I walk back inside, finding the maid to ask her for a first aid kit. She retrieves one from the cupboard and hands it to me.
“Need my help?” she asks, motioning to follow me.
I shake my head. “It’s fine.”
I’m used to doing things on my own. We have staff at my house, but nothing like this. Not waiting on us hand and foot. When I was younger we had more people around, but as we grew up and my father’s work started to slow down, our household shrank.
Royalty is different. The staff that waits on Theo shows real deference to him—and by extension, to me. It’s strange, but not unpleasant.
The maid follows me outside. Theo is leaning against the back of the chair. He’s taken his sling off and is cradling his arm against his stomach. I lift the first aid kit up and smile.
“Let me help you,” I say.
The Prince nods, and then shifts his gaze to the maid. “We’ll be fine, Desiree. Take the rest of the day off.”
“But, Your Highness—”
“Take the day, Desiree. I can see that you’ve prepped the villa perfectly. Come back in the morning.”
She curtsies, and right as she turns around, I see a smile split over her face. I guess even if you’re working for royalty, it’s still a job. Everyone appreciates a day off. I glance at the Prince, appreciating that he knows the names of almost all his staff. He treats them like real people, even though he’s the future King.
I make my way over to Theo and take a seat next to him on the pool lounge chair again. Gently, I push his shirt off his shoulder. The area where his sling rubbed against his neck is raw and painful-looking. I get some ointment from the kit and gently dab it on. Theo jumps at the coolness of the salve and then sinks further into the chair.
“That feels so good,” he groans.
The Prince closes his eyes as I dab the ointment on, my eyes wandering over his chest and shoulder. I undo another button in his shirt to reveal more of his skin, drifting my hand over the injured area.
I know I did it to save Theo from going overboard, but I hate that I’m the one to have caused him pain. I’m the one who dislocated his shoulder. I can’t stand the thought of hurting him.
When my fingers slide over his skin, the Prince groans.
“Your touch feels so good,” he says in a low growl. When his eyes open again, his gaze sends an arrow of heat through the pit of my stomach.
We said we’d pretend. We said that this wouldn’t be real, and that we’d just be helping each other out. Him, to buy some time with his father and the coronation. Me, to make it easier to leave and protect me from unnecessary pressure.
We said that our kiss shouldn’t happen again. It was a mistake.
But was it?
What if that kiss was the one real thing about this? What if being with Theo is as right as it feels?
The Prince’s gaze is intoxicating. Touching his bare skin sends a shiver straight to my gut, igniting fire in my veins. Embers swirl in his eyes as he stares at me, his tongue sliding out to lick his lips.
We’re balancing on the edge of a precipice. I know we are.
Either we fall head-first into disaster, or this is the start of something beautiful. Pretending to get engaged to him could be the best or worst thing I’ve ever done.
Which will it be?
Right now, the only thing on my mind is how much I want him. We’re alone here, in this villa tucked away on the edge of the world. The luxury and solitude around us heighten the feeling that everything about this is right.
Who cares about the rest of the world? Who cares about our past, and our future? Who cares about our families and our obligations?
The only thing that matters is Prince Theo and me, the fact that his lips look irresistibly kissable, and that his body was carved from something divine.
I can’t resist my desires anymore.
Leaning forward, I kiss the Prince. As soon as our lips touch, fire roars to life in my core. I’m sick of fighting this feeling in my heart, when this feeling is the only thing that’s ever been good.
I’m tired of torturing myself about Luca, when he’s only brought pain into my life. I’m sick of pretending that