Page 35 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

She took a sure step back. “Then come get me.”

A near-silent groan vibrated up my throat as base excitement flashed through me. A string of throbs rippled down my spine and legs making my suit trousers feel tighter around the zip.

It was wrong. I shouldn’t have felt it. But it was there, it was real, it was raw. It was sure.

My focus zoned in on Esmeralda even as a part of me was panicked by the rising primal feelings I’d always tried to suppress. But she took another step back and I forgot about being worried and fell into the clutches of the craving that should have been locked up in tight chains.

I’d be careful, I told myself as I took slow steps towards her. I’d be careful not to scare her. I would never hurt her. She had nothing to fear. I had nothing to fear.

“You’re not going to catch me if you walk that slowly, Mr Perfect Prince,” she teased.

“Fuck,” I hissed to myself and pushed off my back foot into a quick jog. She yelped a shocked sound and scrambled around. It turned into an adrenaline-pumped laugh as she ran away from me.

“Am I still too slow?” I rumbled when I was a few paces behind her.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Esmeralda screamed a laugh. And her panic, her joy, it was every reason I let her keep running for longer than I needed to. Just to keep the chase going.

Just enough before I curled my arm around her waist.

“Kai,” she shrieked through a breathless laugh, spinning me with the force of her movement.

The sound of her screaming my name was so fucking perfect. It made me think of a dozen other ways I could make her cry my name just like that. Not that I should have been thinking those things.

“Kai,” she laughed and struggled in my arms as I dragged her back and lifted her off her feet.

“Game over,” I rasped by her ear. “I got you.”

“That—” Her voice came out breathy. “That wasn’t fair.”

“What wasn’t fair was you making me chase you in the rain,” I said, a lightness to my voice.

She looked sideways up at me through narrowed lashes and my heart slammed to a stop before restarting again. Her mouth curled up into the softest smile. And fuck, I couldn’t take my eyes off it as warmth spread over my skin.

What if…what if I dipped my mouth and kissed her?

But I couldn’t just kiss her without her consent, that was madness. Instead, I forced myself to remember we were still standing in the rain. That thing I was supposed to despise. Not to mention that Esmeralda’s top was growing more than just damp.

“Time to go,” I muttered and swung around with Esmeralda still dangling in my arms. I strode across the stretch of land towards the horses with purpose.

“Wait. Aren’t you going to put me down?”

I grunted. “And have you run off again? No.”

She was grinning when I flicked a quick glance down at her. “I won’t run. I promise.”

“I don’t believe you.”

She let out an overexaggerated huff, dropping her head back against my shoulder. She tilted her face away from the sky and nearly buried into the crook of my neck. “You’re such a buzzkill.”

Fuck, she made me want to laugh.

A genuine laugh. Not the practised, polite one I’d mastered over the years.

Instead, I allowed myself a small smile. Until I put her on her feet next to Bucky. Then I glared at her while I wrapped her in her wet jumper and helped her up onto the saddle.

To my odd satisfaction, my frown just made her grin harder.

Chapter Twelve

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