Page 20 of Royal Surrogate 1

I hook my arm through his, attempting a flirtatious tone. “So where are we sleeping?”

Ahead of us, Lord Xavier gives a grunt that might be a stifled laugh.

Caspar’s surprise quickly morphs into pleasure. “Right this way, my love.”

He leads us away from his brother and up a wide, ornate staircase to the second floor. It’s truly a beautiful house, and frankly I’m starting to feel pretty damn lucky, getting to live like this for the next year or so—and getting paid for it, no less. Granted, I’ll be doing my share to earn my keep, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it, right?

The more I see, the more I fall in love with this manor. There are delicate details everywhere I look, from the crown moldings to the bronze door handles to the artwork displayed at intervals along the papered walls. I’ve done enough research on art and art history to recognize the value of many of the pieces—someone in this family must be a collector.

“You like it?” Caspar says, noticing my gaze.

“One of these days you’re going to have to take me on a tour of this place and tell me about all of these paintings,” I tell him. “I noticed a couple of Neoclassical pieces in the last hallway. I didn’t realize your home would be filled with so much history.”

“You like history?”

“It’s only a minor obsession,” I admit. “I do—did—a lot of research at my job. But I rarely got to see any priceless works of art in person.”

“I’m happy to give you a tour,” he says. “Of the house or of anywhere else you want to see. The National Museum in the capital has some nice collections.”

“I’d love that,” I say, unable to keep the passion from my voice.

“Anything for my beloved fiancée.” He takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, and even though I know this is part of the charade, I feel that flurry of butterflies again at the touch of his kiss.

“Here we are,” he says before I can analyze that feeling too closely. “My suite. The footmen should have already brought up our bags.”

I’m not sure what I expected from his bedroom, but I must admit I’m impressed. Like the rest of the house, it’s ornate but tasteful, and I can see Caspar’s personal touches as well.

This is where I get to live? I’m more than okay with this.

“We have a few hours before we join my brother,” Caspar says. “Plenty of time to recover from the flight.”

“Come to think of it, I could use a nap,” I admit. As intrigued as I am to be here, and as luxurious as our flight was, I’m still exhausted from the travel.

“The bedroom is right over here,” Caspar says, leading me toward a set of double doors.

And it’s only then that I’m reminded of the awkward truth of our reality. As excited as I am by my new home for the foreseeable future, I’d conveniently forgotten about some things—like the one glaring thing staring me in the face right now.

We only have one bed.

CHAPTER 15

Caspar

Her trepidation is so palpable it almost makes me want to check to see if there’s a stench in my armpits.

“I’m not that horrifying, am I?” I ask, but even I can hear the hilt in my chuckling.

“No,” she says. “Not at all. It’s just…” She looks at the bed and then back at me, her eyes wide.

I’ve seen that expression before, but it takes me a moment to recognize it.

“You’re a virgin!” I don’t know why I didn’t see it before—of course she is. It all makes sense now. She’s a librarian—beautiful, yes, but so buttoned up and reserved?—

“No!” she cries, almost too quickly. “No. I mean, no. Not…no. I’m not. Not exactly. Sort of, but… It’s just…” She lets out a long breath before she sits on the edge of the bed. “Can I just be honest with you?”

“I’d hope we can always be honest with each other, no matter what.” I sit beside her, taking her hand into mine. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. Sex can be quite beautiful. And if you’d prefer to wait until after our wedding night, I’d completely understand.”

“I… Yes… I mean, no… I mean… We’re not…” She looks up at me, her brows drawn together.

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