Page 128 of Duty and Desire

He kissed my neck, and another shiver trickled through me. I slid my hands under the top he wore, exulting in the feel of firm flesh beneath my fingertips.

I forgot to breathe when Gio pulled away from me.

“What’s wrong?”

He sighed. “You’re going to think I’m nuts, but… I think we should wait until after the wedding.”

I blinked. “You’re right. Youarenuts. It isn’t as if we haven’t done this a hundred times before.” I smirked. “Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.” He laughed. “But you’re acting as though we’re virgins preserving our honor until our wedding night.”

Gio enfolded me in his arms, his soft chuckle vibrating throughme. “Then let me explain. I think we should wait until after the wedding, because the next time we make love, you won’t be afraid of being discovered. You won’t be afraid of leaving my room and having someone see you.” He kissed my forehead. “You’ll finally be free. And it won’t matter that everyone in the palace will know what’s going on behind our bedroom door—well, they can guess—because we’ll be a new entity, the king and his husband, not the king sneaking around the palace to visit his boyfriend’s room, scared of getting caught by his parents. Except in our case, it’ll probably be Daniela or the housekeeper.”

I gazed at him open-mouthed. “Do you have any idea of what stands between us and that night? First, I have to get the marriage equality law passed, and that won’t be something that can be achieved in a week, not unless I put a bomb under my ministers. Then we have to prove that neither of us are married. Then we have to apply for permission to marry.Thenwe have to wait another?—”

Gio stopped the flow of words with a kiss. “In other words, you’re horny, and waiting feels as if I’m torturing you.” He looked me in the eyes. “But you know I’m right, don’t you?”

Damn it, I did.

I pushed out a heavy sigh. “Fine. We’ll wait. But you were right about one thing—itwillbe torture.”

He laughed. “Think of it as character-building.” He kissed me again, a lingering sweet kiss I knew was our last one for the night. “Now go back to your own room before someone sees you. Sleep well, baby.”

I swallowed. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that since Bora-Bora.” I smiled. “I’ve missed it.” He walked me to the door. Before he opened it, I stroked his cheek. “Goodnight.” Then I pressed my cheek to his. “Now I know what my first task of the day will be when I wake up.”

“What?”

I drew back and grinned. “To give my ministers a massive coronary.”

Chapter Forty-One

July 4

Gio

“How do I look?” I peered at my reflection.

Roger chuckled. “Will you quit acting so jittery? Anyone would think you’d never been married before.” He snickered. “Oh wait—you haven’t.” He stood behind me, gazing at me in the mirror. “When you called to ask me to be best man, I broke all records booking my flights.”

I laughed. “I think Nick’s ministers might have beaten you to it, when they put marriage equality into law. Nick says he’s never seen them move so fast.”

The elation that followed left us in no doubt the people were behind us.

Waiting ten days once we’d received permission from the civil registry office to marry had been torture, almost as much torture as waiting for my visa to come through.

But we’re here. It’s happening.

“I have to ask… Why aren’t you getting married in a cathedral? A church at least. I’ve seenThe Sound of Music. There should be fanfares, pomp and ceremony… But the palace gardens? That sounds really low-key.”

I smiled. “We wanted a private ceremony. No foreign heads of state, no dignitaries. And yes, we could have married in the palace chapel.” Except I’d known that would never happen, and I didn’t blame Nick for choosing a different location. “We’re doing this in the gardens because they were designed by Nick’s mother.” The moment Nick had suggested it, I knew it was the perfect spot. The fountain had been the obvious choice.

Besides, there’d be enough pomp and ceremony the following week when Nick would be crowned.

My family had arrived two days ago, and it had been clear they were a little awed to find themselves staying at the palace. Once I’d made the introductions, however, they warmed to Nick in a heartbeat. He even made Nonna smile, and that was no mean feat.

Then he blew me away when he took her hand and spoke in Italian.

“Amo suo nipote con tutto il cuore e prometto che lo renderò felice per il resto dei nostri giorni.”

Nonna’s wrinkled face glowed, and she kissed him on the cheek.

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