Page 28 of Twelve Nights In The Prince's Bed

Exhaustion seeped through Adrastos—an unfamiliar emotion for a man who could run on air.

‘Did I disturb you?’ he asked, unable to stop his eyes from slowly roaming her body, from the top of her darkly shining hair to her slender shoulders and generous breasts, lower to her neat waist and curved hips, slim legs, dainty feet. His gut tightened in unwelcome response. She wore a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, fitted and a little too short, so it revealed just the smallest hint of midriff, reminding him of how soft her skin had been, like a rose petal. That did very little to help the tightening of his body.

‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ she said with a murmur, putting down an iPad and turning to face him. ‘I was just catching up on some work.’

That interested him—Poppy worked hard, she always had. And now, she’d earned a promotion that would take her to the place where human rights law was, largely, written. She had every right to be proud of that.

He moved past Poppy even as his body was doing its best to drag him to her, into the kitchen, where he opened the fridge and removed a bottle of mineral water. He held one in her direction.

She shook her head. ‘I have tea, thank you.’

‘I thought you were on holiday?’

‘I am, technically. But my to-do list is about this high.’ She waved one hand way above her head. ‘I figured I could get a jump on it during my spare time. How was the hospital?’

The conversation change was swift and frustrating, because he found he had more questions about her work, her life. He was curious as to how she filled her days, now that it was abundantly clear she had no social life.

‘Fine,’ he said, frowning. ‘Difficult.’ The admission surprised Adrastos. It was something he hadn’t ever remarked even to his parents, despite the fact they did this every year.

Poppy’s face crumpled a little with a soft sympathy. She was very beautiful. As a teenager, there’d been something unsettling about her. Those huge brown eyes, so big they could almost have been digitally enhanced, full, curving lips, and a watchful nature that had made him feel uncomfortable and somehow wrong—a feeling Adrastos had never otherwise felt. As she’d grown up, her face had changed. She’d grown into her features, but the watchfulness was still there, that same sense that Poppy saw far more than anyone else, that she processed everything carefully before passing judgment.

‘It must bring back a lot of memories.’

He tightened his grip on the mineral water. A perfect image of Nicholas, smiling, came to Adrastos and his throat was suddenly lined with razor blades. ‘I’ve made plans for us tonight.’

She blinked at him, the answer obviously the last thing she was expecting.

‘Oh.’ She looked down at her iPad, face averted for far longer than it took to press the off button, so he knew she was taking a moment to conceal her emotions. Frustration chomped through him.

‘Unless that’s a problem?’ His tone was sharper than he’d intended, but he didn’t like how clearly she understood him, nor how quickly he’d confided in her. Even that one word—difficult—had been too much.

‘I—well, why?’

‘Why?’

‘Why should we go out? Isn’t the point of this to convince your parents and sister we’re the real deal?’

‘And ask yourself this: would I really expect any girlfriend of mine to sit around the palace for twelve days straight, without a little fun thrown in?’

‘But I’m not any girlfriend,’ Poppy pointed out. ‘I’m like family to your family. I don’t mind if we stay here the whole time.’

‘Well, I do. It doesn’t ring true and my parents will see that.’

She pulled her lips to the side, considering that.

‘So where would we go?’

‘Does it matter?’

She scrunched her face. ‘I’m a planner.’

‘So much of a planner that you’ve hesitated your way out of a sex life?’

She flinched and he regretted the comment—which hadn’t been intended cruelly. He was simply struggling—still—to understand how she’d missed such an important part of her development.

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘So enlighten me.’

---