Page 70 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“First, Luis has been single for a long time. He isn’t looking for a long-term relationship,” Eve said. “Second, I’m not exactly queen material. I don’t have royal blood running in my veins like you do.”

“You’d be a great queen, Mom,” Grace said with a grin. “At the clinic, you don’t put up with crap from anyone.”

“That’s a little different from running a country,” Eve pointed out.

“I’m just worried about you,” Grace said, surprising her.

“Worried? Why?”

“You don’t do casual,” Grace said. “And he’s the king. I think Luis is amazing, but I’m not blind to the fact that he’s used to getting what he wants. He might not realize that he could hurt you.”

“Trust me, my eyes are wide open,” Eve said, coming over to hug her daughter. “You are a very smart cookie about people, you know.”

Grace squeezed back. “I learned it from you.”

CHAPTER 18

“You don’t play fair,” Eve said as she walked into Luis’s arms late that night.

“Not if I can help it,” he said, tilting her chin up and claiming her mouth in a long kiss that left her panting. “But what are you referring to?”

“This afternoon,” Eve said, running her hands over his back, loving the feel of his muscles under the fine cotton of his dress shirt. He hadn’t returned to the house until well after dinner, stripping off his jacket and tie before sitting down with a glass of Scotch to relax with Eve and Grace, while Raul had stayed back at the palace.

He looked surprised. “It was only a horseback ride.”

“Oh, please. What about the dragons conveniently hanging around?”

He led her to the sofa where he sat and pulled her down onto his lap with a hint of a smile. “I might have sent some scouts out to see if the recent reports about a pair of large dragons were true. Perhaps those scouts located the lizards just before we started off on our ride.”

“Ha! I knew it!”

“What is wrong with wanting to give you and my daughter the pleasure of seeing Caleva’s most famous natives in the wild?” He nuzzled the side of her neck, nipping her earlobe as his hand traveled over her hip and down her thigh, making it hard to hold on to her thoughts.

“It’s not the intention,” Eve said. “It’s the way you carry it out. Just a word from you, and it gets done. Flawlessly.”

He lifted his head to look into her eyes. “The people who work for the crown take great pride in doing their jobs well. Not for me personally, but for the ruler of Caleva. When Raul becomes king, many of them will serve him with the same commitment to excellence.”

A pang shot through her at the thought of what would happen to make Raul the king. This powerful, vital, brilliant man holding her in his arms would be gone from the world. She couldn’t bear imagining it.

“You don’t understand what different worlds we come from,” Eve said.

“You are the chief veterinary technician at the school’s clinic. You have people who support you—other vet technicians, the X-ray and MRI techs, the cleaning staff, the administrative staff. Their work frees you to do your job well,” Luis said. “That is all my staff does.”

“Right.” She put all of her disbelief into the word.

“None of that matters at this moment.” He began to unbutton her blouse, stopping to trace the lace along the edge of her bra so that her nipples tightened with anticipation. “Here and now, we are just a man and the woman whose exquisite breasts he wants to kiss.”

“I’m on board with that plan.” The brush of his fingertips against her skin was a delicious tickle.

He pushed out the last button and eased her blouse off her shoulders before he let his thumbs drift over her collarbone. With his index finger, he touched the lily pendant she had fastened on after her shower. “You are wearing my gift.” He leaned in to kiss her neck just above it. “I like the idea of it being the only thing you’ll be wearing soon.” With that, he flicked open the catch of her bra so the lace fell away from her breasts. “Tan preciosos,” he rasped.

He lowered his head to kiss all around one nipple, making her squirm on his lap. When he took the nipple in his mouth, surrounding it with warmth and teasing it with his tongue, arousal scorched through her. His erection was hard under her thighs, and suddenly the ache between her legs needed to be filled.

“Wait!” she said, wriggling off his lap to stand and unfasten her trousers. He watched from under heavy eyelids as she shimmied out of them and then slid her panties off as well. “I need you inside me.”

“Mi querida,” he murmured as he unbuckled his belt and opened his trousers, releasing his cock. He reached into his pocket to pull out a condom.

She put her hand over his before he could tear open the packet. “I can’t have children, so you don’t need that. I swear.”

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