Page 38 of Shock Heir for the Crown Prince

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He was in the pool when she pushed the door to the bathhouse open, his head tipped back, his arms spread wide and his legs stretched out before him. Hedonism or crucifixion, she didn’t know. All she did know was that she felt his presence like a blow to her already overloaded senses.

He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes dark with secrets, and he watched in silence as she sat at the edge of the pool and delicately dipped first one foot in the water and then the other. Her robe stayed on, firmly tied at the waist.

For now.

Hot water caressed her feet and ankles and lapped at her calves, but it was Casimir’s gaze that burned. She felt it on her skin, on her breasts until they peaked for him, high on her arms, the curve of her shoulders.

She lifted her arms to her hair and bundled it in a loose knot high on her head. It might stay up, it might not; that wasn’t the point.

The ravenous heat in Casimir’s eyes was the entire point of the exercise.

He tilted his head back to rest against the lip of the pool again and watched her with hooded eyes.

‘How are you?’ she murmured.

‘Today, after lunch with a daughter I don’t understand, I angered a princess I was supposed to marry, disappointed her brother who happens to be a neighbouring monarch, and broke a promise I made to my father.’ He closed his eyes. He didn’t move. ‘And then there’s you.’

She studied his face in the half light. The arch of his brows, the cut of his cheekbones and the hollows beneath, the sensual generosity of his lips. ‘You told Moriana you weren’t willing to marry her?’

‘Yes.’

‘Because of me?’

‘Yes.’ He opened his eyes and levelled her with his gaze. ‘Last night—right here in this room—I chose you. You asked me to.’

She held his gaze, wholly troubled now. ‘Words spoken in the heat of passion are often unreliable. Last night I spoke without thinking things through.’

He smiled mirthlessly. ‘I spoke true. I would marry you. I want to marry you.’

‘Because it’s convenient,’ she muttered.

‘Because it’s more convenient than any other union     I might make, that’s true. It rights a wrong. It keeps you wholly in Sophia’s life. Isn’t that enough?’

‘It’s kind of only half the fairy tale.’

‘Fairy tales aren’t real,’ he murmured.

But love was. ‘What—’ she took a deep breath ‘—what would I have to do if I married you?’ She couldn’t believe she was even considering it.

‘I’m sure someone will have a list.’ He smiled again but there were shadows.

‘Would there be more children involved?’

‘Yes. I need heirs. Legitimate ones. Is that a problem for you?’

‘No.’ She’d always wanted more children. Likewise, Sophia had always wanted a brother or sister. Or both.

‘Would I still be able to work? Outside of official palace duties?’

‘Why would you want to?’ She had his attention and it burned.

‘I’ve worked hard for my career. I’m proud of it. It helps define who I am. Who I think I am. Without that identity I become…less.’

‘Or you could bring those career skills to your new position and become…more.’

‘And maybe, just maybe, I’d like to be able to get out of the palace bell jar every now and then. Be me again rather than a creature bound to royal duty.’

‘Now there’s an argument I can understand,’ he murmured. ‘It’d be nice to be able to move between worlds and maintain balance in both. I’ll not stop you from trying.’

‘You don’t think it can be done?’

He shrugged. ‘I’ve managed to escape this life and the duties involved exactly once in thirty years. That was when I met you. And I didn’t exactly maintain my balance.’

Oh.

‘If there’s a way to be both king and my own man, I haven’t yet found it. Maybe with certain people I can be the man and not the figurehead. Maybe finding balance in a life such as this isn’t about the work you do but about the people you allow through. And maybe for you, as royal consort and not born to this life, your experience will be different to mine. You already have another life you can access and I have no objection to you trying to merge the two. Parents, friends, work colleagues—bring them through. Make this world work for you. You’re strong enough.’

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