Royal Pain (His Royal Hotness 1)

That startles a laugh out of him. “Okay, I’ll go first. I picked the butter pecan because I saw some in your freezer and I wanted you to have at least one thing you liked in case I totally blew it with the rest of the cone.”

The sweetness of that makes me a little gooey inside, but he’s just getting started.

“I picked mocha fudge because it’s pretty common flavors—coffee, chocolate, cream—but when you put them together they become this complex, layered deliciousness that packs a huge punch—which is totally what you do.”

“Is that your way of calling me common?” I ask, trying to keep things light when he just gave me what might be the best compliment I’ve ever received.

But Kian’s having none of it. Leaning forward, he strokes the back of his hand down my cheek in a gesture so tender I feel it in my bones. “It’s my way of calling you extraordinary.”

And that, right there, is how I slip into love with His Royal Hotness in the middle of a crowded Wildemarian ice cream shop.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. I am soooooo screwed.

My heart is pounding out of my chest, my blood racing through my veins so fast I can barely keep from squirming. Still, I try to play it cool. Try to pretend like Kian hasn’t just destroyed me with a sentence. “And the white chocolate raspberry?” I ask after I clear my throat a couple times and finally pull myself back together.

His wicked grin is back in spades. “That one’s just because it’s my favorite. And I wanted to know how much better it would be if I tasted it while kissing you.”

For long seconds I forget how to breathe. And then I’m shoving my chair back from the table, dumping my ice cream in the nearest trash can and all but yanking him from the building.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks as I drag him down the sidewalk.

I don’t answer him.

“Savvy? What’s wrong?” he asks again. Then, “Did I say something wrong?”

I turn on him then. “Wrong? Did you say something wrong? No, you didn’t say anything wrong.”

“Then what…”

“You said everything right.”

“And that’s a problem?”

“It is if we’re in the middle of a crowded ice cream shop!”

“And why is that exactly?” He looks and sounds completely confused.

“Because if I don’t get you inside me in the next five minutes, I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Oh.” His eyes go wide in surprise before taking on the wicked gleam I’ve come to love. “Well, in that case, I’ll race you to the car.”

Chapter 23

Kian

“I want to go.”

“That’s out of the question,” my father says as he pours us both a scotch, neat.

“It’s not out of the question. You’re the king. I’m still a captain in the Royal Navy, albeit on leave. I’ve been on hundreds of missions and have contributed to all of them. I have every reason to go on this op.”

“Every reason except that it might very well go bad. And then Wildemar will have both of its princes in grave danger. That’s not going to happen. Not just because I say it won’t happen, but because your duty to Wildemar prevents it from happening.”

“Fuck Wildemar! He’s my brother!”

“And he’s my son.” My father spits out the words like they’re poison. “Do you think I wouldn’t be there if I could? Do you think I would be waiting here in this palace like a prisoner if there was any way around it? He’s my son, as are you. And there is no way I’m letting you put yourself in this kind of danger. Not when I may still lose one son.”

“You? Or Wildemar?”