Page 94 of Once Upon a Crown
I started to close the door, but he was already walking into the room and then he shut the door behind him.
“Don’t worry, I know why you’re here.”
He removed his gloves and jacket and tossed them onto the nearest chair.
“You do now, do you?”
“Yes, of course,” he replied with a serious tone. “You’re here for this.” He gestured to himself and I had to press my lips into a line to keep from chuckling.
“I’m really not,” I promised him. “In fact, I would really like to go to bed now, so if you could just show yourself out—”
“Let me guess what happened.” He took a seat on the edge of the bed before starting to remove his boots. “You were dreaming about me and now you can’t fall asleep again.”
“You’re right. You are the only thing I think about night and day. I can’t seem to help myself,” I replied in a very sarcastic tone.
“I knew it,” he said, more to himself than me, and then his mouth spread into a grin. “I bet I wasn’t wearing any clothes in your dream either.”
“Okay, mister, it’s time for you to go now.” I made my way towards the bed, ready to push him out of the room if I had to.
“It’s okay, Gwen.” Lance had no intention of leaving. Instead, he took hold of my wrists and pulled me between his legs. His expression grew more serious. “I think about you too.”
I looked down at him. “You do?” My throat had gone a little dry.
“Of course I do.”
He lifted my hand to his mouth and pressed a featherlight kiss to my palm. I couldn’t move away.
“Don’t leave me, Gwen.” There was a look of desperation behind those eyes. One I’d never seen there before.
“Promise me you’ll stay,” he pleaded, and his entreaty tugged at my heart strings even though I wished it didn’t.
When I didn’t reply he asked again. “Promise?”
I sighed with the knowledge that I probably wasn’t going to win this fight.
“I’ll stay.”
Lance moved back and plopped his head onto the pillow. He didn’t even bother getting under the covers. I stood and watched the scene, unsure of how to react when he patted the spot beside him.
“I promise to keep my hands to myself.” Lance’s eyes were already shut, and I suspected he was going to fall asleep any minute.
I was not going to get the prince to leave my bed, and I didn’t want to stand and freeze any longer, which left me with few options, so I lifted the covers and got into the other side of the bed. The room was silent for a minute and I thought Lance had fallen asleep when he said, “You’re so kind, Gwen.”
His eyes were still closed, and he was lying on his stomach.
“Am not.” Especially not to him. I’d treated him with a lot of hostility when I first arrived at the Palace of Levernia.
“Yes, you are,” Lance mumbled into his pillow. “You just don’t always let people see it.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
“And you’re very pretty.” I wanted to smile at his choice of words, knowing he would probably never say such a thing had he been entirely sober, but I felt flattered all the same.
“I am?”
Lance slowly opened his eyes and reached over, brushing his thumb over my cheek.
“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” His eyes closed again, as if he couldn’t keep them open any longer.
