THE METAL BARRIER was icy-cold. Clara clung tightly, refusing to relinquish her spot at the front of the waiting crowd. Varborg’s dashing heir to the throne was a popular man. If one more onlooker screamed his name in Clara’s ear, she was going to lose it.
None of these people knew the real him. They only saw the two-dimensional version, the sexy Viking who lived in a palace, whereas Clara knew his passions and his dreams. She knew the feel of his skin and the shape of his smile. She knew the rhythm of his heart and the deepest regrets of his soul.
She loved him, pure and simple, and she needed him to know.
But maybe she’d left it too late...
The doors at the front of the army barracks opened and the waiting crown roared, even before Andreas appeared. Clara held her hands over her ears, scared that the noise would somehow hurt their baby, but her eyes were glued to Andreas as he emerged.
Her legs trembled with desire. He was wearing his dress uniform, the navy-blue coat trimmed with white epaulettes making his broad shoulders appear wider, the row of medals on his chest testament to the calibre of man he was. He smiled a movie-star smile, waving at the crowd before shaking the hands of the officials lined up between the exit and his car idling a short distance away.
The people sharing Clara’s section of barrier screamed his name and waved Varborg’s flag, clamouring for a closer glimpse of him, perhaps a wave, a direct smile.
Clara knew exactly what they wanted because she clamoured too. Those things were just as precious to her, perhaps more so, because she loved Andreas the man, and the fans out there in the cold only admired and respected Andreas the prince.
Leaning over the barrier, she willed him to look her way. One look in his eyes and she’d know if he’d already moved on and made practical arrangements for their baby, but forgotten Clara. The woman beside her screamed his name in earnest. For a moment, it looked as if he might head straight to his car after passing along the military line-up, but then he spied a little girl holding a small posy of flowers and he approached the crowd-control barrier, stooping to share a few words with the lucky child.
Clara held her breath, tears prickling the backs of her eyes. He was going to make such a wonderful father and she hadn’t given him a chance to be ecstatic about her news. She’d ruined it with her fear that he could never love her back. But loving someone didn’t make a person weak, it made them strong. Love was the most powerful force in the universe. It made humans do extraordinary things, such as Andreas fighting to save the brother he loved. She didn’t have to fear her love for him, she just had to embrace it and let it work its magic.
‘Prince Andreas!’ Clara’s neighbour cried as he worked his way along the row, shaking hands, answering questions, smiling for his admirers.
Clara froze, her stare tracing every inch of him. He had shadows under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept. She wanted to hold him so badly, she hooked her feet up on the edge of the barrier and leaned closer as he approached.
Andreas reached for the hand of the woman at Clara’s side, his stare flitting over the crowd behind as he tried to acknowledge as many onlookers as possible. The woman began to gush, telling him how much she admired him, how handsome he looked in his uniform, how sorry she was to hear that his father was terminal...
The noise around Clara dimmed to silence. He was close enough to touch now. If she just reached out...
He turned his head, saw her and froze. ‘Clara...’
Clara blinked, her eyes hot with tears. She stared, seeing in his beautiful eyes that she still had a chance to tell him how she felt. That it wasn’t too late.
Snapped from his shock at seeing her, Andreas removed his hand from Clara’s persistent neighbour’s grasp. He gave Nils some instructions, his eyes never leaving Clara’s.
Her heart soared with excitement. She would go to him, tell him that she loved the real him, and all his other versions, and ask him to give her another chance. Tell him that with her he would always be safe to be himself. Just then, Clara felt a weight slumping against her shoulder, sliding down, shoving her sideways.
She dragged her eyes from Andreas and watched with horror as the frantic fan next to her slid to the floor in a faint. Clara spread her arms wide, trying to push back the crowd, to stop them from trampling the poor woman to death. But it was like trying to hold back the tide with her bare hands. Trying not to panic for her own safety and that of the baby, Clara stooped at her neighbour’s side and held her head to protect it from hitting the ground.
There was a rush of movement, the barrier parting, soldiers shouting, the crowd around her clearing. Andreas appeared, kneeling opposite her, his expression one of frenzied concern.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, his arms spread wide to protect Clara and the fan from any stray onlookers.
Clara nodded, desperate to touch him, to kiss him and beg him to hear her out. ‘She’s fainted.’
Clara removed her scarf and propped it between the woman’s head and the cold, hard ground. Andreas felt for a pulse and instructed one of the nearby soldiers to lift the woman’s legs to return the blood back to her head. Within seconds, Nils had organised a circle of soldiers, a human barrier to stand guard around her, the casualty and Andreas.
The woman stirred, coming to. ‘Prince Andreas...’ she said, sounding delirious that her rescuer was the man she’d come there to see.
‘You’re okay,’ he said. ‘You just fainted. We’re going to get you some help. Just relax.’
The woman tried to sit up, sliding a hand through her hair to ensure she looked her best. Clara smiled up at him; she could relate.
‘You’re here,’ he said to Clara, as if dazed.
Clara nodded. ‘We need to finish that conversation.’
As paramedics arrived and began tending to the woman, Andreas took Clara’s hand, his grip determined. ‘Come with me, sötnos.’
He stood, helping Clara to her feet, and Nils urged them towards the car.
Hope surged in Clara’s chest as she climbed into the black car with the tinted windows, her head light, as if she too might pass out.
Andreas dragged Clara into the back of the car, his adrenaline so high, his head spun.
‘Tell me you’re okay,’ he pleaded, his hands on her shoulders, holding her distant so he could scour every inch of her for evidence of trauma.
‘I’m fine.’ She smiled. ‘A little jealous at the effect you have on women, but apart from that, I’m good.’
Andreas crushed her in his arms, his sense of humour abandoned. He pressed his lips to her temple and breathed in the scent of her hair. ‘I’ve never been more scared than when I saw you go down in the middle of that crowd. I almost ripped apart that barrier with my bare hands to get to you.’
He pulled back, his stare flitting over her face to make sure she was real. ‘And the baby’s okay?’ He glanced down at her stomach, as if he had X-ray vision.
Clara rested her hand there. ‘I think so.’
‘Clara...’ His voice broke, his face crumpling with anguish. ‘I love you.’
She’d come to him. That had to mean something. Perhaps she was ready to give him another chance. He slid his hands from her shoulders to cup her face. ‘I love you, and I need you, and I want you.’
Speechless, she blinked, her eyes shining with tears.
‘I’ve tried to give you some time. But I can’t take it any more. I need you to understand how deeply I’ve fallen in love with you and how I’ll do anything, anything, to have you in my life.’
She gripped his wrists, and for a panicked second he thought she would tug his hands away, but she didn’t. The move reminded him of their first meeting, their first kiss.
But he had to say everything he needed to say.
‘I know the idea of my life is hard for you, but I’ll abdicate if I have to. You don’t have to give up your career. I wouldn’t change a single wonderful thing about you. Or we can work together,’ he rushed on. ‘I want to build a dedicated rehabilitation hospital for wounded veterans. You can help me. We can build something to be proud of together—equals.’
‘Andreas...’ she whispered, tears spilling over her eyelids.
‘We can raise our baby together,’ he said, brushing the tears away with his thumbs and pressing kisses to her damp cheeks. ‘We don’t have to marry if it’s not what you want, but I’ll spend every day of my life being there for you, as you deserve. You and our child will always be my first priority. You’ll always be able to rely on me.’
‘Andreas, I love you too,’ she said.
Andreas did a double-take, staring at her mouth in case he’d misheard.
She smiled and his heart soared with hope. ‘I love you. I came today to see you, to tell you. I should have told you the night of the Christmas party.’
Still a little confused, he shook his head. ‘You do?’
‘Of course. I love you.’ She laughed with joy. ‘The real you and all your other amazing versions—doctor, ruler, prince. I’ve known for ages, but I just got scared. I’ve never been in love before. I couldn’t handle how vulnerable it made me feel. But it also makes me strong. Loving you means I can face anything life might throw at us.’
She cupped his face, her fingers curling into his hair. ‘I’m sorry about the things I said. How I made you feel inadequate. But my fear was about me, about my hang-ups, not about you. You’re everything I want. You’re not my father, you’re you. That will always be enough for me. I choose you. Even if there was no baby, no throne, no palace—’
‘Palaces,’ he interrupted, his heart as light as a feather. But she needed to know what she was entering into.
‘Palaces,’ she continued, completely unfazed, ‘I would still choose you. Because I know you. You’re a man of passion and integrity. Varborg is lucky to have you. I would be lucky to have you.’
Andreas dragged her close and kissed her. Joy spread through his body as their lips met, melded together then parted.
‘Clara,’ he said, pulling back to stare into her beautiful eyes, eyes that shone with love for him. ‘I want you to know that you can trust me. I won’t hurt you. I’ll love you and respect you and cherish you every day. Even if our relationship fails for some reason—and I’ll devote my life to ensuring that it doesn’t—I’ll still love you, still respect you, still take care of you.’
She laughed, pressed her lips to his, pushed him back against the seat and sat astride his lap. ‘No, I’ll take care of you.’
Andreas grinned up at her, his hands gripping her hips. ‘We can settle the details later, sötnos. All that matters to me is that you’re mine.’
She nodded, her stare bright with resolve, with her signature passion, with love. This time when they kissed Andreas held onto her for all he was worth. He would never stifle or try to change this incredible woman. He would worship her, subtly care for her behind her back and love her.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, pulling back from their kiss to glance out of the window.
Andreas unbuttoned her coat and slid his hands inside her jumper. He needed the feel of her soft skin under his palms, telling him she was real, she was his.
‘Bed, I hope,’ he said, tugging her mouth back to his. ‘Or, if you prefer, my giant bath tub, or wherever you fancy... As long as I’m inside you, I don’t care.’
She pressed kisses down the side of his neck while her fingers tackled the metal buttons of his uniform coat. ‘In that case, I have a request—a negotiation, even.’
He grinned, loving the way this conversation was going. ‘I’m all yours, sötnos.’
Andreas lay back against the seat and spread his thighs under her backside, shunting their hips closer so the heat between her legs burned through his trousers where he was hard for her.
‘Can we go to the cabin?’ She loosened his tie, using it to pull his mouth closer. ‘I thought we could try out those fur pelts before the fire in true Viking style.’
Andreas closed his eyes as her lips caressed his earlobe, overcome with the passion and love for his sweet nose, his sötnos, his equal in every way.
His hand reached for the intercom to speak to the driver behind the tinted-glass partition. ‘The hunting lodge, please, Tor. And call the housekeeper.’ His speech was slurred with desire as Clara rocked her hips against his. ‘Have him light the fires. Tell him I’m bringing my princess.’
‘Yes, Your Royal Highness,’ Tor said.
Clara took off his tie, her expression approving and serious with concentration as she exposed his chest and pressed her lips to his skin.
He pressed the button again. ‘And, Tor?’ he mumbled, dragging his lips free of Clara’s wild kisses while he popped the clasp of her bra with his other hand. ‘Put your foot down.’