Page 110 of Raul
“It’s one of the fragments you bought from Bertucci, the beginning of the trail that led to al-Buya.” He lifted it out of her hand. “May I put it on you?”
“Please.” The brush of his fingers against the nape of her neck sent a jolt of desire through her.
He sat back to look at the necklace. “It seemed right for you to have something from a dragon after you saved her life.”
The pendant was warm with his body heat after being in his pocket. She ran her finger along the chain to touch the eggshell again. Something inside her broke open.
“Why are you here?” she blurted.
“I…” He looked down at the boxes and scraped his fingers through his glorious hair before he shoved the gifts away and slid closer to her on the cushion. He turned to her, his blue eyes blazing. “I’m here for you,mi amor.”
Her heart did a somersault, which made her dizzy. “What?” she barely managed to gasp.
He held out his hands, palms up. “May I?” he asked.
When she nodded, he took her hands in his. A shiver of delight ran through her.
“Ay,it feels so good to touch you again,” he said.
Hope was beginning to unfurl tentative petals in her chest.He wouldn’t say such things if he was here for a quick fling, would he?
“Would you please get to the point?” she said, squeezing his hands. “You’re torturing me.”
His face softened. “My Erica. Always direct.” He took a breath, and she realized he was nervous.The Prince of Caleva is worried about talking to me!
“Erica.” He looked away and swallowed before he brought his gaze back to hers. “You gave me some good advice about being more honest with my father.”
His father? What does that have to do with me?Her brain was spinning, so she tightened her grip on his hands to anchor herself.
He gave his head a shake and began again. “I said goodbye to you because I wanted more from our relationship. Much more. And I knew I had no right to that when I couldn’t offer you any possibility of something long term. You deserved to have a full commitment that I wasn’t able to give. Or so I thought.”He shifted on the cushion. “When I told my father what an extraordinary woman you are, he asked me why I let you go.”
He stared down at their joined hands. “I was stunned. We talked, and he told me that I can marry whomever I wish, no matter whether she is an aristocrat or not.”
Shock ran through Erica like an electric bolt as the implications sank in. “Wait, your father doesn’t expect you to marry someone noble? You can choose a commoner?”
She couldn’t wrap her mind around the strange concept. The rulers of Caleva had always taken partners from the noble class, either native or from another country. Until King Luis married Eve, of course. Maybe that had opened the king’s mind to the possibility.
Raul nodded. “I am free to follow my heart.”
The little blossom of hope in her chest unfurled more petals.
“Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself. Such a thing is for the future.” He looked up, uncertainty clouding his eyes. “But it means that I can tell you how I feel without guilt. I love you,mi corazón. I would like to make our relationship public, to tell the world how much I respect, admire, and adore you, because now I’m free to do so. But would you want that too?” His question ended on a tentative note.
Joy, love, and astonishment swirled through her like bubbles of champagne, dissolving the dark blanket of misery she’d been living under.
“Yes! Yes! Oh God, yes! I love you too! I never thought I would get to tell you that.” She half rose so she could slant her lips against his, their warmth and firmness so wonderfully familiar, yet so strange in this crazy dream. Their kisses had felt stolen before. Now she could claim his mouth without a pang of self-reproach.
He released her hands to grip her shoulders and pull her gently onto his lap, kissing her over and over again and murmuring,“Mi querida. Mi amor. Mi corazón.”
She twined her fingers into his hair, holding him close as she returned the kisses, her body roiling with wild emotions and hot arousal.
He pulled away far enough to rest his forehead against hers. “I don’t know what I would have done if you had told me no. You never said… You never told me what you felt. Or maybe I didn’t let you because I was afraid to hear it.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you.” She leaned back to see the radiant relief on his face. “I understood that you had a duty to your position, and I had no place in it. You carry enough guilt. I didn’t want to add to it.”
“You are teaching me to be less caged by duty,” he said, stroking a finger down her cheek. His expression turned serious. “You make me a better man.”
Elation exploded in her chest, but she shook her head. “It would be impossible to make you better than you are. But maybe a little more relaxed.”
