Page 10 of The Princess and Her Mercenary

Chapter Six

The Princess was still talking, but the buzz in his head was too distracting for him to hear all the words. She had created that buzz. The way she pressed herself against him and kissed him fucked with his equilibrium. It was the first time she’d initiated a kiss. He’d stolen a few, but the feeling in his chest caused by her innocent kiss, took his breath away.

He was in love with her. The revelation felt like a shovel to the head, a pickaxe to the heart, a steel-toed boot to the balls. He knew he lusted after her, figured she was as close to ‘The One’ as he was ever likely to get, but this… love… it was almost more than he could process. He never imagined finding love.

He put his hands on her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. “We’re not going anywhere, Princess. We’re staying here for the night.”

“Wh-what?” she stammered and looked around as though searching for the luxury abode she must’ve somehow missed. “We can’t stay out here.”

He chuckled and helped her off the back of the bike. “Here’s as good a place as any.”

“No, we absolutely can’t stay here.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “There are scorpions, and snakes, and cheetahs. We’ll die.”

“We won’t die and I doubt there’re any of those things here.”

“Ah ha!” She pointed at his chest. “You don’t know for sure though, do you? We absolutely can’t risk it. I have no intention of dying in some obscure desert, by poisonous bug, left to dry up until one day someone finds my mummified body. I intend to either die beautifully, or in a plane crash where my body is burned up.”

Keane let out a bark of laughter as he tried to visualize what dying beautifully would look like. “I’m not going to let you die out here, Princess. Or anywhere for that matter.”

“You might not have a choice if I’m attacked before you can get to me,” she muttered, sinking down onto the blanket he spread out next to the bike.

He opened his pack and began pulling out the food and drink Jacob had packed, then he dropped onto the blanket beside Ndari. “Thought we could use some privacy. Just you and me and the stars tonight.”

She stared at him in horror. “I could not have heard you correctly. You just made it sound like we’ll be spending the whole night out here.”

“Yup,” he agreed pleasantly, leaning back on his elbow. “Better get comfy.”

She continued to stare at him. He grabbed her arm and dragged her down onto her back until she was laying prone next to him. She huffed and wiggled, arranging her scarf until she was comfortable.

They stared up at the sky together. It was blue and cloudless, but the temperature was comfortable. Not too hot, not too cold, with a slight breeze. Ndari supposed if she was going to spend time in the desert this was a good day to do it.

“Will it get cold tonight?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Only a few degrees cooler than it is now. There’s another blanket we can pull over top. We’ll be fine.”

She thought about it for a minute. “And there’s enough food?”

“Enough to feed three men my size for a couple of days. We also have water, and I think my man might’ve packed a bottle of wine too. I’d assume that’s for you since I don’t drink it.”

Ndari rolled onto her side and reached for the pack, dragging it toward her. She pulled a bottle of wine out of a big side pocket. She tilted it and looked at the label. “Hmm, your man has good taste in wine.” She handed him the bottle, then dug in the pack until she came up with a corkscrew and handed that to him too.

He grunted, pushed himself up and set about opening the bottle for her. When he realized she was eyeing his biceps as he strained to pull the cork out, he took a little more time, milking the moment. When he finished, he handed the bottle back. She took it and began filling one of the glasses. It was a stemless plastic cup, but she didn’t seem to mind. That was one of the things he loved about his Princess. She didn’t enjoy roughing it, but she could if she had to.

She took a small sip, her lips touching the edge of the cup. Her eyes closed as she savoured the red wine. “Mmm,” she said, letting out the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. She licked her lips. “Rich, but not too heavy. A nice blend with notes of cherry and blackberry. I like it.” She leaned back next to him and handed him the glass.

He shook his head. “Hate the stuff.”

She pushed it into his hand and sat next to him, her hip touching his. “Just put it to your lips.” She tilted the glass and once the red liquid touched his lips, she pulled it away. “Now lick your lips.”

He did as she said, fascinated by where she was going with this.

“What do you taste?” she asked eagerly.

Rotten grapes? He didn’t want to disappoint her though, so he said, “It tastes sort of bitter, like beer, except not beer.”

She laughed and pushed the glass toward his face again. “Try it again, but this time think about the flavours.” She allowed a few drops to spill on his bottom lip and then asked, “Tell me what you taste? Is it light, hearty? Do you taste fruit? What kind of fruit? Citrus, berries, apples? Vintners will often infuse the wine with other flavours.”

Keane tried, he really did, but he didn’t think he had much of a palette. Finally, he tried to answer, “I guess it’s in between, not too light, not too heavy, maybe some fruit.”

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