Page 12 of The Princess and Her Mercenary

Chapter Seven

Ndari talked to Keane in a way she’d never talked to anyone before, not even Jaya. She told him not only what it was like to grow up in a palace, but she told him what was in her heart. She described the loneliness of growing up without a single friend, of having parents who were so preoccupied with their royal duties that they didn’t have time for their children, the longing to feel loved, the conflict she felt when her parents were killed. She told him of the love, frustration and admiration she felt for her brother, the Crown Prince Sal Kamala. The man who held her fate in his hands.

“Not anymore,” Keane growled.

“This is nice, Keane. Hanging out here in the desert with you. Really nice, actually.” There was a note of surprise in her voice. “But it won’t last. My brother will come to collect me, I will go back to the palace and I will go back into service for the royal family. It was what I was born to do and what I was raised to expect.”

Keane took her chin in his hand and turned her face to his. “Not if you don’t want it.”

“What I want doesn’t matter,” she said.

“It does now,” he assured her. “You won’t worry about the palace anymore. I’ll take care of you.”

She looked at him, at his ruggedly beaten up handsome face. It had become so dear to her in Indonesia. Now, she was starting to wonder what she would do if she had to go even one day without seeing it. She’d missed him so much when she was forced to move back home, like a tearing in her heart.

“What if I want something different?” she asked, challenging him. “What if what I want is something you can’t take care of?”

He thought about it, then shrugged. “Say the word, Princess, and I’ll slay whatever dragon you need and set its corpse at your feet. If you need me to leave you alone, then I will become the shadow you never see. I will be there for you, but I won’t interfere.” He paused, then added, “If that’s what you really want.”

Her mouth opened, but she didn’t know what to say. What did a person say to a declaration like that? His level of devotion was completely uncharted territory for her. The man was both insane and hopelessly romantic. “But why?” she asked. “I don’t deserve this kind of… of thoughtfulness.”

He shrugged. “Whether you deserve something or not has nothing to do with it. Now lay down with me.” He pulled her down and tucked her into his side. “Look at the stars.”

She looked up at the brightly shining sun sinking slowly toward the horizon, still a few hours away from setting, and laughed. She smacked his side. “There are no stars yet, idiot.”

“Then we’ll have to think of something else to do instead.” He rolled on top of her so fast she didn’t have time to protect herself. She brought her hands up to shove at his shoulders, but he was so close and so heavy all she could do was rest her hands against him.

“Keane…” she said warily.

“Shhhh, Princess, we’ve both wanted this from our first conversation. I won’t do anything you don’t want, trust me.”

The vulnerability in his voice and eyes called to her. This giant beast of a man, scarred and hardened by so many years in the mercenary business, was asking her to trust him not to hurt her. And she did. For some reason, she knew that he’d rather cut off a limb than do something irreparable to her.

“I trust you,” she whispered.

And then he kissed her. It wasn’t hard, it wasn’t frantic, it was light and exploratory. She was able to assess the entire thing from beginning to end. His lips were softer than she imagined they would be. His breath was nice, a mixture of wine and the wonderful wildly enticing scent that always surrounded Keane. He moved his lips across hers, brushing, playing, teasing. Her heart sped up and her fingers clenched against his shoulder.

He lifted his head. “Alright?”

She reached up and locked her fingers behind his neck, tugging him back down. “I’m perfect,” she whispered. “Don’t stop.”

“I’ll never stop, Princess,” he growled against her mouth and then took her on a sensual journey that engaged all of her senses.

He kissed her and held her for what felt like hours. They laughed, they talked, and they made out. It was the most magical thing that had ever happened to Ndari, and that was saying something considering she had met the Queen of England, went skinny dipping with a famous American actor and watched an eclipse from a zero-gravity airplane.

Keane treated her with the utmost respect as he explored her lips and her body. His hands stayed over top of her clothes and he avoided the erogenous zones she desperately wished he would run those calloused fingers over. She was writhing underneath him by the time he called a halt to their impromptu lovemaking. He rolled off her with a groan, flinging an arm over his face. She giggled at his pained look.

He gave her a fierce glare from under his arm. “You think it’s funny my dick is hard enough to pound concrete?” He rolled over to her again and grabbed her waist. “I’ll give you something to laugh about, woman.”

She shrieked as he tickled her, his strong fingers dancing over her body and pinching her. She laughed hysterically and tried to roll away, but he dragged her back and tickled her until she begged for mercy. He leaned over and spoke in her ear.

“What’ll you give me to stop?”

She laughed. “What are we, twelve?”

He tickled her again and she jerked in his arms, shrieking with laughter. He chuckled. “Try again, Princess.”

“Alright, alright, what if I give you… some jewels?” she asked breathlessly.

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