Page 133 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

‘Stop it, Anja.’

‘Yes, Your Majesty,’ she said, with no hint of stopping her smiles. ‘I’ll make sure you’re not interrupted.’

Astrid opened her mouth to inform her assistant that wouldn’t be necessary, but quickly closed it again and looked away. Who was she kidding? Her whole body was on fire with need, with a desperate, heated passion for the man she’d made love to the night before. He was coming to the palace and, while it might have been for a legitimate reason, Astrid was pretty sure he wouldn’t be leaving in a hurry. Not if she could help it, anyway.

* * *

He had brought his plans at the prime minister’s insistence, but they’d barely been placed on the table before Javier Diamandi had swept through Astrid’s apartment and drawn her into his arms, his mouth meshing with hers as though it had been years since they’d last kissed. As though he’d been living and dying for her touch. It was the lighting of a fuse neither could control. Their hands moved manically, removing clothing, throwing items across the room with total abandon, until they were naked, sheened in perspiration, lying on her bed, limbs tangled, bodies moving in unison, just as they had the night before. As though they were performers in a ballet that only they could hear the music for. As though they had been born for this.

Afterwards, breath burning in her lungs, Astrid could only stare at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom and wonder at how different everything looked. How different everything felt. That terrified her though. Javier had already begun to occupy far too many of her thought processes and become far too great a part of her life. She could only thank the heavens that his whole life was in another country. Unlike so many men she knew, he had no interest in becoming her king.

She pushed herself up onto one elbow and glanced across at his face. In profile, his features were stone-like, his expression inscrutable. His cheeks were flushed and his chest moved with the rise and fall of each breath. Slowly, he turned to face her and Astrid’s heart knocked hard into her ribs.

‘I didn’t expect to see you again,’ she said.

His lips compressed. ‘I had a visit from my stepmother.’

Astrid’s brows shot up but she waited for him to continue.

‘She was very angry about the coverage our dance was getting.’

‘Oh,’ Astrid’s cheeks heated a little more. ‘That’s understandable.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘They think of you as theirs, you know.’

Astrid frowned.

‘My stepmother clearly believes a marriage deal between you and Otto is imminent. She wants me out of the way.’

‘But she doesn’t know—’

‘She doesn’t know anything other than that we danced together,’ he reassured her. ‘I’ve already told you, Astrid. You can trust me. This is our private business, as far as I’m concerned.’

Did he have any idea how hard it was for her to get her head around that? Her whole life had been public for such a long time!

‘Then she can’t have been too annoyed. It was just a dance.’

One of his thick, dark brows lifted and his hand moved to her hip, running over her naked flesh until she shivered. ‘We both know it was more than that.’

She bit into her lower lip.

‘That dance was a form of foreplay. I wanted you the minute I touched you.’

She expelled a rapid, hot breath, as that knowledge, his words, wrapped around her heart and made her feel a thousand and one things. ‘This was inevitable.’

‘I don’t know how you can say that. I’ve never done anything like this before.’

‘I’m aware.’ He moved his hand to her chin, tilting her face towards his, and moving his body closer, so there was no air between them. ‘And yet you’re so good at it.’

Her heart swelled. ‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’

‘I’m right where I want to be. For now.’

For now. She took those words and formed them into a small brick of ice, to add to the wall she’d erected around her heart. It was ever-important to remember the impermanence of this. He was leaving and she was glad. She could never have borne marriage to someone like Javier.

Even now, she could see the dangers of being with him. How easy it would be to move beyond the physical and fall head over heels in love with him. Because he was too much of everything. Loving her husband was something Astrid was not prepared to do.

And your child? A voice deep inside Astrid demanded, echoing one of her greatest fears. Because of course she would love her children and in doing so, would open herself up to the kind of pain and loss she’d been running from for over a decade.