Romancing the Crown Series

by Romancing the Crown Series (13-in-1 bundle) (v1. 0) (lit)

  "No more," he said. "He's with you now, you can make up for lost time."

  She started to say something, then stopped. She let out a weary sigh, but hugged her baby even closer, leaning over to lay her cheek against his forehead.

  "Jessie? What is it?"

  "I want to go home," she whispered. "More than anything, I want to go home and be with my baby."

  "Then that's what will happen."

  She shook her head. "They won't let me out of here," she said. "The doctor said that I needed to stay another day, at least."

  "We'll see about that," Lucas said.

  He walked to the door and signaled Lloyd. The man hastened over, and before he could open his mouth and say that annoying "Your Highness," Lucas spoke.

  "Get her doctor. Find out if there's anything that she needs that can't be handled at her home by a competent nurse. If not, find one, and pay her whatever it will take to get her to stay at the ranch full-time until Jessie doesn't need her anymore. Then arrange whatever equipment we'll need. I want her out of here today."

  "Yes, Your Highness."

  It had been a long time since he'd used the power of his position, but for Jessie and his son he would get back in the habit, and quick. What was the point of being a prince, of having wealth and power at your command, if you didn't use it to help those you loved?

  And he would do everything in his power to make up to Jessie everything she'd gone through because of him. He knew she didn't have much reason to love him anymore, not after he'd walked out on her with only a cryptic note of explanation. And he especially knew it after he'd found out he'd left her pregnant. He should have thought of the possibility, of course, but somehow, amid the chaos of his memory returning and the mission that had lured the Brothers of Darkness to its end, he hadn't.

  You 're the best catch in the world, his sister Julia had said loyally before he'd left the palace. You're handsome, rich and a prince. What's not to love?

  A lot, he thought now, rather grimly. Especially if you were an independent American female like Jessie.

  He watched her drink in the simple presence of baby Luke, exploring, counting tiny fingers and toes, just as he once had. He tried not to think of the rest, of what she'd gone through to bring this child of theirs into the world, but he couldn't manage it.

  "I'm sorry," he finally whispered. When she looked up quizzically, he added, "I should have been there."

  Something flickered in her eyes then, and although she said nothing, he felt sure "Yes, you should have," was her silent answer.

  She deserved more from him, he knew that, but he didn't know what to say. Finally he just talked.

  "I can't imagine what you went through, Jessie. In the hands of that crazy man, knowing he might kill you at any moment, and then even worse, finding out your own sister was behind it all...."

  Every time he thought of Ursula, and what kind of woman it would take to murder her own sister and steal her newborn baby for profit, he felt a churning sickness inside. His family had been involved in a feud with neighboring Tamir for ages, but that had been mostly political, although it had begun with an arranged marriage and a murder. But even that paled beside the personal nature of this treachery. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Jessie must have felt when the entirety of Ursula's reprehensible plot had been revealed.

  "A bit different than recovering from amnesia and remembering you're a prince," she said, her tone so neutral he couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. Then she added, "And letting yourself be captured by terrorists so the FBI can shut down their U.S. operations."

  He drew back slightly, surprised. "You know about that?"

  "You're big news, even in America. The media adored the story of the Playboy Prince turned undercover agent."

  He winced. He supposed she was quoting a story she'd heard, but that didn't make it sit with him any better. "I hate that nickname. Even when it fit, I hated it."

  "And it doesn't fit now?"

  He took in a breath, telling himself she had every right to ask. "I'm doing everything I can to make sure it never does again."

  She studied him for a moment. "What you went through... it changed you, didn't it?"

  "You changed me," he said bluntly.

  She blinked, drew back slightly, and he knew he'd spoken too soon. She wasn't ready to hear that, wasn't ready to believe it, not yet.

  He knew that he had to give her time. She deserved as much as he could give her. He'd been through his own trauma, true, but he'd also had more time to recover. And her ordeal wasn't just more recent, it had been as bad if not worse psychologically than his. His, after all, had been an accident, not trauma at the hands of someone he trusted.

  He was almost glad when Lloyd inched open the door behind him.

  "Your Highness?"

  Lucas saw the odd expression that crossed Jessie's face, and wished the man had simply called him Lucas, or Mr. Sebastiani. But he couldn't deal with that now. He turned and walked to the door.

  "The doctor says that if there will be a nurse on duty twenty-four hours for at least three days, he will release her into your care. I found a local agency that can arrange a nurse by this afternoon."

  "Good. Have someone transport the baby's gear to the ranch. I don't want Jessie to have to worry about setting things up. And make sure Mrs. Winstead is there to cook," he said, referring to the Chambers's former housekeeper who had retired years ago but still helped Jessie prepare meals from time to time. "And get someone to clean, Jessie needs to rest. And—"

  He stopped abruptly, realizing he was stating the obvious, that after years with the Sebastiani family Lloyd knew perfectly well what he was to do.

  "You know what's necessary," he said.

  "Yes, Your Highne—"

  "And while we're here, Mr. Sebastiani or 'yes, sir,' will do," he interrupted.

  An expression of surprise flitted across Lloyd's face, but he merely nodded. "I'll get right on it."

  "Thank you," Lucas said.

  "My pleasure. Sir," the man added before he turned to do his prince's bidding.

  Sometimes, Lucas thought, being royal had its uses.

  * * *

  By the time they finally reached the outer hospital doors, Jessie had nearly lost her joy in going home. It was impossible not to notice the stir they caused, impossible not to see the way people whispered as they approached and then hushed as they passed. And most impossible not to notice everyone—females especially—gaping at Joe. At Lucas. At the prince. Whoever he was.

  It still rattled her just to think about it, but now, seeing the dynamic for the first time, she knew she'd been right. There was no future for a simple rancher and the heir to the throne of Montebello.

  All right, she told herself. There's no future. So enjoy the present. You have your baby. And for the moment, you have Joe. Don't think about tomorrow.

  And she meant it. She had the child she had feared lost forever in her arms, and nothing else mattered much beside that. She would happily put off the inevitable.

  The sight of the long limousine with its darkly tinted windows startled her, but she realized she should have known. Royalty was used to traveling in style. She got out of the wheelchair they'd insisted on and into the limo without comment. She even managed not to jump when Joe—no, Lucas, she had to remember that—took her arm to help her into the spacious passenger compartment.

  Spacious and luxurious, she amended as she shifted the baby in her arms. She'd refused to relinquish baby Luke to the nanny. She'd expected the woman to protest, but the nanny had only nodded and given her such an understanding and warm smile that Jessie had felt oddly comforted.

  She'd been in a limo once, the night of her senior prom. But it hadn't been anything like this. Nothing like the rich, deep pile of the seats, the gleaming fixtures, a small TV screen, a telephone that looked like it could teleconference around the world and a built-in bar with a rack of glasses she would swear were real leaded crystal. She s
upposed a royal family took such things for granted, but to a girl from the rugged hills of Colorado, it was a different world.

  A world she could visit but never live in.

  As the countryside began to look familiar, with its memorable landmarks—Big Turtle Rock there, the Aspen Creek bridge over there—the troublesome thoughts faded away. A sense of welcome, of coming home, welled up inside her, burgeoning, growing until there was room for nothing but the joy of returning to the ranch she loved.

  "You'll love it on the ranch, baby," she crooned to the bundle in her arms. "It's the most beautiful place in the world. The sky is so clear it feels like you can see forever, and the air is so clean the only thing you smell is the scent of pine trees. And just wait, baby, and you'll have the sweetest little pony—"

  She stopped, suddenly aware of the steady gaze of the man sitting across from her. The nurse and the man who had introduced himself as "The prince's—I mean, Mr. Sebastiani's—aide," were looking rather pointedly out the tinted windows, giving them at least the illusion of privacy.

  "His name is Luke," Lucas said softly. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he added, "Your sister said you named him, but I suspect that was just another lie."

  Jessie fought the tears that threatened whenever she thought of her sister's mad scheming. Once past childhood they'd never been the kind of close, loving siblings she'd always wanted them to be, but she would never have suspected that her glamorous big sister was capable of such treachery.

  "No," she said. "I didn't name him. I never had the chance to."

  "He's been officially named, now. But if you want to change it—"

  "No. Luke is fine. He is your son, after all." She didn't think her voice had an edge, but his expression seemed to tighten. "Officially?" she asked.

  "In a ceremony investing him as my heir."

  "Oh."

  "The full name chosen is Luke Marcus Augustus Sebastiani." She blinked and drew back a little, and he hastened to explain. "After my father and King Augustus, my great-times-about-seven grandfather, the first monarch of Montebello."

  "I see."

  Her voice had gone cool, she knew, but she couldn't help it. Had she been allowed to name her child, she might well have chosen Luke, but she certainly wouldn't have saddled him with all the rest. Perhaps a middle name of Alexander, after her father, or even Chambers, as a reminder of the other side of his heritage. But now it was done, and it was as if anything outside of his royal lineage was meaningless. And then Lucas spoke again, softly.

  "I made a change in that, though."

  She lifted her gaze to his face.

  "The declaration reads Luke Marcus Augustus Chambers Sebastiani."

  The tightness in her chest eased. She wanted to thank him for that much, but the words wouldn't come. She felt almost as if she owed him an apology for what she'd thought, but those words wouldn't come either. Not now.

  With a great effort of will, she focused on her baby and the wonderful days just ahead, when she would have him to herself on the ranch, where she could finally, really heal. The peace she found there worked like no other medicine to soothe away her troubles, and she had no doubt it would work again, even after the kind of ordeal she'd been through.

  She had so much to learn, she thought. So much to learn about her child, and about being a mother. She felt a twinge of fear, hoping she would be up to the task.

  She lifted her head, looked out at the passing landscape, her pulse picking up as she realized they were getting close to home. She could walk it from here, she thought. She had before, when the old ranch truck had finally given out. Even though it was five tough miles, she'd done it. Somehow that made her feel safe, just being within reach of home.

  For now she would just try to enjoy it. And try to quash the feeling that she was merely postponing the inevitable.

  * * *

  Lucas began to have a strange, unsettled feeling as the landscape became more and more familiar. In the months he'd spent on the Chambers ranch, he'd ridden virtually every inch of it, because on horseback and in Jessie's arms were the only places he'd felt sane. The only places where the befuddlement that hung over him didn't seem like the most important thing in the world, and the most insurmountable.

  He hadn't had a clue who he was, but he'd known he was at home around horses, that the movement of a powerful mount beneath him was loved and familiar. That he knew the way of thinking that took place behind those liquid-brown eyes, that he knew what would spook them, what would move them, what would charm them. Even Jessie, who had grown up with the animals, had trusted him completely with her valuable string of quarter horses after watching him with them for a single day.

  "They know you know them," she had told him. "It's clear they trust you already. Their judgment is good enough for me."

  He'd been merely a new hand to her then, and he'd never dreamed he would become anything more, no matter how her quiet strength and courage attracted him. He knew he had no right to even consider it—what woman in her right mind would want to get involved with a man not simply without a past, but with no idea what that past might contain?

  Yet over time the pull between them had become irresistible. He'd had the brief thought that it was her loneliness, isolated out here on this ranch, and his own confusion and disorientation that had been part of it, but in the end the unexpected passion they'd found was so fierce no other reasons mattered.

  He suppressed a shiver at the memories of night after night spent in a sort of erotic, sensual haze, days spent feeling weary from lack of sleep yet oddly energized, as well, and eagerly awaiting the coming night's replay.

  He doubted Jessie was feeling anything of the sort. She was returning to the home she loved, and if it was haunted with memories of their time together, he was sure that was overshadowed by the joy of her return after her ordeal. He would do well to remember that, he thought. Every corner of the place was, to him, a reminder of what they'd found together here. To her, there were many more memories he was no part of, thoughts he would never intrude on. As they rounded the last turn, Lucas leaned forward to be sure the driver didn't miss the boulder that marked the nearly hidden entrance to the ranch. But all the while he was wondering if he would ever again have memories she didn't creep into. Not likely, he told himself.

  Chapter 3

  The moment Jessie walked into the kitchen, Lucas gave up on what he'd been dwelling on all morning, which was how to convince Jessie that the Playboy Prince didn't exist anymore. With everything that had happened to her, he wasn't sure she'd had enough time to even absorb the fact of who he really was, let alone accept that he was no longer what the gossip rags said he was. He'd only walked back into her life hours ago, after all.

  The fact that he himself wasn't certain anymore who and what he was was something he tried not to dwell on. That solid certainty would come back, he was sure, once he had all the facets of his life in place. He was simply suffering from aftereffects. The doctors had warned him he might feel unsettled for a while.

  He hadn't expected the feeling to be so strong, but he decided now that it was because he didn't have this in order yet. Once Jessie and Luke were where they should be, everything else would fall into place. And he was sure that would happen as soon as Jessie was sure he wasn't some spoiled, profligate wastrel, good for nothing except making tabloid headlines. But he would have to move slowly.

  Jessie needed time. Time to feel safe again, time to put the nightmare of her abduction and awful captivity, her near death and the kidnapping of her baby behind her.

  As much as she could, anyway, he amended, remembering his mother's warning that Jessie might be haunted by those events for a very long time.

  Yet looking at her now, she seemed almost unchanged by her ordeal. The woman who walked into the homey, country kitchen looked just like the woman he'd fallen in love with all those months ago. Her long, slender legs were encased in faded blue jeans, and she was wearing one of the long-sleeved T-shirts sh
e favored, soft from many washings. Her long hair was braided into a single, thick, golden plait down her back, the tip nearly brushing the worn leather belt at her waist.

  But when he looked closer, he saw the darker circles beneath her eyes, saw that the jeans were a bit loose on her. Whatever weight she'd put on during her pregnancy, she certainly hadn't hung on to any of it. And when she gave him an uncertain smile, he knew she was still very fragile.

  Careful, he warned himself yet again.

  "Did the nurse check you?" he asked.

  "Yes, she did," Jessie said, her mouth quirking. "I seem to have survived my hair-raising excursion in a vehicle that's obviously designed not to allow a single bump in the road to be felt."

  "Good," Lucas said, ignoring her wry humor. She might as well get used to being treated properly, because from now on that's the way it was going to be.

  Jessie walked quickly to the table, where Eliya sat giving Luke his bottle. She looked at the child hungrily, and Lucas suspected it had been all she could do to be away from the baby long enough to be examined by the nurse he'd hired.

  "Do you wish to finish?" Eliya asked her politely.

  Jessie hesitated, her gaze flicking to the window that gave them a view out to the barn.

  "Take him," Lucas said to Jessie. "Eliya, will you leave us for a moment, please?"

  With a quick nod the woman carefully handed over the baby, his blanket and the bottle, and departed. Jessie looked a little startled at the speed with which it had happened, but she sank down into the chair the woman had been using and cuddled her son close as she held the bottle for him.

  "You need time with him," Lucas told her when they were alone.

  "Yes," she agreed. "I need that." She gave him a hesitant look.

  "What is it, Jessie?"

  "I'm a little afraid," she admitted. "Of really being a mother to him. I feel like I've got so much to learn, so fast."

  "You were always a fast learner," he said. "And you'll have plenty of time."

  "But the ranch, I've been gone so long, it needs—"