bottom lip and I watch as her mouth parts.
“Though you have no right to speak to me about this, I will tell you this but once, Katrina, and never speak of it again. A paramour is not something that I have ever intended on keeping, as long as I had a warm, willing, caring wife in my bed,” I murmur.
“As long as everything is perfect,” she grunts.
Shaking my head, I press my thumb against the seam of her lips. “That is not what I said. My parents have never strayed. They have never needed to. Though, I know that they have quarreled, as I’m sure I will do with my wife.
“Naught is perfect, there will be times where you will not like me and I will not like you. As long as we have respect, devotion, and love, that is what will get us through the difficult journeys that we face.”
“Merek,” she whispers as tears fall down her cheeks.
I do not wipe them away, instead I wait for her answer, for her words. I need them just as much as I need her. When she doesn’t give me an answer, I release my hold on her and take a step back. Her tears continue to fall, but she says naught.
“I will not leave this eve, because protecting you is my duty. I will, however, leave you alone from now on. Your silence is your answer and I will not ask you again, Katrina.”
Chapter Two
KATRINA
The pain in his eyes causes my heart to stop beating in my chest. When he turns his back to me, I watch as he takes the chair and places it facing the window. Before he can sit down, I rush toward him, my body moving faster than it ever has.
Without a word, I wrap my arms around his back. Pressing my cheek against the center of his back, I squeeze his strong waist and let out a breath.
“I want to be your wife, Merek. I want it more than anything in this world, but I am scared.”
His spine is straight, his body is unmoving, until it isn’t. He spins around, knocking me off balance before he bends slightly and grabs ahold of the backs of my thighs and picks me up so that we are nose to nose.
My breath hitches right before his lips press against mine. “Marry me, Katrina. Make me happy, my joy,” he whispers.
“Yes, Merek. I have never wanted to marry a man more than I do you. I have never longed for a touch more than I have yours. I have never dreamed to be a different person, one of royalty and standing before I met you, because I knew that if I was then there could be a chance for us.”
He chuckles as his feet move and he lowers me down on the edge of the bed. I watch in awe as he sinks to his knees in front of me. His hands cup my cheeks, his thumbs swiping the wet tears from my cheeks.
“I will make you happy, Katrina. You will never regret a day at my side, for I will not allow you to. You can, and I demand, that you are always yourself, never dream to be anyone but you, my joy.”
If the gods created a perfect man for me, I know without a doubt that they created this one specifically for me. My lips turn up into a shaky smile and I nod. “There is only you for me, Merek. You are beautiful and perfect, I never thought that this could be a possibility, never in a million years.”
“My cousin is a fair king, he is also a good brother and he knew that I desired you, but was willing to walk away from you for the good of the crown. He understood that I was willing to forego a chance at happiness to fulfill my duty.”
He rises to his knees, leaning forward he touches his mouth to mine. “He knew that I would do all of this, but he wanted his brother to smile, to love, to breathe easy so he gave me permission to marry the woman that I desire. That woman is you, Katrina.”
My entire body melts for him. His lips touch mine, his tongue fills my mouth and he consumes me in a single moment. Merek swallows my whimpers, his hands staying on my cheeks, never roaming down to touch the rest of my body, no matter how badly I want him to.
Lifting