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I nodded, not at all surprised that he would understand and know me so well. "I'll see you at the Palace. Have the marriage contract sent over and find her brother as her representative, as I'm sure he will be interested to know the events that transpired this evening."
"Consider it done, Your Majesty." He bowed low once more, and I gave him a tap on the back before stepping into the car after Alina. The door swung shut after me and not too long after the clicking sound confirmed it was locked.
"Ready, Your Majesty?" the head of my security spoke up from his usual position in the front passenger seat. I nodded at him and smiled when not a moment later, the privacy screen between the front and back of the vehicle raised up.
Only then did I turn to my woman. The woman I would have declared war for, and it still wouldn't have been enough until I could make her wholly and completely mine. Without a word, I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her, burying my fingers in her thick dark hair and crashing her lips to mine.
As the car eased forward, I devoured her. I poured all the fear I’d lived with for my one hour where I thought I might lose her into our kiss. Every emotion that she brought out of me, every single thought and wish she'd made more potent and bitter and sweet, I offered to her to do as she pleased.
"Baby Bird," I murmured against her mouth.
Her mouth curved into a smile against my lips as she murmured back, "Reece." She sighed before pulling my mouth against hers and she moved closer, straddling my hips as she kissed me with fervor. My hands crept up her back, skimming her sides, over the silky fabric hiding her smooth flesh. Memorizing her curves with my fingers, I imprinted her memory into my existence, knowing I would never allow us to be separated again.
I’d claimed her innocence, but what rose in her in its absence was heady and strong for altogether different reasons. The love of a woman awakened to the world of pleasure and thoroughly claimed by the man who owned her.
She shifted and her knee touched me—always ready for her. Instead of shifting away as she surely would have done the day before, she broke free from the kiss and the look she sent me was naughty. Her lips curled into a smug smile as her tongue darted out.
Like a woman who knew her effect on a man and reveled in it. I reached up to cup her cheeks in my hand. "This face."
The teasing glint disappeared to be replaced with a tinge of sadness that shadowed her eyes as she leaned against my touch and closed them with a sigh. "My mother said it would bring Kings to their knees."
My heart broke for the girl she had been, who thought her only worth was tied to what was reflected back to her when she looked into the mirror. "Look at me Alina." Her eyes opened, and I stared straight into them. "I pursued you because of this face,” I admitted.
She nodded and turned away but I reached up to grab her chin so she was looking into me. I took the scrap of black fabric I’d ripped earlier and gave it to her. She took it, eyes widening as she did. "But I would not have fallen completely in love with just a face. I would not want the Queen of the kingdom I love so much to be simply beautiful. It was the woman you are on the inside that brought me to my knees.”
"Oh, Reece." Her lips trembled as she flung her arms out, wrapping them around me and burying her face on my shoulders. “Can we shred it?”
I chuckled as I looked down at her, watching her grip tighten on the remnant of her mother’s control. “Let’s burn it instead. I have a lovely fireplace in my chambers.” I nodded my head out the window, watching as the Palace appeared.
It would never have been home without Alina in it.
* * *
Desperate as I was to get her to bed, there were more important matters that needed to be settled first. I walked her to my office and gestured for her to take a seat on one of the comfortable chairs in front of my desk. Moments later, Cheval walked in clutching a sheaf of paper and a worried look on his face.
He bowed at Alina before handing me the papers. "The contract, Your Majesty."
I spared it a glance before looking at him and asking, "What seems to be the problem, Cheval?"
"King Aric is not at the dinner. We're still trying to determine where he is." He shot Alina a look and I had to hold out a hand to keep her from springing from her chair.
"I'm sure he is well. Locate one of his guards.” I raised an eyebrow at her, silently urging her to fill in the information I couldn’t recall.
“Hicks. His head of security is Hicks.”
I nodded at Cheval. “Right. Locate Hicks. In the meantime, I'm sure Alina can speak for herself with regard to our marriage proposal. Given the lack of a parent or other representative of the Lantis royal family."
"Very well, your Majesty. Your Highness." He bowed himself out of the room and I walked over to click the door shut. I moved over to the great wooden cabinet by the door and pulled a recorder out of it.
Alina tilted her head and shot me a questioning look. "Just a formality,” I reassured her. The contract of our marriage was an unfortunate necessity, as much as neither of us may desire it.
She nodded, nothing but understanding in her gaze as it settled on me. I dropped myself down into the chair across from her and scooted it forward so my knees brushed hers. "Let's review. In this arrangement, I have had it stated that our marriage is to take place within the next two to three months. Any objections?"
She was silent as she mulled it over, a teasing smile taking her face as she finally spoke. "Agreed, the sooner the better. I want to have it in the rose garden."
My stare heated as I studied the shape of her lips. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to negotiate before taking her to bed, what with the small ways she distracted me. “And what will you give me if I grant this wish?” I chuckled to soften the blow of words that might have seemed harsh, wanting her to know without a doubt that I wasn’t serious.
I would never deny her anything.
