gripping his muscular body, no shoes. Her legs weakened as he towered in the space. Was his gaze heated as his brown eyes fixed on her? It was hard to tell as she wasn’t sure right now what was reality and what was wishful thinking.
‘Lise.’ Her name came out as a whisper, like a benediction on his lips.
‘You were on the phone,’ she said. He stood back as she moved further into the hall, shutting the door gently behind her. ‘My absence has been noticed?’
‘You’ve aged the prime minister a hundred years.’
‘They’ll regret having a queen to serve.’
He shook his head. ‘Never.They should be praising the heavens.’
She wanted to rush forward into his arms, beg him to love her, but she held back, as did he. His hands by his sides, fists clenched.
‘How did you get a car?’ he asked.
For now, a polite conversation was enough. At least they were talking again, without recrimination.
‘I sneaked into the palace garages and took one,’ she said, and couldn’t help a grin of pride. His eyes widened, and then the corner of his own perfect mouth tilted.
‘I didn’t know that sneaking was in the repertoire of a queen.’
‘You’d be surprised what queens can do if they put their minds to it.’
‘One thing I’ve never done is underestimate your abilities.’
He’d always had so much faith in her, even when she’d had none in herself. She dropped her head, scuffing at the floor with her dainty shoe.
‘I wanted to find you. There are things I need to say.’ She looked up again and he took a step towards her. ‘Apologies to make.’
He shook his head, reaching out then hesitating. Running a hand through his hair instead. ‘No. There’s so much I should have said to you, but I didn’t want to add to your pain when I believed you’d had enough. That wasn’t my choice to make, especially when you demanded more. I should have remembered you were stronger than anyone realised. Thanyourealise.’
She shrugged. ‘You wanted the Crown. I’m not so naïve as to ignore its allure.’
‘To my shame, I craved the power over everyone who believed I was less, believing it would somehow make me better. I was wrong.’
‘If you’re shamed, I am too. I hurt you. I’m no better than those aristocrats at your school who disparaged you, bullied Carl. For that, I’m sorry.’ Lise worried at her bottom lip, hoping her apology would be enough. ‘The things I said were cruel.’
‘They were true.’
She looked at him, standing strong and proud. He had every right to be, given all that he’d achieved.
‘You’re no farm boy.’
‘I am. I’ve embraced my heritage.’ Rafe held out his arms to the sides. ‘That’s who stands before you. A man, not a king. I should have believed that I was worthy of you. Instead, I was a coward. Afraid of giving you the power to hurt me like no other could, because you alone have that power, Lise.’
She stepped forward, close enough to see the pulse beating strong and sure at the base of his throat. The warmth of his body seeped into hers. The scent of him, like the fresh mountain air that reminded her of freedom.
‘As you have the power to hurt me. Because love, when combined with fear, has the power to wound as much as it does to heal. You claimed I could rewrite the fairy tale. I want it. Ideserveit. To be loved by the man I married. You deserve it too.’
Rafe’s mouth opened. Closed. His throat convulsed in a swallow.
‘I’ve protected my heart for a long time.’ His voice sounded raw, pained. ‘And you were prepared to renounce your claim on the Crown to avoid our marriage.’