Her Off Limits Prince

Sex that felt like a hell of a lot more than just two bodies coming together physically.

But it had been with a casual lover.

Friends with exclusive, but secret, benefits.

Tor could not regret going without condoms, even though it had been drilled into him from his first sex education talk that he must use them with every partner until he married. That he could never leave the prospect of pregnancy up to chance or even to the birth control his partner might be using.

And yet, he'd done exactly that the night before. Repeatedly.

Blythe had said she couldn't get pregnant and he'd believed her.

Even though there was no single form of birth control that was 100% effective, he had made the call to go without condoms without a second thought.

For a woman who made it clear she could not be part of his future.

Not that he accepted that, but he had his own reasons for accepting the status quo between them for the present.

And he was honest enough to admit to himself that if they had no future, he was going to enjoy the hell out of the present.

Prince, or not, he was still a man.

And this man craved Blythe Whitney Jones, Travel Vlogger, like he had never craved anyone, or anything, else in his life.

So, no, he did not regret making a choice he'd been sure he never would.

Because while Blythe had no plans for their future, Tor did have them.

And those plans alleviated any sense of irresponsibility in choosing to have sex without a physical barrier between them for him.

"I thought I'd find you in here." His sister-in-law's voice interrupted Tor's weightlifting reps.

Seeking privacy and a good workout, he'd come to the palace gym after lunch, when he knew no one else would be using it.

So much for his privacy.

So much for his workout.

Tor finished his reps and put down the barbell he'd been working with.

"Hello, Princess," he teased her with her current title, the one she'd barely gotten used to since marriage to his brother. "Did you need something?"

Janne grimaced. "Don't tease. You know your brother wants to make me queen." Janne's lack of enthusiasm for that eventuality dripped from her voice.

"I would be disappointed if he didn't," Tor replied honestly.

"Are you kidding me?" she demanded crankily. "Do you think I want to be queen?"

Tor had to stifle a smile at his sister-in-law's clear discontent. "I think that Tapt Oyer deserves a queen who puts the interests of our people ahead of her own whims."

"And you think I'll do that?"

He just gave her a look. They both knew she would.

Janne blew out a frustrated breath. "I didn't come looking to talk to you about your brother's harebrained ideas."

"I do not think anyone has ever accused my ultra responsible, reserved brother of being harebrained before."

She rolled her eyes. "Point taken. I think those traits run in the family though."