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She expelled an angry breath. “I wonder if he has been arrested already?”
Will did too, but there was no way he’d risk contacting anyone yet. It was still too soon. “Your brother was sending Alain here.”
Confidence burgeoned in her gut. “Good. Alain will resolve it.”
He handed the line back to Lilah. Almost as soon as she’d gripped it, she felt a tug on its end.
“You have the magic touch,” she said with an assumed crossness. “Only because you held it have I now got a fish on the end of the line!”
“That’s great. Reel it in.”
“I can’t… what do you …”
He came to crouch behind her, enveloping her with his arms so that she could hold the line while he reeled the fish in. “It’s a big one,” he murmured, as though he was capable on focusing on anything other than how great she felt in a bear hug.
“Is it?” She was exhilarated by the experience. She held the rod as Will turned the wheel until finally the fish came clear out of the water, its body flipping this way and that in the cold air. She brought it in and then let Will dangle the line closer and closer until he could ensnare the fish and lay it with the others.
Lilah stood up, her face shining and her lips curled into an enormous smile. “I can’t believe I caught a fish! Me! I have never done anything so … primeval.”
He laughed. “Congratulations, honey.”
“Is that all?” She laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Do I not even get a congratulatory hug?”
It would be churlish to refuse. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her against his body. “Congratulations.”
She pressed her head against his chest, smiling at the way she could hear his heart even through the snow-suits.
“I’m glad it was you who rescued me,” she said, breaking away from him.
He nodded, though he wasn’t sure who had actually rescued whom.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A bird flew overhead and Lilah watched its progress against the inky grey sky. The sound of the waterfall glistened in the background, and the trees seemed to whisper ancient secrets to one another. The smell of pine needles was strong; almost strong enough to overpower the fishy smell emanating from Will as he worked to fillet their catch.
His catch, she reminded herself, for he had pulled most of the slippery little beasts out of the lake.
She wrapped her hands more tightly around the chipped mug of tea and sipped it gratefully. He was still wearing his ski-suit, but that didn’t matter. Lilah could picture his body beneath. The firmness of his musculature. The strength of his arms and legs, the breadth of his chest.
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She felt everything inside of her clench with anticipation of an act they could never enjoy.
If she weren’t a princess, hiding from a dangerous madman, what would she have done differently? Could she have spoken with him and laughed with him?
A frown tugged at her lips. They had been doing that. Their interaction had sparked this attraction she felt for him.
No, the only difference in Lilah’s hypothetical fantasies was that she would act on her desire unashamedly. And he would be free to act back.
“It’s hardly royal fare,” he said, his voice gravelly out here in the wilderness.
Lilah nodded, distracted by the direction her thoughts had been taking. She knew for a fact that Kiral had enjoyed affairs. He was discreet, but his romances had been talked about in hushed whispers that had occasionally reached Lilah’s ears.
But while such behavior was expected of a man like Kiral, it would be completely unacceptable for Lilah to indulge in it.
At least, it would be if it were discovered.
And how could she have ever kept a relationship secret? With her constant army of servants, her security detail ever-watchful, and attendants employed to aid her in dressing, doing her hair and make up? Lilah was very rarely alone for any real stretch of time.
