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“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.
Waking at three a.m. was jarring. Leaving the comfortable bed and Steffan’s arms was worse.
Hattie and Steffan were both quiet as they used the restroom, crept downstairs, got a drink of water, slid back into their dusty hiking shoes, and exited the beautiful cabin.
It was chilly outside, but crisp and beautiful. Steffan had a flashlight in hand, but the bright stars and half-moon guided them through the forest. She followed quietly, walking to her impending doom. It had nothing to do with Franz and whatever the idiot was trying to do to her, and everything to do with her and Steffan’s time being almost done. She wished they could chat easily like the past two days, that they could hug and kiss.
She had to stop wishing for things that couldn’t be right now.
They met up with Jensen and another tough-looking dude. Jensen turned on a light strapped to his chest, and she realized the other man was Steffan’s brother, General Raymond August. Two princes—one a general, one the most incredible man she’d ever met and a doctor—and a high-ranking chief of police. She could get used to this entourage.
Steffan and Ray slapped each other on the shoulder as men did, and then Steffan turned to her. “Hattie Ballard, this is my brother Ray. General Raymond August, I should say.”
Ray gave a half-smile and pushed at Steffan. “Nice to meet you, Hattie.”
“Thank you for helping me.”
