Page 35 of Second Chance Prince
Roberta clenched her hand, and when she opened her fingers the flower fell, mangled, to the ground. “I will warn her as soon as I return to London.”
“My father indulged him and laughed at his antics, and I expect Karl still thinks he can sleep in whichever bed he wants to, and he will be forgiven.” Niki’s voice was hard and disapproving. “I will see he leaves your friend alone.”
Roberta nodded. “Thank you.” She looked up again and smiled. He was seated very close to her, and when he reached out to take her hand where it lay on the broken flower, she did not pull away.
“You know I would do anything for you,” he said quickly. “Nearly anything,” he qualified, and she saw the flush of color across his cheeks. “God, that sounds arrogant, doesn’t it? If Karl inherited our father’s charm, then I inherited his arrogance.”
She turned her hand to hold his, their fingers intertwining. “No,” she said. “I don’t think you are arrogant, Niki. It is a defense, isn’t it? When you are feeling ill at ease in a crowd, or in a situation where you are not comfortable. It is your fallback, your mask, and you use it to protect yourself. To hide behind.”
Now she was flushing too, thinking she had said too much, gone too far. She turned away to avoid his gaze, but he leaned forward, and suddenly he was so close, his breath stirring her hair. He smelled so good, of clean male and horse, a perfect combination in Roberta’s mind.
“You know you can say anything to me,” he said softly. “I want you to be yourself when we are together. I like that girl. I always did. I felt she was my friend. The way she blurted out her deepest secrets and most intimate thoughts was fascinating to me. I am sorry you do not feel you can always do that anymore.”
Roberta looked at him in amazement. His dark eyes were focused on hers, and she could see they were full of honesty. He meant it. She tried to think of a response, but her head was in a whirl. Niki, who hated scandal and always seemed to vanish when the Ashtons did something improper, liked it when she spoke what was in her heart? And all this time, she had been trying so hard to curb that tendency.
“I like being your friend,” she said. Then, after a moment, “You know that society does not approve of someone who rattles on about silly things. I have been trying not to do it. At least, notwhen I’m in company where I want to be thought of as a proper young lady. I can still be myself with my family and my close friends. I think you must understand that, Niki.”
“Then if I am your friend too, be yourself with me,” he insisted. “And I will be myself with you.”
It sounded like a vow. Roberta took a deep breath and wondered why her heart was beating so hard. “All right, I promise I will.”
“We will rattle on about silly things together.”
That made her laugh. “I can’t imagine you rattling on about anything!”
He hid his smile, but his voice was teasing. “When I was a boy, I couldn’t prevent myself from talking, telling everyone in detail what I thought and felt. My father put a stop to it. No, don’t be sad,” he said hastily, squeezing her fingers. “The ruler of a country cannot prattle on. He must be silent and listen and only speak when he has something to say.”
Roberta squeezed back. “I understand that. But, Niki, you still need someone you can go to, someone you can speak to as you wish, when you wish, otherwise…I don’t know, if it was me, I would explode!”
He laughed and, leaning closer still, brushed his lips against her cheek.
Roberta took another shaky breath. “I ride a lot,” she admitted. “It helps to calm me. When I feel as if I cannot take another minute of forcing the true me into hiding, then I ride.”
Niki kissed her again, closer to her lips now. “I also ride,” he admitted. “When my head begins to hurt and I feel I cannot bear another moment of listening to the endless advice I am given,then I ride.”
“We could ride together,” Roberta said, but then wondered how that would be possible if Niki was in Holtswig and she was in England. “While you are here, we can ride together,” she corrected herself.
He nodded, but there was a sadness in his eyes. “I would like that very much,” he said softly. “While I am here.”
Instinctively, she kissed him on the cheek. It was a harmless gesture, the kiss of one friend to another, and he had said they were friends, hadn’t he?
Why then did she feel as if they could be far, far more? And why, when he turned his head and kissed her lips, did it feel so right?
Chapter Eighteen
Their kiss deepened, and Niki felt his need for her surge through him. It was so powerful, he struggled to contain it. He wanted to take her mouth with his and have her soft body molded beneath him. It was the sort of primeval urge he could not remember ever feeling. He had never felt as if he could let down his barriers in such an intimate situation, let alone enjoy it.
He was embarrassed to admit to his virginal state, so he didn’t. Let people believe what they wished. But right now, he did not feel like a virgin. With Roberta, he felt eager, and confident, and welcomed.
He wanted to explore her body, make her cry out with the same need as his, and then claim her.
Make her his in the most fundamental of ways.
But he couldn’t. Not when she was so vulnerable. He could not betray her trust. This wasn’t who he was.
He moved away, creating distance between them, and pushed his windblown hair from his eyes. Had he really been thinking of doing such things, after he had called her his “friend”? It felt like something Karl might do, and he was shocked.
And at the same time, he couldn’t deny his attraction to her.
