Her gaze narrowed like she suspected something, yet she nodded. “Please. Yes. Ask what’s on your mind.”
Maybe Francesca had snuck in to see her too. Maybe she’d gone to Anna first, since Anna had handled the situation before. He couldn’t ruin their wedding night with a conversation that might not need to be said. He traced her arm underneath the silk of her sleeve. “I married you because my parents chose you to fulfill an archaic law. I know that’s not most guys’ reasons for marriage, but it is the truth. Why did you say yes?”
Her face held another blush as she stared at his lips. “You asked me that already.”
Was that her way of getting him to kiss her? Another memory of yesterday and those sweet lips flashed in his mind. Nothing would stop them from deepening their kiss as no more crowds were around. Leo ignored the tingles his lips had for her strawberry taste. “But you didn’t answer.”
She leaned a little closer and the scent of flowers surrounded him. It hadn’t been the lilies. It was her perfume and it made his mouth water. “I said yes because the king and queen were there. The queen was a friend of my mother’s-”
A light dawned and he snapped his fingers, interrupting her as he said, “Ah. That’s why she chose you.”
She pressed her hand to her heart. “Is that bad?”
So they were both picked by the distant past, but unlike him, she had more freedom in her choices, not having to marry by a certain age. Yet she’d chosen him today. He took off his gloves so he could feel her face with his fingers. “No, but I’d wondered how you had come to be in my office at the palace—my mother must have had a hand in hiring you. It doesn’t matter, as we figure out what happens next in our lives while respecting the crown.”
Her eyes opened wide like she was making a solemn vow. “I’ll never let you down.”
Now that his hands were free, he could feel her soft, silky skin that was smoother than the fabric around her body. “Good. Anna, I will honor you as my future Queen from this day forward.”
Without another word, his lips met hers and he claimed her.
For the rest of their lives, she was his, and forever started now.
Chapter 4
Anna Camila’s pulse raced as she stared off the private yacht to the docks leading to South Castle. After her parents had died, she’d forced herself on the sea to get over the heart-pounding fear of it their death had caused, years ago. Leo’s yacht was in top shape. She’d read the reports herself. So, she’d changed below deck from her dress to a white blouse and white tailored pants, with designer leather flats, also in white. The moon, high in the sky, shone on the dark water and she shivered with a breeze.
Leo had spent the short trip talking to the ship’s captain, avoiding her. She’d wondered what she’d done—until she’d spotted the castle and she’d been transfixed. The blue tips of the turrets and the white walls could be out of a movie. No photos had done South Castle justice. The cameras were probably too flat to truly show how the waters around the island all shone and created a halo effect from the ground up.
It was like she was heading to heaven.
She was now a princess. Here, she would become Leo’s as they joined in matrimony.
Here, she’d be his lover and not the confident woman who could handle castle business with a clear head. Love had been something she’d avoided out of fear she’d lose who she was inside.
She winced, her body tight, and she was glad she hadn’t touched a bite of food as the castle grew bigger and bigger, until they docked.
Her wedding day was over, and she was alone.
Unsure what to do about it, she pressed her heels onto the ship’s smooth deck. Planks weren’t the right word for this fancy wood.
Honestly, she wasn’t someone who relaxed on yachts, or partied with other rich socialites. That was Francesca.
The name sent another chill down her.
Maybe marrying Leo had been a mistake.
Just as she let that fear in, he found her on deck and joined her in watching the white walls of the seaside castle.
Blue turrets and steeples on the white building made the entire palace seem dreamlike, especially in the moonlight. A fairy tale.
Her life never used to be a fairy tale. Leo’s proposal had changed that.
A thrill raced through her when Leo’s hand pressed against her lower back. He touched her elbow to get her to join him so she followed without a word down the narrow gangway and stepped onto the dock. He led her through the small lines of the port where customs was set up for visitors, but he knew his way. Soon they were on stone path that led toward the castle. She stared up the entire time as this was a place writers claimed mermaids came to seduce the resident prince.
Luckily that was just her imagination, and she’d married the only prince. She sighed. “This is beautiful.”
He guided her higher up, past sea cottages toward the castle doors. He glanced around furtively but no one spoke to them or even came close that she could tell.
Leo acted like people watched them behind shuttered windows and closed doorways when he said, “I haven’t been here in years.”
Her lips pursed. If the entire time they were here, he seemed suspicious then they had a problem. Was he not safe? “Why did you pick it for our honeymoon?”
At the huge double doors of the castle, large enough to allow an army through if both were open, he said while he led her inside, “We’re alone here, away from society or the press. We need time to figure each other out.”
“True.” She agreed completely but halted when she saw a line of staff waiting for them. Leo tugged her closer to him and pressed his lips against hers.
Steam rose through her from the fast kiss, but he let her go and addressed the staff.
Her mind raced and she couldn’t concentrate on his introductions as his kiss lingered. Memories of yesterday’s kisses made her weak in the knees and she felt powerless in their relationship. She somehow managed the introductions, not that she would remember anyone.
Once they were done, she fixed her hair with her fingers and asked, “Can we talk where servants can’t hear us, Leopoldo?”
He offered her his hand. “Leo.”
“Leo,” she corrected and took his ungloved fingers that guided her toward the stairs like she was a fancy lady of old.
Granted, she was now a lady by marriage, so she ensured she walked in step beside him rather than behind as she might have done as his secretary. Up two flights, he led her toward a room and opened the doors. The balcony outside of this room overlooked the ocean with no land in sight, anywhere. She itched to go out—what a view! The door handle clicked closed and she turned toward Leo.
This time her heart beat but it was entirely different than earlier.
She backed up as he walked toward her.
“Here we are.” He gestured to the large room. “This will be our bedroom.”
She noticed the king-sized bed with the white sheets and blue blanket thrown over it in case they were cold. Anna massaged her temples and walked firmly in the other direction of the suite, headed toward the balcony. The sun had already set so there was only moonlight without city lights to illuminate, and she wanted to get the view. She waved for him to join her. “There are a few things I’d like to talk about. Join me on the balcony?”
“What’s going on?” He took a seat at the metal breakfast table outside.
She glanced down. If she fell from here, she’d surely die. There was probably half a mile to the ocean from this balcony.
Anna had always liked heights as it made her feel somehow a small part of a huge world. The visual reminder made her sigh. She turned toward Leo and then settled into the seat opposite him, folding her hands in front of her. “We don’t know each other.”
He tilted his head. “We’ve known each other for a year.”
Fair. But that was as boss and employee. She fetched his coffee, knew how to run his business interests, knew how to pay off women, and not j
ust Francesca. Francesca had been last, but earlier in the year there had been Pavel, and when she’d first started working in the castle, Shannon. Leo dated women he knew would never be an acceptable choice as the future queen and she assumed it was his way of annoying his parents, like how she’d not done her history homework mostly to rebel against expectations.
Either way, unlike her, he clearly got around. She sat straighter. “Not as a couple. We have never been romantic.”
He scooted his chair closer toward her and pressed his hand briefly against her knee. “That will come now that we are married.”
She inched her leg away and shook her head. Without looking at him, she took a deep breath and said, “Look, I’m not ready to share a bedroom with you, Leo.”
He kept both hands on the table, his expression one of surprise. “Why? You married me.”
She checked her wedding ring and spun it in a circle as she nodded and met his stare. His brown eyes were hypnotic and if she was… more experienced, then she’d handle this differently. Her face felt hot and she probably was blushing. “I did. But I want us to get to know each other… before… before everything is consummated.”
He reached out and hooked his pinky with hers. “What’s the matter?”
She sat up and pulled her hand back. Her ring felt like it burned into her but she ignored the sensation as she lifted her chin. “You were just in Francesca’s bed. I paid her off. I don’t want to be a rebound.”
His cheeks tinted crimson but he said, “That’s impossible. We’re married.”
She pressed her palms into the mesh table top and denied the spark that raced through her from a simple touch. How was that even possible? “I get it, but I need time… to adjust.”
He massaged his chin while he studied her. She twirled the huge diamond on her finger. He finally said, “You swear this isn’t forever?”
She let out a small sigh of relief as she realized that he would agree. “I’m hoping we get to know each other and like each other… romantically.”
He gave her an almost tender smile like they were still working together on an office project near to his heart. “Anna, my mother was right. You will be an excellent queen.”
The office. The office didn’t equal romance, and her pulse spiked in warning. Heat rose up her neck to her face. “What does that mean, Your… Leo?”
He brought his chair beside her and their shoulders touched. “It means you’ll get what you want.”
She was glad that he wouldn’t expect sex tonight. She wasn’t just a number in his bed, but his wife. “Perfect.”
“But I’d like to negotiate some terms.” He leaned closer.
The air around her was now warmer and smelled like his almond aftershave she’d bought him. “Like what?”
He motioned toward the open door and the large bed inside. “Like this bedroom. I can’t have servants reporting anything… unusual.”
Fair. She hadn’t thought about anyone else but them. She fixed the diamond to be straight and stopped fiddling with the band. “So you want to share the bedroom, though you agree no sex?”
“I’ll sleep beside you without touching you.”
“How about the couch?”
“You drive a hard bargain, Anna.” He brushed their shoulders together and his nearness made her crave something she couldn’t describe while he said, “Yes. I’ll take the couch.”
Her gaze narrowed with suspicion but she didn’t pull away from his side. “Have you ever slept on a couch?”
That devastatingly sexy smile was how he clearly had women falling into his bed. Or maybe it was that sparkle in his brown hues that created a vibration right into her soul, even as he said something as mundane as asking for his phone messages. “No, but it happens in movies,” he said. “I’m hoping it’s comfortable.”
Leo lounging on a couch in PJs and not in a business suit or a polo shirt was going to be interesting. She couldn’t even imagine him in cotton pajamas though she knew he owned a few pairs, as she’d opened his presents throughout the year and sent the proper thank yous to the senders.
He was right to be aware of the household staff. She brushed his muscular arm—she knew for a fact that he spent an hour or more at his gym to stay in shape.
The furnace in her face began to burn again and her skin probably showed the flush. Her lips tingled as she remembered his kisses. She glanced at his full mouth and the slight stubble on his chin due to the late hour. “Very well. I understand that we need to not cause a scandal. I don’t want anyone speaking about me either.” To be queen meant that she had to have an impeccable reputation.
Conversation over, she scooted her chair back.
He didn’t move but sat straight and said, “Second-”
She returned to her seat and crossed her legs. “There is a second?”
He turned his chair toward her so he faced her without the table in the way. “Yes. And possibly a third and fourth.”
She sat back and rested her head against the outside wall of the castle. “Okay. Give me a second.” She knew that he liked the upper hand but this was their future they were discussing and she had to be clear-minded.
He hopped out of his chair and held one finger up. “Fair. I’ll order a snack.”
The sea breeze grew in intensity and a small chill was now in the air. She followed him inside and closed the balcony door. The rest of the conversation could be in here where she didn’t need a sweater.
His bedroom suite had a small dining room to the right. The living area, with a couch and chairs, was too close to the bed. Now that she’d made her case for time, she couldn’t stop thinking about them together.
Once he was through ordering their meal, he hung up and flung a leg over the seat to join her.
What could he be planning? A zip grew in her veins as she admitted, “Now I’m curious.”
He kissed her fingertips. “Second, I need us to act happy and in love in front of the staff.”
Pretending wasn’t who she was. And while she cared for him, he didn’t for her. She pursed her lips and studied the marble squares visible underneath the blue Persian carpet of the dining area. “So you’re asking me to lie?”
He didn’t move until she glanced at him and then he swallowed and said, “I’m asking for us to send a message to the people that you and I are solid and that the future king and queen are one team.”
A team. She’d been on his team for a year. That wasn’t a lie. She nodded. More importantly, she’d never want anyone to mock him about anything. “Very well. I understand that.”
A slow smile grew on his face. Her body zipped with awareness as she pressed her hand to his face. His demands were reasonable and she wanted them to get along. She began to smile back at him until he said, “Third. You will let me seduce you.”
Her heart sped up and she took her hand back as a shot of cold washed through her. “You just said you’d give me space to decide.”
His eyes smoldered as he looked at her intently. He didn’t touch her, but he didn’t pull back either. “I won’t force myself on you.”
This was too much. She pushed her chair back to get out of the way and shook her head. “I didn’t think you would.” He would never intentionally hurt her, and she knew it.
She crossed her arms as she heard his chair sliding back, and from the corner of her eye, she saw him rise. She stepped away but he inched closer and said, “I want to warn you that I intend to talk you into that bed. You will ask me to take you.”
Talk. The word buzzed in her ear. Her heart hammered she’d like to be there already, but she wasn’t ever going to be like Francesca. Or any of his dalliances. As his wife, she needed to be something… someone special. She fanned her cheeks and glanced at his shoulder to ground herself before she was able to meet his gaze. “There is something I should tell you.”
He put his hands in his pockets, his habit when he thought of something to add to the schedule. “What?”
The usual
stance of his calmed her. Anna wasn’t frightened, but she took a deep breath and ignored the thunder of her heart. “I’m not like Francesca or most of the women you know.”
He gave her a curt nod. “Obviously. You’re my wife.”
That didn’t mean much to many married men in the world. She sniffed and the cologne she’d purchased for him wafted into her nostrils—she’d asked housekeeping what cologne he wore and had bought it for his birthday. She glanced down. “No. I mean something else.”
He came closer and she could feel his body heat next to hers. “What?”
Her head screamed to keep this a secret, but she couldn’t. She turned away so she didn’t get lost in his dark brown eyes—she never wanted to pretend with Leo. He needed to know that she’d never had sex as she’d never met the guy she wanted enough to bother to try, so she sucked in her breath and stared at the calla lilies decorating the table as if the staff had coordinated her wedding flowers into the bouquet. “Leo, I’m a virgin. I’m twenty-six years old, and I don’t know anything about seduction.”
He didn’t say a word. She didn’t dare look at him or turn around.
Her body was tight and every cell jumped in her skin. He pressed his hand to her shoulder. “But you’re beautiful, Anna. How are you a virgin?”
School, her parents’ death, work at the palace. She never had time to socialize and lived with her grandmother at the retirement community. Not that it mattered. She ignored how her body buzzed and turned toward him. His big brown eyes sent warmth through her that probably went right to her cheeks. “I never met the right guy.”
He narrowed his gaze and she trembled. “Were you saving yourself?”
Until now, she’d never felt this… whatever this electric zip was as she backed away. “I’m picky and I never met a guy I wanted enough to think about hopping into bed.”
Forbidden King (Princes of Avce Book 9) Page 4