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I felt someone in the room, and I spun to see Leif at the top of the spiral stairs that led to my tower. “Am I interrupting?”
“No—I—I was just looking at the countryside. It’s better, isn’t it? A bit?” The wobble in my voice didn’t sound very regal. But my people mattered to me. So much. And if they were on the right track, I’d sleep a lot better at night.
He moved across the room and came to my side; we both faced out, shoulder to shoulder as the last of the sun dipped over the horizon, the red glow of its descent lingering on some towering clouds. “More than a bit,” he said. “A whole lot more.”
As we stood there, lights began to wink on. The courtyard below had modern lighting, but those in the distance were mostly anything but. Candles, oil lamps, battery operated lanterns… “I want to make modernization a big priority,” I told Leif. “I have a lot of ideas, but it means changing some of our plans for the funds in the treasury.”
“There are a lot of funds,” he mused, speaking close to my ear. “I’m sure we can, with care, make them stretch. What do you have in mind?”
“I want every citizen to have the basics that go with living in this century. Electricity, phones, running water, access to the Internet. I don’t know what my parents were thinking not to have made strides in this direction.”
He shrugged. “How long were they even on the throne. Maybe they just didn’t have time.”
“That may be true.” And made me feel better. “But either way, it is the right time now. And we have the advantage of access to technology. I want to be the greenest kingdom on the face of the Earth—even if almost nobody knows we’re here.”
He linked our hands and led me to the love seat near the stairs. “Go on.”
The violet crushed velvet antique had room for two, barely. My thigh was pressed to his, our hips were touching, and our hands were still connected. “Uh…oh yes. We can look into solar panels, wind turbines maybe, for example. We’ll be able to provide electricity without siphoning it off the grid.”
He nodded. “Good ideas.” He was still speaking close to my ear, something that helped me hear him even better. “Do you want me to get the ball rolling? Do some research and report back?”
“Yes.” I had so much more to say, so much I’d wanted to discuss, but his warm breath was making me shiver, which might be an oxymoron. Or something. Then he was kissing me, his lips soft but firm, his arms around me, pulling me into his hard body. I wasn’t supposed to be doing this. But I didn’t want to stop. I let him urge my lips open to deepen the kiss, and his hands to brush the sides of my breasts.
No. No. I was having a serious meeting, and it had become a makeout session. How could I be expected to think when his scent was swirling around me like this?
Chapter Sixteen
“Yes, I know it’s a horse,” I laughed as Leif showed me the most beautiful stallion. His shiny hair was the color of champagne and rose gold mixed together. It was like he was made of angel’s hair or silken strands of gold. “What kind is it?”
“I will leave you now,” Leif said and winked as he bowed a little. He walked away, leaving me confused.
A hand landed on my forearm. The skin of the palm was rougher than Leif’s or even Gunnar’s, and the warmth spread from my arm and made goose bumps fill out all the spaces in my skin. I turned to find a man in front of me. He was burly, stocky, but not fat. It was simply his stature. His shoulders were twice my width. Muscles bulged out along his arms, and even his leg were straining against the fabric trying to cover them. He had long red hair, pulled up in a bun at the back of his head and a full matching beard though it was short and not scraggly.
“He is a cremello stallion. I’ve searched for six months to find him for you. A unique horse for a unique queen.”
The horse whinnied and kicked his front legs. He was either ready to go or not liking me. I couldn’t tell which.
He took his hand from my arm, and my skin cooled in its absence. “I’ve never heard of a cremello. He’s golden, like something out of a dream.”
His smile took over his whole face. “He is beautiful. I knew it the moment I saw him. A gift for the queen.” He bowed a little, and I blushed head to toe, I could feel the heat in my cheeks. He had beautiful full lips, and when he spoke, they moved in a way I’d never quite read before, but certainly easy to follow.
“Thank you. What did I do to deserve such a gift?”
A twinkle in his eye made my stomach flutter. “Just being you. Could I interest you in a ride?”
The horse chuffed through his nose and hopped up and down on his front feet. “Oh, my, I’m not sure if I could ride him. He’s so high-spirited.”
“Perhaps we could ride him together.”
The heat in my cheeks filtered down to my neck, and I swore my core pulsed. This man, whoever he was, was unbelievably sexy. I was betrothed, but there wasn't a ring on my finger yet.
“Well…” I paused, hoping he would get the hint and gift me his name.
“Arne…”
“Arne, I think a ride together would be lovely.”
I took in his clothes as he chuckled. He was dressed in plain pants along with an even plainer tunic. There was a bit of dirt on the side of his neck. That along with the roughness of his palms made me think he was a farmer or even one of our equestrian handlers. Didn’t matter to me. I was happy as heck to be riding with this beast of a man, and my wolf agreed wholeheartedly.
