Page 71 of Revelations of A Secret Princess

Or being loved. His heart rose in his chest as he waited for her response.

‘Nor am I.’ Suddenly Caro was laughing, though it sounded ragged. And beautiful. ‘I can’t believe it.’

‘It’s true, absolutely true.’ He stroked his thumb across her velvety cheek, watching her pupils dilate. ‘What I don’t know is how you feel about me.’

Their eyes locked and he felt that slam of connection, as real as a fist to his heart.

‘Even when I hated you that night of the ball, I was afraid I loved you too.’ Her words were magic, her expression mesmerising. ‘Since then...it’s been so hard feeling the way I do about you and thinking you didn’t reciprocate. I don’t know how I came to love you, Jake, or when, but I do. Totally. You devastated me when you offered a convenient wedding. I thought you only cared about Ariane, not me.’

Jake was filled with mingled pain and ecstasy, torn between exultation and regret.

He was spellbound by her luminous joy that belied the hurt she described.

Caro loved him!

His face split with a grin and he felt like whooping. Or kissing her senseless, except he needed more of her beautiful, wonderful words.

He planted her hand on his chest where his heart danced to a rackety beat and looped his arm around her, drawing her close where she belonged.

‘Caro, I’m sorry. I’m better with numbers than emotions.’

‘You’re wrong, Jake. I’ve seen you with Ariane. I know how deeply you feel about her.’

‘Not just about Ariane.’ He revelled in the feel of her right here against him. With her hand on his chest she could feel his heart thundering out the truth. ‘Will you be mine, Caro, for ever? I need you.’ To his surprise, Jake discovered the admission, far from weakening him, made him feel stronger than he’d ever been.

‘But my father...’

‘Trust me to deal with your father.’ Jake would let nothing come between him and the woman he loved. ‘He’s going under, Caro. He won’t be in a position to threaten any longer.’

‘Of course I trust you.’ Her free hand slid to his shoulder, her grip firm and possessive. He loved it.

‘So you’ll marry me,’ he pressed. He wanted everything clear between them, despite the urgent need to taste and caress her.

Her smile turned from misty to mischievous and he loved that too. ‘Do you always negotiate this hard?’

‘Only when our happiness is at stake. I won’t allow anyone to stand in the way of that, king or no king.’ What Jake felt for Caro, and what he saw shining in her expression, were too precious to abandon.

Caro’s smile died and she rose on tiptoe, cradling his face in her palms. ‘I love you, Jake.’ The words filled him with awe and gratitude. ‘If you’re really sure...the answer is yes, because I don’t think I can live without you.’

Jake drew his first easy breath in days. Caro was his. She loved him and they had all their lives to be together.

With a groan of release he gave in and covered her lips with his. Caro was as eager as he, kissing him back with all the fervour, all the caring a man could want. Jake sank into her, losing himself and finding more, far more. Together they were magnificent, one entity forged of trust, respect and love. He’d never felt so strong, so blessed. Gratitude vied with desire.

When, finally, they pulled apart enough to haul air into starved lungs, Jake looked down into a face made even more beautiful because of the gift they shared.

‘You make me the happiest man in the world, Caro.’ Maybe other lovers said it too. All Jake knew was that no one meant it more than he. ‘Let me make you just as happy.’

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