Erik
I wanted to throw her back on the bed and ravage her again, but instead I got up and walked over to her, dropping to my knees beside her and putting my arm around her waist. She looked down at me with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers and just smiled, as if she could read my mind. Hell, she probably could. We were so close, so in tune to each other, it felt that way most of the time. I’d never had this with anyone else and it was part of what made us so good together. And why I loved her so much.
“You know me too well,” I said softly, pressing my forehead to hers. “But I’m not torn because of you—I’m torn because of Anwar. He’s not king, but he’s the official heir to the throne and my uncle’s right-hand man. My presence there would be frustrating to everyone, especially me. And like you said, you want to be pregnant and give birth here, so we’re not going anywhere for close to a year.”
“But you could go,” she whispered. “I mean, for short trips, and not around my due date, but you could commute some. We can’t be together if one of us wants to change the other. I’ll always be a musician, even if I don’t tour again, but I’m not going to stop being who I am. And you have to be who you are, which is a prince, with a deep love for your country and your people.”
“Oh, baby.” I kissed her as tenderly as I knew how, and she put her hands on either side of my face.
“I need you to be who you are, Erik. That’s the man I’ve watched from afar for a decade, the man I let make love to me without a condom the first time we were together, and the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love all of you.”
“I fucking worship all of you.” I kissed her, hard, until we were practically tearing at each other’s clothes.
“You need to eat so your stomach settles,” I said, pulling away slightly. “Then if you want to go again, I’m all in.”
She smiled and shook her head. “You’re going to be super overprotective, aren’t you?”
“Probably.” I got to my feet and sat across from her, taking a sip of coffee. “So, you really think I should work with Uncle Isak in some capacity? I don’t think I want to take on a formal role in Parliament. They’re in session nine months of the year and often debate issues for weeks at a time. I don’t want to be away from you and the baby for that long.”
“Maybe you should mull it around between now and the wedding. Your uncle is coming, right?”
“Yes, he and my aunt have spoken to my parents and expressed how pleased they are for us.”
“Do they know I’m pregnant?”
“I was going to ask you about that,” I said thoughtfully. “I think we should keep it under wraps. First of all, miscarriages are more likely to happen in the first trimester, so I think that would be a lot easier emotionally if we don’t talk about it until then. And frankly, I don’t want to give my cousin any ammunition he can take to the press to make you look bad right before the wedding.”
“So we tell no one?”
“No one except those who already know. How many people have you told?”
“Other than our parents? Jade and Nick are the only ones I’ve personally told, but I’m sure they’ve told people.”
“I really think it would be safer all around if we asked them to keep it quiet.”
“Nick might have told his parents, but he wouldn’t tell anyone else, and they certainly wouldn’t. I’ll call Jade later, though, to make sure she doesn’t call our friend Vicki. They’re close and see each other all the time so I’ll try to nip it in the bud.”
“My father and I discussed it and we really think the less scrutiny about that the better.”
“I’m fine with that. I’d kind of like to focus on my wedding and nothing else right now, you know? Thinking about the baby and finding a house and all the other stuff is kind of overwhelming.”
“Then it works out perfectly.” I held out my hand across the table and she set hers in it, the pink dragon on her ring finger glistening in the sunlight.
“I love seeing my ring on your finger.”
“I like it too.” She met my eyes and we smiled together.
Why did the simple act of smiling at each other feel so damn good?
We finished breakfast talking about our honeymoon and the desire to go somewhere warm, perhaps reminiscent of Greece. I’d already begun looking into it but pretended I hadn’t so I could surprise her. She seemed to love surprises, and I was planning several for the wedding and honeymoon. I’d also found a house I thought she might like, but after her comment about feeling overwhelmed, I opted not to push it. There would be other houses, or we could build one from the ground up. I didn’t care as long as she was happy and we were all safe.
“Am I going to meet the whole royal family?” she was asking me as we finished eating and somehow wound up back in bed.
“Well, my father has a brother and a sister; Isak and Edita. Edita is Sandor’s mother. Her husband is Harold. He’s a very distant relative of the Swedish royal family but grew up in the U.K. Isak, of course, is married to Klara, and they have Anwar, Yusef, Rafael, and Miriam. As far as I know, everyone is coming to the wedding.”
“Holy shit. Are any of the cousins married?”
I nodded. “Rafael married his college sweetheart, Yolanda. She’s like a third cousin or something. I don’t remember the exact relationship but it’s not close enough to be creepy.”
She laughed. “Good to know. So they’re going to mingle with…record company executives, rock stars, and all of my crazy friends and family?”
“If they want to be at my wedding, then yes, they will.”
“I can’t decide if I’m excited or mortified.”
“Don’t worry. My mother is in charge of keeping everyone in line.”
“Are your other cousins more like Sandor or Anwar?”
“Vardan is pretty chill. He’s probably getting married next year. His girlfriend is British, and it’s been serious for a while so we think that’s where it’s going. And everyone except his brothers hate Anwar almost as much as I do. Yusef and Rafael are much nicer than Anwar, but very old school and rigid when it comes to rules and manners. Daniil and Elen are coming to Las Vegas early to do some sightseeing and spend time with all of us and the rest of the family will arrive shortly after them. My parents are going to have a full house the week before the wedding.”
“I’m already exhausted.” She sighed, nestling against me.
“You don’t have to entertain anyone except for maybe one dinner because those that haven’t want to meet you, but they’ll be doing touristy things too, so they’ll be out of our hair for the most part. Don’t worry about any of that.”
“When is everyone else arriving?”
“I’m not sure what Anwar’s plans are, but my father is taking care of all that. He said he’s having a conversation with Uncle Isak and I’m leaving it in his hands because if it were up to me, Anwar wouldn’t even be coming.”
“Is anyone upset we’re not getting married in Limaj?”
I shook my head. “No. Uncle Isak asked about a church wedding and my father told him it was out of the question since neither of us is religious. Apparently, he let it go.”
“That’s good.”
“Anything else on your mind about the family with regard to the wedding?”
She shook her head. “Not really.”
“Good. Then we can get naked again.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She pulled her top off and had just tossed it on the floor when someone knocked on the door.
“Casey? Are you there? It’s Skye. I have to talk to you right now. It’s urgent.”