Page 20 of Impossible Heir for the King

‘Maia.’

She opened her eyes and saw his fist right in front of her but then he unfolded his fingers and she saw her whittling knife resting in his palm.

‘Oh!’ Her heart leapt. ‘You have my knife.’

He nodded.

She rapidly blinked. ‘You trust me enough to return it to me?’

‘I figure it’s not going to do too much damage if you turned it on me.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ She attempted a weak joke to cover her emotion.

‘Not going to go too deep. It’s like a paring knife, right? Taking only layers.’

‘True.’ She cleared her throat. ‘But there are some points of a body where damage could be done.’

‘Oh?’

‘Here.’ She pointed to his neck and as the joy of getting the knife back circulated, she warmed to the topic, suddenly laughing. ‘And of course, damage could be done to more intimate places.’

He cocked his head, surprise flashing in his eyes. ‘But Maia.’ He suddenly smiled wickedly. ‘Why would you risk damaging something that might bring you so much pleasure?’

‘That mightwhat...?’ She stiffened. ‘Ohplease...’

He threw back his head and laughed freely. ‘The look on your face...’ He laughed harder.

That embarrassment of before burned off in the heat of his amusement. ‘You’re shameless.’

‘Yes,’ he admitted happily. ‘Because sex shouldn’t be shameful. It should be fun. Life’s too short not to enjoy it fully.’

Life wasn’t only too short, it sometimes wasn’t fair either—and some circumstances didn’t allow for fun.

‘Now I know to search you for the knife before we go to bed.’

‘We’renot going to bed,’ she growled.

‘Hmmm.’ He was so close to her, so close but not quite touching. ‘I understand that you know how to protect yourself but you’re not going to need those skills with me, Maia. Because I’m not going to do anything that you don’t want me to. I won’t come near you again unless you ask. Or I ask and you say yes.’

Neither of those things were going to happen.

But the flutter of temptation strengthened every second he smiled at her. She wasn’t going to be able to hold it back. ‘Your playboy reputation is fully deserved then.’

That smile deepened. ‘You don’t think it’s part of a ploy to keep up the international profile of Piri-nu?’

‘Please. A virile playboy king as a promotional strategy? Surely you can think of something better than that.’

‘People like romance and possibility.’

‘Well, you definitely give them plenty of possibility.’

‘Oh so judgemental, my sweet.’

‘You don’t take anything seriously.’

‘No,’ he corrected her outrageously. ‘I haven’t taken anyrelationshipseriously. Every few months I enjoy spending time with women who would have no intention of fulfilling a duty that isn’t theirs and suppressing their own dreams. Women like that are safe choices for me, Maia, and I’m a safe choice for them. It’s fun and I’m not going to apologise for occasionally enjoying myself when I work hard the rest of the time. It’s not even that often. Yet you seem to resent that I sometimes blow off steam?’

She was shocked by his blunt honesty. And suddenly jealous. ‘Maybe I’ve worked hard my whole damned life. Maybe I want to blow off steam too and I’ve just never gotten the chance—’ She broke off, embarrassed.

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