He laughed. “So that was what the striptease was about!”
Ella grinned, probably picturing the scene that had unfolded, and then she was laughing too. And the moment was so perfect, with the golden early afternoon light and that radiant grin lighting up the room, that he had no choice but to reach out and kiss her.
She dropped the curry brush and stepped in to him immediately, wrapping her arms around his back, yanking him closer. He happily obliged, deepening the kiss and finally, finally putting his other hand on that perfect ass to tug her against him. God, she felt so damn good right there, melded to his body, her lips on his. She sighed into his mouth and he was instantly hard. He walked them backwards until she bumped against the wall of the stable, and then he nipped at her lower lip, asking for entrance. She opened her mouth and let him in. He pressed against her harder, letting his tongue show her what the rest of his body wanted to do to her, winding his hands through her hair. She slung one leg up over his hip and he was ready to rip her clothes off right then and there, until—
Eric walked in, slow-clapping his approval.
Ella pulled away, flushed and gasping, a dazed look in her eyes. She spotted his brother and her sexy bedroom look vanished, replaced by utter panic.
“Ella, wait,” Phillip tried, but she was already backing away, straightening her shirt, pulling her mussed hair back and shaking her head.
“I…I have to go,” she said, and then turned and ran.
Phillip slumped, then whirled on his brother. “What the hell, man? Could you not see I was busy?” He’d almost convinced her, he was sure of it. She’d been this close to changing her mind and putting herself in the running for queen. Now Eric’s intrusion might have scared her off from even so much as a fling.
Eric held his hands up. “Easy, Your Highness. These are the royal stables and, believe it or not, I am royal. I was just coming for an afternoon ride.”
A ride. That was what Phillip needed. A rough ride through the hills to work that encounter with Ella out of his blood. He grabbed his saddle blanket and swept it over his stallion, who shied a little, catching on to the king’s mood.
If only his brother were so attuned. “So that was the maid, eh?” Eric asked, saddling up the mare that had been intended for Ella. “Very nice. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“She’s not a maid,” Phillip snarled before he could catch himself. He slammed his mouth shut and dropped the saddle on his horse, but he couldn’t get the girth strap buckled quickly enough.
“But she is the one you were talking about yesterday,” Eric said slowly. “Unless you’ve found two girls in the space of twenty-four hours who get you all hot under that stiff collar. And that doesn’t sound like you.”
“No, it sounds like you,” Phillip growled, but Eric just shrugged, accepting it as true. Phillip tugged the girth strap tight. “Turns out she’s a marquess,” he said begrudgingly. “But anyway, royal or not, the king can have an affair with whomever he wishes.”
Eric raised an eyebrow, and internally, Phillip cursed himself. They both knew he only talked about himself in third person when he had something to hide.
But Eric only said, “You’re not usually one for affairs,” in a mild tone.
Phillip shrugged.
Eric pulled a saddle off the rack. “So what’s the problem then?” he asked. “Why have an affair at all, or a mistress for that matter, since we are in the middle of your Great Wife Hunt? If she’s a member of the nobility, then your problems are solved. Just marry her.”
“I wouldn’t have a mistress,” Phillip asserted, avoiding the question.
“I know, you’re far too loyal to your precious ideals for that. But the question stands—why not just court her officially?”
Phillip’s shoulders slumped and he gave up on the girth strap. “She doesn’t want to be queen,” he said, back turned to his brother. And the thing was, he understood where Ella was coming from. Just yesterday, he’d wanted to run for the hills rather than be forced to choose a future of more obligations. Being queen was an often-difficult public service, and he wouldn’t force it on anyone who didn’t want it.
“Oh. Well, shit,” Eric said. He always did have a habit of summing things up nicely.
“Let’s just ride, okay?”
Eric finished saddling his horse. “Sure. I can regale you with the tales of my latest adventures. Maybe you haven’t had the pleasure of seducing a maid this week, but some of us have been living our best lives.”
Phillip snorted. “Fine.” Maybe his brother’s playboy antics would take his mind off his own problems.
They rode out of the stables. Phillip couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder at the Summer House, but Ella was nowhere in sight. He should’ve expected that, though. She had to choose for herself which future she wanted.
He would just have to hope it involved him.
* * *
Dear Phillip,
I’m sorry I ran away yesterday. I was confused and a little spooked by how strongly I’m starting to feel about you, especially when I haven’t planned for any kind of future in Danovar. I’m still uncertain of my course, but I know that I want it to include you, in whatever way it can.