CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CASSGLANCEDATBriony as she watched the numbers on the elevator light up, signaling their descent to the lower level of the palace. Tonight was the dinner with the ambassador from Switzerland and his family, as well as several other dignitaries. It was the final royal event not associated with the wedding. Clara had cleared their calendars next week for nothing but confirming details, completing rehearsals and keeping their time free for the “numerous last-minute things that are bound to come up,” as Clara had put it.
He should be concerned that he was looking forward to spending more time with Briony. And not just time, but time confirming tablecloth colors and floral arrangements. His engagement was starting to feel all too real. He could better appreciate the emotional hell his aunt must have gone through because it was all too easy to submit to the temptation of a relationship.
It wasn’t just that they’d had sex. Briony was not one to linger in the background, reserving her time for shopping and lunch dates like his mother had. The same dedication she’d exhibited when taking care of her stepfamily had shown itself once more as she had taken her conversation with Hugo at the museum and run with it. Her committee had met every day in the past two weeks. She’d hosted a town hall for parents and even invited schoolchildren to the palace to share what they wanted out of their new school.
She was thriving. And the more she accomplished, the more captivated he became.
Even now, as she looked up at him with a small smile, Cass had to force himself to look away and not stare too much at his future bride.
Almost wife. In just over a month, she would be his wife. The past twenty-one days had flown by. The nights, however...
He’d woken up in Briony’s bed after that first night to find it empty. He’d finally caught up with her in the ballroom with Clara discussing the timeline of their reception. Briony had been surprisingly distant. He didn’t know what bothered him more, that he was bothered by her distance or that she had done exactly what she had said she would—not have any hope about theirs being any type of a love match.
A point made even worse by her words as she’d fallen asleep. He wasn’t what she wanted, a man who could never fall in love. No, he was the “next best thing.”
She deserved everything she wanted and more.
That night, he’d gone to bed alone. The following night, however, he’d been preparing for bed when a soft knock had sounded on his door. He’d opened it to find Briony in the hallway.
“I want you.”
He should have said no. But he didn’t, telling himself it was a natural part of their relationship, that they wouldn’t produce heirs by practicing abstinence. Excuses, all, for what he knew deep down was the real reason: he wanted her just as badly. As soon as the door had closed, she’d thrown herself into his arms, kissing him with an unrestricted passion that had set his body on fire.
It had been much like that every night since. Meetings during the day, each of them pursuing their own royal agendas, and wild sex at night. Just last night, she’d sunk to her knees in the shower and taken him in her mouth, her tongue flicking over him as he’d fisted his hands in her hair and willed himself to hold on long enough to sink his length deep into her willing body.
He had everything he wanted laid before him: his revenge, the glimmers of hope for Linnaea’s restoration, a fiancée who involved herself in the country’s operations and who enjoyed sex almost as much as, if not more than, he did.
Yet with every shared laugh, every moment spent together, every casual caress, his uneasiness at his own lack of control and his guilt at how, once more, Briony had given up something she wanted grew.
The elevator doors slid open to reveal Clara, poised and ready as usual with her phone in one hand and tablet in another. But tonight, she looked different.
“You’re wearing color,” Cass said with surprise.
The tiniest blush tinged Clara’s cheeks as she glanced down at the deep blue gown wrapped around her frame.
“Is it too much?”
He started to respond with his usual quips, but the uncertainty in her eyes stopped him.
“No. You look beautiful, Clara.”
The pink deepened into red as her mouth curved up into the first real smile he’d ever seen on her. It transformed her entire visage and made him blink in surprise.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Clara directed her smile to Briony. “And thank you. I never would have worn it without your encouragement.”
Briony reached out and squeezed Clara’s hand as they started to walk down the hall.
“Cass is right. You look stunning.”
Clara cleared her throat and pulled up a document on her tablet. Seconds later she was back to her usual self, rattling off facts about the upcoming dinner.
“You met his wife and daughter yesterday during lunch. His daughter is a student...”
Several minutes later, they reached the main dining room. Briony slid her hand into the crook of his elbow, a gesture that had become comforting and familiar. He reached down and squeezed her fingers.
“Ready?”