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And against all his better judgement he told her.
‘You are so beautiful. It is too much. The privilege of being inside you.’
He changed his angle, went deeper. Ground his hips against her body. Her eyes widened as the bright spill of tears gleamed and threatened. Then her gaze became unfocused as she stiffened, gasped and cried out his name as she came. He plunged over the edge with her, the ecstasy tearing up his spine as if he were being struck by lightning. A blinding white flash in his head almost obliterated his consciousness. Then, as he came back to himself once the spasms subsided, all he could see was her. Tears now tracking from the corners of her eyes. The sparkling necklace at her throat. For tonight he’d allow them both the fantasy.
‘La mia principessa.’
My princess.
Reality would come soon enough.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HANNAHSATINan armchair opposite Alessio’s desk as he paced the rich crimson carpet of his office, checking his watch. He was dressed today in a crisp white shirt with a vibrant lemon-yellow tie. No jacket, which she suspected counted almost as casual with him. His body was tense, every part of him bristling as he almost wore a path through the plush flooring. She wanted to put her arm on him. To tell him it was okay to simply stop. She knew he could. That he could channel his restless energy elsewhere. How she craved a repeat performance. To spend her days and nights learning about him in every way. A slide of heat wound through her, hot and tempting. She didn’t know how he could be so immune to it all, when she wanted to melt into a human-shaped puddle in her seat.
His gaze rested on her, cool and hard. So unlike the loose, relaxed, passionate man from the night before she was almost forced to wonder whether she’d dreamt what had happened between them. Today all she saw was the ruler of Lasserno, as if the man, Alessio Arcuri, had ceased to exist.
‘The hospital visit is private. No press have been alerted. I hope you recognise the privilege of this invitation. The children—’
‘The children are not in some circus where you can watch them perform. I’m aware how vulnerable children can be.’
She’d never use sick children as fodder, he had to realise that. Or perhaps he didn’t really know her at all. But it wasn’t about his comment. No, he was distancing himself from her. Pulling away from the night they’d shared. This morning, waking to a cold and empty bed. The loss something almost palpable, drawing tears to her eyes when she’d wanted to portray herself as a sophisticate who understood they’d had one night together and that was all it could ever be.
‘Sex has a way of changing things...’
He’d warned her and he’d been right. She understood passion now, the bruising agony of it, whereas once it had been an abstract concept experienced by others. Now, to her, Alessio sprang to life in glorious colour. She knew how his body worked in ways more than the cold anatomy of him. How his muscles bunched as he moved over her. The way the cords of his neck tensed as he was close, the blissful lack of focus in his eyes as he lost himself in her body. His careforher and her pleasure. All these things she could see even now, as his back was to her. They ran through her head, causing the whole of her to run hot, as if on fire. Things which showed he was a human and not the myth he tried so hard to portray to the world.
Yet something about the way she was being dismissed slashed at her deep inside. Though she supposed Alessio could hardly askare you okay?if he wanted to keep what they’d done secret, given Stefano was sitting in the corner with one eyebrow cocked, watching them both. Did he know what had happened? Was it painted all over her face in the heat rising there? How was she going to keep things together at the hospital?
She took a deep breath. She was an adult, a grown woman. Last night had been a blissful, incredible, earth-shattering experience which could never be repeated.One night. One night.She’d say that mantra till it sank in and wove itself into the fibre of her being.
Stefano announced the cars were ready and they left, Alessio travelling alone. He always seemed alone, she realised, and perhaps that was the way it had to be as a ruler, a solitary journey. The ache of that burned in her chest as they arrived at the hospital to a back entrance with no fanfare. Hannah was introduced and welcomed as the official portrait artist, reminding her that this was herjob, so she pulled out her sketch pad and her pencils from a satchel, the familiar weight of them in her hands spreading a calm through her.
Most people at the hospital seemed to be nonplussed with a prince in their midst, as if he did this often. Maybe he did, though it surprised her that the children’s ward was such a dour place. White walls, grey floors. A few faded pictures on the wall. All the children tucked neatly into the beds, though a few brightened up when Alessio arrived, grinning at him, waving as if he were an old friend. He grinned back, greeted some by name. She turned to the doctor who’d brought them here.
‘They seem to know him.’
The doctor smiled. ‘Yes. A few of the children have serious health problems and have been here for some time. His Highness is popular with them. He visits as often as his schedule allows. He’s planning works on the children’s ward soon and likes to hear their ideas.’
Alessio talked to a sad-looking little boy wearing a cast. The soft concern on his face made him seem unrecognisable from the stern Prince in the palace he’d shown to her earlier.
‘Have you thought about art on the walls?’
‘We have hopes for many things. A complete refurbishment. So little money has been spent for so long. But the children would benefit if this were a happier place.’
Alessio now seemed to be having an intense conversation with another child’s bear. It could have been a political discussion the way he gesticulated, whilst the little girl who owned the bear giggled, brightening the mood of the room. Hannah’s heart melted at the scene, a small shred of joy in this joyless place.
‘The corridor on the way in would be a wonderful place for a mural. If the children were being brought into the ward, it could make them less fearful to have something fun to look at. And then in here—’ Hannah gestured to another blank wall, the ideas flowing as to the scenes she’d like to paint, the cartoon characters, the animals ‘—even bright paint colours would be a simple solution. I could jot down some colour schemes and ideas that don’t cost much money if murals won’t fit into the budget.’
‘Please do.’ The doctor smiled. ‘Now I should introduce His Highness to some of the newest patients here.Scusi.’
Hannah sat in a plastic chair, far enough away so she had a perfect view of the whole room. She opened her sketch pad, lingering for a few moments on the drawing of Alessio’s hands. His questing fingers, the way they drifted across her skin. But those were thoughts she wasn’t allowed to have because there’d be no repeat of the night before. She ignored the ember glowing deep inside, one she couldn’t stoke to life again. Instead, she turned to a fresh page and began another drawing. This picture was of Alessio, holding an animated conversation with the little girl’s bear.
As she sketched the scene she became aware of movement nearby. She turned to a young boy who’d crept up beside her as she drew. Hannah smiled.
‘Hello. What’s your name?’
The boy’s eyes widened, and she realised he might not be able to speak English. She pulled out her phone and searched for a translation app.‘Come ti chiami?’
