I rested my head against his chest. “That was beautiful,” I said.
“It was,” he murmured, running his finger along the bare skin of my shoulder. “I haven’t felt that complete here since 2002.”
I knew that was the year he lost his mother. “I can’t imagine what that was like for you,” I said softly. “Were you two here alone?”
He took a deep breath. “Father wanted to come. Mother wouldn’t let him. She didn’t want him to see her waste away.”
“But you needed him,” I said.
He shrugged. “Mothers can make mistakes, too, I reckon. She thought she was doing what was right for me at the time.”
I thought about the ring sitting on my right hand.
“Besides,” he said, heaving a heavy breath. “He was already drinking a lot at the time. I think she believed she was saving him, too.”
My heart broke for all of them. I couldn’t imagine going through something like that without my huge family to support me. I took his hand in mine. “You’re not alone anymore.”
His eyes met mine. “I’m not?”
I took off the ring and handed it to him. “Ask me again,” I said.
He took my left hand in his. “Peaches McPhee,” he started, but I didn’t even let him finish. He had already said everything he needed to say at the palace. I crushed my mouth to his with a yes he could feel.
When we finally broke apart, he slipped the ring on my left hand where it belonged.
We kissed all the way back to Luz Del Mar.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I woke up the next morning, way before dawn. The ocean breeze filtered through the open doors. The sound of the sea had lulled me to sleep after we had returned to the palace. I had fallen asleep in his arms, as he kissed me and held me close, whispering all kinds of promises to both Jack and me. I reached for him with my newly bejeweled left hand, but his side of the bed was empty and cold. I sat up, my brow furrowing.
I slipped from the bed, wearing a long silk nightgown that had been provided by the miraculous Darcy. It, too, was white. Clearly, she had happily conspired with him. I slipped on the matching robe, which she had embroidered with the Quinn family crest. I stepped onto the vast balcony, expecting to see him there, but he was nowhere to be found. I stepped towards the railing, peering at the darkened beach below. White, foamy waves crested on the shore maybe a hundred feet away, but the beach was empty.
I wrapped the robe tighter and left the royal suites. I checked the music conservatory first, which sat empty and silent, glowing eerily under the moonlight from the dome above. I peeked in the library, but it was darkened.
I checked every room in the palace before I resorted to the courtyard. It was lit with flaming lanterns that guided my path to the only place I hadn’t looked. The Throne Room.
I pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside.
There he was at the other end of the room, sitting on the throne, wearing only his trousers. He held his sword in his hand. He watched me as I approached, not saying anything at all even when I stopped right in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying it on for size,” he said. He threw one leg over the side. “How do I look?”
“Irreverent,” I chuckled.
“Good,” he said as he pulled me onto his lap. He reached for a kiss that I couldn’t deny him if I tried. The flames quickly engulfed both of us. He repositioned me until I straddled him, my nightgown inching up my bare thighs.
“Auggie,” I said. “We can’t.”
“Why?” he wanted to know. “We don’t rule from here. It’s all for show, like everything else in my life until you. You’re the only place I’ve ever felt at home,” he added, squeezing me tight as he rubbed his hardening body against me. “Make this my home, Peaches. Make me your king. Right now.”
He nuzzled his face in the nape of my neck. I could smell the alcohol from his breath. “You’re not thinking clearly,” I gently admonished.
His hands traveled up to the waistline of my underwear, easily slipping between the satiny fabric and my bare skin. “I haven’t been thinking clearly since I met you,” he said, his eyes dark and hooded. “Don’t you know how much I ache for