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Forgive me, Gage and Sutton … I’ve found my new home.
Chapter Two
Prince Raymond August, the ‘General Prince,’ had been searching for his rambunctious little sister and their guest, the woman who’d arrived with Sutton Smith to help him keep Tristan safe, help him figure out who had killed his mother and who was targeting his twin brother currently.
Kiera was constantly scampering around the castle, climbing, sliding, barely surviving, thinking she was a ‘parkour expert’ like their brother Derek. The twelve-year-old was adorable and always doing something she shouldn’t.
When he and Tristan had gotten back, only minutes late, from using a side by side Polaris Razor to take some supplies to and visit their brother Curtis in his beautiful mountain cabin—they’d only searched the new caves Curtis had found for a few hours to find the mysterious ‘cure’ that would ensure no woman marrying into their family suffered from the ‘curse’ again—his father had demanded Ray and his men find Kiera and Macey and bring them back so they could meet with Sutton before he had to leave. Ray had suggested a cell phone for his sister, multiple times, and had been told to ‘just find her.’
So here he was, the esteemed general of the army, protector of the royal family and the entire kingdom, playing hide-and-seek with the ‘wild child’ who could be anywhere in the over hundred-thousand-square-foot castle. Ray had dispatched four men to help him search, but he’d taken a bet on the solarium, jogged straight here, and he’d been right. He’d walked in just in time to see Kiera gone, apparently sliding down one of the decorative brass poles like she loved to do when nobody was watching, and his brother’s fiancée climbing onto the ledge, in heels and a tight skirt, to follow the girl. What kind of woman did that?
When he saw her teeter, obviously realizing how high she was and how dangerous the feat, he’d wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her back against him.
He had been completely unprepared for how this American, Macey Clifton, would feel in his arms.
Right. She felt perfect and just right in his arms. He’d stupidly turned her into his chest, stared into her deep-brown eyes, and she’d made him laugh with her ‘brave, bold, and beautiful’ comment. She was all three, and then some. Appealing, fit, gorgeous, intriguing …
He could’ve gone on listing positive descriptors of her all day, but she had arched up and kissed him.
If Macey Clifton in his arms had felt right, Macey Clifton kissing him blew his busy, sane, scheduled, demanding world apart.
Ray had found the woman he’d been searching for before he’d even known he was looking.
He hauled her tighter to him and kissed her thoroughly. He was completely lost in this woman and this kiss, wondering if love at first sight was possible and certain kissing the rest of the afternoon away was the best idea he’d ever had. What did all of his heavy responsibilities matter? Macey was the only responsibility that should matter.
She pulled back first, gasping for air and smiling up at him. Her smile was perfect—sweet, alluring, a little shy. Ray needed to kiss her again. Needed her more than he needed oxygen.
“I thought it would be awkward to fake being engaged to a crown prince and a stranger, but …” She trailed off and her smile grew radiant, enticing, like sunshine.
Fake engaged.
Reality smacked him upside the head. It was a harder hit than even his close friend and trusted head of their police department Jensen could deliver, and one he desperately needed but didn’t want.
Ray released her and stepped back so quick she teetered on her heels and leaned against the stone wall. He felt empty without her in his arms. He had to focus on reality and not his newfound craving for the dark-haired, dark-eyed sweetheart staring longingly at him.
What had he been thinking? What had he allowed himself to do? Temporary insanity? Could he claim that to assuage the guilt? Ray’s top responsibility was protecting his country and family, most importantly his twin, the crown prince, flesh of his flesh, his other half.
He couldn’t be kissing the woman Tristan was engaged to. No matter if the engagement wasn’t real and T wasn’t thrilled about the interruption to his dating life, this woman was supposed to be their answer. Not only reassuring the kingdom that there was no internal, hidden threat to T as the notes indicated, but that the kingdom could have happy news they hadn’t had since his mum’s death, and that the princes weren’t afraid to take brides of their own. Which was somewhat true. None of them were ‘afraid,’ but none of them wanted to love and lose that love like their father and dozens of royals in the past had. The curse hadn’t manifested itself in hundreds of years. Everybody had been asking ‘why now’ since his mum’s death.
Ray knew it wasn’t the curse—it was a murderer trying to tear his family and beloved kingdom apart.
He focused back on the beauty standing in front of him. Now that they weren’t kissing, she looked less confident, more vulnerable, and every bit as appealing. Shelving those thoughts was tough. Macey had been touted by the highly esteemed Sutton Smith to be brilliant and trained in security and fighting. They were supposed to work together to find his mum’s killer, keep Tristan safe, and find who was leaving the notes and threatening Tristan.
Ray had shelved his pride and tried not to be insulted his dad had hired outside help for the problems he was certain he and Jensen could fix … given more time and at least a clue or two. This perfect-looking, perfect-kissing, perfect-smelling ‘help’ could distract him if he wasn’t careful. He couldn’t work with her if all he could think about was kissing her. Which shouldn’t be an issue at all, as she was supposed to be kissing Tristan. Ray had to keep his hands and thoughts off of her.
“It’s a pleasure …” Ray cleared his throat and tried again. The pleasure had been kissing her. “An honor to meet you, Miss Clifton,” he corrected. Her dark eyes narrowed at his formality. “I’m Prince Raymond August, military leader of the kingdom of Augustine.”
“Not Prince Tristan?” She shrank back against the balcony wall and touched her lips. Ray’s stomach pitched at the reminder of those enticing, all-encompassing kisses.
“No. I’m Tristan’s twin brother.”
“Oh, my.” She ran the tip of her forefinger along her lower lip. Ray was pretty certain it was an unconscious move, but it made him think she was remembering their kisses as well, and his entire body became far too hot.
“I am so terribly sorry,” she began. Stepping forward, she put a hand on his arm. If Ray hadn’t been wearing a T-shirt maybe it wouldn’t have affected him so much. As it was … he had to step back and let her arm fall away. She looked injured by the move, but it couldn’t be helped. He had to somehow re-screw his head on straight.
“I should be the one to apologize,” he rushed to say. “T and I are identical. It’s not the first time a beautiful woman has kissed me, thinking I was him.” He winked and hoped he looked unaffected and as if he spent his free time kissing mesmerizing women like her.
He’d kissed women, even had a few serious girlfriends, but today was the first time a kiss had shot lightning clear through his body and made him certain this was the woman he needed in his arms day and night.
