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Their glances caught and held and Akil could feel his blood thundering around his body as her cheeks pinked, her pupils dilated. He’d felt in his very bones that this attraction was not one-sided, but her reaction gave him all the proof he needed. Primal jubilation filled him as he ran one finger slowly down her cheek. She stood acquiescent, quivering under his touch, her gaze still fixed on his.
‘Akil...’ Her voice was husky, half protest half entreaty, and he dropped his hand, fighting the urge to pull her close, to taste those full lips. ‘I...’ She cleared her throat, adorably flustered, still flushed a rosy pink. ‘I was going to say locked away. I can get out, you know, it’s just not easy. Besides, it’s only temporary. Come on, we need to get on or we’ll miss the walking tour.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ He saluted. ‘Begging your pardon for forgetting the itinerary, ma’am.’
She threw him a mock stern look. ‘I’ll let you off this once.’
Despite Clem’s protestation that they would be late, Akil insisted on stopping at the food cart at the zoo exit to buy them tart chilled lemonade and toasted cheese sandwiches, hot and oozing with melted cheese.
‘We’ve walked miles already and your schedule doesn’t allow for dinner until after the opera,’ he said as he handed her the sandwich. ‘A man’s got to eat. Especially this man.’
‘That’s good to know about you. Hangry unless fed, noted. Mmm, that’s delicious.’ She took another, bigger bite, laughing as she tried not to spill any cheese on her dress, and Akil couldn’t help but join in as he watched her inelegantly scoop up a glop of cheese with her tongue.
It had been a long time since he’d laughed this much, talked this much, about nothing and everything. Clem was easy company—apart from the way his body reacted to her every move, the way he wanted to pull her close and kiss her until they were both breathless.
But she was here for such a short while and her life was complicated enough. It wasn’t for him to complicate it further than he already had and it would be too easy to do so, considering how thrown she’d been when he’d told her how attractive he found her.
‘You are very good at saluting,’ Clem said as they walked along the pretty pedestrianised street that led back to the centre, flowers in planters on either side and leafy trees protecting them from the worst of the sun.
‘You can thank national service for that.’
‘Of course. It seems so strange to me that you have to give up two years of your life! Even Rosy had to enlist before she went to university.’
‘Every Asturian does, even royalty. Your sister and mine worked in the medical corps together. But it wasn’t two years for me, it was four. Two in the infantry, like all good Ortiz men, then two in the secret service. I came out at twenty-two to go to university.’
‘What did you study?’
‘Economics and politics of course.’
‘Of course. Was that what you wanted to do?’
And that was the million-dollar question. Usually Akil went along with the fiction that studying politics in readiness for taking the Ortiz seat in the upper house was his own ambition. It was easier that way.
But he didn’t want to dissimulate with Clem. It was nice having someone he could be himself with. ‘Truthfully no. I had a place at medical school.’
‘Really? Like your sister?’
‘Only I’m older and got my place first, so really she was copying me.’ He couldn’t help grinning as he said it. ‘The sibling rivalry between us is real. Elixane hates that she’s both four years younger than me and a girl in a country which still favours male heirs.’
‘You should be flattered that she wanted to follow in your footsteps. It’s nice that you inspire her.’
‘I don’t think she’d put it that way, but I’ll be sure to mention it to her.’ His grin widened as he imagined his sister’s indignant response if he referred to himself as her inspiration. ‘Honestly, I’m not sure why we both chose that path. There are no medics in the family.’
‘So what happened? Why didn’t you take up your place?’
Akil carried on walking, deliberating how much to say. He rarely allowed himself to think about that time. ‘I don’t know if you know this, but the seats in the Senate, our upper chamber, are hereditary—and the line of inheritance is on the male side. Even when things change next month those seats which belong to the old aristocratic titles, like mine, will only go to males—it’s the same in the UK.’
‘I am beginning to sympathise with your sister,’ Clem murmured.
‘We’re making some headway in reforming this, but we have a long way to go.’
‘Of course,’ she said consideringly. ‘Inheritance really should go through the matriarchal line. Before DNA testing, it was obvious who the mother was but the father was taken on trust.’
‘You would get on far too well with my sister, she often makes the same point, although, as I tell her, I am still older and that makes me the head of the family and future Duc no matter if the law changed.’
‘I’ll bet she loves that.’
‘She really does, although occasionally she will admit that she is much happier as a younger sibling—there’s a lot more freedom for her than for me. But what you need to understand is that the Duc d’Ortiz has always been an important person in Asturia, for centuries we were in charge of the military. Sometimes the Duc was the Crown’s right hand, even Regent on two occasions, sometimes its most implacable opposition. Since the Second World War, as Asturia’s military need has waned, my family have turned to politics to build power and influence, with the Duc using his hereditary seat to make sure they are right at the centre. My father made it clear that I was shirking the responsibility inherent in my future title by not pursuing politics.’
