“Yes,” she whispered, and the flames between them ignited.
He pulled her against him, their lips connecting as she rose to meet him, swept away in the moment. All their tension, suspicion, and laughter turned to fire as he deepened the kiss.
She had been pretending she wasn’t attracted to him since their first meeting, but there was no longer any pretense between them. Only passion remained.
And then she remembered it was only an illusion. Pretense remained at the heart of every one of their interactions. He had only sought her out because he believed she was Princess Rose.
She pulled out of his arms, gasping, her eyes wide.
His hands fell to his sides, his face going white as he stared at her, chest heaving.
“I didn’t mean to do that.” His voice came out flat with shock. “Not when?—”
Natalie didn’t wait to hear the rest. It had been a mistake on her side, and now he had confirmed it had been a mistake for him as well. If she left now—if they never spoke of it again—they could pretend it had never happened.
She fled straight back to her room. Bursting through the door, she shouted for the maids to get out, and they left in a flurry of wide eyes and shocked whispers. Natalie collapsed on the bed, but this time she didn’t cry. She couldn’t even think. She just lay there, mind blank.
But while she couldn’t form words, she could still feel. Feel Luca’s lips burning on hers. Feel his fingers wrapping around her arms and pulling her against him.
And she could hear a lone whisper growing from the back of her mind.
She was never going to forget that kiss.
CHAPTER 13
The last remnants of the light faded, plunging the room into darkness. In the absence of the maids, the candles remained unlit, and the dark around her pressed in on Natalie’s awareness. The strap of the satchel pulled against her neck, uncomfortable where it had twisted beneath her as she flopped on the bed.
She sat up abruptly. What was the time?
How could she have forgotten her missionagain? The note had said midnight. Surely she still had time to get the satchel in place before then.
She left the room at a sprint, taking nothing but the satchel. A lantern would have been helpful for the dark garden paths, but she couldn’t risk being seen and stopped yet again—not by Luca or anyone. It was her last chance.
Passing beneath a dense patch of foliage, she lost sight of the path and tripped on an uneven patch of gravel. She fell hard, sprawling across the path. But she scrambled to her feet again within seconds. Skinned hands and torn dresses didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was reaching the exchange location in time.
She arrived out of breath, trembling from the exertion. There was no time to pause, however. She slid the satchel beneath the rusted iron bench seat—an anomaly in the otherwise well tended garden. Apparently it had been forgotten, left to age in this far corner of the garden. How had the blackmailer stumbled on it and known it would be a safe place to leave the documents and seal?
Natalie considered the question as she concealed herself behind the largest bush she could find. The blackmailer must have spent time in the palace grounds. But with no walls between the palace and the city, there would be no records of who frequented the gardens. He had likely chosen the locations for her convenience, knowing that he could easily slip in unnoticed, whereas her departure from the palace grounds would be likely to arouse interest.
She fought to reclaim her breath after her wild run, her heartbeat gradually slowing. She had made it. Without much time to spare, but she had made it.
Was the blackmailer already concealed nearby? Had he seen her arrive and then hide behind the bush?
She examined her surroundings, but it was hard to see much in the dimness of night. In all her strategizing, it hadn’t occurred to her that he might plan to wait and watch just as she was planning to do. But it was too late to worry about it now.
She waited. The silent, still minutes contrasted strangely with her earlier frantic haste. She had no idea of the exact time, but at least two hours must have passed before her eyes caught a flicker of light.
She rose to her knees, eyes peering through the leaves. Someone was approaching.
A thin stream of light illuminated a small patch of gravel path. The person moving toward her had shuttered their lantern—directing its light into a single, focused beam. The blackmailer.It had to be. A palace resident or guard on patrol wouldn’t take measures not to be seen.
Natalie’s mind focused to a single point. She had been given a second chance to follow the man, and she couldn’t waste it. She would have to use every sense she possessed because she couldn’t afford to stumble or trip in the darkness as she had earlier.
As far as she could tell, the man appeared to be the same one who had come to the gazebo. He had once again covered himself from head to toe, and he looked around carefully before stooping and retrieving the satchel. Resting it on the bench, he extracted the pile of documents from inside.
Natalie held her breath. This was the moment that would determine the success or failure of her ruse. If he gave them more than a cursory glance…
He looked up, responding to a distant noise, and she wanted to cheer. He was going to take the satchel and leave. He was?—
