Royal Watch (Royal Watch #1) - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,17

fluttered as he kissed me, the familiar smell and taste of him melting my defensive nature as I leaned into him.

“Did you miss me too?” He pulled back, his fingers running through my tangled hair, his green eyes burrowing into mine.

“I did.” I grinned up at him, and suddenly, no time had passed. We had stepped right back to where we left off, though I could feel a slight change in him. A seriousness and focus that hadn’t been there before.

“Good.” He dipped his head. “Because I couldn’t think of anything but you. To the point everyone wanted to kill me.” He pulled me into a slow kiss, his slinged arm pressing between us. “You asked for this time away for me to really think about what I want?”

“I did.” I swallowed.

“I know exactly what I want.” His hand ran down my shoulder, gripping my bicep. “You.”

Emotion crammed in my throat. Disbelief, giddiness, and… fear.

“I don’t want to hide us or sneak around.” His palm stroked my skin. “You understand what that means? I want to introduce you to my family. To the world.”

I stared at him.

“Spence?” He tilted my face up to his, worry creasing his forehead.

“Fuck,” I whispered, the sentiment covering every single one of my feelings.

Theo burst out laughing, his old easy smile expanding over his face. “Damn, I’ve missed you.” He chuckled, pulling me into him. “Is that a yes?”

Theo was not a normal guy. You couldn’t simply date him. For the prince to confirm he had a girlfriend was a huge deal. To the world.

I actually think it would have been better if I was an ordinary girl, not seeing firsthand the life of a royal. Ignorance was bliss. You’d be lost in the excitement and romance of being with a prince, a fairy tale coming to life.

I knew better.

“I know it’s a lot.” He laced his fingers through mine. “The amount of attention that will come on you and your family will be enormous. If you need to think about it, I understand. But I want you to know I love you, Spencer. I want to be with you. I will be by your side the entire time.”

My chin jerked up, my eyes searching his for the truth of his declaration. This was like a scene in a movie. A book. He said everything perfectly, like it had been scripted. The girl would be leaping into his arms, they’d kiss, and the scene would fade to black with happily ever after written across the screen.

This wasn’t a movie. This was real, and what he was asking wasn’t to be taken lightly. My entire world would blow up. I’d be hounded. Criticized. Ranked by what they thought my worth to him was. They’d question why I dared to think I was good enough for their beloved prince.

“Spencer?” He said my name quietly, a question.

Inhaling, I peered up at his familiar green irises. The ones I had come to adore. To love. I couldn’t progress in my career or schooling, but with Theo, I could move forward. Be something more than this.

Letting go of the breath of air, I bobbed my head.

“Yeah. Sure. Let’s do this.”

Another howl of laughter burst from Theo, his head falling back.

“I don’t think in the history of time has a prince’s offer to be his girlfriend been returned with ‘Yeah. Sure. Let’s do this.’” He shook his head with amusement.

“I’m not like other girls. I know better.”

“Don’t I know it.” He shuffled up to me again, his right hand cupping my face, his warm lips parting mine, our kiss quickly deepening to more.

“A-hem.” A guy faked coughed behind us, making me jump away from Theo, expecting to find Dalton standing by the SUV.

It was not Dalton.

Not even close. It was probably the shock of not seeing the prince’s principal bodyguard, who had been at his side since fifteen, that stabbed a jolt of electricity into my lungs.

This guy was unbelievably good looking; no one could deny that. Actually, you couldn’t even call him good looking. He was so smoking hot he didn’t even seem real.

“Your Highness, His Majesty has called again. He’s getting impatient.” The new guard’s deep gravelly voice glided over to us like a shot of brandy. Appearing in his late twenties, he was over six-four, broad shoulders, trim waist, and built like working out was his only job. He barely stayed contained in the dark gray suit he wore. His brown hair, trimmed on the sides, but a