Protected by the Prince

‘Let me go, Alaric.’ She looked away, blinking. ‘I don’t know what new game this is but I’ve had enough.’

‘Sh, darling, I know.’ Gently he brushed a strand of hair off her face, his heart twisting as she flinched from his touch. But he couldn’t resist tracing the line of her throat down to the pulse hammering at her collarbone.

‘It’s not a game. It’s gone far beyond that. Once, in my complacency, I planned to seduce you.’ Pain wrapped gnarled fingers around his heart as he read her anguish.

‘I told myself it was for the benefit of the nation I kept you close, kept you with me, even kidnapped you.’ He drew a breath that racked his body. ‘But from the start I lied, not just to you but to myself. I plotted to get you into my bed because I wanted you. I needed you as I’ve never needed anyone. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Not your chronicle and your news about the throne, but you.’

He tunnelled his good hand through her hair, revelling in its silk caress and the warmth of her close to him. For the first time since the accident he felt complete.

‘You don’t know how I’ve missed you.’ His voice was a hoarse groan and her eyes riveted to his. He was drowning in warm, amber depths.

‘I fell for you, Tamsin. That’s why I kidnapped you. The rest was an excuse.’ She shook her head but he pressed on. ‘At first you were a problem with your unwanted news. But you were a conundrum, too, a woman I couldn’t get out of my head. You intrigued me. I’ve never met anyone like you.’

‘Because I’m a misfit, is that it?’ Her eyes shimmered, overbright.

‘You? A misfit? The way you charmed ambassadors and aristocrats and commoners alike at the ball? The way you bonded with those teenagers at the community centre? I hear you’ve kept visiting and they love it. And your staff in the archives have nothing but admiration and liking for you.’

‘You’ve been spying on me again?’

‘No!’ It had gone against the grain the first time. He’d never do that again. ‘Their permanent employer wants them back and they petitioned my staff to remain. While you stay they want to.’

He watched her eyes widen. She genuinely had no idea how special she was with her talents, her intellect and above all her passion.

‘I used every excuse I could think of to keep you with me, Tamsin. But the truth is I did it all because I wanted you.’ Even though he didn’t deserve her, he was too selfish to let her go.

‘I still want you. I need you.’ Saying it aloud for the first time Alaric was stunned by the force of his emotions. Emotions he’d never thought to experience. Emotions strong enough to obliterate a lifetime’s cynicism.

She shook her head so vigorously her hair came down to swirl like a dark cloud around her. He wanted to bury his face in it, inhale her sweet scent and lose himself.

But her pain, like a razor wire fence between them, held him back.

‘I’m a novelty. A change from your sophisticated women.’ Bitterness laced her voice. ‘You don’t need me.’

‘You are different.’ He reached for her hand and planted it over his chest, pressing it to his pounding heart. ‘For the first time in so long I feel, Tamsin. It scared the life out of me. That’s why I kept telling myself it wasn’t real.’

‘No!’ Her shout startled them both. ‘Please, don’t. This isn’t real. You feel guilty, that’s all.’

Alaric looked into Tamsin’s taut features, searching for a softening, some proof she cared. But there was nothing, only pain. The tiny flame of hope flickered perilously and his chest hollowed.

Had he lost his one chance of happiness?

‘I love you.’ He swallowed and it was like every broken dream scored his throat. He’d never thought it possible to feel so much and it scared him as nothing ever had.

‘I realised that as I lay in hospital and replayed every mistake I’d made. That’s why I signed myself out early, to come and tell you. I love you.’

She stood like a statue, her brow furrowed and her mouth a tight line.

He’d never felt like this, never told any other woman he loved her.

He’d expected a better response!

Alaric was tempted to kiss her into compliance. He could win her body. Yet he wanted her mind too. Her heart.

‘You don’t believe me?’

‘I…don’t know. It seems so unlikely.’ She looked so dazed his heart squeezed in sympathy. Or was that fear?

‘Then believe this. That scene you walked in on? I wanted it over before I came to you today.’ His lips twisted, thinking how Tamsin always managed to turn his plans on their head. ‘The reason for all the witnesses was because I wanted there to be no question about my actions.’ He drew a slow breath and squeezed her hand. ‘I just signed away my claim to the throne of Maritz. Raul will be king after all.’