Page 31 of Baby Daddy Protector

“As you should have, princess,” I said, kissing her hand again, warming her icy fingers with my own warm ones. “That guy’s an ass.”

“True,” she replied, rolling her head slightly to meet my gaze. “But while I’ve been away, he’s been the official public face of the monarchy here in Prylea. I’ve still been doing all the governing, in my father’s stead, but Silvester’s been front and center in people’s faces. Pregnancy or not, convincing people to back me instead of him might be harder than I thought.”

With a sigh, Es exited the limo. Once we were climbing the steps to the palace, she pulled out her phone and began thumbing a text.

“Problem?” I asked, following her into the ornate, gilded main foyer of the palace. With thirty-foot high ceilings and priceless paintings and mosaics covering the walls, it was quite a sight to behold and one that never failed to take my breath away. “Anything I can help with?”

“I want to know exactly what kind of luncheon my cousin’s going to and who’s going to be there,” Es said.

I slid my arm around her waist for support while sending a text to my security to find out about the upcoming meeting with my free hand. My phone buzzed a few seconds later and I scowled. “Not sure you’re going to like the answer, princess.”

“What did they say?” she asked.

“It’s not a luncheon at all. It’s a state affair, with all the country’s top business leaders and parliament members in attendance,” I told her.

Es sighed, and her expression darkened. “Just like Silvester to bring in a bunch of heavy hitters.”

We walked into our suite and Es toed off her pumps and shrugged out of her coat immediately. As she unpinned her hat from her head, she looked as exhausted as I felt. “Ugh. He’s farther along in cementing his alliances than I’d anticipated.”

“Listen, princess,” I said, walking up behind her and placing my hands on her stiff shoulders, kneading the knotted muscles gently. I didn’t like to see her so upset. It wasn’t good for her or for our baby. “Why don’t you relax and get out of those clothes while I run you a nice hot bath? Then we’ll both sleep. There’s nothing more we can do right now anyway. Let’s rest and recharge, then we can come at this whole thing fresh. Sound good?”

She gave a reluctant nod and sank down on the sofa.

I started into the bathroom only to stop and turn back when Es’s phone rang with an incoming call. We’d had some bloodwork taken at the hospital before leaving DC, on the recommendation of the OB there. Es was far enough along now for them to determine the sex. We’d made the decision to find out after all, with the plan to keep the gender secret for now if the baby turned out to be a girl. My pulse raced a bit as adrenaline flooded my system. I started slowly back toward Es, watching her face closely for any clues.

“Yes, I understand. Thank you so much for calling,” she said, before ending the call. All those years of etiquette training paid off because I couldn’t read anything from her placid expression. Es looked up at me. “My iron levels are normal.”

“That’s good,” I said, waiting impatiently for news that could change everything, good or bad. “What else?”

Her smile started small and grew wider and brighter by the second. “We’re having a boy!”

TWENTY-TWO

The next morning, I woke up feeling restless and wary—the same feeling I got during a mission when everything was about to go to shit. Despite being bone-tired the night before, I’d ended up tossing and turning to the point where I’d gotten up and gone to sit at the computer for a while, checking emails and futzing around on various research sites. There wasn’t any one thing I could point to that bothered me, there was just an underlying, insidious fear bubbling through my system ever since we’d landed in Prylea. Of course, the abrupt announcement last night that Es and I were having a boy didn’t help. It was the answer to her prayers, obviously, and would hopefully solve the ascension problem, but I also couldn’t shake the fact I’d lost my own father so young, and my plans to return to my SEAL team meant I’d put my own boy in that same situation.

At least Es had gotten some much-needed rest. She was currently buzzing around our suite as she dressed, chattering nonstop about her plans.

“I’m ready,” she said. I turned to find her wearing form-fitting pants on the bottom and nothing but a bra on top. It was a look I loved, sure, but not exactly proper attire for a future queen mother. I raised a brow at her in response. “No, no,” she said, giving me a dismissive wave before turning back to her closet again. “I mean, now that we know for certain we’re having a boy, I’m ready to go on the attack. There’s no way Silvester can get his hands on my father’s throne now.”

“I hate to say this, princess, but that’s not true.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and winced at the stubble there. I hadn’t had a chance to shower and shave yet. Hell, technically I hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet this morning, seeing as how I was sitting with my back against the headboard, propped up on a couple pillows, the sheet across my lap. “Listen, I had trouble falling asleep last night, so I was up doing some research on the Internet. You’re a few weeks away from the twenty-week mark. I hate to say it, but until then, miscarriage is still a risk. And we haven’t gotten a full ultrasound yet either. God forbid, our child might have some issue that could put his survival at risk. I’m just saying it’s probably not a good idea to go off half-cocked yet.”

Es turned and stared pointedly at my crotch area before grinning at me. “You, sir, aren’t half anything in that department.”

I couldn’t stop the rush of heat that raced up from my chest to my cheeks. Never shy about my body or my sexuality, I still was both shocked and satisfied that she approved of me, in all areas. Then she pulled out a crisp white button-down shirt from her closet and turned to slip into it. Her profile was to me and it was the first time I noticed her baby bump. Yes, we’d known she was pregnant for a while now, but until today, she’d never really shown any physical signs—unless you counted the morning sickness and the slight, perpetual flush to her cheeks. Today, I suddenly saw Es in a new light. She looked every bit the mother-to-be, and damn if my body didn’t respond to that.

I’d never really thought about women being pregnant as hot before, but Es was changing my perspective there, too. I adjusted the sheet on my lap to hide my growing erection and hiked my chin at Es. “You look beautiful.”

“Really?” She smiled at me as she started to do up the buttons on her shirt. Her gaze flicked to my lap then back to my eyes, her pupils dilating with arousal. “You look pretty sexy yourself.”

Es slowly walked over to the bed, her shirt gaping open to reveal her lacy bra and the slightly bigger curves of her breasts as she climbed up onto the mattress, tigress-style, then knelt beside me. The heat of her surrounded me, along with the floral scent of her perfume, and I clenched my fists in the sheets to keep from reaching for her. I wanted to draw out this sweet torture as long as possible.

She licked her lips and leaned in to kiss my chest, slowly making her way up to my neck, then my earlobe. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back, giving her better access, but still not touching her in any way. My palms itched to cup her breasts, her butt, the back of her head as I pulled her in for a deep, wet, hot kiss.

Then her hand slid over my thigh, creeping higher toward my aching cock, and I nearly moaned in frustration. I wanted her so badly…

Knock, knock, knock.

“Good morning, your highness. Mr. Raybourn. Your cousin has requested your presence in the main dining room downstairs for breakfast,” a servant said, their upper-crust, snooty accent like nails on the chalkboard of my desire.

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