She sighed and arched her back, her breasts pushing against her sweater, round and full. He gritted his teeth against the rush of need that flooded him.
She pushed up, her hair spilling over her shoulders. “Mak?”
His name on her lips, her voice thick with sleep, was like a punch straight to his gut.
“I brought your bags. You were tired.”
“Yeah.” She arched and stretched, her movements smooth, feline. Sexy.
“Feeling better?”
“A little bit.” She got off of the bed and walked over to the window, her hips swaying as she walked, his control, already shaky, not up to the task of keeping his gaze from straying to the round curve of her butt. “It’s really beautiful here. Maybe I need some quiet. Maybe I need this.”
He was starting to think it had been a mistake. He should have found somewhere else. Somewhere busy. Somewhere she might not be as recognizable but could still get out, get to a public place with as many people between them as possible.
Anything was preferable to having her alone in a bedroom, with every freedom, physically, to do just as he pleased.
But that physical freedom, the ability to touch her, kiss her, meant nothing. Not when he was bound by honor, by his word, to protect her as her father wanted her protected.
“Are you hungry?”
“A little.”
“I can have my housekeeper make something.”
She frowned. “It’s easy to forget there are other people here. It feels like we’re the only two people on the planet.”
“There aren’t nearly as many people here as there are in the palace in Kyonos. And my staff don’t live on site. They live down in the village at the base of the mountain. I’m not here on a regular basis so I really just need a caretaker most of the time to ensure things don’t fall apart.”
“How many people are here when you’re here?”
“Just Liesel and her husband Jan. She cooks for me, and he does a lot of the general prep for the house. Makes sure the fires are going so that it’s warm by the time I arrive. Then they typically leave after dinner.”
“So … you end up here alone for a lot of the day?”
“Yes.”
A tiny crease marred her brow. “I don’t think I’ve ever really been alone. There’s a staff of hundreds at the palace in Kyonos. Discounting the guard, of course. A lot of them live there, someone is always up working.”
“So this will be an experience then,” he said dryly, turning to leave her room.
“I still won’t be alone. I’ll be … alone with you,” she said.
His stomach tightened. He didn’t want to be aware of that. He already was, but having her say it out loud made it even more stark, even harder to ignore. That they would be the only two in the house after Liesel and Jan left for the night felt like too much to manage, at least at the moment. He would get a grip on his control again, but until then, the image was troubling.
“You can’t be alone with someone,” he said.
“Just the two of us then. That feels …” she trailed off, looking away. It didn’t help that her thoughts seemed to be straying in the same direction.
He didn’t know exactly how innocent Eva was, but he could guess. He had a feeling it was contributing to just how much she was betraying. That he could read her thoughts, that he could guess just what it felt like to her to find herself secluded in a house with him.
Because he felt it too.
He had practice resisting the need for sex. Had it in spades. He doubted there were many men on the planet who hadn’t taken vows to the church with as much experience in the matter. Still, she made it seem hard, when for years it had seemed like little more than a mild annoyance.
He’d grown used to it. Blocking it out. And when that became impossible at night when his entire body cried out for release, he was adept at taking care of it alone, quickly, precisely. He’d spent hours in the gym, running along the beach at the home he’d shared with Marina, so that when night came, he could fall into bed and sleep like the dead the moment his head hit the pillow. It had never been enough, but it had been manageable. Until Eva.
“I promise you, printzyessa, I will never take advantage of you. I’ve promised to protect you, I made a promise to your father, and now I make the same promise to you. I will not break that vow.” And now that he’d spoken it, it was reinforced. There was no going back on it. Ever.