Forbidden King (Princes of Avce Book 9)

by Victoria Pinder

  He came so close his body heat burned through her shirt. Her eyes shut as she waited for his lips to touch hers. “More than work. I’d like for us to… enjoy each other’s company.”

  He was a fraction of an inch from her mouth. Anna feared he wouldn’t kiss her, but then sweet bliss rushed through every cell when he finally did.

  His kiss was heaven itself.

  Lost in his arms until he pulled back, their mouths barely apart—she stared into his brown eyes and watched them darken.

  For the past year Leo had been a secret late-night fantasy, but now he was here and her husband. In a low voice she said, “I was disappointed when you didn’t kiss me earlier.”

  He rested his forehead on hers and strummed his thumb against her shoulder. She reveled in the touch. “What caused your sudden change?”

  She wished he’d kiss her again already. Had she changed? “Sudden?”

  “In the morning you were shy and didn’t want me near you. Then after our ride, you… you wanted me to kiss you. I didn’t understand why, and I don’t want to rush you into something you aren’t ready for.”

  He caressed her arm from her shoulder to her wrist while she explained, “I guess I did change—when you took the time to set up that date on the hill? And you checked to see that I was okay despite the fact I made you run in the rain.”

  He kissed her forehead. “You didn’t make me.”

  Perhaps those weren’t the right words. She’d known Leo always accepted a dare from his friends, though this was the first she’d ever asked him to do anything. Anna shrugged. “I dared you, when that was clearly stupid.”

  The servants knocked on the door to their suite and he let her go.

  The absence of his touch sent a shiver through her. “I’ll get it,” she said, and walked toward the door, while he disappeared inside his closet to get clothes.

  She directed the lunch, complete with wine and desserts, to be set up on the small breakfast nook and not the bigger dining table in the room.

  Smaller spaces meant intimate conversation.

  The crew was fast and already gone when Leo joined her in a pair of blue linen pants that seemed tailored for him—he hadn’t bothered with a shirt.

  Leo kissed her cheek. “Your dare wasn’t stupid—I got to see your wild side. We’re warm and having our picnic indoors with a view of the ocean.”

  She motioned toward the table and said, “But I risked your life.”

  “Which is what a butler might say…” A slight chuckle escaped his mouth as he reached for the wine bottle and glasses. “A run in the rain isn’t my life. Don’t be dramatic.”

  “I’m never dramatic.” She prided herself on calm in any situation though he was right that she thought like a servant, which was what she was until recently. He poured a clear pinot grigio and she detected notes of citrus rising from the bottle.

  He handed her a glass as he said, “I haven’t had so much as a cold since I was a boy.”

  The slight brush of his finger fanned her desire. Calm except when she was around Leo. “Lucky you.”

  “Do you get sick often?” He finished pouring one for himself and looked at her, lifting his glass toward her.

  “A few months after my parents died, I had a flu for a week.” She clinked with him and the crystal rang. “But since then, not really.”

  They both sipped, eyes on the other, until he set his glass down and opened one of the silver cloches revealing crackers and cheeses. “So how did my setting up a picnic and following you in the rain make you more agreeable to being physically close?”

  It was time to be honest and tell him her thoughts—he’d asked for truth from her. She held the stem of her glass tightly. “I want a chance of happiness… with you.”

  He froze and held a slice of cheese above the porcelain plate. “What chance?”

  He slowly put the cheese down.

  Her heart beat so fast she might faint, but she needed to be honest. The wine in her glass sloshed slightly as her hand trembled. “The one where you might just fall in love with me and then we get to happy.”

  He rounded the table and took the glass out of her hands. “Is that what you want, Anna? Love and happiness?”

  His warmth calmed her. He hadn’t run away. She met his gaze and ignored how her face was hot as she asked, “Is that silly?”

  He gave her a smile that hypnotized her. “Not if that’s what you want.”

  Perhaps it wasn’t wise to be this honest so fast. Maybe he was just saying whatever he could to seduce her, but her lips were still parted and wishing for more kisses—that he’d been slow to give her, saying they didn’t have to rush. “You don’t have to humor me.”

  He gently squeezed her shoulder. “I’d like for us to be in love too.”

  The word love reverberated in her ears—she hadn’t imagined the conversation going like this. He always had a string of women available. “You would?”

  He handed her the glass of wine back and picked up his own as he said, “Why not? Then we wouldn’t have to ever worry about scandal and maybe we could raise the next king to want to help his people and give him the right to marry who he pleases.”

  A commoner. She held her glass with both hands as she asked, “So why all those years of rebelling against your parents?”

  He sipped and then he put the practically full glass down. “I was never asked to state my opinion on anything and in fact actively told to avoid politics.”

  His words didn’t make sense. She put her glass down next to his. “But you’re to be king one day?”

  He reached out and caressed the neckline of her shirt. “One that was to be devoid of opinions.”

  She placed her hand on his heart and noticed how fast it was under her palm. “You’ve been doing good things for a while now.”

  He smiled down at her and she felt part of his team again. “Only because you make me want to be better, Anna. Keep doing that.”

  He tugged her closer and a thrill raced through her. “I trust you.”

  He held her hips but stared at her lips as he said, “You shouldn’t.”

  For the past year, she’d seen the real him. Leo had the potential to be amazing, though he’d made bad choices in women. From now on, she’d do whatever she could to be the best queen for him one day. She cupped his jaw while she said, “Don’t be modest. Let’s find out if we match… in bed.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want, Anna.” He leaned down and the air smelled completely like him. She arched her lips and then he kissed her, making her forget the world.

  Right or wrong, she wanted him. Right here. Right now. And no regrets.

  Chapter 9

  Leo hadn’t meant to sleep this late.

  But the rain pounded against the glass of the balcony doors, the bed let his muscles relax, and the moon was high in the sky.

  Anna wasn’t beside him so his adrenaline stirred. He sat and turned the light on in the bedroom, but then he saw that the light in the dining area was on and Anna was pacing in her white robe while talking on the phone.

  Had something happened?

  He ran his hand through his short hair, not nearly as soft as Anna’s, and heard her say the word “grandmother.”

  Anna must be talking to her only family member and hopefully convincing Maria to move to the dower house so she had her family close and easy to visit. His parents mostly ignored him, but he couldn’t imagine life without them. He stretched and saw his own phone flashing, as he’d turned the ringer off.

  He answered Pierre who quickly said, “Sire.”

  Leo glanced out the window toward the full moon in the sky. “Pierre, you’re calling late.”

  Pierre stopped typing in the background. “I was still working. Is that a problem?”

  Perhaps he should set office hours. Anna had always been available and honestly when he’d spoken to her at this time of the night, he’d never once imagined her doing anything.

  However, Anna said Pierr
e had a life and it didn’t seem fair to his new staff—yes, he would absolutely make regular working hours.

  “Not at all.” The Francesca situation needed to end, no matter how late into the night it took. “What’s going on?”

  “It seems Francesca and Pascal have hit it off as she’s currently staying at his place for the evening,” Pierre informed him.

  He leaned back against the headboard in relief. There would be no drama on their return and once he had the medical reports, he’d explain everything to Anna.

  Secrets were never good, but with luck, after this, he wouldn’t have any more problems. “Excellent to hear that.”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as the medical reports arrive from the hospital. Until then, I’d like to work on the environmental reports that Anna Camila had marked as important.”

  His ears burned with memories of her words about trees at the mention of her name.

  He sat up from bed and pulled on his pants. “What did Anna mark as important?”

  The sound of clicking on Pierre’s end of the phone stopped. “That we reforest the east ridge of the mountain to help stabilize the area’s natural resources.”

  The day he’d asked her to marry him replayed with her mentioning some report. Had it been about trees? He thought he’d signed it but maybe there was more to it that he didn’t know—he hadn’t read it. He scratched the back of his head and said, “Send me whatever you need for approval on that. I thought I signed off on all that. We’ll call the area Anna Camila’s nursery habitat.”

  “Excellent, Your Highness,” Pierre said, and they each hung up.

  Leo turned around and saw Anna staring at him with round brown eyes and a curious expression.

  Light brown hair, damp and waving, indicated that she’d taken a shower while he’d slept—and he hadn’t heard a thing.

  Now he was up and he’d show her more of a good time—he reached for her hand to pull her back to bed. She said, “You’re always on the phone it seems. You approved the forest plan then?”

  Wait. Had he mentioned anything about Francesca? His heart almost stopped as he asked, “How did you guess?”

  She put her phone on the table beside the bed. “I heard my name.”

  For now he was safe. He let out his breath and said, “It’s still raining, my sweet.”

  She laughed. “I like when you call me that.”

  “How are you feeling now that you’re not a virgin?”

  “Good. Really good.”

  “You’re even more beautiful today, like you’re glowing.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her. Her skin was chilled from her damp hair, and her eyes weren’t as bright as usual. “Anna, let’s get you something to eat.” They’d ended up in bed instead of at the table for their picnic.

  She patted her stomach as she said, “Sounds good.”

  Leo led her toward the breakfast nook, the patter of rain outside on the windows soothing. He lifted a lid off a platter of sandwiches. “Now what’s going on?”

  She took a chicken club so he chose the same and settled in the seat next to her. She asked, “What do you mean?”

  He glanced at her while she sat with her shoulders high. “Your face is white.”

  Anna twirled her wedding ring after putting her untouched sandwich down. “I was on the phone with my grandmother. I…”

  Ah. He’d guessed as much, but figured she’d be happy to hear from her. He held his sandwich to his face and waited for her to do the same. Then he ate and she did too.

  A few minutes later both the sandwiches were gone and he offered her another. She shook her head, but picked up some watermelon slices and her wine.

  He took some grapes and then asked, “Okay. Now what’s going on?”

  Anna sat back, more relaxed. “It seems her neighbors are all coming to her with questions about their socialized medicine benefits now that they think she’s related to the crown.”

  She’d said her grandmother was stubborn. He took Anna’s hand in his and traced her knuckles. “If she moves to the dower house, then she’s better protected. Right now it’s her neighbors, but all it takes is one bad person….”

  Her lips pressed together and she nodded like she expected to jump out of her seat to go over files. “I’ll make it a priority.”

  “Good.” He kissed the back of her hand.

  She licked her lips and instantly awareness grew inside him as she asked, “Why is my grandmother so important to you?”

  He studied her white robe and wondered if she was naked under there like he imagined. “I want my wife to always be happy.”

  Her coy smile somehow made her the most enchanting woman he’d ever seen when she said, “So you care about me?”

  Perhaps Anna Camila didn’t understand. He tightened his hold on her hand. “I’ve cared about you for the past year. Now that you’re my wife, I hope that what’s happening between us might make us stronger for the future.”

  Her happiness beamed but then her lips pressed together. He tilted his head, encouraging her to speak. “Did you talk with all your women like this after…y’know?”

  Francesca. He needed that to end in his favor. Hopefully everything worked out but for now he lifted his brow and asked, “After sex?”

  She picked up her wine. “Yeah. Were you this sweet after sex with Francesca or the others?”

  The back of his neck was hot and he wanted to end this line of questioning, but he couldn’t make a royal decree with Anna. “I wish you didn’t know about them.”

  She discovered the tray of cakes and placed the vanilla slice with white frosting on his plate. “It’s strange that I paid off some old girlfriends of yours now that I’m actually your wife, but at least I know who they were. Not one of them struck me as being in love with you, or you with them.”

  He dabbed his forehead with a cloth napkin. “You’re more observant than me.”

  She chose a piece of fruit tart for herself from the offerings. “I don’t think so.”

  Leo needed to get this conversation back on track, so he reached for her hand. “To answer your question, no. I normally wanted to escape the woman’s bed in the night, well before morning, to avoid awkward conversations.”

  A spark grew in her eye before she glanced in the wine, avoiding his gaze again—but she ate a few bites of her tart and so he did the same.

  Anna set her fork down. Hopefully the conversation didn’t steer backward. He scooted closer, on pins and needles, as she asked, “So, no helping grandmothers except mine?”

  It wasn’t that she was jealous, he realized, of what had gone on before. She wanted to know that she was different—special. Leo polished off his cake, then sat back in his chair and zeroed in on the hint of flesh at her cleavage. “Not at all. Do you feel rested?”

  Her gaze narrowed, and she didn’t blink as she leaned closer. “I think so. Why?”

  The air smelled like her rose perfume. He stood and offered his hand for her to rise. Leo traced the curve of her hip over the robe. “Since it’s raining outside and we’ve eaten, I thought I’d show you how much I care. But only if you aren’t sore.”

  He walked her backward away from the midnight picnic toward the bed. Her sway in how she walked was a little different, more relaxed and sure of her body now. “So you were being thoughtful of me?”

  Once they crossed the threshold of the room, he reached for the tie to the robe so he could see for himself if she was naked, or if she’d slipped something on underneath. “Is that a problem?”

  She didn’t object as he pushed the robe away and let her see her nakedness that housed how sweet and passionate she was on the inside. He twirled her toward the bed while she said, “No. You’re surprising, Leo. In a good way.”

  He slipped his pants off. “How?”

  Her lips quirked into a sideways smile as she leaned backward on the bed. He climbed next to her, inhaling her scent. Feasting on her beauty. He lowered his mouth just above hers when
she said, “That you gave me a shot when you opened your heart.”

  His lips were a fraction from hers, but he stopped and stared at her. Anna was beautiful, smart, caring and maybe his perfect match. He trailed kisses up her neck. “I don’t deserve you, Anna. In many ways you’re better than me and you’ll be excellent at my side as the queen.”

  She ran her hands over his shoulders. He leaned forward to kiss her naked body and she sighed. “I hope to do good work with you.”

  He studied her—her lips were beacons he needed to claim. “I don’t see how you’d ever do anything else.”

  And then his lips pressed against hers. She moaned and wrapped her arms around him.

  No more words were needed. Anna was his. Now and forever.

  Chapter 10

  Anna Camila stood in her room-sized closet and chose pale blue sailor pants with a matching blouse that had been tailored for her.

  The transition from washing her own work clothes and picking out drab, off-the-rack skirts to wear in the office at the palace, to princess, had been surprisingly simple. Every piece of clothes that she might want on a whim was already in her closet.

  And in her size. And in styles she would have picked for herself.

  From what she’d been able to figure out, working at the palace had given the fashion team inside information on her size and likes.

  She’d seen the sailboats out on the water and thought it might be fun to go sailing—the last time she’d done that alone was over a year ago, before she began her job at the palace, and that was the culmination of years to not be afraid after her parents died.

  Work had kept her busy and apprehension remained a niggling doubt.

  Perhaps it was better not to mention this.

  She brushed her hair to her shoulders, then went to find Leo. Her handsome husband was reading the newspaper as he sipped a cappuccino in the breakfast nook.

  She walked in, listening to the hum in her heart, and he stood to greet her. “The sun is out.”

  His nose wrinkled as he smiled at her and asked, “Are you humming?”