Harlequin Presents--June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Dani Collins

  Then he did something entirely unexpected. Nikolai leaned down and it seemed like he was about to kiss her.

  Mesmerized by his nearness, she did not move. And then he was kissing her. In front of the dignitaries, the press and the special guests given permission to greet her plane.

  All of those people faded from her consciousness as his lips played over hers. She leaned toward him and he let her, making no move to keep protocol-worthy distance between them.

  Nikolai lifted his head, an expression of satisfaction stamped clearly on his features, but she did not understand its source.

  “I think I’m going to have to let the PR lady go,” she blurted. “We don’t see the world through the same lens at all.”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Both she and the social secretary, Frosana Iksa, know they were hired on a provisional basis.”

  “The provision being that I approved them?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I like Frosana. I think she’ll make a good social secretary, but the public relations consultant called Jenna out for standing next to me.”

  “Jenna is your friend. Where else would she stand?” he asked, showing that he understood life was about more than strict protocol.

  “Exactly.”

  And maybe the PR consultant could change her perspective to more reflect Nataliya’s, but somehow she doubted it.

  That was the last moment they had for anything resembling private conversation as she was introduced to cabinet ministers and the C-level management from Mirrus Global.

  She noticed that neither Prince Evengi nor Prince Konstantin were present.

  But Nataliya did not allow that to bother her. If they were making a statement, that was not her problem. If they were too busy, again, not her problem.

  She wasn’t marrying either of them and if they had anything to say about her becoming The Princess of Mirrus, that was between them and Nikolai.

  Since he’d made it clear he wanted her to marry him, she trusted the savvy, modern King to know his own mind. And how to handle opposition from within his own family when it came.

  There were even dignitaries in the car with them on the way back to the palace, but Nataliya was pleased to see that Nikolai had arranged for Jenna to ride with them as well, cementing in the minds of those present her friend’s role and the respect the royal family expected to be accorded to the best friend of the future Princess.

  Nataliya’s mother was with Prince Evengi at the palace when they arrived, the pair looking thick as thieves as they went over wedding preparations in the drawing room.

  Mama gave Nataliya a warm hug and kisses on both cheeks before doing the same for Jenna. “I’m so pleased you could be here to support Nataliya, Jenna. You’re a good friend to my daughter.”

  Jenna hugged the Countess back. “Are you kidding? I’m living the fairy tale without any of the angst.”

  Mama laughed, but Prince Evengi looked inquiringly at Jenna. “You believe Lady Nataliya is living a fairy tale?”

  “Well she is marrying a handsome king,” Jenna said drolly, showing no discomfort at being addressed by a king, but dropping into a curtsy as Nataliya had taught her to do even as she answered so frankly. Then she tacked on, “Your Highness.”

  “Ah, the Countess has coached you in protocol. That will help both your and Nataliya’s acceptance now and in the future.”

  “Actually, it was Nataliya. She’s perfect princess material. But you knew that, or you never would have signed that contract ten years ago.”

  Nataliya had to hold back her laughter at the look of consternation on the King’s face.

  “So I have reminded my father more than once in the last weeks.”

  Nataliya was a lot more shocked by Nikolai’s willingness to air discordance with his father in front of others than by his championship of her. He was too strong willed to ever tolerate even the former King’s second-guessing his choice of wife.

  “I believe you were the author of the articles on Lady Nataliya’s foray into dating,” Prince Evengi observed to Jenna.

  “I was. It turned out to be a nifty bit of PR for your son’s courtship of my friend.”

  “It did at that.” He frowned. “But that was not the intention of that article, was it?”

  “No. The intention of the article was to highlight first-date styles for each season.”

  “And here I thought it was to embarrass my younger son into withdrawing from the contract,” Prince Evengi said wryly.

  “But how could that be when his older brother was not in the least embarrassed by the fact the woman he chose to court was attractive to other men?” Jenna asked innocently.

  “You are quick on your feet,” Prince Evengi said without a shade of irritation. “That will do you well if you choose to attend the receptions introducing Lady Nataliya.”

  “I’m invited?” Jenna asked, for once not sardonic, but surprised.

  “Of course you are, dear,” Mama inserted. “You are my daughter’s best friend.”

  “I’m her stylist.”

  “Because she trusts you more than anyone else, or we would have a different stylist here for the week, but you still would have been invited to join her.”

  This was news to Nataliya, but she didn’t doubt her mother’s words. Mama was no longer the eager-to-please woman she had been when Nataliya was a child.

  Prince Evengi took the news that Nataliya wasn’t convinced the PR consultant would be a good fit with her with a frown, but one look from Nikolai and even the arrogant former monarch did not voice his evident displeasure.

  “She came with the best of recommendations and had a great deal of experience working with royalty,” Mama said musingly.

  “I do not want a consultant who thinks every aspect of my life is a PR opportunity.” Nataliya understood that her life had changed irrevocably when she agreed to marry Nikolai, but she was still a person in her own right with a life she intended to live happily.

  “You have agreed to marry a king. Your life is no longer your own,” Prince Evengi said but without reproach.

  So, Nataliya did not take offence. Particularly since he only voiced her own thoughts. “No. It now belongs in a very real way to the people of Mirrus, but it will never belong to a PR consultant,” Nataliya answered with spirit.

  “And here I thought at least part of it belonged to me,” Nikolai teased.

  The varying looks of shock at his facetious comment made Nataliya smile. “Yes, just as yours belongs to me.”

  “But neither of us is willing to be bossed around by petty dictators masquerading as our personal staff.” This time Nikolai’s tone was nothing but serious and the look he gave his father and then the various staff members standing around left no one doubting he meant exactly what he said.

  “Perhaps Gillian has someone she might recommend,” Mama suggested. “I think you and she have similar viewpoints on the matter of public relations balanced with family and life.”

  Nataliya nodded to her mother’s comment, her gaze caught by the look in Nikolai’s gray eyes.

  And for just a second, it was like they were alone in the room. Then Prince Evengi said something. Nikolai’s expression veiled and a discussion of the finer details of the wedding ensued.

  * * *

  Nataliya and Nikolai did not have a private moment until after the formal dinner and reception that evening.

  Nataliya had been introduced to a good portion of the Mirrus nobility, Prince Evengi doing the honors and exhibiting none of his reticence about her becoming the next Princess of Mirrus. Nataliya had met some of these people before when attending Nikolai’s coronation and later Tiana’s funeral, but of course they responded entirely differently to her in her new role.

  There was a great deal of c
uriosity in the looks directed at her, though no one was gauche enough to give it voice.

  But she had been intended for the second son and now she was marrying the King.

  Despite the curiosity and the fact that formal functions had never been Nataliya’s favorite thing, she managed to enjoy her evening. Mostly because while his father had taken on the role introducing her, Nikolai still contrived to be by her side for almost the entire evening, making it clear the wedding was not something he was being pressed into.

  Nataliya and Nikolai were now walking in the private courtyard gardens. Nataliya found herself enchanted by them, lit beautifully to highlight the evening-blooming flowers and fountains.

  “It’s gorgeous out here.” She had not seen this garden on her previous visits.

  “My mother loved exotic flowers, not just orchids. She designed this garden as a private retreat for our family.” Nikolai looked around as if remembering happy times. “There are both day- and night-blooming flowers.”

  “Don’t they die in winter?” Nataliya asked while wondering what the gardens looked like during the day.

  They were so magical now, she was almost afraid to see them and be disappointed.

  “There is a retractable glass ceiling that is closed when temperatures drop.”

  “Amazing.”

  “And decadent, yes, but it made my mother happy and I find having a place in the palace that is reserved for family and only the closest of friends beneficial, as well.”

  “So, no using it to impress VIPs?” she asked, only half joking.

  “No. Though my father argued doing just that many times with my mother, but she stood firm.” Nikolai’s smile was reminiscent.

  “And he loved her enough not to gainsay her?” Nataliya asked, finding it difficult to imagine the arrogant former ruler in the role of adoring spouse.

  “He respected her. I do not know if he loved her. That element of their relationship was not my business.”

  “He must have respected her a great deal not to start using it the way he wanted to once she was gone.”

  “Yes.” Nikolai gave Nataliya a knowing look. “My mother was also formidable of nature. Much like someone else I know, she refused to be budged on matters that were important to her. I would not have put it past her to demand a deathbed promise from my father not to desecrate her garden.”

  Nataliya wished she’d had the chance to get to know his royal mother. She sounded like an amazing and strong woman. “Are you calling me stubborn?”

  “Are you trying to imply you aren’t?” he countered.

  She shrugged. “You don’t get far giving in.” She’d learned that early.

  “No, you do not.”

  “You’re pretty stubborn yourself.”

  “And arrogant, or so you’ve said.”

  She couldn’t deny it. “Was it all for PR?” Nataliya found herself asking, when in fact she’d had no intention of doing so.

  Her mind had actually been on the promise she needed him to make her.

  Nikolai led her to an upholstered bench with a back, its design in keeping with the Ancient Roman theme throughout the garden. He pulled her to sit beside him, the large central fountain in front of them, giving a sense of privacy that was probably false. But still, it was nice.

  “Was what all for PR?” he asked her, genuine confusion lacing his voice. “I thought we’d just established this garden is not for public consumption, relations or otherwise.”

  Oops. “The PR lady said your courtship was a perfect romantic public relations coup.”

  “You are asking if my attempts at showing you how well suited we are were in some way motivated by a desire to look good for the public?” he asked, still sounding more confused than offended.

  “Konstantin breaking the contract wasn’t going to look good in the media.” Nataliya sighed. “If I’d broken it, it wouldn’t have looked any better. The press would have gone looking for the why and they might have found the same thing I did.”

  Nikolai looked surprisingly unworried by that prospect. “He might have been labeled the Playboy Prince, but I’m not as concerned about things like that as my father.”

  “You aren’t?”

  “No. I would be furious with either of my brothers if they married and then continued to play the field, but prior to marriage? I expect them only to behave with honor. And in answer to your question, no, my courtship of you was not a PR stunt.”

  “Courtship is a very old-fashioned word.”

  Nikolai’s powerful shoulders moved in an elegant shrug. “In some ways, I’m a very old-world man.”

  She thought about his subtle change to her wording and smiled. “Yes, I think you are.”

  “In your own way, you are also very old-world.”

  She could not deny it. Perhaps it had been spending her formative years living with the volatile and pain-filled marriage of her parents, or simply being raised to respect duty and responsibility as paramount in her life, but Nataliya approached the world very differently than the friends she’d made in the States.

  Even though she’d lived there more years than she had in Volyarus.

  Nataliya’s mouth twisted wryly. “Jenna calls the contract draconian.”

  “Haven’t you thought the same thing?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “But still, you honored it.”

  “My agreement to marry you had more to do with you than the contract,” she told him with more honesty than might have been wise.

  Nataliya had no intention of admitting her love for a man who didn’t want it, but she wasn’t going to have him believe she was more motivated by duty than she was.

  Looking back, she wondered if she would have still backed out of the contract even if Konstantin hadn’t proven himself to be a man she would never trust.

  She could not imagine a wedding night with any other man than Nikolai.

  “You do me a great honor saying so.” The words were formal, but the look he gave her was heated.

  Her body responded to that look in an instant, her nipples going hard and sensitive as they pressed against the silk of her bra. Nataliya pressed her legs together, the feelings in her core ones she’d only ever experienced with him.

  The air around them was suddenly sultry.

  “You have offered me the same assurance.” Her voice came out husky and quiet, revealing the effect his intense regard was having on her. And there was nothing she could do about that.

  They weren’t kissing. Or talking about intimacy, but sexual desire was roaring through her body like a flash flood, drowning every other thought and emotion in its wake.

  “You want me.” His tone was filled with satisfaction laced by something like wonder.

  Which made no sense. Considering what he knew of their history, he could not be surprised she wanted him.

  Although the level of passion he drew out of her shocked even Nataliya.

  She literally shook with the need to touch and to be touched by this man.

  Nataliya leaned forward and tipped her head up so their lips were only a breath apart. “Of course I want you.” And his unhidden desire for her only fed that craving until she had no choice but to act.

  Pressing her hands flat against his chest, inside his suit jacket, so she could feel the heat of his body through the fine fabric of his shirt, she let her lips touch his.

  He growled deep in his chest but made no move to take over the kiss.

  Nataliya’s fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt while she moved her lips against his, teasing the seam of his mouth with her tongue as he had done to her.

  His lips parted and his tongue came out to slide along hers, but it was not enough. She needed more.

  More touch.

  More of his mouth against hers.

  Mo
re of his body and her body together.

  More.

  More.

  More.

  She climbed onto his lap, her legs straddling his hard thighs, the soft silky fabric of her cocktail dress cascading around them in a rustle of silk.

  She pressed down against the hard ridge in his trousers, the layers of cloth between her most sensitive flesh and his no barrier to sensation. Without conscious thought, she rocked against him, increasing that sensation, driving her own pleasure higher.

  He groaned, hard hands clamping on her hips.

  For one terrible moment, she thought he was going to stop her, but he pulled her even closer, guiding her to a more frenzied rocking and suddenly she wasn’t in control of the kiss anymore.

  And she didn’t care.

  He knew exactly what she needed.

  More of him.

  And he gave it to her until the spiraling tension inside her made it almost impossible to breathe.

  She broke her mouth from his. “Please, oh, please, Nik.”

  “Please what, kiska? Please this?” And one of his hands slid up her torso to her nape and then the hidden hooks holding the halter of her bodice together were undone and silk was sliding down bare and heated flesh.

  Nipples already aching with arousal went so hard she hissed in borderline pain.

  But he knew and he touched and squeezed and rolled and played before dipping his head to take one turgid nub into his mouth.

  Nataliya cried out as ecstasy exploded in sparks through her.

  Nikolai’s mouth demanded nothing less than everything she had to give. And she gloried in the giving.

  They rocked together, one of his hands on her hip and the other playing with her breasts. She kneaded his chest like the kitten he called her and gloried in the rising sensations.

  Suddenly his hand on her hip moved to press against her bottom, increasing the pressure between their cloth-covered intimate flesh. His body went rigid and he groaned into their kiss like he was dying.

  But he wasn’t. He was experiencing the ultimate pleasure with her.

  And knowing that was all her body needed to explode in the kind of ecstasy she hadn’t known she could feel. Even after what she had already experienced with him.