Page 83 of Royal Caleva: Luis

He turned his hand to grasp hers before she could withdraw it, his fingers strong and warm around hers. “It is easy to be a father to Grace. You have raised an exceptional young woman.”

He tightened his grip a moment before releasing her hand, and she mourned the loss of the connection.

She couldn’t stop herself from thinking of the secret passage that led from the king’s chambers to where she would sleep tonight.

Luis felt the imprint of Eve’s hand against his skin after he reluctantly let go. Her unexpected touch had sent a sear of desire through him, even as her words made his heart swell. She had acknowledged him as their daughter’s father with a look of happiness. No longer was he the interloper, the bringer of danger, the disruptive influence. A tension he hadn’t recognized he carried eased.

Now he wanted to pull Eve into his arms and kiss her until she agreed to come to his bed again.

Instead, he sat back and watched his family embrace his daughter and her mother. Contentment flowed through him like a warm, buoyant river. Somehow, he had sensed that he was missing a piece for all the years of Grace’s life. Now he had found her, and his family was complete.

His pleasure faltered as he realized that Eve’s presence was part of his feeling of well-being. If she were not at the table, he would not be experiencing the same delight in the gathering. Yes, he wanted to tear off her clothes and taste every inch of her skin, but he also wanted her laughter, her strength, her good sense, and her bone-deep decency. She was an anchor that he could trust.

“What is it?” Eve asked in a low voice, and he realized he was frowning.

He couldn’t lie to her. “I was thinking about how important you are to this.” He swept one hand around to indicate the people at the table.

And to me. But he couldn’t say that yet.

She shook her head. “Grace will do fine. Your family is being lovely. I’m surprised to say this, but I like them.”

“Surprised? Why?” Yet gratification warmed him.

“Oh, gee, I don’t know. Maybe because they’re royalty, and their lives are as different from mine as…as a Martian’s.” She spoke lightly, but he heard the conviction in her words.

“What is the saying? ‘We still put our pants on one leg at a time.’” He matched her tone.

“No, you have a valet to hold your pants while you leap into them with both feet,” she said.

And there it was…the laughter he treasured.

Hélène was watching them with a speculative expression, so Luis included her in the conversation to keep her from drawing too many conclusions.

Conclusions he wasn’t sure of himself.

CHAPTER 21

The next morning, Luis once again sat at the head warden’s desk at CárcelMax, waiting for Odette to be brought to him. Mikel had used the same methodology as the last time Luis had faced his ex-lover, so only the most trusted bodyguards knew of this visit.

Grace and Eve would follow an hour later in another nondescript vehicle, but Luis intended to threaten Odette into behaving herself when she met their daughter. However, he would let Grace try to persuade her birth mother to keep their connection a secret. If he were to ask Odette to keep it secret, she would broadcast the news to the world out of pure spite.

The door opened, and he stiffened as Odette was led into the office, the chains of her shackles clinking softly. She looked thinner, her skin even more pasty against the yellow prison clothes.

When she saw him, a cruel smile curved her lips. “Well, well, a second visit from the king. I am honored.” She dipped into a curtsy made awkward by the guards holding her arms. She straightened and examined him for a long moment. “You look hale and healthy. You’re feeling well these days?”

“Sit.” The anger at her insolence ignited inside him, but it burned cold today.

The guards released her as she sank onto the wooden chair in front of the desk. “Leave us,” Luis told them, waiting until the door was closed behind them.

He sat silent, searching for a resemblance between the woman in front of him and his daughter. The red hair, of course, although Odette’s lacked the healthy shine of Grace’s. He continued to examine the shape of her face, her ears, even her hands. With a surge of relief, he found nothing else to demonstrate they were related.

“Did you have something to say to me?” she prodded.

Luis smiled inwardly. Speaking first showed weakness.

“I found our daughter,” he said.

Interest flared in her eyes. “I assumed you would.”

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