Page 13 of Falling for the King

Even if she was freezing, which she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have said so not wanting to deflect from the conversation they were having, the pain he was in.

‘No. No, I’m not. I—’

‘We’re going to be late for the function at the town hall, although I’m not sure what damage this storm has caused, and how long it will take for us to get there.’ Changing the subject he looked out the window, his profile stern.

She opened her mouth to continue the discussion about this wife, then reconsidered. It was his personal business and goodness knew she didn’t like to think about her own, never mind talk about it. Yet he’d shared more with her in the back of this car than the seven years she’d known him. In private she’d never known him to mention his wife unlike when in public, which he did under certain circumstances. Today she’d glimpsed the man beneath the king and she didn’t want him to think he was alone.

‘I’m always here for you, always.’

Slowly he turned to her surprise lightening his shuttered expression for the briefest moment.

‘Thank you. And I’m always here for you,’ he replied and picked up his gold embossed briefing folder that had been left for him.

‘Have the mayor and the dignitaries already arrived?’ she asked, struggling to get her mind back on their next engagement. The others had left earlier when she and Xavier had walked through the crowd. Originally the plan was for the mayor to stay with Xavier and travel in the car with him. Katerina’s presence had resulted in a late change as requested by the king. The first of many for the tour.

‘I’m waiting for an update.’

Wanting to do something, anything other than look at him, think about him, she also pulled out her schedule which had been placed in the side pocket of the car door. Flicking through she found the briefing document for tonight that she should have reread as soon as she got into the car, instead she had been completely distracted by the king. A habit which was getting more evident and problematic with every passing minute.

***

The following morning, Xavier touched the wall at the end of his fiftieth lap and braced his forearms on the tiles that edged the pool, his choppy breaths echoing through the deserted space. Shaking the water out of his eyes, he wished he could as easily eradicate the images that had been his constant companion as he swam up and down the olympic length pool. Katerina. On a growl of self-directed frustration, he tilted his head back and stared through the glass roof at the night sky. Faint streaks of pink heralded the approaching dawn alongside stars that still twinkled. No sign of the short but ferocious storm that hit yesterday afternoon was visible until he turned his head and spotted foliage strewn across the outside floodlit patio.

Stretching from side to side he winced at the stiffness in his neck thanks to a night of tossing and turning in the dated but comfortable royal suite. Although he never scheduled much sleep, he needed some. He had trained himself years ago to switch off from everything, no matter where he was, and sleep. None of which worked for him last night, nor this morning. Instead, he headed to the residence’s dome-enclosed pool for laps, pushing himself so that nothing else would exist except the rhythm of gliding through the water. It was a proven stress release for him to clear his head, to focus. But it hadn’t worked. Yesterday’s scene in the car with Katerina had played on autorepeat and had followed him stroke for stroke up and down the pool, no matter how hard he’d pushed himself. He could reason that he’d revealed more than he ever had about his wife’s accident because he thought Katerina had been hurt. It was an automatic response to anyone being injured. But that was untrue. That acid burning, gut churning feeling had been all about Katerina. And when she’d comforted him, it roared to life a hunger that changed everything. About what he thought of himself, the type of man he was. His wants. His needs.

The door to the pool dome swung open shattering his thoughts. Whoever was looking for him wasn’t trying to hide their entrance. A moment later the inside lights flicked on and flip flops slapped against the tiled flooring. Not one of his security crew then, their tread would be from hard-soled shoes whatever the time or location, and since he’d instructed no interruptions, it must be something important. Planting his hands on the chilly tiles he hauled himself out of the water in one quick move.

A gasp sounded behind him.

He swung around.

Katerina.

Her eyes blue like the sky on the brightest of summer days, that had haunted him all night and through fifty laps, widened. Lips free of lipstick or any kind of gloss formed a perfect O of surprise that he struggled not to replicate.

He blinked. No, his imagination wasn’t playing tricks on him. She was here. On the other side of the pool, staring at him. Did she not know he would be here?

Her hand flew to her throat grabbing the edges of her dark towelling robe pressing them together. The finely boned hand, which had so gently touched his face yesterday, tightened until her knuckles turned white.

Tearing his eyes away he moved them slowly over her, enthralled by the differences to her usual immaculate style. Blonde hair with wispy strands framed a face without a trace of make-up, was loosely braided and tumbled over one shoulder. Freckles usually concealed ran across the bridge of a small straight nose. Her tightly belted robe which almost touched the ground emphasised a slim waist and her petite stature not helped by the flat flip flops she wore instead of her never-without high heels.

He imagined her tumbling out of bed pulling on a robe over bare skin and heading to the pool. He swallowed, a sound he was sure could be heard across the country and snapped himself out of the vision he was creating. A disturbing, inappropriate one, that had his arms snaking out and pulling her back into the bed she’d vacated with him in it.

He completed his inspection to find her staring at his chest before her gaze dropped lower, then lower again.

Feeling like all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs a part of his body responded quite obviously to her scrutiny. Awareness about what he was or wasn’t wearing finally registered. He stood in a pair of black swimming trunks and nothing else.

Reaching down he reefed up the towel he’d left at the deep end and wrapped it around his waist while struggling to claim some of his well-known decorum. When all he wanted to do was erase the space between them, peel open her robe and …

No.

For one horrified moment he thought he’d yelled the word out loud, instead of it only reverberating inside his head. Katerina now looked resolutely at a point over his right shoulder as a stain of red stole along her cheekbones.

Silence, long past the acceptable stage filled the dome.

‘What’s wr—?’

‘I didn’t real—’