Page 44 of Falling for the Queen Mother

His fingers threaded through the softness of her hair until they reached the back of her neck and he pulled her closer. She responded by wrapping her arms around his back, reaching up until the tips of her fingers held onto the tops of his shoulders.

One of them deepened the kiss. Even years later, he wouldn't be able to tell which one of them it was, but he knew without a doubt it was mutual.

As they clung to each other, Nate found himself reaching down and scooping her up into his arms. His lips left hers and brushed along the side of her jaw as she whispered the one word he also felt.

"Yes."

It reverberated through his head for the rest of the night as he stared into the dark, the ceiling invisible above him. Alaina's cheek rested against his bare chest and his fingers continued to brush along the hair at her temple. Her arm twitched where it lay against his abdomen. When he looked down at her, he could almost see her eyelids fluttering.

Could she be dreaming?

Would she wake up with regret?

Nate didn't think she would. He didn't think he would either - if he ever fell asleep so he could wake up.

Though unexpected, they both wanted what happened.

But want wasn't always the best indicator of what should take place. He wanted to eat far more ice cream than he did. It wouldn't be a healthy choice. The same didn't quite apply here, but there was some relevance.

Taking a deep breath in, he blew it out slowly and closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep.

It must have worked because the next thing he remembered was light peeking in from around the curtains covering the windows. When had those been closed? He knew they hadn't been the night before. Maybe Alaina had done so?

With that thought, he turned his head to confirm what he'd already known on some level.

He was alone.

The struggle to keep his heart from dropping was real. Most likely Alaina needed to get her day started or return a text or phone call and didn't want to bother him. Waking up alone didn't mean she'd had second thoughts and was hiding somewhere crying her eyes out.

"Good morning." He looked up to find her walking in from the dressing room putting an earring in as she did. "I hope you slept well. I don't think you have anything on your calendar quite this early, but I do need to get to a meeting that is scheduled for before breakfast." She grimaced. "I am not a fan."

Nate looked at his phone. "No. I have about an hour before I have to be in the archives."

Alaina sat on the edge of the bed next to him and leaned over to give him a soft, lingering kiss. "I doubt I'll make it back in time to see you before you need to leave for that, but I'll try to come find you for lunch."

"That sounds perfect."

With that, she walked out of the room and left him fully alone.

And wondering what in the world had just happened.

The early morning meeting led into another meeting followed by one more meeting and then another meeting after that.

So much for lunch with Nathaniel.

She barely got to eat lunch at all.

But it also meant she didn't have to deal with the conversation she wasn't quite ready to have yet.

As she took the last bite, a buzz on her office phone told her the next meeting had arrived. Quickly, she put the plate on the cart with the silver dome over it and pushed it out of the way before pressing the button to let her assistant know to send the next person in.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty." Emilia curtsied as she walked in.

"Good afternoon." Alaina felt a genuine smile cross her face, but then let it fall into a dramatically sad look. "You didn't bring the baby with you?!"

Emilia's eyes went wide. "Um..."

Alaina laughed. "I didn't expect you to, but I wouldn't have been sad if I got to snuggle with that sweet girl while we talk."