by Leslie North
“Do you think they’ll be interested in the bears, too?” she joked.
“Bear!” cried Hope, giggling.
“I think they will be,” said Felicity. Then she was off and running, back to the conversation about all the animals with Hope. It was, he had to admit, a talent he was a bit in awe of…and a little suspicious of. She’d left him once, and he did not want to be left again. She was just so adept at changing the subject, redirecting the conversation… Of course, there was one positive: Felicity had an innate talent that many people outside the royal family had to learn through hard work. She could somehow get him to express his feelings without ever getting around to expressing her own.
“I want it to go well,” he said, aware that he was falling right back into that same pattern. The car pulled up to the curb in front of the zoo’s entrance. He was almost out of time. “For all of us.”
Felicity turned to face him, and the memory of her red-faced and spent on his kitchen counter flashed into his mind. This was not the time to think about that.
The moment they stepped out of the vehicle, Rafael felt his defenses go up. The press corps, it turned out, would follow them throughout their tour of the zoo. Felicity took this in stride, loading Hope into the stroller and carrying gamely on as the director personally took them to each of the exhibits. “Birds!” Hope cried inside the penguin house. “Many birds.” Felicity seemed totally absorbed in all the animals, crouching down next to Hope whenever they stopped to point out what they were seeing.
The press, Rafael couldn’t help noticing, loved it. They snapped photo after photo of the three of them, of Hope’s enchantment, and of Felicity being an attentive, involved mother. And when Rafael took Hope out of the stroller and lifted her up so she could see the giraffes, the shutters on their cameras went into a frenzy.
Then it was time for the speech, followed by questions. There was a little area cordoned off back by the entrance and Rafael stepped forward. The words tumbled from his mouth without much thought—the speech was about how the zoo provided an essential experience for the children of Stolvenia—but then he came to its natural conclusion.
The first question, as he suspected, went to Felicity.
“Felicity, how did Hope like the zoo?”
Felicity smiled, stepping up next to Rafael. “She loved it.” There was a slight hitch as she hesitated. “It’s a wonderful place to visit.”
Then she reached out and took Rafael’s hand.
This was tiptoeing up to the line of breaking protocol. It wasn’t technically against the rules to hold hands in public, but Rafael felt them inching closer.
Felicity also forgot to wear pantyhose, which he didn’t personally have a problem with. What was he going to do about either thing now? Nothing. He couldn’t pull his hand away, and he didn’t really want to.
“You have a wonderful resource here,” Felicity finished, sounding stronger now that she was touching him. “I think Hope would stay all day if she didn’t need a nap.”
There was a chuckle from the reporters, but then another man pushed his way forward. “Felicity, don’t you think the people of Stolvenia have a right to decide how our most precious resources are funded?”
Her grip on his hand tightened, and Rafael stifled the urge to step in front of her.
“I think…” Felicity blinked. “I think the people of Stolvenia have every right to express their thoughts about all…funding…to the government.” She stood up a little straighter. “In fact, I know that Prince Artur has been working closely on forming committees to do just that. If you’ll leave your name, I can get back to you with the correct contact information.”
Back at the palace, when Hope was in bed and the two of them were on Rafael’s couch, he reflected on that moment. When push came to shove, Felicity could handle herself like a member of the royal family, albeit a new one. Which was exactly what she was.
Felicity took another sip of her wine and rested her head against the back of the sofa with a contented sigh. “Hope loved the zoo. She wouldn’t stop talking about it at bedtime. I’ll have to get her a few zoo books.”
“Don’t spare it another thought,” Rafael told her. “I’ll have someone go to town and get them tomorrow.”
Felicity turned her head and beamed at him, but after a moment, the silence turned into something else. “So…this counts as absolutely private time, doesn’t it?”
“Of course,” Rafael said automatically.
“No more visitors for the day? No more staff?” It hit him then, what she was hinting at.
“No. They’re off for the night.” He set his wine on the table next to them.
“I don’t have anything on my schedule,” Felicity said thoughtfully. “No lessons. Far fewer rules, since we’re in private. No parenting to do, now that Hope is asleep and the nanny is listening for her…”
“What are you suggesting?” Rafael slid closer to Felicity and put his arm around her. She snuggled into him.
“I’m suggesting that…” She took a moment to choose her words. “I’m suggesting that I want more of what we had in the kitchen last week.
“Hmm.” He pretended to gaze into nothingness, considering. “That was good…but a little frantic, don’t you think?” He took Felicity’s wine from her hand and put it next to his. “For tonight, I think we’ll have to…” He took her fully in his arms and tipped her back onto the sofa. “I think we’ll have to take it a bit slower.”
“Mmmm.” Felicity stretched her arms above her head as Rafael kissed down the side of her neck to the boat neck of her shirt. She’d changed into it after they got back from the zoo, and now he couldn’t wait to take it off of her. “Oh, no,” she said, faux worry in her voice. “You’ll have to move my shirt if you want to—”
Rafael reached down and tugged it off before she could finish the sentence, Felicity sitting up to help. Then he reached around behind her and undid her bra. Her breasts were gorgeous, her nipples already peaked, and he tipped her back onto the sofa to have his way with them. First, he circled one nipple with the pad of his thumb, then the other, and when he had her moaning, he pressed his mouth to hers and drank in those sweet sounds.
Felicity’s eyes flew open when he pulled back to take a breath. “I want to see you, too.”
That was an easy thing to grant her. He stood up and stripped off his clothes, naked in a matter of moments, and she sprawled on the sofa, looking at him with wide eyes. Wow, she mouthed, and Rafael had never felt such pride.
He helped her wriggle out of her jeans, then panties, and busied himself between her legs, licking and teasing for several minutes before Felicity pulled him up. “I’m ready,” she panted. “I’m ready.”
He had condoms hidden in the drawer of one of the side tables, and he rolled one on. Then he positioned himself between her legs, and this time he felt only his own urgency. They wouldn’t be interrupted, and he savored every single moment of entering her, inch by inch.
Felicity seemed to be savoring it too, with her eyes closed and her arms draped lazily over his back. She ran her fingernails lightly over the skin there as he pumped into her and rocked her hips upward, into his, meeting every movement. It was the kind of slow and sweet sex they’d never seemed to have time for before she left for America. Rafael’s need for her built steadily, unwaveringly rising to a crescendo that left him breathing hard. Even after his climax, he stayed inside her, his body still responding to hers as he worked his hips against her clit until she came with a shuddering gasp.
When it was over, Felicity smiled, her eyes still closed. “I could get used to that,” she said into his ear, making no move to separate them. Rafael didn’t mind this at all. He could see himself staying right here, on this sofa, with her forever.
“I’d like that,” he admitted. As always, he felt the pull of duty, of all his responsibilities…but he would return to them soon enough. For this moment, he was right where he wanted to be.
He kissed her earl
obe, then her temple. “I have an idea,” he murmured.
“What is it?”
“A shower,” he said.
They didn’t emerge from the bathroom for an hour.
9
Rafael couldn’t sleep.
Things were going well—he knew they were. But the better they went between him and Felicity, the more he struggled to reconcile all the versions of her that he knew.
There was the Felicity he’d met at first, who had burned so brightly with need for him that he couldn’t resist her. He’d wanted her, too—there was no doubt about that. But it had been the first time a woman had entered his life and seemed to bend all the available light toward her. He had never had the time or the inclination to feel that way before. It just hadn’t been in the cards. Felicity had changed all of that without even trying.
Then there had been the Felicity who disappeared. Who'd went to the United States and given birth to his child without saying a single word to him about it.
And then there was Felicity now. She was a devoted mother, and the more time they spent together, the more he thought she cared about him, too.
It was something he’d have to talk to her about, but not now. For one thing, it was the middle of the night. For another…what they had was too good to risk.
He sat down behind the computer in the private office in his apartments and started it up. There was some searching he wanted to do among the monarchy’s private files.
Specifically, his mother’s.
It only took him a few minutes. To Rafael’s surprise, a compilation had been left for him—by the man who had gotten Felicity out of the country. That’s what the memo attached to the folder said.
The queen of Stolvenia must be a Stolvenian citizen.
An early flirtation of the former king’s nearly divided the country.
It had all been in the past.
Rafael’s own father had fallen in love with an American before he’d married his mother. It was all there, in plain text, black and white.
The monarchy will fall under the influence of foreign nations if the king marries outside the country…
Rafael sat back in the chair, his heart thundering. Felicity had overcome more than he’d ever imagined to get to this point.
But with everything going wrong, why hadn’t she reached out to him?
He lay awake for most of the night. When morning came, he still didn’t have an answer.
* * *
Two nights later, he couldn’t keep it to himself any longer. When Hope was in bed for the night, he invited Felicity to sit down at the small dining table he had in his breakfast room. It felt better to have the conversation here, rather than on the sofa. Clearly picking up on the tension radiating from him, Felicity sat with her hands folded and her back straight, worry in her eyes.
“There wasn’t a problem after the zoo, was there?” she asked as he sat down across from her and took in a breath.
“The zoo? No. No, there was no problem.”
She sagged with relief. “Oh, good. I was worried that the answer I gave…”
“The answer was great,” he said, trying to inject as much encouragement into his voice as possible. “You were wonderful. No, this is about…something else.” The longer he dragged this out, the worse it would be. “I came across some information about my mother.”
Her brows knitted together. “Your mother…” It wasn’t exactly a question, and now Rafael knew why. Felicity’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said softly. “You must know about everything now.”
“Not everything.” Rafael suddenly felt exhausted. “I can understand how she was involved. I can understand how it was easier for you to leave the country, rather than fight with her. But I can’t understand why you didn’t reach out to me.”
“I thought she’d find out.” Felicity never looked away from Rafael. “I honestly thought she had my phone lines monitored in some way. If not that, then she could’ve had someone watching me. I couldn’t take that chance. I didn’t want to risk losing Hope.”
“Risk losing Hope?” That made Rafael’s blood run cold.
Now Felicity did look down at the surface of the table. “I knew about the pregnancy before I left Stolvenia. Somehow, she must have guessed, or…” Felicity shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how she found out. She knew, and before I left she came to see me.”
Was this the kind of power he had access to as king? It had never crossed his mind to play with people’s lives like this. He didn’t want to believe it about his mother…but it was, sadly, in character for the cold, controlling woman he had known.
“What did she say?”
“She said that if I ever breathed a word about Hope, I’d lose her.” Felicity’s cheeks had gone pale at the words, even though the threat was long past. “That…she would take my baby from me.”
The thought of separating a child from her mother like that—it was horrifying, and Rafael’s stomach turned over. That his mother would have even made the threat in the first place…
“I understand,” Rafael said. “At least, I think I do. I haven’t known Hope long, but…” Anger flared in his chest. “If anyone tried to take her from me, they would come to regret it.” In the moment that he said it, he knew it was true.
“I know they would.” That same fire he felt inside was reflected in Felicity’s eyes.”
Well, that was that. That explained why she hadn’t said anything to him. She was only being the same devoted mother she was right now.
“I want to make it up to you.” Felicity raised her eyebrows. “What can I do? How can I make things better for you? Do you need more help—more staff for Hope and Joy? I swear, Felicity. You don’t have to do a thing to prove yourself to me. We can hire more help for you and vet them personally. You can take a break.”
Her cheeks went pink, but even as he spoke she was already shaking her head. “No, that’s—you don’t have to do that, Rafael. What your mother did—”
“It was inexcusable.”
“It was,” she agreed. “But there’s nothing to be done about it now. Anyway, it’s not caring for my family that I want less of. That’s not a responsibility I feel as a burden. I love being with my sister, and I love being with my daughter. They’re my family.” She dropped her voice a little. “We’re all a family.”
He felt honored that she’d included him in her family, and it made him want to do even more. “Then what can I do? Tell me. The sky’s the limit.”
Felicity looked at him for a long moment. “When I was taking care of Hope and Joy at home, I had my day job, which…it was a lot. It was good, because I got to do work I enjoyed, but there was never much time to take a vacation.”
He waited for more—for her to say out loud what she really wanted—until Felicity laughed, and he realized she’d already said it. “A vacation? That’s what you want?”
“Now, instead of a day job, I have press events and wedding planning. Today, I’m getting fitted for my dress.” Felicity glanced at a clock on the wall. “On top of that, I’m learning so many new rules and protocols that it makes my head spin. So, maybe not a full-blown vacation…maybe something like a picnic. Just…a day off, where we could sneak off with Hope and enjoy each other’s company without any reporters, and no appearances. The way families do. Like normal people.”
It sounded like a fantasy to Rafael. He had hardly spent five minutes out of the spotlight in all his life. But the dream was a tempting one. A day away from all the cameras, and the stress of the referendum, just to focus on Felicity and Hope…
“I guess there’s one other thing.” Felicity suddenly looked shy, and no expression had ever intrigued him more. This was a woman who had turned into a tigress on his kitchen counter. There was no need for her to be shy. “I’d like a good night of sleep.”
“That should be easy to come by. I can have an overnight replacement for the nanny, and she can—”
“In your arms,” interjected Felicit
y, her face coloring. “I’d like it if I could stay in your room. Or if you could stay in mine.” She frowned. “It might be easier if I didn’t have to move Hope into one of your guest rooms, but I’d do it if…”
“Consider it done.” He stood up from the table. “We’ll go there now.”
She smiled, and it was like the sun rising in the morning.
Inside of an hour, they’d wound down, changed clothes, and gone into Felicity’s room.
They settled into her bed together and he wrapped his arm around her. Felicity sighed. “This is nice,” she said, and within minutes he could tell she was asleep.
So trusting, he thought. So…
The rest of the thought never materialized, because he was off in dreamland too.
10
“What about a bit of a girls’ night?” Rafael said the next morning, while Felicity watched him climb out of bed and stretch. She hadn’t known until this moment that she wanted to be here for this—all of this.
It had been one thing to move to Stolvenia, to uproot her daughter and sister and leave that little apartment and its relative security behind, but living so close to Rafael and not being with him…well, that had been something else entirely.
She’d spent three years so very sure that she’d never have this. That she’d never see Rafael or Stolvenia again after she left.
She could still remember how furious Rafael’s mother had been. It was a cold, unrelenting fury, and Felicity had known from their first exchange that there would be no debate and no convincing her that Rafael should know. She believed her son should go on to rule the country without any of that kind of baggage, and she’d found plenty of little ways to let Felicity know she was always watching to ensure Felicity didn’t make trouble.
“A girls’ night?” she asked, just in time to save the silence between them from becoming awkward. “What do you mean?”
