Page 36 of The Duke's Virgin

I didn’twantto go back inside yet.

Aeric had texted me earlier, no words—just an emoji of a smiley face with azzzabove it. He was bored senseless, and I had a feeling they weren’t even close to bringing their trade talks to any sort of resolution.

“I think I’m going to take another walk through the maze,” I said abruptly, catching sight of the entrance ahead. “If you don’t mind, Your Highness.”

Octavia, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, gave me an understanding smile. “I don’t mind, Stacia.”

“If you don’t make it out within an hour, I’ll come find you,” Geraint offered with a friendly smile.

We’d had an easy discussion over the past half hour, and I smiled at his jest. “You might need to do that, Prince Geraint.”

“Would you like me to stay with you?” Katrina, the Princess of Liechtenstein, offered. “I’m not particularly fond of trade talk myself.”

It was a surprisingly blunt statement from a royal, but over the course of the evening, I’d come to realize that Katrina was just…well…surprisingly blunt. I grinned at her. “Thank you, but I’m fine on my own.”

A few minutes later, I was already lost.

Ten minutes after that, I was convinced I’d be stuck in the hedge maze until they indeed had to send a search party after me.

“That’s fine,” I mumbled, sitting on a bench so I could slip my heels off. Manolo Blahniks or not, they werestillheels and uncomfortable as hell for somebody who preferred tennis shoes, loafers, or boots. After taking a few seconds to stretch my toes and flex my ankles, I rose, carrying my shoes.

I came upon one dead end after another. It was amusing, at first.

But after the fourth, I found myself staring at the wall of shrubbery like it had grown there on purpose, specifically to insult me.

“Lost?”

I jolted at the sound of his voice, and for a few seconds, blood rushed up my neck at the remembered embarrassment from our encounter earlier. I breathed deeply and reminded myself that having atitledidn’tentitlehim or anybody else to be a dick.

Bracing myself mentally, I turned and gave him a cool look. “I believe that’s the point of a hedge maze, Your Highness. I’ll find my way through eventually.”

“I could be of assistance.”

Hah, no. But instead of going with my instinctive response, I said, “No need for you to waste your time, Your Highness.”

His mouth spasmed.

Oh, was he feeling guilty for being a douche?

Good.

He took a step toward me.

Crossing my arms over my chest, my shoes still dangling from my fingers, I lifted a brow and stared him down.

“I was rude earlier.”

“Of course not, Your Highness. You displayed immense courtesy, actually. I had no right questioning you, but you were kind enough to address my uneducated silliness.” I infused each word with saccharine sweetness, pasting the most insincere smile I could manage on my face. “I appreciate the courtesy, Your Highness, and my apologies if I did anything to make you feel as if you were rude.”

His eyes flashed and a muscle pulsed in his jaw. “Stacia—”

“Yes,Your Highness?”

“Luka!” He closed the distance between us, glaring down at me. “Luka. You fucking called me Luka just days ago. You all but screamed it a couple of times.”

“I apologize. That waswhollyinappropriate.” Widening my eyes, I did my best to feign embarrassment. “If I’d known—”

A second later, I was in his arms, pressed against him. His hand curved over the back of my neck, arching my head up. Surprised…thrilled…I sucked in a breath just as our mouths collided.

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