Page 8 of Falling for the King

He stopped and looked down at her. ‘Think what?’ Dark, fathomless eyes held hers.

Mortifyingly she felt a blush race up her body and explode across her face.

‘Think that we—’

‘It’s my staff, no-one is going to think anything.’ He continued walking as the door swung open and he stepped into the private corridor.

‘I weigh too much. Please put me down. You’ll hurt yourself.’

His easy laugh shot down her spine doing things that it shouldn’t. ‘I’ve carried postage stamps heavier than you, I’ll be perfectly safe from harm.’

‘But … wait a minute, you’re going the wrong way. Where are we going?’

‘The short cut. Now stop wriggling before I do drop you.’ His words carried no threat, just a hint of laughter. The security team followed until Xavier, without breaking stride or turning to look at them, issued a curt instruction in his mother tongue for them to leave now that they were in the family section of the palace. He picked up speed and she remembered with a stab of guilt the priceless diamond and aquamarine tiara she wore. Quickly she reached up to check it still sat in place. It did, then her hand flew back to her chest. Silence descended except for her thunderous heartbeat and Xavier’s footsteps along a dizzying array of corridors and up a steep set of stairs.

Katerina had stood beside him at countless functions, sat next to him at endless formal dinners, waltzed with him at galas, but never had she been held against him like this. His body heat seeping into hers, his jaw inches away from her lips and his scent, dear heaven, he smelt great. Not in a manufactured aftershave way, but of soap, spice and him which hadn’t abated despite being on his feet for hours in a busy ballroom. She closed her eyes and bit back a groan … was she delirious?

He stopped.

‘Reach into my jacket pocket and get my swipe card.’

Her eyes sprung open.

‘Xavier.’

‘Katerina.’ In the half-light his white teeth flashed. Totally disorientated she didn’t know exactly where she was, nor did she care. A strange lethargy was taking hold of her.

She moved her hand from her chest and angled herself to get access to his pocket. Sliding her hand between his jacket and shirt, his sharp intake of breath matched hers. Inching further along her nails scraped across his chest as a low groan rumbled from him. She stilled, then fumbled before finally grabbing the card and pulling it out.

‘Swipe it,’ he said hoarsely.

‘Put me down,’ was a husky plea, not the demand she intended.

‘Not a chance.’

She leant across him, her breasts pressing into his chest. His hold tightened, crushing her against him, until he eased and she touched the card against the keypad.

The door clicked open and the chill of the night air hit her bare arms. Moonlight shone through the sandstone arches and finally she recognised where she was, the start of the terrace that ran alongside her suite of rooms. Xavier’s steps echoed eerily on the tiles wrapping them in a magical world where nothing else existed. Her hand crept up and curled into his nape. His steps slowed. Stopped. His face was cast in shadows yet she felt the impact of his stare as a shiver raced through her.

With a muttered curse, he resumed walking and seconds later she was in her sitting room being lowered carefully onto the sofa. His lips inches from her tempted her to touch, to taste. Realisation dawned, that was not a good idea.

For a countless moment he stilled, then jerked back.

She grabbed his wrist, her fingers only reaching halfway around, pale against the darkness of his.

‘Xavier.’ Husky and low she didn’t recognise her own voice. ‘Don’t do that again. Next time I’ll walk.’

‘Next time don’t wear shoes that cripple you,’ he said softly while standing up, dislodging her hold. His face austere, his eyes hooded. ‘Sleep well. I’ll see you later today.’ He turned and left.

Katerina stayed seated, watching him leave before raising shaky fingers to her lips like she could taste him. This was no good. No good at all. He was her king. Her brother-in-law and she needed to remember that every second of the coming month.

***

Xavier walked back along the terrace, keeping his steps steady despite his racing heart. Dragging in a deep lungful of the brisk night air he willed it to cool his blood. To blow away Katerina’s familiar light floral scent that tonight had turned sultry and heady. It had tantalised and tempted and wrapped around him like the jasmine that entwined the sandstone pillars he now passed.

Fisting his hands, he tried to extinguish the feel of her beneath them. He withheld a snort of disbelief—he’d held her waist and the back of her knees, hardly intimate. Yet her soft body pressed against him had his mind screaming this is Katerina, my sister-in-law as his body surged to life. Obviously he’d been too long without a woman, he was a king not a monk. Since the death of his wife he’d been discreet, very discreet about his liaisons, still his reaction tonight caught him completely off-guard.

Like his response to her cry of pain that had him breaking every code he had about his behaviour. About what was suitable in public, in front of his staff and in private. Picking her up and carrying her didn’t fit anywhere in that. He knew his staff wouldn’t talk, but that didn’t change the fact he didn’t break his codes. Nor did he act impulsively. Except for tonight. And he’d regretted it the moment she was in his arms. Because it’d felt so right. Her hand wrapped around his shoulder, her heart beating next to his, her breath stirring in his hair.