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“I’m not a royal,” she countered.
Would she ever be? Not if she couldn’t wrap her mind around Nolan’s first love and happy marriage and not give in to jealousy and comparisons.
“I promise I’ll stay on the trail. It’s a six-mile loop. I’ll start on the east side of the lake.” She looked at her watch. Four-thirty. “If I’m not back by five-forty-five, you can drive one of those side-by-sides and come find me.” She begged him with her gaze. She wasn’t in any danger, and she needed to be alone and process and enjoy the beauty of nature while she conferred with heaven above.
Levi looked at the lieutenant, who shrugged. “I don’t like it, but who am I to boss around a member of parliament?”
Madeline smiled. “And that is why you are one of my favorites, Lieutenant Henson.”
The young man grinned at her, his blue eyes sparkling. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“At five-fifteen we will come check on you,” Levi said. “If you’re all right and still want to be alone, we’ll give you some space.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Do you know how many runs I’ve done by myself throughout the years with nobody following me or watching me?”
His dark eyes sparkled at her. “Not when you’re in my care. If something happened to you, the king and Major Chad would take turns filleting me.”
Madeline rolled her eyes, but she didn’t want him to get in trouble. “Nothing will happen to me.”
“We’ll see you at five-fifteen.” Levi saluted her.
“You used to be one of my favorites.”
He chuckled. “I’d rather keep you safe than be on a favorites list.”
“Thank you.” She forced a smile and lifted a hand. It would be fine for them to come check on her halfway through the loop. She didn’t want to cause them any trouble.
Madeline rushed down the stairs and out through the garage and side entrance. Two more guards met her. She told them she was going for a run around the lake and that Captain Levi and Lieutenant Mason would come soon to check on her. Thankfully, they let her go.
She jogged down the steep road that circled the castle, wove through the trees, and finally came out at the barricade next to the village. Two more guards questioned her. She repeated her explanation and shifted impatiently while they checked in with Captain Levi. Finally, they cautioned her to be careful and allowed her to leave.
Madeline shook her head as she ran through the village and to the trail that circled the lake. She ran all the time in Traverse, which had a thousand times more people than this quaint village and actually a few criminals. Crime was low in all of Augustine, thanks to Chief Jensen and General Ray. There was nothing to worry about in this picturesque valley.
She understood the guards had to be overprotective of her because she was the king’s guest. What would happen if she agreed to marry Nolan? Would she ever go for a scenic jog by herself again? That made her chest tight. She loved Nolan and she could easily see herself loving his family. She already did. But was she ready to love all of his past, his responsibilities, and his restrictions?
The sliver of a moon had disappeared, and she left the lights of the village behind. She slowed so she didn’t trip on the dark trail, but her thoughts raced.
Nolan asking her to marry him played through her head over and over again. It had been intense and romantic and overwhelming. She had no idea how to wrap her mind around all of it—reconciling herself to him loving her and, of course, him still loving his wife, dumping all her jealousy, and dealing with the responsibilities that would come with being queen.
Her mind wandered as she plodded through step after step. She sensed an obstacle in front of her and dodged to the side. The barrier moved with her, and she screamed.
A man’s arms wrapped around her and yanked her into a hard chest. “No screaming, beautiful lady, or I’ll cut your tongue out.”
Madeline yanked backwards and had to fight not to scream at such a horrific greeting. The man smelled of out of doors and pine needles. Had he been hiding in a tree? With as dark as it was, he wouldn’t have needed to hide. He was huge, probably the same height as Nolan or Chad but twice as thick, and none of it was fat.
“What do you want?” she demanded. Why hadn’t she brought along one of the many pepper spray canisters Chad had left at her home in Traverse?
It was too dark to see him clearly, but his hands that held her so close dipped lower than she was comfortable with. “What I want … you see, that’s sadly not the issue here. Because I want to see exactly how the future queen kisses, but my boss, you see … No. What I want is unfortunately not our purpose this early morn.”
Madeline’s heart was going to burst from her chest. She shoved at him with her fists and fought to squirm free. “Help!” she cried, even as she knew there was no one close enough to help her.
The man grabbed her cheeks and squeezed hard. Pain ripped through her jaw, but she couldn’t squeak out a word. He released her and yanked her in, burying her face in his burly chest. “There now. No reason to cry for help. I’m not going to have my way with you, not until we both accomplish our purposes. But maybe someday …”
“Let me go,” she gritted out, getting a mouthful of his cotton shirt.
“Not until you agree to my request. I don’t want to hurt you, and my boss says I can’t have you … Yet.”
Madeline’s stomach turned over. She’d had men hit on her often, and a few had touched her or tried to kiss her without her consent, but nobody had been so foul and held her against her will like this brute.
