by Day Leclaire
And just like that she realized what he was doing. He was seducing her, step-by-dispassionate-step. Moonlight slashed his face, revealing the remote determination in his eyes, as well as the calculation in his expression. And now that she understand what he was attempting she could feel it in his studied touch.
Miri shook her head. She didn’t want him to make love to her, not like this, not with cold-blooded intent. Somehow she had to find a way to break through to the passion that lay beneath that carefully controlled exterior, like she had beside the waterfall.
“Wait,” she whispered. She had to repeat herself before he broke off his siege. “Slow down.”
She found his reluctance to release her encouraging, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted an emotional bonding as much as a physical one. The moonlight had fled across the room and she shifted away from Brandt to follow it, standing so it cut across her from the nape of her neck to her calves. She could literally feel his gaze, like a line of fire tracing her spine. She drew a deep breath, aware that this next part would be the hardest thing she’d ever done.
With as much casual grace as she could muster, she removed first one glistening stocking, then the other, deliberately dipping and swaying as though to some private song. Next came her garter belt, a flimsy bit of silk in bridal white. And then all that remained was her thong. Gliding it down her hips, she gave a slow shimmy to send the scrap of lace floating to her ankles. Shaking her bleached hair back so it tumbled toward her hips, she half turned and glanced over shoulder.
From deep in the shadows she could hear the harsh give and take of his breath. Feel the want. Practically taste the desire that scented the air. Without a word, he ripped off his clothes with impressive haste. When the last piece of clothing hit the floor, he came for her, fast and determined, stepping from shadow to moonlight. And finally, finally, he allowed his emotions free rein.
His eyes heated, filled with an urgency she couldn’t mistake. In response, her own body warmed with forbidden hunger. He paused when he reached her and touched a spot on her left hip. “What’s this?”
Her breath caught. She’d forgotten all about that. “It’s a tattoo.” One she’d gotten after that memorable day by the waterfall.
“It’s a butterfly.”
“I like butterflies.”
“I…I used to.”
“Not anymore?” she dared to ask.
He shook his head, his mouth tightening. He ended the discussion by sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her to the bed. The sheets were cool against her back, a distinct contrast to the liquid heat coursing through her. Rolling onto his back, he lifted her on top of him. His hold remained light, more embrace than grip. She wanted to wrap herself around him. Devour him. Drive every thought from his head but one.
Sinking downward, she covered the breadth of his chest with kisses. Her hair draped over and around them like the softest of cloaks and he shuddered in reaction. He reached for her, impatient, sliding her upward until she found his mouth again, and took it in quick, desperate kisses. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
He must have felt the same. Flipping her onto her back, he levered himself above her. It was his turn to anoint her body, starting at the curve of her jawline and working downward. He lingered at her breasts, then skated to the curve of her belly before dipping lower, carefully avoiding her tattooed butterfly. He worshiped her with his mouth, finding and exploring the most sensitive spots on her body. By the time he’d finished, her body wept with a want more powerful than anything she’d ever experienced before.
She tried to say something, to plead. To beg for what she so urgently needed. He seemed to know already. Parting her legs, he slipped between them, then hesitated.
“I’ll try not to hurt you.”
Did he know? Had he picked up on her inexperience? He must have, for he eased his passage into her body and breached her innocence with exquisite care. Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes, dampening the hair at her temples. They weren’t tears of pain, but tears of elation. If all she had was this one night with Brandt, she’d find a way for it to be enough. She whispered his name, her voice filled with wonder and joy.
He shuddered above her, shaking his head in disbelief. “It shouldn’t be like this. I shouldn’t feel like this.” His throat worked. “But I do.”
And then the ride turned wild, and they rode that wildness together in mindless ecstasy, burning painfully bright in the darkest part of the night. When the shattering came it went beyond all imagining, shaking Miri to the core. For endless minutes they clung to each other, lost to everything but the sensations that continued to shudder through them.
At long last, he rolled to one side and pulled her close, wrapping himself around her as though staking a claim. “I didn’t think that was possible,” he told her. “This changes everything. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.” She doubted she’d ever be the same again.
“Sleep,” he urged. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
She didn’t dare sleep. At some point, she needed to slip away. To leave and never look back. Snuggling deeper into his embrace she clung to each minute before it escaped her grasp, imprinted every second on her memory. The sound of his breathing and the gentle huskiness of his voice. The scent of his skin, as well as the perfume of their lovemaking. The final glow of moonlight as it kissed them farewell. The taste of his kisses that lingered on her lips.
Finally, she felt him relax into a deep sleep and cautiously untangled herself from his embrace. The worst moment came when she left the warmth of his bed. Tiptoeing across the room, she hesitated at the threshold connecting his suite with Alyssa’s. Unable to resist, she glanced back.
As though aware of her regard, he stirred, groping for her. And then he said the one thing guaranteed to wound her more profoundly than anything else could have.
“Alyssa.”
Five
Principality of Verdon, Verdonia
Ten weeks later…present time
“We’re going to get in trouble,” Miri warned her two sisters-in-law. “As soon as my brothers realize we’ve given our security people the slip, they’re going to hit the roof. I’ve seen it happen before and you don’t want to be anywhere in the vicinity when they blow.”
Lander’s new bride, Juliana, gave her dark wig a final tug over deep red curls. “No worries. We won’t be anywhere in the vicinity when they blow. We’ll be at the mall.”
She settled a pair of plain-lens eyeglasses on the tip of her nose, the amethysts on her wedding rings flashing like purple fire. As always, they drew Miri’s gaze, particularly the new stone Lander had unearthed and named the Juliana Rose, an amethyst that was neither purple nor blue nor pink, but rather a unique combination of all three. It reminded her of something, something from her childhood. Though it had teased her for weeks now, she’d never quite been able to put her finger on what it was about the ring that troubled her.
“Just one hour without an entourage or bodyguards or strangers watching my every move,” Juliana was saying. Satisfied with her disguise, she turned to pose for the other two. “That’s all I’m asking. Once Lander is elected king, I’ll have a snowflake’s chance in hell of ever being able to pull off something like this again.”
“Lander will see to that.” Miri could guarantee it. He’d proven himself intensely protective of Juliana, to the point of proposing to her just to salvage her reputation when the press had discovered they were lovers. And then he’d fallen in love with her. It had been a fairy tale come true. “You two have a lot to learn about my brothers if you think they won’t have something to say about this little escapade.”
“Stop being so pessimistic, Miri. I’m sure Merrick will understand.” Alyssa made the statement with the blithe confidence of a brand-new bride blissfully in love with her husband and blind as a bat when it came to his flaws. Who’d have thought when Merrick had abducted her that they’d end up so happy together in such a short time?
“We’re all disguised. If anyone catches on or the press finds us, we’ll leave. Where’s the harm in that?”
“What if Br—Prince Brandt tries something again?” Miri fought back a blush at having stumbled over his name. “I’m familiar with the man’s tactics. He doesn’t give up easily. Look at what happened when he captured you and Merrick, Alyssa. There I was hiding on Mazoné, while you and Merrick were on the run, dodging Brandt’s men. Then when you infiltrated his castle to rescue your mother, he sprung his trap. He was certain he’d married you. And when he realized he hadn’t—”
“By kissing me!” Alyssa inserted indignantly.
“He then tricked you into revealing the true identity of his bride. Me.” Miri broke off with a shrug. “As I said. Once Brandt is set on a path, he doesn’t give up easily. If he’s determined to win the throne, he’ll find a way to get it.”
Alyssa and Juliana exchanged worried glances, but it was clear they weren’t concerned about Brandt’s next move to gain the throne, so much as Miri’s feelings for him. Obviously, they knew what had happened between the two after she’d taken Alyssa’s place at the altar. She’d hoped she’d been successful at hiding her feelings for Brandt. Judging by their expressions, she’d failed miserably.
“He won’t hurt you again,” Alyssa reassured gently. “Merrick will make certain of it.”
Tears welled into Miri’s eyes, an all too common occurrence these days. “He didn’t hurt me. Not the way you mean. I went to him, not the other way around.”
Alyssa appeared shocked by Miri’s confession, probably because Brandt terrified her. But Juliana’s expression spoke of perfect understanding. These women had become so dear to Miri—the sisters she’d always longed for and never had.
“It’s like that sometimes,” Juliana stated with a knowledgeable nod. “If you’d asked me just a few months ago if I’d surrender common sense in order to be with a man, I’d have called you six different kinds of fool. Then I met Lander and the next thing I knew I’d lost every brain cell I possessed. Is that how it is with Brandt?”
“That’s how it used to be.” Miri shot to her feet, nearly unseating the light brown wig she’d been talked into donning. “The only feeling I have for him anymore is utter contempt. When he failed to steal the throne by marrying Alyssa, he reported Lander to the Temporary Governing Council and accused him of financial malfeasance. I’ll never forgive Brandt for that.”
“Maybe he believed your brother really was guilty.” Alyssa’s blue eyes widened as though astonished to find herself defending Brandt. She turned to Juliana for support. “Didn’t you say that awful woman made it look like the Montgomerys were responsible for embezzling from Verdonia’s amethyst mines?”
“Lauren DeVida.” Juliana practically spat the name. “King Stefan’s Chief Executive Accountant. More like his Chief Executive Thief, if you ask me. I hope they track that woman down and throw her in the deepest, darkest pit they can find.”
A bit bloodthirsty, but considering Juliana had been the one to uncover the financial scam—a desperate and nearly impossible task that had taken every ounce of the financial wizard’s mathematical skill and accounting genius—Miri could understand why she wanted to see Lauren DeVida suffer. And since it was Juliana’s frantic efforts to gather the necessary proof that had ultimately saved Lander, Miri could sympathize with her sister-in-law’s desire for revenge.
“If we’re going to go, we should get moving,” Alyssa recommended. “Are you certain no one will notice the car’s missing?”
Juliana shook her head. “Lander has a fleet of nondescript vehicles he uses whenever he wants to escape public scrutiny. I managed to get hold of one, but only until three o’clock.”
“Four hours?” Alyssa released a sigh of delight. “I’ll take it.”
Instead of a wig, she’d opted for oversized sunglasses and a scarf to hide her distinctive blond hair, pairing them with faded jeans and a plain white blouse. If Miri hadn’t known who Alyssa was, she’d never have suspected the truth. For the first time in weeks she felt a return of her old spirit. Why in the world had she tried to talk the other two out of this escapade when not so long ago she’d have been the main instigator?
“Okay, girls,” she said, determined to shake the old Miri awake. “Disguises in place?”
Alyssa and Juliana both mugged in front of the mirror. “Set,” they chorused.
“Keys?”
Juliana nodded. “I have it on excellent authority that they’re under the floor mat in the car.”
“Cell phones in case we get separated?”
“Check and double check.”
Miri grinned. “And most important of all…credit cards?”
That led to a mad scramble to make sure they had adequate resources for their shopping trip. Once satisfied, they made their way from their rooms in the palace to where Juliana had arranged to pick up the car. They nearly gave themselves away any number of times as they made good their escape. It didn’t help that after each close call, one of them would give a snort of laughter and the others would break down giggling.
When they finally reached the simple white sedan, they got into a brief disagreement over who would drive. Miri settled the issue by snatching up the keys. “I know the fastest way there and I’m used to Verdonian traffic. Now, do you want to spend what time we have at the mall, or arguing?” That simple question put an end to any further dispute and had them all piling into the car and on their way.
The next few hours proved a true pleasure. Miri loved spending time with her new “sisters,” bonding over cosmetics, shoes and lattes. They lingered in the stores as long as they dared, delighted when their disguises proved a total success. It was Juliana who reluctantly brought the outing to an end.
“Okay, girls,” she announced, snagging each by an arm. “I just got a call that Lander and Merrick have returned to the palace. We need to shake a leg before they realize we’ve gone missing.”
Gathering up their packages, they made a beeline for the lowest level of the parking garage where they’d left the car. They were only a few spaces from it when a pair of SUVs shot toward them from different directions. Brakes squealed, reverberating through the cement structure. The two vehicles screeched to a stop so close that the three women crowded back against the rear door of a dusty minivan, completely boxed in.
“Merrick,” Alyssa said with a groan. “This is what comes from marrying the head of Verdonia’s Royal Security Force. Apparently his people out-covert your people, Juliana.”
Before Miri could correct Alyssa’s error, men erupted from the SUVs. But it was the one who took his time exiting that held her full attention and caused the breath to bottleneck in her throat. Anticipation vied with animosity, tying her stomach in knots. “It’s Brandt.”
He approached as though he had all the time in the world, sweeping them a courtly bow. “Your Highnesses.” Apparently, their disguises didn’t fool him for one little minute. After a single, all-encompassing look, his gaze settled on Miri. “It’s time to come home, my dear. If you’ll say goodbye to your in-laws, we can be on our way.”
“Home?” Miri shook her head, incensed by his cavalier use of the word. After choosing another woman for his bride, after two and a half months of silence, he dared call Avernos her home? “No, thanks. My home is here.”
“It was here,” he corrected mildly. “You changed all that when you married me.”
Was he kidding? “We’re not married. That ceremony can’t possibly be legal.”
He lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “That’s for the courts to determine. Until they say otherwise, you are my wife. And I intend to have my wife in my arms when I go to bed at night.” He signaled to his men. “Ladies, if you’d please hand over your cell phones and car keys, I’d appreciate it.”
Though phrased as a request, demand underscored every word. In response, Juliana’s brown eyes glittered with fury while Alyssa appeared close to tears. Miri could have gone
either way. Or managed both at the same time. So many emotions overwhelmed her she could barely think straight. Outrage and bitterness over how his decisions had destroyed their relationship vied with a stunned disbelief that he’d come for her after all this time. Worst of all a whisper of hope fluttered to life, small and fragile, like the wings of a butterfly.
After a momentary hesitation, her sisters-in-law complied with Brandt’s directive. Juliana slapped her phone into the hand of the nearest man. “You won’t get away with this,” she told Brandt. “And don’t think I won’t find a way to make you pay for making me sound like I’m a B-rated movie actress in some schlock melodrama.”
Alyssa tossed her cell phone toward Brandt before turning to give Miri a tight hug. “Don’t be afraid,” she whispered. “Merrick will find a way to rescue you. He’s getting good at that sort of thing.”
“You’re mistaken, Princess,” Brandt informed Alyssa. Based on his smile he’d overheard her comment and found it amusing. “My wife neither needs nor wants to be rescued. In fact, I suspect she’s been waiting for me to show up.”
“If you really believe that, you’re delusional,” Miri retorted.
Brandt’s gaze grew painfully direct. “Not only do I believe it, so do you, whether you’re willing to admit it in front of your sisters-in-law, or not. You’re just hurt because I took so long coming after you. For that, I apologize.”
She wanted to deny it, and yet, a small foolishly romantic part of her did feel a betraying bubble of elation. Or it did until her more pragmatic nature reacted with a healthy dose of suspicion. Why had he come? What new, more devious plan had he devised to thwart Lander and how did it involve her?
“You have a hell of a lot more to apologize for than this,” she told him.
“No doubt you’ll give me a detailed list. Now, as much as I’d like to discuss it further, we should be leaving. We’re on a tight schedule. But first…” He snagged her wig and tugged it loose, watching in approval as her hair tumbled free. “Ah. Much better. And back to its natural color, I’m relieved to see.”
