Page 23 of Royal Surrogate 1

“Oh,” I say, straightening myself against my pillows. “The ukulele.”

“What did you think I was talking about?” Her hair is bound in a white towel, and she’s wrapped in a fluffy white robe, which I’m sure is covering her naked body.

The thought makes my mid-section uncomfortably hard again, and I shift to cover it.

She flops onto the bed beside me. “Teach me,” she says.

My God, I think. She has no idea how much I want to teach her.

I gulp, shifting away from her slightly again. “Certainly,” I say, handing the ukulele to her.

She takes the instrument and begins to strum. She plays for a few moments before she hands it back to me, laughing. “I’ve never been very musical. I’ve tried, but it just never took. It’s not something you can really teach yourself from a book, you know?”

I nod, setting the instrument back on my lap, thankful to have something there. I don’t know what it is about her that’s making me outrageously hard. The lilt in her voice? The lavender scent of her soap? I can’t place my finger on it, but I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to hold myself together.

“Can I ask you something, Caspar?”

I clear my throat. “Of course,” I say, my voice not sounding like my own. “Anything.”

“Why do you want a baby?”

“A son,” I correct.

“Well, we’ve had that discussion. You don’t really get to choose. It’s pretty much a fifty-fifty proposition.”

I sigh. If nothing else, this line of conversation has taken a bit of the wind from my sails, so to speak.

“But why?” she continues. “It’s really going to put a cramp in your lifestyle.”

“It’s not going to change my lifestyle at all,” I say. “I’ll teach my son the ways of the world. Show him what it means to be a lord of Wintervale.” And I’ll finally have something of meaning in my life, not that I plan to share that small detail with her. Or with anyone for that matter.

“What does it mean to be a lord of Wintervale?” She cocks her head. “Just out of curiosity.”

“It means many things,” I say. “It’s a great responsibility. It means he’ll be next in line to lead our great province. It means he’ll lead our house. He’ll have a seat in the senate when he’s of age should he so choose.”

She nods. “I see. And none of those things apply if your child is a girl?”

I frown. “No. They would. It’s just… I just want a son.”

She nods again. “Because your brother has a son.”

“Well, not only because of that. But Xavier changed when he found he had a son. He…” I shake my head. “You wouldn’t understand.” I’m not certain I understand myself completely, but I do know that after everything that has happened to me in the past few months, I need a son. The notion has consumed my every thought for so long it is difficult to think of anything else. Except, now, for Renae.

I don’t know what is happening to me.

“Try me.” She places her hand on my thigh, and it feels as though a bolt of lightning jolts from her hand straight to my cock.

I must fight myself from doubling over. Instead, I place my hand on hers.

“My brothers changed when they had children. They…became men. I don’t expect you to understand.”

She lifts a brow. “And you don’t think you’re a man.”

I clear my throat again. I want to tell her how I can show her I’m a man, but I restrain myself. “No, I’m definitely a man. I just…I need a child. A son.”

“And no wife.”

My gaze snaps to hers. “Women are…can be…difficult.”

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