Shy Queen in the Royal Spotlight

by Natalie Anderson

  ‘What are you doing?’ Her gold eyes were huge.

  Uninhibited—and frankly exhilarated—he’d undone his shirt buttons before he’d even thought about it. Now he laughed at the look on her face. ‘Relax. It’s just skin. And it’s a pool.’

  ‘You can’t swim naked,’ she said, scandalised.

  ‘I told you, the pool is completely private. No one can see us—it’s designed so only our private apartments overlook it. Mine, yours, Fi’s. And Fi isn’t here.’

  ‘You still can’t swim naked,’ she choked.

  ‘Relax, Hester.’ He laughed, amused by her blushing outrage.

  ‘You just do everything you want, don’t you?’

  ‘Not all the time. Not everything.’

  She had no idea how well behaved he was being right now. Another bolt of attraction seared through him. He kept his black knit boxers on but swiftly dived into the pool to hide the very direct effect she was having on him.

  ‘How’d the fitting go?’ he asked once he swam to the surface again. The thought of her in a fancy wedding dress intrigued him. The dresses on the plane had been stunning, but some white lacy bridal thing? He suspected she’d slay it.

  ‘It was fine.’

  Of course she’d say that—it was her fall-back phrase to conceal every real thought and emotion. He gazed into her eyes, wishing he could read her mind. Only the softest signs gave her away—her pupils had swollen so there was only a slight ring of colour visible; her cheeks had reddened slightly; her breath sounded a little fast and shallow. But he wanted to provoke a real reaction from her—powerful, visceral, uncontrollable.

  ‘Alek?’ she asked.

  Despite the uncertainty in her tone, primal satisfaction scoured his insides, tightening every muscle with anticipation. He really did like his name on her lips. That small success would be the first of many. And he understood the reason for her uncertainty and slight breathlessness. She had a similar effect on him.

  He swam closer, hiding his straining body beneath the cool water. Her eyelashes were so amazing—droplets glistened on the ends of a few, enhancing their lushness even more and framing her jewel-like irises to mesmerising perfection. She was every inch a luscious lioness.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she muttered as he floated closer still.

  ‘Tell me how the fitting went,’ he said softly. ‘Tell me something more than a mere platitude.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I want to know how you’re feeling.’

  That wary look entered her eyes, but at the same time the water’s warmth rose a notch. The tension between them was now half exposed and she couldn’t tear her gaze from him any more than he could peel his from her.

  ‘Why?’ Her lips parted in a tempting pout—ruby red berries promising delectable, juicy softness.

  ‘Because we’re going to be a team, Hester,’ he muttered, struggling to focus and to keep his hands off her. ‘I’d like to know how you’re feeling, how you’re coping with everything. We should be able to communicate openly with each other.’ He cocked his head. ‘I get that you’re quite self-contained, but this doesn’t need to be difficult.’

  Except it felt complicated. Something drew him closer even when he shouldn’t. This should be straightforward. Where had this vast curiosity come from? Or this gnawing desire that now rippled through every cell in his body? It hadn’t been there yesterday when he’d proposed. But now? Now he wanted to know her—and not just in that biblical sense. He wanted to understand what she was thinking and why. Drawing her out was a challenge. It wasn’t unlike detangling Fi’s glass Christmas tree lights for her when he was younger—careful focus, gentle hands and infinite patience were required.

  But Alek wasn’t feeling brilliantly patient this second. His heart was thudding too fast. He couldn’t resist reaching out to feel for himself how soft she was, placing his hands on her slender waist and pulling her closer to where he stood.

  Hester braced her hands on his broad forearms, feeling the strength of his muscles beneath her palms. Her pulse quickened and, despite the cool water, her temperature soared.

  ‘Have you decided to seduce me?’ Her voice was the barest thread of a whisper.

  He gazed at her intently but said nothing.

  Old fears slithered in, feeding doubt and fattening the insecurity that he could never possibly mean it. This was just a game for him. He was so used to winning, wasn’t he?

  ‘What are you going to do once you’ve succeeded?’ She couldn’t hold back the note of bitterness. ‘Discard me like disposable cutlery?’

  He didn’t flinch at her lame dig. His gaze was unwavering and she was drowning in the depths of darkness in his eyes. ‘Are you saying I’m going to succeed?’

  ‘A man with your experience is always going to succeed against someone like me.’

  He gazed at her relentlessly and something dangerous flickered from him to her. ‘You’re really not experienced?’

  ‘Of course not,’ she snapped as the unfamiliar tension in her body pushed her towards rejection—it was that or something so reckless. So impossible. She’d all but told him back in Boston. ‘In your impossible quest for an appropriate bride you’ve found a virgin fit for a king.’ The bitter irony rose within her.

  His hands tightened on her waist. ‘You’re a virgin?’

  What else did ‘not experienced’ mean?

  ‘Don’t act like you didn’t guess already,’ she angrily snapped.

  ‘How? And why would I?’ He shook her gently. ‘You said you’d had a quiet life, but this is...’

  ‘Irrelevant,’ she slammed back at him. ‘We have an agreement. You’re paying me to do a job. Physical intimacy, other than those two kisses, is off the table.’

  But she was finding it impossible to breathe, impossible to tear her gaze from his. And it was impossible to do this ‘job’ when he kept stripping off and smiling at her all the time.

  ‘Is it, Hester?’ he breathed.

  Why did he have to be so beautiful? Why did her body have to choose this moment to spark to life and decide it wanted touch? The sort of touch she’d never craved before. Not like this—not with a bone-deep driving need that was almost impossible to restrain.

  ‘Please let me go.’ And the worst thing happened—because it wasn’t the assertive command she wanted. It was a breathless plea, totally undermined by the thread of desire that was so obvious to her that she knew it was evident to him as well.

  But he didn’t release her.

  ‘Just so you know, sweetheart, it will not be my “experience” that sees me succeed with you,’ he said firmly and then swept her up to sit her on the side of the pool. ‘It’s not me at all.’

  He pushed back, floating away from her, leaving her with a parting shot so powerful she was glad she wasn’t still standing.

  ‘It’ll happen only when you decide that I’m the one you want.’ He levered up out of the pool on the opposite side and she watched him stride away in all his sopping, masculine beauty. ‘You’re the one with the power. You’re the one who will need to say yes.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  HESTER GRIPPED HER new clutch purse tightly. Her dress was suitable, she could walk in her mid-heeled nude shoes, and she’d practised not blinking so she could cope with banks of cameras...it was going to be fine. It was one sequence of appearances on one day—TV interview, public outing and back to the palace. She could manage that. She’d been practising often enough. The last few days had whizzed by in a flurry of meetings and planning. Alek had been with her much of the time but he was constantly interrupted and often completely called away. But she’d hidden in the palace, preparing for the performance of a lifetime, practising the walk down the long aisle of the chapel, climbing into the carriage, then swimming in the pool each afternoon. But he’d not joined her there again.

  N
ow he was already waiting in the corridor. As always her tummy flipped when she saw him, but it was the burn building below her belly—that restless, hot ache—that was the real problem. She couldn’t look at him without that appalling temptation to slide closer, to soften completely and let him touch... She still couldn’t believe she’d made that embarrassing confession the other day. Her virginal status had surprised him and he hadn’t denied he was interested in her physically. But he could have any woman he wanted. So she needed to forget all that and remember that this was a job.

  His appraisal of her was uncharacteristically serious—all jet-black eyes, square jaw and no dimples. She sensed his leashed power; after all, he was a man who could move mountains with the snap of his fingers.

  ‘Your hair’s down.’ He finally spoke. ‘I like it.’

  ‘I’m so glad to hear that,’ she muttered, letting her tension seep out with uncharacteristic acidity. ‘All I ever wanted was your approval.’

  ‘Excellent.’ He smiled wolfishly, soaking up her faux sweetness and ignoring the blatant sarcasm. ‘You have it. I knew you’d deliver.’

  Gritting her teeth, she wished she wouldn’t react to his low chuckle but warmth pooled deep inside regardless. She liked it when he teased her with this sparkle-tipped talk that turned tension into bubbling moments of fun. The kind she’d never had with anyone before.

  ‘Ready to hold hands?’ He tilted his chin at her, his eyes gleaming with challenge.

  ‘To stop me running away?’ she cooed, then snapped on some seriousness. ‘Good idea.’

  He took her hand in a firm grip and led her into a vast room filled with fascinating sculptures and books. She could lose herself happily in here for days but she barely had time to blink at all the gold-framed art on the walls because he swiftly guided her to a lamp-lit polished wooden desk. ‘Come on, you need to choose something.’

  She gaped at the velvet-lined display cases carefully placed on the table before glancing up to see a liveried man with white kid gloves discreetly leaving the room.

  ‘Wow, you’ve presented so many options...’ She didn’t quite know what to say. There were dozens of stunning rings—diamond solitaires, sapphire clusters, ruby squares and others she had no idea of.

  ‘I’m hoping one will fit.’ Alek’s brows drew together as he looked down at her. ‘You have small hands.’

  ‘Did you raid all the jewellery shops in a thousand-mile radius?’

  ‘No, these are from the palace vault.’ He smiled at her horrified expression. ‘There are a number of things in there. You’ll choose a tiara for the wedding later this afternoon. We don’t have time for that right now and it’s supposed to be a secret from me, I think.’

  There was a whole vault full of priceless treasure? She stared brainlessly at the tray, stunned yet again by the extreme wealth of his lifestyle—and of his ancient heritage, steeped in tradition. As impossible to believe as it was, she knew all those gleaming stones were real. Just as their impending marriage was real.

  ‘Which do you like?’ he prompted.

  She shook her head, dazed. ‘Any of them. They’re all amazing.’

  And it was impossible to decide. Still silence followed her comment, but she was frozen with fear and awe and stinging embarrassment.

  ‘Would you like me to help?’

  She heard the smile in his voice but she couldn’t smile back. ‘You can just choose.’

  ‘You should have something you actually like,’ he said dryly and then lowered his voice. ‘You deserve something you like, Hester.’ He turned her to face him, making her look up to meet his gaze. ‘There’s no wrong answer here. You can pick whichever you want...’

  It was very kind of him, but way too overwhelming. Pearls, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies...she was stunned and speechless and so deeply discomfited by his careful concern. It made it worse somehow—that he knew she wasn’t used to people consulting her on what she would like, or giving her beautiful rooms to sleep in, or choices of sublime designer gowns and now priceless, beautifully crafted jewels.

  ‘Why don’t you start by trying some on to see if they even fit?’ He plucked the nearest ring from the tray and grasped her cold hand.

  Hester remained motionless as he slid the ring down her finger before removing it again and selecting another with rapid decisiveness. The enormous oval emerald was too enormous. The square ruby’s band was too big... As he tested and discarded several options, he kept a firm grip on her hand as if he thought she really might run away if he didn’t. Maybe she would’ve too, because her core temperature was rising and her breathing shortening. He was too near and she was too tense. She just wanted one to fit well enough so this could be done and she could get away from him.

  ‘This makes you feel awkward, Hester?’ he murmured, glancing up into her eyes.

  Yes, because he was standing so close and it felt too intimate, not the businesslike process it ought to be. Her imagination was working overtime, reading too much into every look, every word—that he was subtly teasing her by lingering as if he knew how much his proximity affected her and he was playing on it.

  ‘Of course it does.’ She tried to match his careless confidence but her voice wouldn’t get above a whisper. She fell back on practicalities to answer half honestly. ‘I’m going to be too scared to go anywhere with something like this on my finger. What if I lose it?’

  ‘You only need to wear it to the events today and the wedding ceremony. The rest of the time, it’ll remain safe in the vault.’

  Okay. Good. That made it a little better. So she nodded and held still as he tried another that had a too-large band.

  ‘You don’t have a favourite colour?’ he asked as he cocked his head to study how the next option looked on her small hand.

  She shook her head, too embarrassed to articulate anything. It was impossible to think when he was this near to her and holding her with firm gentleness.

  ‘Okay, then I’m going to decide,’ he said. ‘And you’re not getting any say.’

  She would’ve laughed if she weren’t so flummoxed by his intense effect on her. With exaggerated movements he angled his body to hide her own hand from her. She felt the sensuous slide of his fingers down hers as he tried a few more rings. But his broad shoulders and masculine body blocked her view. Then he slowed, trying one, then another—then another and taking far longer with one. All the while she stared at the fine stitching on the seam of his jacket.

  He turned his head to glance at her, a smile flitting around his lips in a mysterious way. ‘I’m done.’

  With a flourish, he pivoted to face her, sliding his hold to the tips of her fingers so she could see the ring he’d placed on her.

  ‘What do you think?’ he gently prompted.

  She just stared. But inside while her heart pounded, her brain was starved of anything useful. It was stunning. One she’d been unable to see at first glance because she’d been blinded by so many gleaming options. It was a fine gold band and a solitary diamond. But the massive stone was cut into a teardrop shape—it didn’t glitter brilliantly, wasn’t gaudy, but rather the multifaceted cut ensured it gleamed and gave it a depth she’d not thought possible from a mere mineral. She could get lost looking into it. It was exquisite and delicate and moved her unbearably.

  ‘Hester?’

  Unable to resist responding to that commanding thread in his voice, she glanced up. Her tongue was cleaved to the roof of her mouth. Her pulse thudded through her body with such ferocity she had to stay completely still to control it—to stop that overwhelming emotion exploding out of her in an ugly mess. It was too risky to reveal anything vulnerable—that something might matter to her. But the warmth in the backs of Alek’s eyes was different now. There wasn’t only that flicker of flirtation and teasing awareness. There was something deeper than both those things and as the seconds passed in silence i
t only strengthened.

  ‘It’s fine,’ she croaked.

  She knew her response was so woefully inadequate it was almost rude, but no way could she utter the incoherent, incomplete thoughts battling in her head amongst the swirl of confusion. She expected him to either frown or tease, but he didn’t. His face lit up and he smiled. Her heart stopped. Those dimples were going to be the death of her.

  ‘Yes, it is.’ He curled his arm around her waist and walked her towards the big heavy doors at the other end of the room. ‘I’m glad you like it.’

  Like it? Total understatement. She couldn’t help sneaking peeks at it as she walked with him into a reception room that had been prepared for the interview, but she still couldn’t verbalise the hot mess of feeling inside.

  The journalist was waiting with only two crew—one for camera, one for sound. Hester perched on the edge of the sofa and hoped her nerves didn’t show too much. Alek kept one arm around her and drew her closer to his side while holding her hand throughout. She was so aware of his heat and strength and his smile melted everything and everyone else away until somehow it was over and he was laughing and releasing her only to shake hands with the presenter.

  ‘You did well,’ Alek said as he escorted her through the palace maze back to her apartment.

  Hester couldn’t actually remember a word she’d said in response to the questions, she’d been too aware of him and the slippery direction of her private thoughts. ‘Oh, yes, I was amazing. I don’t think I said more than three words.’

  ‘Are you fishing for compliments? That wasn’t enough for you?’ He whirled to face her. ‘Ask me for more.’ He dared her up close. ‘You have no idea how much I want you to ask me for more.’ His smile deepened as she gaped at him. ‘Oh, you’ve gone silent again.’