my mind back, I could only think of evening events where ballgowns were paired with her peripuni.
"Kari?"
The guard started, the sole occupant of the room beside ourselves.
"Majesty?"
"Could you give us the room please?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "Of course. I'll be outside, call if you need me."
We both waited, the Queen sipping her wine while the bodyguard exited.
As the door clicked shut, Katherine raised her head, considering me with those deep, dark eyes.
She is stunning.
Anticipation hummed through my veins, my blood buzzing under my skin. I'd been waiting all night for her to address my proposal and had a feeling this would be the moment.
"I must admit, I was surprised to learn that you've resigned."
I started, my eyebrows lifting. "You know about that?"
A small smile teased at the edge of her lips. "A queen knows all, Jonathan."
"Jon," I corrected absently. "Have I made the right choice? My caucus thinks not. They've given me twenty-four hours to come to my senses."
"That's because the polls have swung to eighty-three percent in your favour. Should they go to the ballot box tomorrow you'd have an outright majority." She tilted her head slightly. "You'd have the Prime Ministership, Jon. Isn't that what you want?"
Do I tell her the truth?
I could hardly conceal it from her. Not if she were to be my wife.
"I never wanted it."
Her eyebrows rose. "I find that hard to believe."
I snorted. "Would it also surprise you to find out I'm a progressive?"
Laughter spilled from her lips, light, musical and genuine. She shook her head.
"Now I know you're joking."
I swallowed. "My Queen, I—"
"Katherine," she invited. "Or Kit. But only when we're in private or with true friends."
My heart thumped in my chest. "There are friends that aren't true?"
Her lips quirked. "Many. As you'll learn if we settle the negotiations."
"Negotiations for?"
"My hand in marriage. Come, Jon. Did you really think I would accept your proposal without question?"
My lips tipped into a grin, my body relaxing. "Never."
Her grin reappeared. "Good. Now, explain your startling claims," she said, her tone teasing.
I leaned back in my seat, somehow now firm in the knowledge that she would be mine before this dinner ended.
"What I'm about to say may shock you enough that you'll kick me out and ban me forever."
"Try me."
"Like all good stories, this one starts with a hero and a villain."
"I do like a good tale."
I hushed her, leaning forward to capture her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. My cock hardened when she didn't pull away, allowing me to touch the skin I had so often craved.
"Once upon a time," I began, running my thumb over the silk of her hand. "A woman found herself pregnant and alone. Her immediate family, now stout traditionalists thanks to her conservative step-father, disowned her, casting her into the streets and leaving her, and her unborn baby, to the wolves."
Kit's hand involuntarily jerked under my own, tension creeping into her limbs, her eyes blazing with outrage.
Oh, yes. You're a fierce warrior for our people.
"The woman went to her lover expecting help. But his father, a politician of the highest office, threatened to disown him as well. Unlike the fierce woman who loved both man and child, his was a paltry, weak love, and he too cast her into the world without protection."
Kit's breath caught. "She was all alone?"
"Shh, let me continue."
She grinned, squeezing my hand in encouragement.
"The woman sought refuge with her friends but they couldn't offer the long-term stability that she craved for her or her child. For two years she moved herself and her child from place to place, desperate to find somewhere to call home. It was a few days after her son's second birthday, while standing in line to receive her welfare cheque, a famous woman arrived at the centre. There was no fanfare, no cameras or reporters, just a woman seeking answers."
"Was the woman, say, five-four, brunette, with a smile that could light up the room?" Kit asked with a grin.
"Correct."
We both smiled at the description of her mother.
"So many interruptions, my Queen," I tutted.
"You'll find I'm not good at taking direction."
Desire flashed between us, awareness raising the hairs on my skin.
Perhaps not in public but in the bedroom? You'll like the directions I give.
I cleared my throat, determined to get this over with before I gave in to the aching need that had settled in my soul.
"The Queen Consort, only just beginning to show the curve of her first pregnancy, began to make her way along the line, speaking to each and