by Dani Collins
And the emptiness of his bedroom hurt. Suddenly he hated that she’d walked out on him. That he’d made it so easy for her to be able to. He should have stopped her. He should have seduced her. He should have stripped back her protective prickles again and found that hot, sweet pleasure with her.
He gazed out of the window, noting the blazing sun and blue sky. Personal temptation stirred harder. He’d just married for his country—didn’t he deserve a few moments of private time?
He phoned his assistant, Marc. ‘I know we have meetings this morning, but I plan to take Hester to the stud this afternoon. Make the arrangements.’
‘Sir?’
‘Two nights,’ he repeated. ‘Make the arrangements.’
A minute later he knocked on the door of her apartment and turned the handle. ‘Hester?’
She’d not locked it and he found her in the centre of her lounge, that wooden box in her hand. He watched as she awkwardly secured the loose lid in place with two thick rubber bands.
‘Sorry,’ she apologised and put the box on a nearby table. ‘How can I help?’
He disliked her deferential attitude and the reminder of that ‘contract’ between them. Hadn’t they moved past that last night?
‘Come breakfast with me by the pool,’ he invited. ‘Then I have a few meetings, but this afternoon we’re taking a trip. You’ll need to pack enough for a couple of days.’
‘A trip?’ Hester could hardly bring herself to look at him; all she could think of was what they’d done last night. All night. How good he’d made her feel. ‘I thought we had to stay in the city to oversee the coronation plans and practise everything a million times.’ She doggedly tried to focus on their responsibilities. ‘Do I really have to kneel before you all by myself?’
‘All citizens of Triscari do, but especially the King’s wife.’
‘It’s a wonder you don’t want me to lie prostrate on the floor,’ she grumbled.
‘Well, of course I do, but perhaps not in front of everyone else.’ He sent her a wicked double-dimpled look. ‘We can do that alone later. Anyway, apparently the plans are in hand so we can steal a couple of days for a honeymoon.’
A honeymoon? Her stomach somersaulted. Was he joking? She stood frozen but he bent and brushed his lips over hers briefly, pulling away with a shake of his head.
‘No.’ He laughed. ‘You can’t tempt me yet.’
‘I didn’t tempt you,’ she muttered. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘Hester,’ he chided softly. ‘You don’t have to do anything to tempt me.’ He cocked his head and gave her a little push. ‘Now, head to the pool. I’ll meet you there shortly.’
* * *
Hester stretched out on a sun lounger, trying to read, but her brain was only interested in replaying every second of the previous night. Her body hummed, delighting in the recollections. She’d not realised the extent of what she’d been missing out on. No wonder people risked so much for sex. But she knew it would never be like that with just anyone. It hadn’t just been Alek’s experience or ‘expertise’. It had felt as if he’d cared—not that he was in love with her, of course, but that he was concerned for her feelings, for her to receive pleasure. That he desired to see her satisfied. She’d not had that courtesy, that caring, from anyone in so long. It was partly her own fault—she’d not let anyone get close in years. She’d not intended to let Alek get close either, but somehow he’d swept aside all her defences. Swiftly. Completely. So easily.
She knew sleeping with her meant nothing truly meaningful to him, not really. This was merely a bonus to their arrangement. She’d consider it that way as well. She could keep her heart safe—not fancy that she was falling for him, like a needy waif who’d never been loved…
But some distance right now was so necessary—which was why this talk of a honeymoon terrified her.
It’s just one year.
And last night had been just that once. They’d blurred the lines and perhaps that had been inevitable. While she didn’t regret it, she couldn’t get carried away on a tide of lust and mistake his actions for meaning anything more than mere physical attraction.
But Alek fascinated her far beyond that. She’d instinctively believed he had more depth than he let show and she’d been right. He’d been hurt by his mother’s death, frustrated by his father’s control over him, protective of his sister. And now of her.
There was meaningful intention in most of his actions. The playboy persona was part rebellion, only one element of his whole. He was also honourable, loyal, diligent and he did what was necessary for his country.
Okay, yes, just like that she was halfway to falling for him.
She swam, trying to clear her head and ease the stiffness in her body. Lunch was delivered on a tray to the table beside her lounger. After eating, she went back to her apartment to pack. But when she went to put her wooden box in her bag, it wasn’t on the table where she’d left it. She stared at the empty space, confused. She’d opened it only this morning, but now? She whirled, quickly scanning every possible surface but the box wasn’t on any. She broadened her search but it was fruitless. Finally she hit panic point—repeating the search with vicious desperation, tipping out her bag and tearing up the place.
‘Hester? What’s happened?’
She froze. She’d not heard him knock and now he was in the middle of her mess with his eyes wide.
‘It’s missing.’ She hugged herself tightly, but couldn’t claw back any calm. ‘I can’t go.’
He didn’t answer as he slowly stared around her room. Hester followed the direction of his gaze and realised what a mess she’d made of the place. She’d opened and emptied every cupboard and drawer in the apartment and still not found it. Cushions and pillows were strewn across the floor alongside books and blankets.
His focus shot back to her. ‘Your box?’
‘Yes,’ she breathed, stunned that he realised what she meant so quickly. ‘Who would take it?’ Her anxiety skyrocketed all over again.
‘You were going to pack it? You take it everywhere with you?’
‘Yes.’ She couldn’t bear to lose it—it held everything.
A strange expression flashed across his face. ‘Wait here. Just wait. Two minutes.’
‘Alek?’ Confused, she leaned against the wall, her arms still wrapped around her waist as his footsteps receded.
It was more than two minutes before he returned but she was locked in position, blinking back tears. She stared as she realised what he was holding. ‘Why?’ Her voice cracked. ‘Why would you take it?’
‘I thought I could get it back before you noticed it was gone. I’m sorry for upsetting you.’
‘Why would you—?’ Furious, she broke off and struggled to breathe as she took the box from him and saw it close up. The lid was open while the interior was empty. Heat fired along her veins and her distress grew. ‘Where’s everything gone?’
‘I have it all, just in my room. I’ll get them now.’
‘Why?’ The word barely sounded but he’d already gone.
Hester sank onto the sofa, snatching a breath to study the box properly. She closed then reopened the lid. It didn’t fall off any more, while the rubber bands were gone altogether.
Her bones jellified as she realised what he’d done.
Alek returned and carefully set a small tray on the low table in front of her sofa. It held everything she’d kept. All the little things. All her precious memories.
‘The lid opens and closes again.’ She blinked rapidly as he sat beside her. ‘It has a new hinge.’
‘Yes.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I took it this morning after you went to the pool. I thought…’ He paused and she felt him shift on the sofa. ‘I knew it was precious to you. I knew it was broken. So I—’
‘Had it fixed.’ Her voice almost failed.
&nb
sp; ‘I wanted it to be a surprise…’ He trailed off and blew out a breath. ‘I should’ve asked you,’ he muttered roughly. ‘I’m so sorry. You probably loved it as it was.’
‘Broken?’ She shook her head and her words caught on another sob as she was unable to restrain the truth. ‘It broke my heart when it happened.’
He gazed at her and the empathy in his eyes was so unbearable, she had to turn away from it.
‘I can’t even see where the crack was.’ She stared hard at the box, refusing to let her banked tears tumble.
‘We have an amazing craftsman—he maintains the woodwork in the castle. He’s exceptionally skilled,’ Alek explained.
‘And so fast…’ She ran her finger over the lid of the box. How had he done this in only a few hours?
‘I talked to him about it before the wedding so he knew the issues.’
‘Before the wedding?’ Her heart skipped. He’d noticed her box and planned this?
‘I wanted to get a wedding gift that you would like.’
Her throat was so tight it wouldn’t work. That he’d thought to do this for her? It was more precious than any jewels, any other expensive, exquisite item. And she wasn’t used to someone wanting to do something so nice for her.
‘I didn’t get you anything.’ She finally looked at him directly, instantly trapped in his intent gaze.
He shook his head gently. ‘You’ve done enough by marrying me, Hester.’
That was enough? Just that contract? Somehow she didn’t want that to be enough for him. She wanted him to want more from her. That dangerous yearning deepened inside—renewed desire for that intimacy they’d shared last night. But he’d let her leave this morning. He’d barely said anything. Horribly insecure, she tore her gaze from his and turned back to the table, taking in the contents of the second tray.
‘Did your craftsman put these here for you?’ Her heart skidded at the thought. She needed to touch each talisman and make them hers again.
‘No. I didn’t want him going through your things,’ he said softly. ‘I took them out before giving him the box.’
Something loosened inside. She was glad it was only he who’d touched them. He’d been thoughtful and kind and suddenly the walls within crumbled and her truth, all her emotion, leaked out—sadness and secrets and sacrifice.
‘The box was my father’s,’ she said quietly. ‘Actually it was his great-grandfather’s, so it’s really old. It was for keeping a pocket watch and cufflinks and things. I loved it as a child and Dad gave it to me for my treasures. Marbles I had, sea glass I found. We found this piece together when I was…’ She trailed off as she held the piece in her hand. Memories washed over her as they always did when she opened the box—which wasn’t often at all purely because of the intensity of emotion it wrought within her. But it was also why she loved it, why it was so very precious and so personal and she couldn’t help whispering the secrets of more. ‘The pencil was my mother’s.’ It was only a stub of a pencil. And the remnant of the thin leather strap from her purse. ‘You must think I’m pathetic.’ She quickly began putting the other items away. ‘All these broken little things—’
‘What? No.’ He put his hand on hers and stopped her from rapidly tossing everything back into the box haphazardly. Slowly he put one item at a time into her palm so she could return them to their special place.
‘Everything around me,’ Alek said quietly. ‘This palace—my whole life—is a memorial to my family. There are portraits everywhere…everything is a reminder of who I am, where I’m from and who I must be. You don’t have that, so you keep all these. There are treasured memories in every one, right?’
She nodded, unable to speak again. Emotion kept overwhelming her and she hated it.
He picked up the white-silk-covered button from the tray and held it out for her to take. ‘I’m glad this was something you wanted to remember.’
He’d recognised it? She’d scooped it from the floor on her way out of his apartment this morning. Her fingers trembled as she took the button from her wedding dress and put it into the box.
‘I’m never going to forget last night,’ she whispered. Just as she was never going to forget anything associated with all her broken treasures. She closed the lid, amazed again at how perfect the repair was.
He watched her close the box. ‘How did it get broken?’
She traced the carved lid with the tip of her finger as he’d done that day they’d met. ‘It even used to lock. I wore the key around my neck on a ribbon, hoping they couldn’t see it under my shirt.’
‘They?’
‘My cousins.’ She shrugged. ‘They didn’t like it when I went to live with them after my parents died.’
‘They didn’t welcome you?’ He paused.
‘My aunt and uncle were sure to publicise that they’d “done the right thing” in taking me in. But they already had three children and none of them wanted me there.’
‘So they didn’t give you a nice room, or let you make their home your own.’
‘No.’ She swallowed. ‘My uncle sold most of my parents’ things, but I had the box. I always kept it near me. I never left it in my room or anything because I knew not to trust them. But the ribbon was worn and one day I lost it. They teased me about never being able to open the box again because I’d lost the key—so then I knew they had it and they knew I knew. That was their fun, right? My helplessness. My desperation. There was nothing I could do and they enjoyed that power.’ She shivered. She’d hated them so much. ‘So I tried not to show them how much it mattered.’
‘I’m guessing you told them that it was “fine” for them to have it?’ He rubbed her hand. ‘That’s your fall-back, right? When you don’t want to say what’s really going on inside there.’ He pressed his fist to his heart.
She nodded sadly. ‘My cousin Joshua snatched the box off me, he said he’d open it for me, but he was mocking and mean. He tried to prise it open by force but couldn’t, so he got a knife. He broke the hinge and the lid splintered and everything fell on the ground. The three of them laughed at all my things. They said it was all just unwanted rubbish. All broken, with no value. Like me.’
Alek muttered something beneath his breath.
‘I ran away,’ she confessed sadly. ‘There was nothing else I could do, I just ran.’
‘I don’t blame you.’ He gazed at her, his dark eyes full of compassion that she couldn’t bear to see, yet couldn’t turn away from. ‘I would’ve done the same.’
She shook her head with a puff of denial. Because he wouldn’t have. He’d have fought them or something. He was so much stronger, so much more powerful than her. He’d never have let himself get stomped on the way she had. ‘I went back hours later, when it was dark and it was all still there on the ground where they’d dumped it.’
‘Hester—’
‘I knew then that I had to get away for real.’ Pain welled in her chest and she gazed down at the box. She’d never understood why they’d been so mean—what it was she’d ever done. Why it was that she’d not been welcomed.
‘Were these the cousins who attended the wedding yesterday?’
She nodded.
‘If I’d known…’ He muttered something harsh beneath his breath. ‘Why did you invite them?’
‘It would have caused more harm if I hadn’t. Imagine what they’d have said to the media then?’
‘I don’t give a damn what they’d have said.’
‘It’s fine, Alek. They can’t hurt me any more.’
He glanced at her. ‘It’s not fine, Hester. And you know that’s not true.’
‘Well…’ she smiled ruefully ‘…they can’t hurt me as much as they used to. I’m not a child. I’m not as vulnerable. I do okay now.’
‘You do more than okay.’ He blew out his tension. ‘Were these the people who tested whether y
our eyelashes are real by pulling them out?’
She stared at him, her heart shrivelling at the realisation that he’d seen so much. ‘How did you—?’
‘No one normal would ever think to do that. You only mentioned it because some cruel witch had actually done it.’
She stared into space, lost in another horrible memory. ‘It was girls at school,’ she mumbled. ‘Pinned me down.’
‘At school?’
His horror made her wince.
‘I got myself a scholarship to an elite boarding school. It was supposed to be my great escape—a wonderful fresh start away from the cousins.’
‘And it wasn’t?’ He clenched his jaw.
‘It was worse.’
She felt the waves of rage radiating from him and opted to minimise what she’d confessed. ‘They were just mean. I ran away from the school. I worked. I studied. I did it myself.’
‘You shouldn’t have had to.’
‘It’s okay.’
‘It’s not okay, Hester.’
‘But I’m okay. Now. I truly am.’ And she realised with a little jolt that it was true. If she could handle getting married in front of millions of people, she could handle anything, right?
He looked into her eyes for a long moment and finally sighed. ‘My craftsman said he’d fixed the lock too,’ he said, drawing a tiny ornate key from his pocket. ‘So now you can lock it again and keep it safe.’ He held the key out to her. ‘And you could put the key on a chain this time.’
She curled her fingers around the key and pressed it to her chest. ‘This was so kind of you, Alek.’
His smile was lopsided so the dimples didn’t appear and he didn’t kiss her as she’d thought he was about to. Instead he stood.
‘We need to get going or it’ll be too dark.’
‘Of course,’ she breathed, trying to recapture control of herself, but there was a loose thread that he seemed to have tugged and still had a hold of so she couldn’t retie it. ‘I need a minute to tidy up.’