Page 52 of Second Chance Prince
Her voice was wobbly. “You did?”
“There is no one like you, Roberta.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek, and then nuzzled against her ear, breathing in her warm scent. She shivered, and he did not think she was cold.
“Do you like that?” he asked her in a voice gone husky.
“Yes,” she whispered. Her lips were half-open, her eyes dark with desire, and he had no choice but to kiss her. She leaned against him, her mouth warm against his, soft and sweet, as his tongue traced its shape. He groaned.
“I want you,” he said. “I think you want me. Whatever else might go wrong with our marriage, I think our bed will be full of pleasure and joy.”
She stilled, as if about to say something, and then seemed tochange her mind. She kissed him again, her fingers tugging at his hair, messing up his valet’s careful styling.
He felt out of control, something Niki rarely experienced, but he was still strong enough to pull back. He took a step away, hands once more on her shoulders, and watched as she swayed, her eyes closed and her mouth swollen. He knew then he could kiss her forever, and surely that meant he was doing the right thing? Taking the only possible solution.
He loved her.
Niki admitted it with a sort of wonder. Had he known it all along? At some level, he must have; he just hadn’t been comfortable accepting it. Well, he was past all of that now.
He loved this woman, and he wanted her. Surely that was an excellent foundation for their marriage?
Giddy with a happiness he had never felt before, he moved to kiss her again, just as there was a knock on the door and Freddie’s voice. “Sir? Roberta?”
What had been a private moment was about to become public. Roberta’s eyes snapped open, and she turned away, tucking a curl behind her ear with a shaking hand while Niki smoothed his own hair and prayed his desire did not show too obviously in his tight pantaloons. He thought of his father—that worked to cool his ardor.
“Come in,” he called, and the door opened instantly. Freddie looked suspiciously from one to the other, but whatever he saw, he did not comment. “Have you made a decision?” he asked. “Gabriel will need to be told—and if he has a wedding to plan,then the sooner the better.”
“Yes,” Niki said, then glancing to Roberta. “We will marry as stated.”
Freddie nodded but Niki did not think he was too pleased. His face was a polite disguise, but his eyes showed a degree of perturbance. “Roberta, is this so? I must hear it from you.”
She turned, and her smile was warm and happy. For a moment, Niki was dazzled by the prospect of spending his life with her.
“Yes, Freddie,” she said, “I want to marry him. But don’t worry, I will explain to Gabriel.”
He nodded again, but he still didn’t look convinced.
“It will be small; an intimate affair,” Niki said brusquely. “Only a very few people. Holtswig is where we will have the official ceremony, and my aunt is arranging that.”
The thought of all of Holtswig turning out to see him wed should have made him quake in his boots, but this time, it didn’t. He wanted to marry Roberta, and he was looking forward to sliding the heavy Holtswig wedding band on her finger.
“We will leave you now,” he said, making a small bow to her.
“Yes, I suppose I have a great deal to do,” she agreed wryly.
They stared into each other’s eyes a moment. “Thank you,” Niki said. “This is everything I want, Roberta. I cannot tell you how much.”
She searched his face as if seeking the truth of his words, and if Freddie had not been there, shuffling about and ready to leave, he thought she would have kissed him again. As Niki followed the other man from the room, he almost felt as if he was walking on air. He wasn’t even thinking about any of the many worries and concerns that had filled his life until this moment.
He was thinking about his future wife.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Roberta felt as if she was caught up in a whirlwind, spinning endlessly from one task to the next. And in between, she was wondering if this was a dream. She was marrying the man she loved, but not only that. This was not a one-sided marriage. Niki might not have said he loved her, but he had said he needed her and that she was essential to him.
I cannot think of anyone else I would want by my side.
He was willing to stand up against his chamberlain and the others who did not want him to marry her. Roberta wasn’t entirely sure this was comforting. Oh, it was very nice, but when she remembered how little she knew about being a princess, and how likely she was to embarrass herself…No wonder she was rattled.
