Page 56 of Untouched Queen by Royal Command

‘Freedom’s irresistible to those who’ve never had it.’ They’d reached the end of yet another long corridor with guards stationed at either end. ‘You can go in.’

‘Is anyone in there with him?’ It wasn’t that she was putting off walking through those doors. She simply wanted to be prepared for whoever she might find.

‘His sister’s just stepped out.’

There was never going to be a better time.

There was one bed in the room she entered and it was empty, machines switched off and the bottom sheet rumpled, the top sheet pushed aside. Augustus stood to one side of the window on the opposite side of the room, his face pale and wan, his chest bare, his shoulder bandaged and his left arm strapped tightly to his chest.

His eyes widened at the sight of her.

‘Hello,’ she said awkwardly, caught completely off guard. Not that the sight of him standing there didn’t fill her heart to overflowing, but this really wasn’t the kind of intensive care she’d imagined. ‘I… Ah, you can stand.’

He raised a quizzical eyebrow.

‘And…uh…walk. That’s good. Brilliant recovery.’ She’d been had, but right now she didn’t give a damn. ‘So good.’

‘What are you doing here?’ If she was drinking him in with her eyes, he was doing much the same to her.

‘I was—’

In the area and just thought she’d drop by? Hardly.

‘That is to say—’

He was waiting for her to say.

‘I was visiting Claudia, my friend who is not my sister, and she has this mountain…’

He looked sceptical. ‘Of course it’s not her mountain, but it’s a mountain nonetheless, and I was up there thinking about you, and me, and whether there could ever be a “you and me” that wasn’t all about honour and duty and sacrifice. A you and me that does involve those things, sure,’ she said, and contradicted herself completely and stumbled on regardless. ‘Because you’re you and there’s no getting away from your duty as King, but above all that, or maybe underneath it, I was wondering if there might be a “you and me” who could be together and we could make a point of building some freedom into our lives, keeping the courtesan’s quarters open as a place where you can be you and I can be me, and there could be holidays in the mountains and I could show you things you’ve never seen. And maybe at some point, if you haven’t already proposed to Katerina DeLitt, that is, we could talk about you marrying me.’ She tailed off, wishing he’d say something. ‘Because of love.’

‘Was that supposed to make sense?’

Yes, yes, it was, and if it hadn’t she’d try again. ‘I’m in love with you.’

‘Why?’ The tiniest tilt of his lips gave her the courage she needed to keep going.

‘Because you let me in, even though you knew this was going to get messy. Because you let me try and be all those dozen different things I was taught to be, no matter the cost to yourself. Because you put my needs before yours and fought for my right to be free in a way you can never be. And I am free now and I’m still being selfish, because when I heard you’d been hurt there was only one place I wanted to be. So here I am.’

And there he stood.

‘Of course, you might not have much use any more for the love of a former courtesan and that’s okay too.’

‘No reciprocation required?’ he asked softly.

‘No. That’s not love. Love is standing here and feeling so much relief and joy that you are okay. And then turning around and walking out that door if you ask me to.’

She wanted to stay. She so badly wanted to touch him. But she didn’t have the right to.

‘Come here,’ he said and she walked closer and fought every twitchy bit of muscle memory not to sink to the floor at his feet. He’d never wanted that from her.

‘If there’s such a thing as love at first sight, I felt it the first time I ever saw you.’ He touched his fingers to the tie at her neck and tugged it loose and then used both hands to push her travelling cloak from her shoulders until it pooled in a puddle at her feet. ‘First time you ever curtseyed for me, I was torn between wanting to keep you there for ever and never wanting you to lower yourself in front of me again because I wanted an equal. I needed an equal. And you stayed and triumphed, no matter what I threw at you, and I realised I’d finally found one.’ He traced the line of her cheek with the backs of his fingers. ‘Always knew I’d have to let you go.’

‘You did.’

‘And yet here you are.’ He threaded his fingers through her hair. ‘And I think you should know that I have no intention of ever letting you go again.’ He kissed her gently at first and then somehow it became all-consuming.

They were both breathing raggedly when finally he broke the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers and huffed a laugh before taking a determined step back. ‘I had a plan for if you ever came back. It involved rather more clothes and no bullet wounds on my part, and there was possibly a fantasy moment of you wearing ancient slave jewellery mixed up in there somehow, but I did have a plan and it went something like this. I love you. I want you by my side from this day forward and not as my courtesan or employee.’

---