Page 54 of Royal Rebel

“I can see why you like it better at the house in the country,” I admit, reaching up to remove the pin holding my hair. It feels good to let the heavy mass down. My scalp throbs with soreness where it was secured. Pushing away from the door, I rub at the back of my neck as I walk closer to where he stands.

When I get within touching distance, he pushes his hands into my hair, massaging the soreness out. I moan loudly. This feels heavenly. “Don’t stop.”

There’s a deep chuckle in his chest. “Usually you’re saying those words and they have an entirely different meaning.”

I glance over my shoulder at him. “Don’t turn this into something it isn’t, Tristan. You have no idea how much my hair follicles hurt.”

He chuckles as he continues massaging my scalp. “Beauty is pain, Lia.”

I roll my eyes, turning around to face him. “Or so they say.”

He pulls me into his arms, running them up and down my body. Instead of the normal fall into passion it usually is, it’s soothing, calming me down from the crazy day I’ve had.

“In two days we’ll be married,” he whispers, a touch of awe in his voice. “Six months ago, it seemed so far away, and now it seems like it’s been nothing but a blink of our eyes.”

“I know,” I answer back, the same awe in mine. “Are we ready?” It’s a question I’ve been asking myself since we came back into the city. I don’t love it here as much as I thought I would. I guess I was under the impression I’d be a princess ina castle, but it’s not been that way at all. This is work, and I’m more than expected to pull my weight.

He sighs, brushing a kiss against my temple. If there’s anything I know, it’s that we’re a team against anyone who wants to tear us down. “We’re ready.” He tightens his arms around me. “I’m ready, I’m more than ready to be with you for the rest of my life. I’m unsure if we’re ready for the media onslaught and the invasion into our personal moments, though.”

Pulling back, I look up into his dark eyes. They’re the eyes I’ve come to love, the ones I’ve started looking for in crowded rooms, what I see when I turn over at night in bed. He seems to not sleep lately, either afraid he’s going to miss something, or maybe his brain is churning with all the things we must do. I don’t know, because I haven’t asked, and that’s my fault.

Something I’m going to correct.

“Are you okay?” I caress his neck, pulling my hand along his whisker-covered jaw.

The side of his mouth lifts up in a small smile. “Yeah, but I’m anxious.”

My stomach turns slightly, worry creeping in. “Anxious about what?”

“Not about you,” he’s quick to assure me. “For you. Like I know what comes with this life, I know what the people of this country are going to expect. You don’t.”

“But I do,” I argue. “I’ve lived here my entire life. Part of my life has been researching your family and knowing what’s expected of me. As your betrothed, I had classes. Granted they aren’t the same as real-world application, but I’ll get through it. What I don’t know, I’ll learn. That’s whatShannon and the others here are for. I want to make you proud, Tristan.” I lean in, kissing him quickly.

“You make me proud, no matter what you do. I can’t believe I’m going to have you beside me for the rest of my life.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to have you for the rest of my life either, but you have to promise me we’re going to work together.”

He nods. “It’s not something I’m used to. You have to understand.”

“I do understand.” Because I saw what happened when his mother died. I watched as his father kept a firm hand on the monarchy and I have to believe he did the same with his son. “At the same time, you have to tell me your feelings.”

“I know, and that’s not where I excel.” He grins, rocking back on his feet.

“Maybe there’s something we can do to work on that.” There’s an idea niggling at the back of my mind. One I want him to agree with.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Why don’t you get dressed in your comfy clothes, I’ll get dressed in mine, and we can meet right back here.”

His eyebrow quirks, but he nods. “Okay, I’m trusting you, soon-to-be wife.”

The fact I’m about to be his wife makes me happier than I ever imagined it would, to hear him say those words means everything to me. “If you give me your trust, I promise I won’t break it.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

Quickly I start changing into the clothes I like to lounge in. A weird thought crosses my mind. When we get married and move into the big bedroom here, do I have to stop wearing shorts and a T-shirt? I make a note to ask the question.

Brushing out my hair feels amazing, especially since it’s been up all day. I do the rest of my business faster than I normally do; I want to be with Tristan more than I want to do my nightly routine.

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