Page 24 of A Ring to Claim Her Crown
If this was all he could give to her, he’d do his duty over and over again. He wouldn’t think of the consequences, of whatever came after, when she returned to reality and remembered why this was wrong for them both. It was only when loud laughter intruded upon their little bubble that they realised the Ferris wheel had moved around a couple more places and their bucket was now fully visible to the riders above them. A horrified elderly couple tutted loudly, while above them a group of young men wolf-whistled.
Minerva scrambled off his lap, making to move back to her seat, but Liro wound his arm around her waist to hold her close. She looked up at him, her eyes still a little kiss-drunk, and it took all his restraint not to haul her back onto him, audience be damned. Her hair had begun to escape her cap, curls rioting around her face as she threw her head back and laughed. And, without even thinking, he laughed with her. The wheel brought them back down to the ground but Liro handed the attendant another wad of cash to send them around again, this time buying up all the buckets around them too.
‘Seems like a lot of effort to get me up here all alone,’ she remarked, a slight hint of uncertainty in her gaze. ‘Did you plan to finish what we almost started?’
‘You’d like that?’ he murmured against her neck, memorising the feeling of having her all to himself again. No interruptions, no audience to play for.
She sighed into his touch. ‘It would be wild, reckless—so very out of character for a good girl like me.’
He growled low in his throat. ‘You don’t kiss like a good girl, Min.’
‘How do I kiss?’ She bit down on his ear. ‘Well, I hope?’
‘You are perfect.’
Their eyes met for a split second and he saw the glazed-over desire there, the heady wildness of a woman in over her head. But he couldn’t help feeling that this was too much, too fast. That, if she had a moment to think it through, she’d realise that this wasn’t actually what she wanted. He’d already pushed her onto his ship and taken her out of her comfort zone. If he followed through now with what she very obviously wanted to do, sure, it would be amazing...but for how long? Once reality returned, and they quite literally dropped back down to earth, would she hate him all over again?
He had entered into this ridiculous game of matchmaking for closure, for a way to draw the line under their past. But somewhere during the past few days he had begun to think less and less of the freedom he adored so much. His thoughts had become consumed with her. After more than a decade of control, he was fast becoming addicted to Minerva once more.
She sensed the change in him, pulling back on his lap. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing is wrong. The sunset is beginning.’ He gestured behind them, to where the sky had blurred from blue to pink and purple around the setting sun. He turned her in his lap, holding her steady...not quite able to not touch her.
‘Why do you do that?’ she asked softly, leaning back against his chest with a sigh. ‘The minute I stop fighting you, you get cold feet and go off into your own world. It always maddened me when we were younger.’
Was that what he was doing? He frowned, holding onto her hand as she sighed and laid her head down upon his shoulder to watch the sky transform. He had always told himself he simply preferred his own company, that he just didn’t need friendships or connection. He’d learned from a young age that his quietness wasn’t accepted, that the things he enjoyed would be mocked.
But he wasn’t a child any more—he was a grown man. The realisation that his retreat might not have been entirely to protect Minerva was uncomfortable and something he could not accept. He had loved her...he had wanted to be with her...but he had known she deserved more than him. Deserved more than her reign as queen to be tarnished and criticised because of his tainted name.
As the glowing sunset erupted and the outside world blurred into a sea of colour, Liro couldn’t shake the feeling that he carried more baggage from his childhood than he was willing to accept. Could such things really shape a person’s actions for their entire lives? Surely not? He hadn’t been beaten or neglected. He’d grown up a prince, for goodness’ sake.
‘I rather feel like I should have paid for this date, not the other way round.’
Minerva stared out, calm and still as she watched the crowds below them. This was a glimpse of the carefree princess he’d fallen for all those years ago before he’d ruined everything—this wild, free creature.
And she wanted him, she had made that much abundantly clear. She had to know that he would not deny her whatever she asked of him. He would not deny that getting her into his bed had been on his mind from the moment he’d walked back into her palace and laid eyes on her. But did that mean he should just take what he wanted, knowing that, afterwards, he would have to walk away and leave her to marry another?
He was so lost in his thoughts he hardly noticed the ride had stopped until he felt a hand gently pull at his elbow. They disembarked and wandered out into the rapidly increasing evening crowd of the fair.
A small stand was placed near the exit gate, selling tiny bags of sugar-coated nuts. He’d loved the smell of them as a kid. He watched as Minerva wandered closer, raising one brow in his direction.
‘Looks like it’s time for our final course.’
He didn’t speak, paying for one bag and watching as she half-heartedly nibbled on the sugar coating. They strolled along the path to the marina in silence, her barely eaten bag of sweet almonds soon discarded in a waste bin once they had boarded the yacht.
‘You didn’t like them?’ Liro asked.
Minerva hesitated, her gaze filled with a mixture of anticipation and a little uncertainty, an uncertainty that he knew he had put there. ‘They weren’t what I wanted.’
‘You can’t always get what you want.’ He pushed her back against the door, turning the lock deftly in one slick movement before bracing one hand above her head.
‘Are you about to burst into song?’ She breathed, making a light attempt at laughter that quickly died once she felt the evidence of his erection against her. ‘Oh, Liro...please don’t stop again this time. I don’t think I can bear it.’
‘I won’t be stopping, princess. If this is what you need... I won’t stop until you’re satisfied.’
‘This...you...are what I need, Liro. Just you.’
He closed his eyes against the sensation her words unravelled in his chest, clenching his jaw against the foolish words he felt rise up his throat. Words that had no place there. His time with Minerva was destined to come to an end and once it did he needed to let her go, even if it tore him apart. Without thinking, Liro closed the gap between them and began to give Minerva exactly what she needed.
