Stepping back, he said, “We’ll have a real brunch at the summer palace. After that massages, soaking pools, salt wraps, and another massage. Think of our time here as the spa trip you missed out on.”
Mina’s eyes had lit up at the word “massages,” and he was glad that he’d made the decision. They would spend the next few days together, enjoying the island and each other, free to explore the exquisite fit of their bodies as much as the island’s beaches. And while they were doing all that he wouldn’t need to examine why he felt at peace for the first time since his father’s death.
He watched Mina finish her light breakfast, making small talk while eating himself. Once finished, he washed the dishes, as was his custom at the cabin, and they readied themselves to leave.
“The trail from here to the summer palace is a reasonable distance, but it’s easy hiking the whole way, and doesn’t take long. Its long enough to feel like you’ve accomplished something, but not so far it’s a strain.”
She grinned. “What are we waiting for? Massages are at the other end!”
And then she took off, without a backward glance. And just like that she made something as commonplace as a massage brand-new and exciting again.
Zayn followed briskly, eager for a change in scenery, though all he seemed to have eyes for was the woman in front of him.
“The summer palace is beautiful.”
The words were out before he’d thought about them, an unconscious attempt to solicit one of her golden smiles.
She turned to him, a spark of interest brightening her eye. “I can’t wait to see it. D’Tierrza said you spent a lot of time there, growing up?”
He nodded, remembering those days of running wild at the summer palace hiding away from the public eye. “I did. It gave us a chance to be normal.”
Mina surprised him by laughing. “Normal children don’t have private islands—but I understand what you mean. As normal as possible for a prince.”
He smiled, giving in to the urge to touch her, caressing the back of the hand nearest him with a finger as he said, “You don’t have much sympathy for your Prince.”
Her cheeks darkened, but she didn’t move her hand. “It’s not good to be too sympathetic toward powerful people—it inflates their egos.”
Not bothering to fight the wicked spark her words lit in him, he leaned closer, his lips near her ear and his voice low as he said, “It’s so good for me that I have you to take care of my...ego.”
Before his eyes, the slight darkening of Mina’s cheeks blossomed into a full-bodied blush. As close as they stood, he could feel the heat radiating from her body. He was leaning in to take her lips before he knew what he was doing, capturing their plump fullness before the warning to keep her at a distance could go off.
She leaned into him without hesitation, opening her mouth to what was becoming the familiar dance of their lips meeting.
He took what she offered without hesitation, reveling in the sensation of freedom she brought him: freedom to take, freedom to plunder his sweet prize without regard for propriety and decorum, freedom to unleash the force of his unvarnished personality and know that she not only had the full capacity to handle it, but would meet him with her own passion and intensity.
She returned his kiss with a new boldness. Her body was coming to understand the power it held over him even if her mind, new to the back and forth between a man and a woman, had yet to grasp it.
She made him forget himself each and every time, over and over, and he had the distinct impression that the experience would only continue—no matter how many times he came to the well, he would leave thirsting for more. She was dangerous, but he didn’t pull away from their kiss. He couldn’t.
When he did finally pull back, he looked at her, beautiful green eyes still closed, her face glowing and bright, and he locked the image tight in his mind, storing it.
She opened her eyes then, and they glittered like polished gems. He couldn’t look away...entranced like a dragon with its hoard.
Less than an hour later they once again left the forest to enter a clearing—this one even more massive than the last. It opened into a large secluded bay, with a gorgeous dark brown sandy beach, arched cliffs, and there, like a bright white beacon, standing proud and timeless, was the summer palace.
Dashing into the clearing to take in the stunning structure, Mina gasped loudly.
Her reaction brought a smile to his face. The summer palace had that effect on people.
His ancestors had had a thing for white marble, and it showed nowhere more than here at the summer palace. Embedded into the landscape, the building incorporated both the forested hill and the natural cliffside, with thick rounded columns, open-air patios, and breathtaking views all the way around. Inside, the palace was completely modernized, boasting every convenience and then some, and was powered entirely by renewable energy.
She was going to love it here—he knew it. It was impossible not to.
Palace staff greeted them at the stairs, and he quickly reassured them of their health and safety, as well as calling for brunch. They had both worked up an appetite after their morning hike.
Like everything at the summer palace, brunch was both elaborate and relaxed. Spread across a long table, the menu included island classics—olives, fresh cheese, bread, and pâté—as well as delicious flavors from farther afield, like coconut pudding,kheer, fresh mango, pineapple, and starfruit.
Eyeing the food, Mina sat regally in the chair that had been pulled out for her, though he was sure she didn’t realize it. He doubted that she would believe anything she did was regal.