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Lying down next to him, she wasn’t sure what to do next. She’d never laid on a bed with some handsome, alluring prince. She’d snuggled with different men on a couch as they watched a movie or before or after a kissing session, but this wasn’t even close to that. This was snuggling times a thousand, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
Every nerve in her body tingled as Steffan gently slid his arm between her neck and the pillow, cupping her upper back and shoulder with his palm as he turned her slightly toward him. His other hand rested gently on the side of her abdomen.
Hattie couldn’t catch a full breath. Her right arm was trapped between their bodies, but she bravely rested her left arm on his forearm. Steffan cuddled her in closer, and her arm slid around to his strong back.
The only sound was their breathing, and she was grateful that his seemed as short and quick as hers was.
“Do you think this was what Aliya had in mind?” he whispered.
“That girl.” Hattie laughed, appreciating the break in tension. “If I didn’t love her so much, I’d cuss her to one side of Georgia and back.”
He chuckled. “You’d cuss her, and I’d praise her.” His voice dropped, husky and enticing. “I’ve never felt something as incredible as cuddling you close.”
Hattie’s stomach did a happy dance. She ran her hand up his back, along his neck, and cupped his strong jawline with her palm. “I have,” she whispered.
“Oh …” His voice was curious and maybe disappointed. “What’s that?”
“You kissing me.”
She felt his smile under her palm and could barely see it in the darkened room. “Would you like to experience that feeling again?”
“Oh, yes, please.”
“Anything for you, Hattie.Anything.” The words were said fiercely, almost like a promise. Hattie didn’t attempt to internalize them. He couldn’t mean them. He wouldn’t leave his home for her and she’d never ask, but he’d kiss her and she’d happily and selfishly take any kissing and snuggling time with him she could get.
His lips captured hers, and she was swept away in a cacophony of blissful feelings and sensations—his generous mouth working in synchrony with hers, his strong body pressed tight against her own, his hands gently producing a tingling sensation on her back and side.
They kissed for a very, very long time. Hattie was revved up and yet drowsily happy when Steffan broke the kisses and guided her head to the crook of his neck.
“I should let you rest,” he murmured.
“I doubt I’ll sleep.”
“We can’t just kiss the night away.”
“Hmm …” She giggled. “I beg to differ.”
He laughed and kissed her, but it was a fraction of the kiss he’d given her earlier. He held her close and simply trailed circles on her back. “Are you worried about anything?”
“Besides leaving you?” she asked, then wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to put unnecessary guilt or stress on him.
He drew in a breath and then said quietly, “I’ve been thinking. This is my country. My father’s the king, Jensen is the chief now, and Ray is the general. We have all the power. The Rindlesbachers can’t stand up to us.”
She wished she could see his face. What was he saying?
“We can find a way to prove Treven killed your friend Jane. Once we prove it, you’d be free to come back to me. You and I could date, get to know each other, kiss the night away … Would you come back for me, Hattie?”
“Yes,” she burst out quickly. “The way I feel about you is something I’ve been looking for the world over.”
“I feel the same,” he said almost reverently.
“If I wasn’t going to make a mess for you and Jensen,” she rushed on, “or get thrown in prison or killed by Treven or his family, I’d come back in a heartbeat.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re so unselfish.”
Hattie tried not to stiffen. She wasn’t. Maybe for him, she could become what he saw in her. She didn’t know. If a miracle like Treven being proven responsible for Jane’s death could come about, she would apologize to heaven above and never stop working to be the woman Steffan already saw in her.
The darkness was soft and comfortable around them. Steffan’s arms were even more comfortable. She drifted off to sleep with two feelings she hadn’t experienced in years: safety and hope.
