Page 52 of The King's Secret Baby

I grip his shoulders, pulling him closer to me, yet it’s still not close enough. I want to merge us together until we become one.

Gripping my hips, he positions himself on top of me. I’m aching with hot, desperate desire, and he seems to be in the same boat.

He drives into me like it’s something we’ve done a thousand times, and it might as well be, for the way he knows my body. I moan at the delicious sensation of him filling me up, my nails digging into his shoulders.

Luca’s mouth finds mine again, swollen and greedy. He rocks into me, the rhythm taking me deeper and deeper into bliss. We’re one, moving as one, breathing as one, existing as one.

He sits up, pulling me with him so that I land on his lap. Sweat is already forming on his hairline, carving thin trails down his neck and onto his chest. His eyes widen at the sight of me, like he’s shocked to find I’m the one in his arms.

“Hailey,” he gasps. “I don’t want to fight this any longer.”

“I don’t either,” I whisper.

He grips my ass, and I rock into him. My hair falls across my face like a screen, and he pushes it back with his nose to press kisses anywhere his lips can reach. My cheekbone. My throat. My ear.

“Luca,” I groan, the pleasure making me blind.

He holds me tighter. Kisses me harder. It’s all I need and more, and I’m falling over the edge, tumbling into a world of bliss.

We collapse on the bed, our gasps filling the room. Luca’s arm is around me, and sweat sticks my cheek to his chest. Everything is perfect.

Too perfect.

What’s next? Did we just make a horrible mistake? The last time we almost found ourselves in bed, he told me that it could never happen again — and that was before we knew I was carrying his baby.

“Hailey.” His voice is soft yet commanding.

I swallow, both glad for and hating the fact that I can’t see his eyes. “Yes?”

There’s a pause. “Thank you.”

I blink. “For what?”

“For being here.” It’s such a simple statement, and yet he says it like I’ve given him the whole world.

I smile against his chest, some hope coming alive in me once more. Maybe this wasn’t a mistake at all. And maybe, no matter what happens between us next, things will be just fine.

“You’re welcome,” I whisper back.

“I wish we could stay like this forever.”

His words are a shock to my system.We can’t stay this way?

Of course not. What was I thinking? This was only a one-night thing — or, rather, two-night thing if you count New York. Luca has already outlined why we can never be together. Tomorrow morning, he’ll go back to being the dutiful prince, and I’ll be the secret to be kept in the shadows — always and forever more.

I need to kick him out of my room, pull the Band-Aid off before things go further and this becomes more painful. Yet, as I lay against his chest, my eyelids growing heavy, I find it impossible to move.

Tomorrow… tomorrow I’ll face the music. Tonight, though, I just want to pretend that all the things I want are real.

CHAPTER 25

LUCA

The early morning light filters in through the curtains, casting a soft glow over Hailey’s sleeping form. She looks ethereal, her chestnut hair fanned out across the pillow, dark lashes kissing her cheeks, full lips parted slightly in slumber. Peaceful. Serene.

I prop myself up on one elbow, drinking in the sight of her, committing every detail to memory. The graceful curve of her neck, the smattering of freckles dusting her nose and cheeks, the gentle rise and fall of her chest with each even breath.

My heart swells with a fierce surge of protectiveness, of awe that this incredible woman is carrying my child.Ourchild. Emotion clogs my throat and I have to blink back the sudden sting of tears.

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