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The man hesitated. “Yes. But…”
“What is it?” he asked, adjusting his dress grays. “Speak freely, Jonathon.”
She’s on the other side of the door.
Waiting for me.
His gut tightened.
He was known for his steady constitution. He never hesitated. Never faltered. Always knew the best way to deal with tricky situations, so that every party walked away satisfied. But with Alicia, he was a nervous and sweaty-palmed mess.
But he also felt alive for the first time in years. Excited about something. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
Which probably meant
it had been way too damn long.
“She didn’t fight back, physically,” Commander Jonathon said. He tugged on his collar. “But she’s not happy, and I have a feeling she isn’t afraid to tell you as much.”
He sighed and stared at the door, his heart thumping fiercely against his ribs, and he itched to barge in there, march up to her, and kiss her before she could say a damn word that might make him stop. They could pick up right where they’d left off last night—only without his pants wrapped around his ankles this time. “I’d expect nothing less. She has every right to be upset. I did detain her, after all.”
“About that…” The commander shifted on his feet. “May I be so bold as to ask what she did to deserve such treatment, Your Highness?”
Leo frowned and lifted his chin, giving his commander a hard stare. The public wasn’t aware how strict the royal house was with dalliances, and they never would be. The only reason this search for Alicia had been broadcasted was because they couldn’t risk losing her if she hopped on a flight. “No.”
“But—”
Leo frowned even more, giving his commander a silent stare.
“Right.” The other man cleared his throat and bowed. “As you wish, Your Highness.”
“Thank you,” Leo said shortly. “Please leave us.”
“One more thing.” The commander reached into his pocket and pulled out an iPhone. “This is her phone. Someone at the coffee shop took it from Ms. Forkes when she called to let her office know she was being detained. At least, that’s what the people around her told the guards. Would you like us to contact her office and explain that she is in no danger from us?”
Leo gritted his teeth. There might be some backlash from that, which, yeah, he deserved. What had he been thinking, literally abducting Alicia? Laws or not, he should go in there, release her, and apologize now. It was the right thing—the humane thing—to do. Holding his hand out for the phone, he said, “Yes, please do. I’ll take that and return it to her. She’s allowed any and all luxuries she requests from us. She’s not our prisoner.”
“Then what is she?”
“A guest. A very valued guest.” He ran his hand through his hair and tucked the phone into his pocket. “Ready the blue room in the West Hall. She’ll be staying there.”
She’d always liked blue.
Hopefully that would soften her up a bit.
“Right away.” He stood at attention. “Should a guard be set on the door?”
“I don’t think that’s nec—” Leo hesitated. He didn’t want Alicia to feel like a prisoner, but at the same time… “I’ll let you know after I talk to her.”
He saluted Leo. “Very well.”
Leo took a deep breath before twisting the doorknob. As he entered the sitting room outside his formal parlor, he inhaled one last long breath. Curling his hands into fists, he sought her out, and when he found her—Christ.
She was fucking beautiful.
He stared at her, unable to believe that after all these years, after all this time, she was there in the same room as him. She stood all the way at the back of the large room, her body practically wedged into the corner behind a green chaise lounge. She wore a pale yellow sundress with a black belt cinching the waist. Her long blonde hair fell in soft waves down her back and over her shoulders, stopping just short of hitting her lower ribs.
She had to have heard him enter, which meant keeping her back to him was an act of defiance and disrespect, something he’d never get from a Randovian woman. But that was one of the reasons he liked her. When they met, she hadn’t known who he was. What he was. Now she did, and she still didn’t give a damn. It was refreshing.
