Page 16 of Pregnant With His Majesty's Heir

Slowly he rose, still battling the urge to reach for her. To warm himself with her glowing heat. To wrap his arms around her, seeking that sense of wondrous peace she’d given him.

Lucien shook his head. ‘Put yourself in my position, Aurélie.’ His voice bottomed out on her name, as if saying it scraped his senses raw. ‘I’m a king. My children will stand in line to inherit a throne. I owe it to my people to be sure about this.’

Before his eyes she seemed to shrink in on herself. Her hands lifted to rub up and down her arms, as if warming herself against a sudden chill. Lucien hated that she felt that way because of him. Her spontaneity and generous warmth were so precious.

‘And to your fiancée,’ she reminded him.

Lucien’s jaws clamped.

Ilsa. As if he needed reminding. How was he supposed to explain this to his bride-to-be?

For a moment he let himself wonder if this could be sufficient reason to cancel the royal wedding.

But this deal was bigger than either of them. It was about the future of their countries. Plans for this royal match were an unstoppable juggernaut. Even an unexpected baby wouldn’t undo that.

‘I won’t do anything that might endanger the baby.’ Aurélie folded her arms across her chest. ‘If there’s any risk at all to its health then you’ll have to wait till after it’s born to do your test.’

‘Agreed.’ Lucien knew nothing about how paternity tests worked but that was fair enough. He couldn’t ask Aurélie to risk the baby’s well-being.

‘I didn’t come to make trouble.’ Her gaze held his and this time the glacial chill was absent. ‘I thought you had a right to know you’re going to be a father.’

Her mouth crimped at the corners and pain sliced through Lucien. He’d barely had time to consider how much of a burden Aurélie was carrying.

‘I understand.’

He didn’t, of course. He was still processing her news, but it took no imagination to understand that however big a shock this was to him it must be more for the woman carrying his child.

His child.

Emotion sideswiped him. Aurélie was most likely carrying his baby. Once more his gaze swooped down to that flat belly behind the bright wool. He remembered kissing her there. The soft cushion of her skin fragrant beneath his cheek.

Arousal juddered through him, instantaneous and shockingly real, yanking him out of this cool little chamber and straight back to her bed.

‘Please sit down, Aurélie. I meant it when I said you look unsteady on your feet.’

Slowly she subsided onto the hard chair. It struck him that he should take her somewhere more comfortable. Somewhere warm and cosy. But this place had one huge benefit. They’d be uninterrupted.

‘Whatdidyou expect in coming here?’ He knew it had been no small feat. How had she got past the royal minders to Felix?

‘Sorry?’

‘You said I had the right to know about the baby. But what are your plans? What do you want, Aurélie?’

‘Youdothink I came here to...what? Extort money from you?’

‘I mean, do you want to keep the child?’

‘Oh!’ Her eyes rounded and one slim hand slid across her abdomen. It was such an inherently protective gesture and it told him so much about Aurélie.

Relief feathered the back of his neck. No matter how many complications a termination would remove.

‘Yes, I think so.’

Think so? He sat straighter, every sense on alert. ‘You’re considering a termination?’

She shook her head and met his stare, her chin again taking on that determined cast. ‘I know it might be simpler. Neither of us planned on a child. But I don’t want a termination.’ She paused and he felt the weight of her regard like a touch. ‘It’s crazy. I’ve never felt particularly maternal and I’ve already spent enough time looking after little kids. But, despite the burden, I don’t feel comfortable just...ending this.’

‘You see this baby as a burden?’ It shouldn’t surprise him. He wasn’t the one who’d have to carry it then give birth to it, yet Lucien wanted his baby to be wanted. What future could it have with a woman who only grudgingly accepted it?

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