The woman bobbed a curtsy, but it was nearly a quarter of an hour before Karl returned to her chamber. His face was damp, and she caught the faint spicy sandalwood aroma of the soap he’d used. Serena dismissed her women, leaving them alone.
“You summoned me, Your Highness?” Karl said, in a light mocking tone.
He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. But she needed to confront him before she sent him away.
“I want you to leave the island in the morning. You shouldn’t be here when my father arrives.”
Karl crossed the room, his hazel eyes boring into hers. He came close, as if daring her to hold her ground. “But I’m not the obedient sort, am I?”
Her heartbeat quickened at his closeness, and she forced herself to stare at the woven carpet. “I thought I should warn you.”
“And leave you alone to face his wrath?” There was disbelief in his voice, and he reached out with one hand to cup her cheek. “You can’t do it alone.”
She pushed his hand away. “He might hurt me, but he’ll kill you.”
“I don’t run from a fight.” He bent his face against hers, his breath warming her throat. “Why did you really summon me to your bedchamber, Serena?”
She shuddered when his mouth kissed her pulse. His hands moved over the soft linen of her nightdress, loosening the ties. “Was there something else you wanted?”
“Just—just to ask you to leave Vertraumen.”
His hands moved down her sides, reaching between her arms to slide against the curve of her breast, down her ribs, to her waist. He’d removed his coat earlier and the shirt he wore held the dampness of water. He pulled her hips close, and she felt the length of his arousal nestled against her. “And that’s all?”
At the press of his body against hers, she felt a strange aching. It reminded her of the sensations she’d felt when he’d touched her in the bath. And she knew that the longer she allowed him to stay, the more dangerous he was.
Serena closed her eyes and forced herself to push him back. “That’s all.”
In the morning, Karl sat inside the study with a map of Vertraumen unrolled before him. He wrote down lists of island assets, as well as the liabilities. The organized lines calmed him as he made a second list of ideas for improvements. If they could devise a method of draining off the excess water from the fields and collecting it for other uses, it might be a way to improve the agriculture. Though he agreed with Serena that the majority of food needed to come from the mainland, it was never wise for an island to be entirely reliant on others.
The sound of footsteps approaching broke through his reverie. Serena stood near the door to the library. She wore a blue tarlatan dress with a fringed shawl and white gloves. Her hair was tucked in a neat arrangement, her blonde hair intricately braided around the chignon.
“I don’t understand why you won’t leave the island,” she began.
“Because I don’t like being told what to do?” Because hell would freeze over before he’d allow her to face more of her father’s physical wrath. He fully intended to stand between Serena and the king.
“I’m only trying to help,” she said. “Why can’t you be reasonable?”
“Because you’re asking me to be a coward. And that’s not the sort of man I am.”
Her troubled green eyes met his, as if she were searching for a way to convince him. Karl turned his attention back to the map. “Is that all you wanted?”
“No. I thought I would return to the village today and speak with Frau Bauherzen.” She walked back into the hall, where her ladies held out her red cloak and bonnet. “While I await my father’s men, I’d like to know what else may be done to help the islanders.”
“You’re not going alone,” he warned, standing from his desk and following her.
Serena accepted her bonnet from one of the ladies and stood still while another tied the ribbons. Already she was slipping back into the role of a princess, letting others perform the tasks she was not expected to do. “I’ll take several of the guardsmen with me.”
He didn’t know if it was naivety on her part or pure stubbornness, but she wasn’t leaving the house again. “No. You’ll stay here.”
“And do what? Organize the linens?”
“Read and drink cups of chocolate,” he suggested.
“In other words, behave like a princess.” She glared at him.
“No. Like a lady.” He raised an eyebrow at her and spoke in front of the servants. “As my wife, I believe it is your duty to obey me.”
Her face flamed, for she seemed to have forgotten about their fictional marriage. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she formulated her own argument.
