"No doubts. I love having you here. But you don't need to feel obligated to hang around and meet the rest of my family. We can be a handful, especially as a horde."
"I doubt your brother and his lot are a horde. They're as lovely as you and your parents, I'm sure." He settles a hand on my arm, gliding it up and down slowly. "I want as much time with you as I can get. And it's nice to be around people who don't have rules for every sort of etiquette imaginable. My training in how to behave started so early that I can't remember when I wasn't being instructed in how to become a proper prince."
"That must be exhausting, always worrying about how you look and act."
"It can be. That's why I needed a break."
"Do you ever wish it could be more than a break from your life? I mean, you had a job in England. Maybe you could go back to that instead of becoming the crown prince again."
He sighs with so much resignation that I want to hug him. "I'm always the crown prince. It's my hereditary duty. Can't escape from it. The best I could hope for was a break from that world, but I always knew eventually I'd have to go home and leave behind the life I love."
"That's so sad. You should get the life you want, not the one you were born into and had no choice whether you wanted it or not."
He shuts his eyes and groans. "I'm whingeing, aren't I? Sorry. I want to enjoy this time with you and your family, not complain about all the things I can't have."
"Sure, I get that. But you aren't 'whingeing.' We're having a conversation." I brush my fingers through his hair, waiting until he opens his eyes before I say, "And you can have some of the things you want. Right now, you can get at least one of them."
"Which one would that be?"
I clasp his hand to my chest. "Take a wild guess."
"Ah, you mean to placate me with sex." His lips curve into a wicked smile. "Go on and do it."
My mouth decides now is the right time to gape open on a noisy yawn.
Ben kisses the tip of my nose. "You can placate me tomorrow. Let's go to sleep now."
"Okay. I am wiped out."
"Family can do that to you, in a good way."
I touch my lips to his. "You do that to me too, in the best way."
"Yes, I know. I'm brilliant at hot tub sex." He grins when I roll my eyes. "You make me feel so good that I never want to leave this bed."
I yawn again. "Me too."
He tugs the covers up to my shoulders. "Good night, Sam."
"Good night, Ben."
Every day since he came into my life, I feel like I never want this to end. How long do I need to know him before I can beg him to take me with him when he goes back to England? I'd go anywhere with Ben, even if that means visiting Mithoria and meeting the infamous Princess Olivia.
No, I can't be falling for Ben. It's crazy.
He slides an arm around me to pull my body snugly against his, with my head tucked under his chin. Wrapped up in Ben, I feel myself drifting off into the oblivion of sleep. But as I sink deeper and deeper into dreamland, one thought resurfaces.
Can I fall for a guy I've known for a matter of days?
Chapter Fifteen
Ben
The invasion has begun. After a quiet morning of lounging in the living room with Sam and her parents, watching the telly and playing card games, the proverbial ax has finally slammed down on my neck. I might have won three games of war, the card game, but now it's time for a different sort of battle. Sam's brother will arrive soon with his wife and two daughters. But it's not the females who worry me.
Worry? No, I am not concerned about how her brother will react to me. Absolutely not. I'm looking forward to meeting him. Looking forward while also chewing the inside of my cheek until I think I might have worn a hole through it. But no, that is not anxiety. It's, ah… Well, I'm excited to meet the rest of the Lockhart clan. That's all.
I do feel a touch nauseous, though. Must be the jalapeno chili Chuck made for lunch that's having that effect on me.