The Greek's Forbidden Princess

by Annie West

  But it was so much less than what she needed.

  ‘Thank you, Lambis.’ Her voice wasn’t her own. She paused, her gaze fixed on his face, though what she really wanted to do was swing away and give in to the hot tears pressing the back of her eyes. ‘Thank you, but no.’

  His flesh tightened on his bones, emphasising his strong features, as if he’d shrunk before her eyes. But he was still utterly imposing. Tall, powerful, chivalrous. He was trying to protect her even though he’d reasoned himself into believing he could protect no one. He was hardwired that way. He could no sooner ignore her plight than she could ignore the love for him that thrummed in her blood.

  But what they couldn’t change they could ignore. They had to.

  Lambis opened his mouth to speak and Amelie hurried on, not trusting herself not to be swayed.

  ‘It’s a kind offer. I appreciate it.’ She swallowed hard, tasting the salt tang of distress. ‘I’m honoured that you respect me and I know without doubt you’d fight for me and for Seb, but...’ One slow breath. Another. She clasped her hands before her, tight enough to hide the way they shook.

  ‘But while I appreciate that, I want more. I don’t want sacrifice, I want love. You had love once, so you know how important it is. I want...the chance to find that.’ Her words petered out to a hoarse whisper. ‘So thank you for your concern, and your offer, but I can’t accept.’ Amelie tugged in a swift, shallow breath, trying to mask crushing hurt. ‘You’ll always be welcome here. I know Seb loves you.’ She halted the words on her tongue about how she loved him too. ‘And I hope you’ll always be part of his life.’

  Lambis stared unblinking, as if she’d dealt him a stunning blow. Pain seized her at the hurt she’d inflicted. Until she reasoned it wasn’t hurt. Maybe Lambis’s pride was bruised at the rejection.

  ‘Now, I’m sorry, but I really must go. I have to meet King Alex and the Prime Minister.’

  Amelie bit back a mirthless smile. Facing the bullying Barthe and Alex of Bengaria, the man who’d been shamelessly lied to ever since he’d set foot in her home, had seemed daunting an hour ago. Now that paled to insignificance in the face of rejecting a proposal from the only man she’d ever truly loved.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ‘THANK YOU AGAIN, ALEX. You’ve been unbelievably understanding.’

  The man before her on the terrace shook his head, his deep blue eyes crinkling as he smiled. Truly, if she weren’t pining for a man she could never have, Amelie could imagine falling for Alex of Bengaria. He had so many qualities she admired.

  He just wasn’t Lambis.

  Her heart clenched and she had to force herself to breathe. She’d deal with the pain when she had the luxury of being alone.

  ‘It wasn’t your fault. You knew nothing about Barthe’s machinations and Cat’s masquerade.’

  They’d spent the afternoon together, dealing with the Prime Minister and ensuring there was no fallout from Cat’s masquerade as Amelie. More, between them, they’d made Barthe see he had no future leading the nation. They’d given him a choice—resign or have them expose his double dealing. He’d chosen to resign, and with his departure the opposition to Amelie as Regent lost its drive. Now, with Seb able to talk, the upcoming ceremony should be a mere formality.

  It had been a long, exhausting few hours, but the way ahead was brighter. If only Amelie could feel jubilant about it.

  ‘I feel responsible. You’ll go away thinking we St Gallans are liars and cheats.’

  Alex shook his head. ‘On the contrary, I’ve developed a soft spot for St Galla and its people.’

  ‘And particularly for Cat?’ It was none of her business, but discovering her half-sister Cat and Alex were close, and seeing his concern on learning Cat had already left for New York, she couldn’t help wondering.

  His smile disintegrated. ‘Absolutely. But she doesn’t think so. I was so busy racing off to confront your Prime Minister to scotch rumours about the pair of us, she left St Galla before I could talk to her. Now she’s not answering her phone.’

  Amelie reached out and touched his hand. ‘Then follow her. Make her listen.’ Her voice dropped. ‘Love is too important to give up.’

  His blue eyes narrowed. ‘You understand, don’t you?’

  Amelie’s instinct was to deny it. What was the point? Alex wouldn’t tell anyone, and besides, the urge to confide was overwhelming.

  ‘I do.’

  She didn’t say any more but Alex heard the hurt in her voice, or perhaps read her face. His hand turned to clasp hers. ‘It’s not something that can be worked out?’

  Amelie’s mouth tightened as familiar pain welled. ‘Sadly, no. He’s in love with someone else.’

  ‘Ah. I’m sorry.’

  For a moment they stood, unmoving and silent in the rich afternoon light. Then Amelie forced a lighter note. ‘Can I persuade you to spend another evening here as my guest, or are you going to hotfoot it after my sister?’

  Something flared in Alex’s eyes and Amelie told herself Cat was one lucky woman. He was obviously head over heels in love.

  ‘I’m not sure. I want to follow her but I suspect she’s furious and won’t listen. I may have to think of a better plan.’

  Intrigued, Amelie was about to enquire further when she noticed someone coming towards them through the formal garden. A tall, imposing figure who moved with a casual grace that belied the strength in that massive form. Beside him skipped Seb, golden hair bright in the last rays of sunlight.

  She stilled, willing herself not to feel anything and failing miserably.

  Alex released her hand and turned to follow her gaze. When he turned back his expression was sympathetic. ‘Actually, I think I’ll leave now, if you don’t mind?’

  ‘Of course not.’ She summoned a smile. ‘Good luck with Cat. I’m hoping to visit her in New York soon.’

  ‘If I’m successful, you may be visiting her in Bengaria instead.’

  Amelie nodded. ‘Good luck.’ She liked and admired Alex and, though they’d never met, she already had a soft spot for her half-sister, Cat. She couldn’t wait to get to know her properly. It would be wonderful if this pair could sort out their differences and find happiness together.

  Alex took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘I’ll hope to see you soon in Bengaria. No need to see me out. I suspect you have other important matters to deal with.’

  Amelie stilled. There was nothing more to sort out. Seb’s future was safe and her role as his guardian secure. As for Lambis... No, there was nothing more to be done.

  Alex entered the palace and Amelie turned to follow. She didn’t want a tête-à-tête with Lambis. But the sound of voices stopped her. Enide had approached down one of the gravel paths, meeting Seb and Lambis.

  Then, before Amelie could move, Enide and Seb headed off together and Lambis strode directly towards her. His long legs ate up the distance at an alarming rate. In black jeans and a charcoal shirt that matched his eyes, and with his glossy hair falling over his brow, he looked deliciously ruffled and dangerously sexy.

  Amelie’s pulse fluttered, matching the butterflies in her stomach. Or were they swallows, swooping and dipping in dizzying aerobatics?

  She made herself stand firm. Surely, after facing down her Prime Minister and the foreign King who’d been duped and deceived in her own palace, Amelie could face Lambis?

  He was probably coming to say he was leaving. There was nothing to keep him now he’d brought her and Seb home. He must be relieved she hadn’t clutched at his unwilling proposal.

  Pasting on a gracious smile, she swung to face him fully, telling herself she wasn’t in the least disconcerted by his aura of restless energy.

  He stopped too near. So near instinct screamed she should retreat. Instead she widened her stance. This was her home. She’d be polite, wish him bon voyage and that would be it.

  ‘You and King Alex? You came to an agreement?’ Gone were the rich, deep tones she’d become addicted to. The soft burr
of sound that had wrapped around her and soothed her into sleep more than once. Instead that bass voice was harsh, rough-edged.

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘You touched him.’

  Lambis stood before her, arms akimbo, those broad shoulders thrust back, accentuating the sheer masculine power of him. But it was the accusation in his tone that confused her.

  Till understanding kicked in, then anger. He didn’t want love her, but he resented her touching another man?

  Amelie folded her arms. ‘I fail to see what that’s got to do with you.’

  ‘He kissed your hand.’ It came out as a growl like the first warning roll of thunder before a violent electrical storm.

  Instead of scaring her, that stoked her defiance. ‘Again, none of your business.’ She tried to freeze him with the haughty glare that had been her father’s stock-in-trade.

  Lambis ignored it, stepping in so she had to tilt her head back. But Amelie refused to back away. She’d had enough of men trying to tell her how to live her life.

  ‘What if I make it my business?’ There was no mistaking that aggressively proprietorial tone. Despite her anger, Amelie felt a thrill of feminine delight. Till she reminded herself this was dog-in-the-manger stuff.

  ‘We’ve been over this, Lambis.’

  Slowly he shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. That was when the fiercely combative electricity between them changed. When she saw what was in those clouded eyes.

  ‘Lambis?’ Her voice cracked.

  ‘Have you agreed to marry him? You let him kiss you.’

  ‘Only my hand.’ Amelie stared, her brain seizing at what she thought she saw in his face.

  ‘You let him kiss you.’ Large hands folded around her shoulders. He didn’t pull her close, just held her, and to her amazement Amelie felt him shake.

  She reached out. To push him away? Instead her hand settled on the solid heat of his chest. His heart pounded urgently beneath her palm. Her mouth dried.

  ‘Don’t do this, Amelie. He’s not the man for you.’

  ‘He’s a fine, decent man.’ Where the words came from, Amelie had no idea. Lambis was right—Alex wasn’t for her.

  ‘He won’t make you happy.’ Lambis’s hands tightened on her shoulders.

  ‘You can’t know that.’ How dare he act as if he knew what was best?

  ‘I’ve never been more certain of anything.’ Beneath her hand his massive chest rose with a shuddering sigh. ‘You belong with me.’

  Instantly Amelie stepped back, or tried to. Lambis stopped her.

  This was too much to bear, too tempting for a woman in love, no matter how many times she’d told herself she deserved more than a convenient marriage for the sake of her nephew.

  ‘Please let go, Lambis.’ She swiped her tongue over lips grown suddenly parched, her gaze skittering away. She was deluding herself, imagining he felt—

  ‘Never.’

  Amelie’s head jerked up in shock. But before she had a chance to speak he bent to her, his mouth settling on hers firmly, possessively, so sweetly she was sure she heard angels sing. His lips moved on hers, coaxing and enticing, so that when his tongue swiped the seam of her mouth it took no pressure at all for him to delve inside.

  Lambis’s kiss was tender but not tentative. It was the kiss of a lover coming home. A partner sharing pleasure. It undid her utterly.

  ‘Ah, Amelie, karthia mou. Don’t cry.’ Gentle thumbs swiped her cheeks as he pulled back, resting his forehead on hers.

  Her shoulders shook on a sobbing breath. She couldn’t do this any longer, couldn’t pretend.

  ‘Forgive me, agapi mou. I can’t bear to see you hurt.’ One big hand gently stroked the hair back from her face. Then, when she said nothing, Lambis folded her closer, pushing her head against his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

  ‘I was an idiot.’ That hypnotic voice welled from deep within, vibrating beneath her ear. ‘I didn’t see until it was too late.’

  ‘What didn’t you see?’ Amelie knew she should pull back and stand on her own two feet. She was a princess of St Galla, soon to be Regent, an independent, confident woman. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave the shelter of Lambis’s arms. It would be the last time he held her, surely, and she wasn’t ready to miss a second of it. Later she’d berate herself for being weak and needy but not now.

  His hand swept her back in a slow, soothing stroke. ‘That I loved you.’

  ‘What?’ Her head jerked back and she found herself staring up into dark, serious eyes.

  ‘I love you, Amelie.’

  She shook her head, wondering why he’d torment her this way. ‘You love your wife.’

  ‘She and Dimitri will always hold a special place in my heart.’ He spoke slowly, his tone measured as if to emphasise his meaning. ‘But I’ve loved you for a long time. For years. Even when I rejected you here in St Galla, I loved you.’

  Amelie strained back against his hold. ‘No. You’re saying that because you think it’s what I want to hear. I don’t need a husband, Lambis. I can get by without. Seb and I will be fine.’

  ‘But I won’t.’ The words, so grave, so forthright, stopped her mid protest. ‘I love you, Amelie, and I need you. I hadn’t realised how much till I saw I was losing you.’

  Bewildered, Amelie tried to make sense of his words. He looked at her with such openness, as if sharing such feelings was completely natural. Yet this man had deliberately isolated himself, protecting himself from emotions as far as he could.

  ‘There’s no need for this. I’m not marrying Alex. I’m not marrying anyone. Now, please, let me go.’ She’d reached her limit. Standing in the circle of his arms, encompassed by his heat, feeling his heart beating beneath her hand, was too intimate.

  Lambis closed his eyes and said something under his breath in Greek. Amelie couldn’t understand a word, but felt his big frame shudder.

  Then his eyes snapped open and it was like looking at a pewter sky, bright with sheet lightning. Slowly his mouth tipped into a wide smile, a grin that, despite her churning emotions, she couldn’t help responding to.

  ‘I think I loved you from the first day we met,’ he said in that low, mesmerising voice. ‘You were beautiful and kind and so utterly unaware of how entrancing you were.’

  Amelie shook her head. ‘You scowled at me.’

  ‘I was a grouch. I was mired in guilt and regret and right from the start you made me feel things I didn’t deserve to feel.’

  Amelie’s heart rolled over as she read the honesty in his eyes. Her hand slid up to his face, cupping that starkly angled jaw, feeling the erotic sensation of incipient bristles against her palm. ‘You know you’re not to blame. I hate that you feel like that and I’m sure Delia would hate it too.’

  Unwavering, his eyes met hers and this time she read a flicker of assent there.

  ‘You don’t have to do this, Lambis. I’m really not going to marry Alex.’

  ‘You think I’m lying?’ His brow furrowed into a scowl that should have made him look forbidding yet only made her melt. ‘I’ve been many things, Amelie, but no liar. I was brutally cruel when you came to me in Greece. I reneged on my duty to Sébastien because I was scared.’ His deep breath pushed their chests together. ‘I was scared of what you made me feel. Scared I’d be unfaithful to Delia’s memory.’

  Amelie nodded, trying and not quite succeeding in quashing a flare of jealousy.

  ‘I didn’t understand then.’ Lambis brushed back a stray strand of hair from her face. ‘Delia was my past. You’re my present, Amelie, and my future. If you’ll have me.’ His voice shook. ‘I love you, sweetheart. Would you consider marrying me?’

  Yes. Say yes.

  She tasted the word in her mouth.

  ‘You only decided you cared when you saw me with Alex.’ Pushing the words out took all Amelie’s willpower. ‘Because you thought I’d marry him.’ She had to be sure.

  Lambis shook his head. ‘You’re wrong. I knew when I made tha
t appalling proposal a few hours ago. As soon as I blurted the words I realised it was what I wanted, but not for the reasons I told myself. It wasn’t about protecting the pair of you. It wasn’t about duty.’

  His voice dropped to a rumbling bass pitch that reached her very core. ‘I want to marry you for utterly selfish reasons. Because I love you. I need you. You turn my darkness into light. You give me a reason to wake each day. A reason to smile.’ He lifted his hand and wiped the moisture that spilled down her cheek. ‘You give me life, Amelie.’

  She stared into that strong face, now vivid with hope and, could it be, love?

  ‘At least give me a chance to show you how it can be between us. Given time you might come to love me too.’

  There was such yearning in his voice, such intensity in those glittering grey eyes, Amelie felt the last of her defences crumble. ‘I do love you, Lambis. I’ve loved you so long.’

  She barely got the words out before his mouth was on hers, his arms crushing her to him. She felt the fine tremors racking his body, the hard, quickened pulse of his heart and dared, for the first time, to believe.

  His kiss was a wonder. Not urgent like his embrace, but tender, so tender awe rose within her.

  To be so loved, and by such a man. Was it possible?

  When he lifted his mouth, he pressed kisses over her face and she caught a broken stream of Greek that, despite the language difference, made her heart swell. For they were unmistakably words of love.

  Amelie cupped her hands around his face and drew it up so she could meet his eyes. They shone over-bright, in a way she’d never seen. ‘I love you, Lambis Evangelos.’

  ‘And I love you.’ He paused, frowning. ‘I don’t even know your surname! Do royals even have surnames?’

  Amelie stifled a laugh. ‘They do. But I have a fancy to change mine.’

  Instantly his hold tightened so much she had trouble drawing breath. But she didn’t complain because the look on Lambis’s face was one she’d never tire of.

  ‘Could you bear to marry a commoner? A foreigner?’

  ‘There’s absolutely nothing common about you, my love. You’re the light of my life.’