Page 32 of Wed for their Royal Heir

‘Solace.’ His deep voice was as tight as the rest of him, his eyes blazing a bright searing blue. ‘Welcome to the palace.’

She trembled, aching to close the distance between them and feel the touch of his hands, his mouth. Be once again in his arms, surrounded by that wonderful sense of warmth and safety, experiencing that pleasure.

But she couldn’t trust him, she couldn’t. So, she stayed where she was.

‘What—?’ She had to clear her throat and start again. ‘What’s all this? The candles, the lights...’

‘It’s for you.’ He stood rigid, his gaze intense on hers. ‘You are here for dinner, remember?’

‘You said a casual dinner.’

‘It is casual. But I wanted it to be special as well.’

She looked at him blankly. ‘Special? Why?’

‘It’s only been a week, Solace.’ That muscle in the side of his jaw jumped again. ‘You must remember that I want you to marry me.’

Solace blinked, trying to get her brain working. Marriage, that was right, and she’d been going to refuse. She’d been determined, even. Yet...all these candles, all these lights... It was so pretty. A white tablecloth and fine crystal. Silver cutlery.

He’d wanted it to be special, he’d said.

It was stupid to feel so emotional over some candles and fairy lights, and a nicely set table. It was just... He’d made an effort for her, and no one had ever done that before. No one since Katherine and the princess bed Katherine had been going to buy for her. To go in her new room, Katherine had said. ‘A princess bed for my little princess’.

Solace had never wanted anything so badly in all her life. A princess bed just for her. She’d been so thrilled. Then Katherine had changed her mind and hadn’t wanted Solace after all. She’d been given no reason, only that Katherine had changed her mind about a formal adoption. So back she had gone to another family, and there had been no princess bed for her.

But now, here, it wasn’t only a bed she was being offered, but a man she wanted, a man who gave her pleasure, and a palace, a place of safety. A crown, even. And Leo.

How could she refuse? And it would give Leo what she’d never had: a family.

He took your child. How can you ever forget that?

Maybe she couldn’t. Maybe it wasn’t possible to forget. And maybe thiswastoo good to be true and Galen wasn’t to be trusted and she shouldn’t agree to it. Or maybe she could put her anger aside and have this anyway, and if it all fell apart in the end, at least she’d have the memory of it. Wasn’t that better than the memory of a bed she’d never even got to sleep in?

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Yes, I remember.’

His blue gaze roamed over her as if he couldn’t help himself. ‘Well? What is your answer?’

There was only one answer she could give, and she knew it. But it wouldn’t hurt him to make him wait for it.

‘I don’t know yet.’ Her chin lifted and she gave him a challenging look. ‘Convince me.’

Something in Galen’s eyes flared, as if he’d been waiting for her to say that all along, and he strode forward, crossing that aching distance between them and stopping in front of her. ‘And how do you wish to be convinced?’ The rough edge in his voice left no doubt in her mind about what kind of convincing he wanted.

Luckily it was exactly the sort she wanted too.

She met his gaze squarely, letting him see the intensity that blazed inside her. ‘I think you know.’

He didn’t wait. He lifted his hands and took her face between them and she didn’t pull away. And when he tipped her head back and covered her mouth with his, her own hands lifted helplessly, her fingers threading in his hair.

And everything fell away.

There was nothing in the world but this kiss, full of heat and desire and longing.

Nothing in the world but the warmth of his body and the delicious spice of his scent.

He is everything you dreamed about in the lonely darkness. Everything you’ve ever wanted.

Perhaps that was even true. He was certainly everything she wanted right now.

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