LITMIR.BIZ

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      Floodlights illuminated their path as he drove towards the northernmost point of the palace. Beside him, Jasmine oohed and aahed at the elaborate fountain his great-grandfather had built for his children to splash in, the huge lake containing white majestic swans gliding serenely in the rising moonlight, and ruins of an amphitheatre set into a cliff.

      Jasmine pointed to the spotlights strung along the outer edge of the theatre. ‘Do you still use it?’

      He nodded. ‘Isabella holds a children’s Christmas concert every year.’

      ‘That’s so cool. Everything about Santo Sierra is so cool,’ she amended with a husky chuckle. Then she glanced at him. ‘But snapping at Isabella like that? Not cool.’

      Reyes’s fingers tightened around the wheel, but his reaction was more to do with her laugh and less to do with his sister.

      He brought the buggy to a stop on the grassy landscape and helped her out. She started to put on her shoes.

      ‘Leave them. You won’t need them where we’re going.’

      With a happy smile, she dropped them.

      Hiking up her dress to keep the hem off the grass, she stepped out.

      Reyes tried not to stare at her feet. ‘We have a temperamental relationship, Bella and I. She’ll have calmed down by now.’

      Jasmine frowned. ‘But you won’t apologise? I think you should.’

      ‘Sí, I will apologise. In the morning, when I’m convinced she won’t bite my head off.’

      She laughed.

      He stopped in his tracks as the intoxicating sound transfixed him.

      When she realised he’d stopped moving, she froze. ‘What?’

      He cleared his throat to dislodge the uncomfortable knot. ‘You should laugh more. It’s an entrancing sound.’

      She blushed as her eyes rounded, then her expression turned gloomy. ‘I haven’t had much to laugh about. Not since...’ She stopped and bit her lip.

      He held his breath. ‘Since?’

      ‘Since Rio,’ she muttered. ‘And especially since I found out what my actions caused.’

      The sincerity in her voice shook the foundation of his armour. He searched her face. Her eyes met his with frank appraisal and in that moment he was sure she’d never been more sincere.

      He held out his hand, his breath lodged in his chest.

      She hesitated, and his hand wavered. Looking down, she indicated her dress. ‘I don’t want to let go in case I get grass stains on it.’

      His breath punched out. ‘It’s just a dress, Jasmine. I’ll buy you a hundred more. Let go.’

      She made a face. ‘Yes, Your Bossiness.’ She released her grip on the dress and slid her hand into his. Warm. Firm. Almost trusting...

      A simple gesture. And yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it as he walked her twenty yards up the small hill.

      ‘Where are we going?’ she asked breathlessly.

      He realised he’d been marching and slowed his pace. ‘Up there.’ He pointed.

      She stopped and gazed at the stone monument planted in the earth. ‘What is it?’

      ‘You need to get closer to see it.’

      She followed him. When she tried to free their linked fingers, he held on, unwilling to let her go. Smiling at him over her shoulder, she stepped closer to the stone and ran her fingers over the ancient markings set into the rough surface.

      Still clinging to her fingers, Reyes walked her round the stone, then led her to the jagged crevice.

      ‘Oh, my God,’ she whispered. Reyes watched the wonder on her face as she peered into the black three-foot-wide crack scorched into the earth. ‘How deep is it?’

      Stepping behind, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘No one knows. All past rulers of Santo Sierra have forbidden the site from being explored.’

      She leaned back in his arms and stared up at him. ‘But how did it get here?’

      He bent his head, and his lips brushed the top of her ear. ‘Legend has it that the original Crown Prince of Santo Sierra ran off with the betrothed of the Prince of Valderra the day before they were to be married. The jilted prince hunted them down and caught up with the lovers at this spot. They fought to the death and both lost their lives. The day after they were buried, the subjects woke up to find the fissure here. The two kingdoms have been separated ever since.’

      Her arms folded over his and she rested her head on his shoulder. She rocked slowly from side to side in a silent dance. ‘That’s tragic, but I bet it can all be resolved with a good mediation.’

      He laughed, found himself moving along with her, swaying to her inner music. ‘You believe you can succeed where countless others have failed?’

      ‘Mediation is about breaking things down to the basest level and routing out what each party needs the most. Once it’s clear, most people will settle for their innermost desires instead of what their greed dictates they need.’ Her voice had softened to an introspective murmur.

      Reyes stared down at her sweet face, her perfect nose and gorgeous mouth. Something moved within him. Not his libido, even though it was awake and alert to any imminent action.

      His innermost desire included kissing her, making her his. Permanently...

      He realised she was growing drowsy from the drink and visibly forced his gaze away from temptation. ‘What are your innermost desires, Jasmine?’ he asked before he could stop himself.

      ‘World peace. Or barring that a magical carriage to whisk me back down this hill so I don’t have to walk.’ She giggled, and a smile cracked across his face again.

      Dios, he was in danger of slipping deeper into her web. Maybe this trip hadn’t been such a good idea.

      Or maybe he just needed to take a leaf out of his sister’s book and follow his heart rather than his head for once. He and Jasmine might have arrived at this arrangement unconventionally, but fate had gifted them a compatibility that he would be foolish to ignore.

      Tomorrow morning, there would be a vote to elect a new council, after which he’d be named Prince Regent. The palace press had already announced his impending wedding. His father’s doctors had assured him that the King’s health was holding for the moment and he’d seen a slight improvement in his father’s condition when he’d visited him today.

      As for Mendez, the Valderran prince knew something was up. He’d been putting out feelers as to Santo Sierra’s position on the old treaty. Reyes had ignored him so far. Let him stew for a while.

      For now, Reyes intended to enjoy an evening free of guilt and anxiety. With the woman who would become his in less than forty-eight hours.

      The woman who was carrying his child.

      He paused as a bolt of satisfaction lanced through him. Reyes realised having Jasmine and their child in his life was a prospect that didn’t terrify him as much as it had this time yesterday. Yesterday, he’d convinced himself it was duty driving him.

      Today, his feelings were more of...elation.

      Bending, he swung Jasmine into his arms. She gave another giggle and curled her arms around his neck. Her nose brushed his jaw and his belly tightened.

      Sí, a worry-free few hours were just what he needed.

      ‘We don’t have a carriage, but I have something in mind that might please you.’ He strode to the top of the hill, turned ninety degrees and nudged her with his chin. ‘There,’ he murmured in her ear.

      *

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