Page 45 of Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra)

“But I really like him.”

“That does make it harder,” I said sympathetically. “You don’t have to kiss him in rehearsals.” Problem solved.

“And have our first kiss ever be in front of a live audience?” she shrieked.

Problem not solved. I patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, not sure what I should do or say. Maybe I should text Nicole and ask her advice.

“Can you show me?” she asked.

“What? I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to kiss Malcolm.” Not to mention that being added to the sex offender registry was not something I needed right now.

“No, I mean with Prince—I mean, Rafe. Please.”

That put images in my head that made my synapses crackle. “Can’t you go look it up on YouTube?” I wondered if my voice sounded as strangled as I felt.

“That’s not the same.” She glanced over her shoulder, and Malcolm was walking toward us. “And now there’s no time. It’s our turn. Please.”

Again, I couldn’t say no. I waved Rafe over, and while he approached, I asked Malcolm to give us a minute and promised to send Sarabeth over after.

“So the kids are doingRomeo and Juliet—”

“In English?” he interrupted. “Romeo and Juliet were Italian. You should have them speak Italian. I could teach them.”

Then he started talking in Italian. I had no idea what he was saying, but he said it so well. He might have been saying lines from the play. He could have been reading the phone book and I still would have felt wobbly-kneed and tongue-tied. It was a good thing I never told him what him speaking foreign languages did to me.

Because he was already making it harder to do what I planned to do. “Shakespeare wrote it in English, and that’s how we’ll perform it.”

He gave little shrug that seemed to say,Suit yourself.

The only way out was through. “And today they’re doing the kissing scene and we need to demonstrate.”

“Do we?” His words were like a low purr, and he looked much too satisfied with himself.

“Yes. But this is only for informational purposes.”

He put a hand on my waist, making my blood sizzle. “Of course.”

“It’s not a real kiss. I’m not actually asking you to kiss me for real.”

Then the other hand, pulling me in toward him. My mouth dried up. “I completely understand,” he said.

He was saying the right words, but his eyes, his touch, and his teasing tone said something else.

“Okay.” I turned to Sarabeth. “You guys will choreograph how you want to do the kiss, keeping in mind that this is Romeo and Juliet’s first kiss, so you’re aiming for something innocent, sweet, and loving.” I hoped he heard my warning.

“Let him take the lead,” I continued. “And do what he’s doing.”

This was so weird. How did I keep getting myself into situations like this?

It’s because you can’t say no. This time the voice in my head sounded suspiciously like Rafe’s. I closed my eyes, waiting, while my lips tingled and burned.

After several beats, I opened my eyes back up. The adrenaline coursed through me, hot and heavy. “What are you doing?” I hissed. “Hurry up and get this over with.”

“Anticipation makes it better,” he said, his words washing over my mouth. Then he finally pressed his lips to mine, and I sagged against him as my eyelids flickered shut. He kissed me softly, tenderly, just the way that Romeo was supposed to kiss Juliet. Very PG.

Only my body was having an R-rated response to it. It was only when the wolf whistles and catcalls started that I put my hands against his shoulders and pushed him back, breaking off the kiss. “And that’s how you do it,” I said, so out of breath it was embarrassing.

“Oh. Wow. Uh. Th-thanks,” Sarabeth said, her eyes wide, and she went off to join Malcolm.

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