Page 42 of Regally Binding

Bear slid his hand back and held it out to her. She reached for it and held it tightly. His skin was warm against hers.

“Bear,” Strike warned.

Bear swatted his hand. “Fuck off, Strike. She’s freaking out, and I won’t watch it happen when I can help.”

“And that’s exactly the problem when it comes to you.”

“Don’t,” Bear snapped before fixing his attention on Liss. “You’ve got this, Liss. You’re safe. Today is a meeting, and you’re not committing to anything.”

His thumb stroked the pulse point inside her wrist, and she recalled his lips brushing against it the day before.

“I’m going to ask you to let go of me,” he said. Liss’s pulse increased further. Her vision blurred at the edges as if the world was closing in on her. “But then put your good hand on your heart instead. It will help your breathing.” She stared at him with wide eyes. Lines covered his forehead, but he continued to run his thumb around her pulse point. “Trust me,” he said, showing her what he meant with his spare hand. He did the same the day before in the basement.

She removed her hand from his caress. Instantly, she missed the warmth of his touch. She copied his action while ensuring she didn’t strain her arm again.

“It’s a simple technique to relieve stress. You can do it anywhere, no matter what is happening around you. It helps you focus on your heart or breathing. I don’t know how it works, but I learnt it years ago, and it works for me.”

Liss focused on the connection between her hand and her heart. She gulped down air, and her breathing slowed. Bear’s voice was deep and soothing as he counted her breathing in and out. Liss closed her eyes as her body calmed, and when she opened them again, the blurriness was gone.

“You okay?” Bear asked, his eyes wide with concern.

She nodded and mouthed a “thank you” as Strike parked the car.

“You got this, Princess. We’ll be in the room with you the whole time, and no matter what happens, you have a say in this,” he said. His voice kept that softness that got her through her panic. It flowed through her and brought confidence with it. She could do this. She had to do it. “Ready?”

Liss offered a tentative smile, and Bear reflected it before his face entered bodyguard mode. She recognised it now. It was like the second before a fighter went into the ring. He was centring himself and preparing for battle. She glanced at Strike, who did the same. Liss prepared herself as the men had. She took a deep breath and erased emotion from her face. She set her chin and let coldness reflect in her eyes.

“Let’s do this,” she said as Bear helped her out of the car and led them into the palace.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Felicity,” the King called from the entrance of the palace. The archway he stood beneath glinted like the stone was infused with royal jewels. But the rest of the building carried a coldness, from the straight lines of architecture to the shadows under the other archways lining it. The windows lining the building were tiny; all she spied was black inside the framed white holes. It was like a prison.

“Welcome,” he said as she neared him. His eyes wore the same dark circles as hers, and there was exhaustion she hadn’t recognised before. She felt a pull to care for him. His mysterious illness was destroying him. All the money and influence in the world couldn’t stop death once it knocked on the door.

Liss recalled the searing pain that twisted her mum’s body in her final days and the nights she sat and watched her breathing, wondering if it would be their last moments together. The deterioration was fast at the end, and although the nurses were excellent, in those early hours after they went home, Liss remembered the sensation of her chest crushed by force. The only person Liss loved was gone; she’d never have her mum back. Maybe money and influence could have provided better pain relief and given her hope. Would they be standing here together, her mum learning if she was the King’s daughter?

The King embraced Liss gently to avoid squashing her arm, and as much as it felt like she was being unfaithful to her mum’s memory, she allowed the hug. He held her for a few seconds, and she relaxed, wrapping her good arm around his body. He was skinnier than she expected and smelt of antiseptic.

As he released her, his face shone with a grin wide enough to surround her in love. She didn’t need test results to tell her what that smile meant. She was a princess.

Fucking hell.

“I’d like to talk in private if that’s okay,” he said, leading her into a drawing room like the one she’d sat in at the other palace. Where that was red and gold, this was royal blue and wood. Emerald green added accents to the edges of carpets and high-backed chairs. It wasn’t to her taste, but it wasn’t her house. A comfy corner sofa would have worked wonders. Suddenly, she focused on the other two things she wouldn’t want in her house.

Marianne, who sat in one of the wooden and, no doubt, hand-crafted side chairs, spied her like a bird ready to peck a bug to death. Standing stiffly next to her, with his hand resting on Marianne’s chair, was Prince Alex, and his gaze, although guarded, betrayed a contempt that surprised her. Their faces read “How can we bury you without anyone knowing?” rather than “Welcome to the family.”

Red roses sat on the tables in crystal vases, and Liss teetered on the edge of smelling them to rid the antiseptic scent from her nostrils, but a red and blue porcelain pheasant caught her eye. Liss sensed Marianne and Alex’s eyes burning a hole into her neck. Maybe they thought she was hoping to steal the bird. As if she’d want anything that gaudy.

Liss turned to see the King smiling at her. “I’d rather have my bodyguards in the room, King Archibald.” Bear and Strike nodded and stood at the side. Bear’s eyes softened when he glanced at her, and she remembered what it was like to have her hand on her heart. She took a breath and raised her body before sitting. Maybe great posture would help her confidence too. It worked for Marianne.

“If you’re sure, then that’s fine,” he replied, although his stuttered response suggested it went against protocol. “And you can call me grandfather if you wish.”

“Spoiler alert,” Liss replied with a smile.

Alex grumbled something under his breath. Bear glared in his direction before resuming his blank stare.

“Oh yes. I haven’t explained, have I? Before I do, please tell me you were okay after your fall.” His smile made his eyes crinkle, and she fought the temptation to forget the worries about her future and embrace that she had a family now. “I heard that something happened in your pub.”

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