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She shook her head. “No. I never did.”
The corner of his mouth curved upward, and she recognized it for what it was: triumph.
“The tradition of what royal marriage means has been lost in my family,” he said, his voice rough. “Have you read any of the other books on these sh
elves?”
She nodded. “A few.”
“Did you happen to read about marriage customs?”
“No.”
“Then I will explain. Because service is to be given, first to the country. Those who are royal do not belong to themselves. They belong to Monte Blanco. The woman who marries into the family surrenders in the same way.”
“What about a man who marries into the family?” she asked.
“Women cannot sit on the throne here.”
“That seems...unfair.”
“I have seen how heavy the weight of the position is for my brother. I would call it a blessing.”
“But it’s gender bias either way.”
“You may lobby for a change when we are wed.”
He didn’t even sound all that irritated with her.
It made her want to smile.
“A marriage into the royal family is a surrender of self,” he said. “Except...except between the husband and wife there is a bond considered sacred. Nearly supernatural.”
He moved his hand behind her back, and on an indrawing of her breath he undid the zipper on her dress with one fluid motion. It fell down her body, pooling onto the floor. Leaving her in her shoes, her underwear, the necklace and that ring.
Her nipples went tight in the cold air, her lack of a bra not a consideration before this moment, but now, with his hungry eyes on her...
She shivered.
“They have surrendered themselves to the greater good. To the nation. But in the walls of their bedchamber they surrender to each other. They belong only to each other. And it is ownership, querida. Not a partnership the way you think of it in your modern world.”
“But they own each other,” she pressed.
He nodded slowly, then he moved to the couch, and picked up another box. He opened it up and revealed two thick, heavy-looking bracelets. Gold and ruby, matching the rest of the jewels.
He moved close to her body and she responded. Being bare as she was with him so near made it impossible for her to breathe. To think.
He took the first bracelet out and clasped it tightly on her wrist. Then he took the second and put it around the other.
She felt the weight of them, heavy in a way that went beyond the materials they were forged from.
He moved again. “Surely there isn’t more,” she said breathlessly.
“Surely there is,” he murmured.
The next box contained cuffs that looked much like the ones on her wrists.
“Do you know what these are?”
