Joan Pickart - Royal Weddings

The most important thing, the goal above all, was to last until noon without laying a finger on her. Then, one way or another, he’d take her to the airport. The Gulfstream could make it nonstop to Gullandria. Within hours, he’d be turning her over to her father, the king. Once he got free of her—once she wasn’t there every moment, her very presence like a taunt, a constant reminder of what he’d never have—he could begin to purge himself of this impossible hunger for her.

Through the most recent long and sleepless night, he’d pondered deeply. And by dawn he’d almost convinced himself that, over time, he would again find the man he had been before Monday—before two brief days and three cruel nights of following his king’s beautiful daughter everywhere she went. He’d almost made himself believe that the day would come when the prospect of the life that lay before him would be enough to satisfy him again.

Already there was a bright spot to focus on. Never again would he be forced to spend a night lying so near to her, forbidden to touch.

Elli got dressed, washed her face, combed her hair and brushed on a little blusher and mascara. Hauk was waiting for her in the hallway when she emerged from the bedroom.

She couldn’t seem to stop herself from sneering at him. ‘‘There you are again. How can I miss you if you won’t go away?’’

He fell in step behind her. ‘‘You will soon have your wish.’’

She stopped, turned. And all her anger just melted away. There was nothing left but longing.

‘‘Oh, Hauk. I didn’t say it was my wish.’’

They stared at each other. Always a mistake, for them to stare at each other…

Elli sucked in a trembling breath. ‘‘Breakfast,’’ she said. ‘‘We need breakfast.’’

‘‘Yes,’’ he said. ‘‘Breakfast.’’

Neither of them moved.

‘‘Go on,’’ he said.

Somehow, she did it. She turned from those eyes of his and went on down the hall.

The dishwasher was full of clean dishes. Hauk emptied it and set the table. Elli made the coffee, fried the last of the bacon and whipped up some batter for pancakes.

They ate in silence.

And not an angry silence, either. Just a cautious one—cautious and a little bit sad. Elli let her gaze stray out the window to the patch of blue sky between the buildings.

She looked back at Hauk, who was so carefully not looking at her.

Oh, really, he was very dear. He was true and good and… straight-ahead. Not to mention absolutely thrilling to look at. She remembered the little redhead in the restaurant last night. Is that yours? Oh, my, my …

Elli agreed with the redhead. What woman wouldn’t want to make love with Hauk? All that beautiful bronze skin and those big, hard muscles. And those eyes…

Once she’d thought his eyes cold and hard. But she’d learned better in the last two days. His eyes were clear. Unflinching. They spoke of the honesty and strength within.

And it wasn’t only that just looking at him made her want to throw herself into those huge arms of his. There was also an odd and lovely… comfortableness, between them. Or at least, there was whenever she let down her guard and stopped manufacturing anger to keep her feelings for him at bay.

Really, other than held tight in his arms, there was no place she’d rather be than right here, at the breakfast table, with Hauk sitting across from her.

How could that have happened, in little more than two days? How had he gone from a terrifying stranger, her kidnapper—to this? The man most likely to turn her knees to jelly, the man she wanted so much to kiss. The man who could clear her table and empty her dishwasher any time, no questions asked.

She set down her fork. ‘‘Hauk?’’

He allowed himself to look at her.

‘‘Why are we doing this?’’

‘‘Because you refuse to give up your stalling and pack your—’’

‘‘No.’’

He looked at her sideways, suspicious.

‘‘Hauk, I don’t mean that. I don’t mean my going or not going. I mean… you and me. I mean, well, that I care for you. A lot.’’ He stared—and he blinked. She waved a hand. ‘‘Oh, I know. It sounds crazy, to say that, considering why you came here in the first place, considering that it’s only been a couple of days since we met. But so what if it’s crazy? It’s also true. I do care for you. And I think you care for me.’’ He was gaping at her. He looked utterly stunned. She continued. ‘‘I don’t see why we can’t just—’’

‘‘Enough.’’ Hauk dropped his own fork. It clattered to his plate.

‘‘But I want you to—’’

His chair screeched across the floor tiles as he surged to his feet. ‘‘I have told you. I know you have heard. There can be nothing between us. Ever.’’

She looked up at him unblinking. ‘‘That is so ridiculous.’’

‘‘To you, perhaps.’’

‘‘No. Not only to me. To any… thinking individual.’’

‘‘Now you insult my intelligence.’’

‘‘No, I’m not. You know I’m not. And we both know what you’re doing now. You’re trying to drum up some fake reason to be angry with me—and I don’t blame you for doing that. I mean, it’s not as if I haven’t been doing it, too. But we both know it’s all just an act, just a hopeless attempt on both our parts to keep from admitting how we really feel about each other.’’

He fell back a step—as if he needed all the distance from her he could get, as if he feared she might actually reach out and touch him.

She did no such thing—she didn’t even move. ‘‘You think of me as a princess, as someone far above you, someone out of your reach. But that’s… all in your mind. I’m no princess. Not really. You’re always telling me that I think like an American. Well, that’s because, as I keep telling you, I am an American. I might have been born in Gullandria, but I’ve lived all but the first ten months of my life right here, in Sacramento. The laws and customs of Gullandria don’t apply to me. At heart, where it matters, I’m just Elli Thorson. And I think, honestly, that we might have something here, you and me. Something really powerful. Something so good…’’

Apparently, he didn’t agree with her. He stood to attention now. He was just waiting for her to be done with him. Waiting so that he could go.

‘‘Oh, Hauk,’’ she said in a low voice.

‘‘Are you finished?’’

She bit her lip, gave a small, hopeless shrug.

To get away from her, out of the kitchen, he had to go past her. It was his undoing.

She caught his wrist as he tried to get by. ‘‘Oh, Hauk. Please…’’

He froze. The air seemed to shimmer around them. Heat radiated from the point where her flesh touched his. That heat was spreading out, all through her body. Arrows of longing zinged straight through her heart.

She had a split second—even less than that—and he would shake her off. She didn’t give him time to do it. She swept upward, out of her chair, throwing her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his big, hard chest.

It was too much for him. His resistance broke. With a low moan he gathered her close.

Stunned that she’d gotten exactly what she’d yearned for, Elli stared upward, into his wonderful, square-jawed, determined face.

Oh, my. This was a lovely, lovely place to be, held so close against his heart, those huge, strong arms wrapped around her.

He whispered, ‘‘You should not have touched me.’’

‘‘Oh, right. Ask me not to breathe, while you’re at it.’’

‘‘You should not—’’

‘‘Shh.’’ She slid one hand up between their bodies, put two fingers against his mouth. ‘‘Stop that,’’ she chided, oh so tenderly.