Page 6 of Pregnant With His Majesty's Heir

‘I’m sorry.’ Aurélie knew about grief. Even after all these years, she remembered the loss of her mother, the pain so keen it defied belief. And then the long, lonely days that followed.

Aurélie couldn’t bear to watch the way anguish etched his features. She leaned towards him then made herself stop.

‘Someone close to you.’ It was a statement, not a question, but he answered anyway.

‘My cousin, but we were brought up like brothers.’

Aurélie’s heart rolled over in her chest. How would she feel if one of her little brothers died? They’d grown up taking her for granted, as her father and stepmother did, relying on her rather than loving her. But still she cared for them. She’d be devastated to lose them.

‘Sorry,’ he murmured. ‘You don’t need this.’

‘It’s fine. Grief takes a long time. How long has it been?’

His mouth dragged up at one side in a grimace. His eyes met hers and again that blast of connection hit her like a drill bored right into her soul.

‘I found out this morning.’

‘Oh, Lucien!’ Her heart wrung for him. He must feel raw inside.

Aurélie rose and took a seat beside him on the sofa. Tentatively she touched the back of his hand with her fingertips. She didn’t want to intrude but there were times when human contact was important. This seemed one.

His skin was hot and his fist was clenched so hard it shook. She tried to ignore the sizzle of energy that shot through her from the point of contact, instead breathing deep and concentrating on him.

‘I wish I could say something that would make a difference.’

He shook his head, a stray lock of espresso-dark hair falling across his brow. It made his sculpted features look almost boyish as he turned to look at her.

‘You’ve already done so much. You brought me back. For a while there I felt completely lost.’

Beneath her fingertips his hand turned, palm up, and he laced his fingers with hers. Another ripple of sensation, stronger this time, shimmied up her arm. It spread warmth through her chest and lower, right down into the depths of her being.

What was this? She’d never felt anything like it.

‘You feel it too.’ His eyes held hers.

Aurélie felt trapped, caught by his bright gaze and disorientated by something within her that urged her to hold tight and not let go.

‘Sorry?’

‘This.’ His hand squeezed hers and her breathing turned fluttery.

Aurélie stared back, overwhelmed by the need to stay connected. By a response to this man—thisstranger—that was beyond anything she’d experienced.

‘I don’t understand you.’ An instinct for self-preservation prompted the words.

For a second longer she felt it, the thrill of contact, his flesh against hers, his stunning eyes holding hers, then he moved. Her hand fell to the red upholstery and the blaze inside died a little as he turned away. Not only turned but surged to his feet.

‘You’re right. I shouldn’t have... That was a mistake.’ He raised his arm and forked his hand through his hair, pushing it back off his brow. Aurélie watched the mesmerising shift and play of his oblique muscles and others she couldn’t name as he moved.

Moved away.

Her heart hammered to a stop so abruptly she felt sick, then it started up again, fast and erratic.

‘What are you doing?’ Aurélie was on her feet.

He didn’t look at her. He wore that closed expression she’d seen in the restaurant and out on the street.

‘Thanks for your hospitality, Aurélie. I appreciate it. Now it’s time I left.’

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