Page 11 of The King's Secret Baby

Gasping for breath, I hold myself above her as we look into each other’s eyes.

“Well,” I say simply.

“Well.” She grins.

What now?

My father is waiting back at the hotel for me. My life as a prince is waiting for me. Right now, though, I’m content to let them wait.

“Do you like dinner?” I ask.

Hailey chuckles. “I do like dinner.”

I grin. “Good, because I don’t want this night to end.”

Her face softens. She almost looks sad, but the expression is quickly replaced by a smile. “I don’t either, so let’s make it last.”

Lowering my face so that it’s inches from hers, I softly whisper, “Deal,” then seal it with a kiss.

CHAPTER 6

HAILEY

The first thing I notice when I wake is an arm draped across my stomach. Sunlight filters through the blinds, casting slanted shadows across the bed. I blink, memories of yesterday flooding back in an instant.

Luca. The interview, the tour around the city, sitting on the rooftop, and then… My face flushes as I recall how we ended up tangled in my sheets, a mess of desperate kisses and roaming hands. I can scarcely believe it wasn’t all a dream.

Slowly, I turn my head on the pillow to look at him. He’s still fast asleep, his chiseled features relaxed and peaceful. Dark-blond lashes fan across his cheekbones, and a lock of hair falls rakishly over his brow. Damn, he’s even more gorgeous first thing in the morning, where I usually look a puffy mess. How is that even possible?

As if sensing my gaze, Luca stirs. His eyelids flutter open, azure eyes still hazy with sleep. When they focus on me, his lips curve into a lazy smile that sets my heart racing.

“Good morning,” he murmurs, voice low and rough. “This is a sight I could get used to waking up to.”

I bite my lip against a giddy smile. “I bet you say that to all the journalists you seduce.”

“Only the brilliant, beautiful ones.” His arm tightens around my waist, pulling me closer. “Which is to say, only you.”

He dips his head to nuzzle my neck, pressing a kiss to the sensitive skin beneath my ear. I shiver, tilting my head to give him better access. My fingers thread through his hair, earning a low hum of approval.

“Luca,” I sigh, eyes fluttering shut. God, the things this man does to me.

“Mmm. Say it again.” Another open-mouthed kiss, this one to my racing pulse. “I love how you say my name.”

I laugh breathlessly, arching into his touch. “Luca, as much as I’d love to stay in bed with you all day, didn’t you say you have that meeting you and your father are going to?”

He groans, burying his face against my shoulder. “Don’t remind me.” But he pulls back to glance at the clock on the nightstand. Muttered curses fall from his lips as he throws off the covers. “Damn. I’m going to be late.”

He springs from the bed and hurries around my room, gathering up his clothes from where we eagerly discarded them for the second time after we went out to dinner at a pub on the corner. I prop myself up on my elbows to watch appreciatively as he tugs on his boxer briefs and trousers. The man is pure walking sin.

Hopping awkwardly as he pulls on his socks, he flashes me a roguish grin. “See something you like?”

“Absolutely,” I admit shamelessly, drinking in his lean, muscled torso and broad shoulders. “But you should probably put a shirt on before I drag you back to bed and make youreallylate.”

He laughs, a rich warm sound that curls around me like an embrace. He shrugs on his button-down and does up a few buttons. I reluctantly slide out of bed, picking his tie up off the floor. Looping it around his neck, I use it to tug him down for a quick, hard kiss.

“Coffee?” I offer as I pull away, smoothing his collar. “I think I have some pastries around here somewhere too.”

“You’re an angel,” he declares gratefully, giving me one more peck before padding off to the bathroom.

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