Something rough tickled his throat and it tightened, making speaking even harder. He glanced briefly at Kassie and caught her beautiful, genuine smile at him. He forced his eyes front again, an unnamed emotion firing through his blood.
‘Rightly or wrongly, I have always tried to protect my sister and I am very pleased she has found happiness. It is...’ He cleared his throat awkwardly, wishing like hell he’d cancelled this appearance, because this was one truth he was suddenly compelled to admit to the world and it was hard. ‘It is all I have ever wanted for her.’
* * *
Kassie dragged her gaze from Giorgos and looked over the crowd in front of them. For a moment there was complete silence, and then a wave of audible support spread—culminating in a huge cheer. This close, Kassie could hear the individual murmurings of the shiny-eyed, smiling women.
‘He’s so handsome...’
‘He’s so protective of Eleni...’
‘What a brother...’
For the first time that she could ever recall he’d come across as all ‘Giorgos’ and not pure ‘King’—a hurt, caring man, not a dignified, remote figurehead. And she was just as touched as everyone else present.
She quickly glanced down, hoping to hide her burgeoning emotions and the deepening fascination she had in him.
A few moments later he unveiled the sculpture to more applause. The rest of the visit passed in a blur of smiling faces and respectful distance. But she was conscious of intense scrutiny. So many people were watching her, listening, judging. But she didn’t care what they thought of her—she just wanted to ensure their support of their King.
She didn’t want to let him down, so she quietly expressed her gratitude to both King Giorgos and Princess Eleni whenever she was asked for a comment. And then it was all over. One of Giorgos’s assistants escorted her to the car. Then Giorgos himself settled in beside her. There was no word from him, no shared look or laugh, and certainly no touch. Fine by her. Their intimacy was her secret to treasure. Her choice.
But even as they drove away from the crowds his distance didn’t lessen. If anything, he seemed to become more remote. He sat silent, unsmiling and stiff, staring out of the window away from her. She couldn’t think why his frown had returned when everyone there had looked happy. She’d heard the bubbling chatter of approval after he’d spoken and the rising inflections of excitement and support. How could he not be pleased?
She didn’t dare speak while the driver might hear them, but she couldn’t resist watching him, looking so correct and so regal in his fine suit. So on edge.
Only once they were safe inside the gates of the Summer House did he turn his head and catch her staring—but still he said nothing.
Her heart pounded—had he changed his mind? Didn’t he want to do this with her any more?
Kassie walked ahead of him into the building, marching straight to the private lounge he liked. Once there, she turned to him, determined to breach the defences he’d put up. ‘You won them over. Completely.’
He shrugged off his jacket and undid his tie with rough gestures that revealed his irritation. ‘I talked too much.’
‘No, you didn’t.’ She was surprised he’d think that—he hadn’t said all that much at all. And what he had said had been lovely. ‘You were honest with them.’
Her heart stopped as she realised how emotional he actually was at this moment.
‘Do you feel vulnerable?’ she ventured softly.
He stared at her moodily and didn’t respond. That silence, that look, told her the answer.
‘Everyone does sometimes,’ she said. ‘Feel vulnerable, that is.’
‘I am the King.’ He paced away from her with leashed strides. ‘I’m not supposed to be...’
‘You’re still allowed to be human. What’s wrong with coming into this century and showing some emotion? It makes you relatable.’
‘I don’t need to be relatable,’ he snapped. ‘I just need to do my duty.’
He truly thought that was all he was meant to do? That upholding the crown was all he could do?
‘What happened to work-life balance?’
‘There is no difference between the two. My work is my life.’
‘Why be such a martyr, Giorgos? What sins are you paying for?’ She now understood that he really did carry some terrible burden of guilt.
‘Back off, Kassie.’ He looked lethally angry as he suddenly stalked towards her. ‘You don’t get to pry.’ He reached out and grabbed her. ‘What you get is this.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
HIS KISS WAS a merciless exposition of unleashed passion. Forcefully he swept her into his arms. Thrills flickered along her veins as she braced herself to withstand his ruthless onslaught and tried to kiss him back. He pulled her closer, bending her back until she was on the very tips of her toes, utterly at his mercy. And she loved it. Electrified, energised, she moaned at this intoxicating bombardment of pure pleasure to her body—and her soul.
With a curse he suddenly pulled back, releasing her and rubbing his hand over his face as he visibly tried to recover his self-control. She didn’t want him to—she’d adored the desperate way he’d devoured her, as if he couldn’t kiss her enough to satisfy his need. Not ever enough. Which was exactly how she was feeling. The deepest longing had been unlocked within her and she couldn’t stand to have it denied now.
‘Why are you stopping?’ Dazed, she clutched at his shirt so he couldn’t stride away from her.
‘I’m too rough...’ he groaned, but his hands automatically shaped her hips again, as if he were losing his inner battle for control. ‘I’m sorry I snapped.’
She liked his emotion—his passion. It meant he was feeling something—the same way she was. Feeling, she’d decided, was a good thing.
She shook her head. ‘Not too rough.’
‘You’re not used to a man’s touch,’ he said huskily. ‘There were moments last night and this morning when I might have... I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘I liked it. All of it. I want more,’ she said with ferocity, every last inhibition burned away by that kiss. ‘I know it might hurt a little...’ She huffed out a heated breath. ‘I’m certain it’ll be worth it.’
His breath whistled through his clenched teeth and his eyes locked with hers. Satisfaction and anticipation drummed louder and louder within her as she read that desire—that decision—within his blazing gaze.
He extended his hand and she laced her fingers through his. Together they walked across the smooth wooden floor to her bedroom.
It was mid-afternoon, so there was no dark night to hide behind. The window overlooked the blue waters stretching to the far horizon. Nothing broke that blue view of sea and sky. The room was light and fresh and utterly dominated by the wide bed.
Heat burgeoned inside her. She ached to lie on it with him, to feel him entwined with her, to feel his weight...
He stopped in the centre of the room and she stood before him. Again their gazes met and melded, the wordless communication heralding the intense connection that she knew they both craved. Slowly he move
d, finding the hidden zip of her pretty dress. She held still, held her breath as he released the zipper and pushed the soft linen from her body, leaving her clad in only her underwear.
He unbuttoned his shirt, swiftly discarding it. He reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a handful of small foil packages and cast them across that ready bed. Then he scuffed off his shoes, removed his socks and trousers, and finally allowed her the satisfaction of seeing him the way he could now see her—almost bared. And so intimate.
Her mouth watered and her lips tingled with the need to kiss every inch of the skin she could now see. Her fingers trembled, itchy with the desire to coast over his body—to caress and test the muscles that were so sharply defined. She saw his abs ripple as he flinched at her involuntary mumble as she feasted on the sight of his strained black boxers. A hot feeling pooled at the apex of her thighs. She wanted everything. And she wanted it now. But she was too tense with anticipation even to move.
He stepped forward and kissed her and her paralysis ended. She skimmed her hands over him, suddenly bold and hungry. He walked her backwards until her knees hit the bed. Trusting him implicitly, she let herself fall and he came with her, their limbs tangling in a frantic mass of desire. Her need to touch and kiss and lave was uncontrollable.
Inexorably, however, he caught her close and stilled her with the most carnal kiss of her life. He released the catch of her bra, his expression hot as he peeled the silk and lace from her burning skin. She’d never felt as aroused, nor seen anything as erotic as the look on his face as he tugged her white panties down her hips and revealed her sex to his seeking tongue.
She arched up instinctively at the first sweep. He growled in primal satisfaction as he tasted her readiness and her heat. Gripping her undulating hips with one hand, he held her where he needed to so he could continue that intense torment. As she writhed in hunger he fed her—one finger, then two, pumping her, priming her for his full possession. Fastening his lips to her, he feasted, flicking his tongue until she screamed with incoherent bliss. And as the ripples of her orgasm ebbed he kept his fingers plumbed deep, looking down at her ravenously.