‘We’ll get through it,’ Xavier said softly.
‘What if we got through it better as just friends?’
‘We’ve never been just friends, Leyna.’
‘So why bring it all up now?’
‘Because it’s your birthday in two days. You’ll be twenty-one and you’ll be expected to marry. Just as I’ve been expected to marry for the last year.’
She pulled a lip between her teeth at the reminder of their one-year age difference.
‘You know I’ve been waiting for you. It’s the only reason I’ve managed to put my family off. I love you, Leyna. I want to be married to you. And I know that we’ll be stronger together than we’ll ever be apart. Apart here meaning just being friends.’
She smiled at that and felt the punishing pulse of fear ease. ‘It’s not as charming as you think, you know. Having all the answers.’
She saw the relief in his features, and he grinned. ‘And yet you’re still in love with me.’
‘Full of yourself, too.’
‘But you love me,’ he insisted.
She studied him and felt a smile claim her lips. ‘Since you seem so sure, I suppose I don’t have to say it.’
‘If you don’t say it, I’ll be forced to carry you back into that water.’
‘And I’ll be forced to decline your proposal.’
His eyes widened in mock fear. ‘You wouldn’t.’
‘You have no idea what I’m capable of.’
‘Show me.’
The teasing tone of his voice disappeared in a flash, and the light that had been in his eyes heated.
‘Are you propositioning—’
She was silenced by his lips on hers.
It wasn’t their first kiss—that had happened when they were thirteen and fourteen, beneath the very palm tree they stood under now. But it might as well have been their first. When they were barely teenagers, the kiss had been out of curiosity. It had been exploratory. As had the other kisses they’d shared since.
None of them compared to this.
It had the heat of a summer’s day in Aidara. And the promise of passion that had been restrained for years. Leyna’s arms were around Xavier’s waist before she fully knew it, their bodies so close together she could feel every part of him. Her body responded and, for the first time in her life, Leyna felt like a woman. Not a daughter or a granddaughter. Certainly not like the heir to a throne.
No, she felt like a woman.
One who could make a man moan just as Xavier did now. One who had the power to make a man lift her from the ground and press her against the trunk of a tree so he could press even closer to her. She was lost in the sensation of his lips against hers, of his tongue in her mouth.
She was suddenly grateful they were at the beach, wearing the attire required by their location. It meant she didn’t have to battle with clothing to feel the muscular planes of Xavier’s body. It meant she could enjoy the way his hands touched—claimed—the curves of hers.
When his hand lifted a thigh so he could angle himself against her, Leyna heard a sound come from her throat. She felt Xavier still, and then he pulled his head away, just far enough so he could look into her eyes.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ she breathed, and put a hand on the back of his neck, urging him closer.
‘Leyna,’ Xavier said. ‘I’ve known you all my life. Tell me.’
‘I just...’ She felt her face burn. ‘I’ve just never...’
‘You know I haven’t either.’
‘I know,’ she echoed, knowing that if Xavier had had another woman, she would have known about it. ‘But...are we doing this now? Against a tree on a beach, with our bodyguards a short distance away?’
‘I...I didn’t think about that.’
Xavier took a deep breath, and then took a step back. Leyna immediately missed the contact.
‘I didn’t mean that we can’t do it at all. I just... Well, I just pictured it on our wedding night. In a bed surrounded by candles and rose petals. With champagne cooling.’
She sounded like a fool. More so when silence followed her words. But then Xavier smiled.
‘You pictured it?’
Her cheeks went hot, but she laughed. ‘Maybe.’
‘On our wedding night?’
Her heart softened at the emotion she heard in his voice. ‘Yes.’
‘So you always knew there was more, too?’
‘Of course I did. Did you think I was resisting something I knew wasn’t true?’ She frowned. ‘You were so sure...?’
‘I was betting with the most important thing in my life, Leyna. I had to be.’
She stared at him, and then shook her head. ‘If I didn’t already love you, Xavier, I think I might have fallen for you right now.’
‘But you do. Love me.’
‘I do.’ And, realising that he needed to hear the words, she said, ‘I love you, Xavier.’
He pulled her into his arms and rested his forehead on hers. ‘And you’re going to marry me.’
‘I am,’ she answered, though it wasn’t a question. ‘As soon as I possibly can.’
‘I think this might be—’
It happened so quickly that Leyna barely registered what had cut Xavier off. All she knew was that her royal aide, Carlos, was now standing in front of her and Xavier. Their bodyguards hovered just beyond him; their expressions were twisted with an emotion she couldn’t read, but it had her heart pounding with fear.
‘What is it?’ she asked, stepping out of Xavier’s embrace.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt—’ there was the briefest moment of hesitation before Carlos said ‘—Your Majesty.’
Ten years later
‘IS HE HERE, CARLOS?’
‘I’m afraid not, Your Majesty.’
For the second time in Leyna’s life, Carlos had brought her news of the last thing she wanted to hear. Now, of course, he was bringing it to her as her private secretary and not as a royal aide.
But then, her father’s death had changed more than just Carlos’ title. She’d become Queen immediately, and had lost the only man she’d loved. And now the news that King Zacchaeus of Kirtida had not arrived for the State Banquet intended to affirm the Alliance of the Three Isles threatened to be just as life-changing.
She closed her eyes for the briefest moment and then nodded. Released a breath.
‘Please find His Majesty, King Xavier, and ask him to join me in the library.’
‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
When Carlos left, Leyna took another deep breath. And a moment to deal with the feelings tumbling through her stomach. She opened the doors to the balcony of her library and greedily inhaled the fresh air.
It felt like the only thing keeping her alive.
The