The King's Bride By Arrangement - Annie West Page 0,64

head swung from side to side. ‘Don’t downplay it, Eva. I’ve never felt anything so powerful in my life. Well, except for once.’

She didn’t want to hear this. Surely he wasn’t going to tell her about some other woman? She cringed.

‘It was the same night. When I saw that guy groping you, threatening you.’ Paul’s mouth twisted. ‘I felt a roar of rage so powerful, I couldn’t control myself. The idea of him touching you... I couldn’t bear it. I’d have acted no matter who you were, but that fury was because he hurt you.’ He hesitated. ‘And because you’re mine.’

Eva blinked, thrown off-balance by his words. ‘Officially yours, because of the betrothal agreement, but not really yours. Not in ways that matter.’

He was playing with her emotions and she didn’t think she could bear it.

‘That’s what I used to think. But that night it made no difference. I always counted myself a civilised man, Eva, but that night, once I got my hands on him, I didn’t want to stop.’

Stunned, she stared up at him, seeing something in Paul’s face she’d never seen before.

‘I told myself it was the heat of the moment. And later that it was just sex and four years’ abstinence that made our night together seem remarkable. But my feelings for you didn’t dim. They grew. I watch you with my people and you’re wonderful. I look forward to the time we spend together every day. I value your opinions. I admire your courage and determination. I care about you, Eva.’

‘I know you do, Paul, but that’s not love.’

Why wouldn’t he just let her go? This was torture.

He reached for her other hand, grasping them both tightly, as if willing her to understand.

‘I’m trying to sound reasonable, Eva. Because what I feel doesn’t seem reasonable at all. My heart thuds faster when you’re around. Or even when I think of you. When you smile at me, my heart squeezes so tight, sometimes I can’t breathe. I think of you all the time, imagining what you’re doing, wondering how I can make you smile, make you stay with me. The thought of you leaving scares me.’

He ground to a halt and to her amazement Eva realised his breath had turned ragged and there was a pulse beating frantically at his temple. As if he was in true distress.

What he described was so familiar. And the look on his face...

‘Paul, you—’

‘Please, Eva. It’s my turn. Let me tell you.’

He waited and, torn between hope and disbelief, she nodded, her heart racing dangerously fast.

Paul squeezed her fingers, his eyes never leaving hers. She shivered from her scalp to her toes, rocked by the profundity of that stare. She’d never seen him look so serious, or so determined.

‘I want to share my life with you, Eva—not because you’re a perfect princess who’ll do me proud, but because I can’t imagine not having you by my side.’

He swallowed and her gaze tracked the jerky movement, reading his tension. Eva dragged in a sharp, sustaining breath that burned in her tight lungs.

‘I want to have children with you and raise them together. Not as I was raised, but in a loving, warm family.’ His searing gaze held hers and she could almost swear she heard sparks sizzle. ‘Or, if we can’t have children, then we’ll make a wonderful aunt and uncle team for our nephews and nieces.’

‘Oh, Paul.’ Her throat was so clogged, the words were a whisper she doubted he heard.

He was turning her inside out.

‘I want to grow old with you, Eva. Though not just yet. There are too many things I want to enjoy with you before we reach old age.’ Paul lifted first one hand then the other to his lips, kissing her knuckles, sending flutters of delight through her.

‘I can’t tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you, darling, but I can tell you I will always love you.’

He sighed, then breathed in deeply while Eva still struggled for breath. What he said, the way he said it, was unlike anything she’d ever imagined. Far better than any fantasy. For this was real. So real and raw, it came close to pain.

‘Are you going to say something?’

His voice was the same, strong and deep, but she didn’t miss the hint of a tremor. Eva felt it too in the powerful hands grasping hers.

She freed one hand, saw him frown as she did so then planted her palm on his wide chest. There it