Page 90 of 2 Books in One Bundle

He lay there in the dark night, listening to the ocean and replaying her words in his head. Finally, he heard her breath even out, and once she was soundly asleep he said, ‘I don’t know how to be a friend, Helia. All I know is how to be alone.’

CHAPTER NINE

THATNIGHTVASILIlay awake for hours, and when he did fall asleep it wasn’t very long before he woke. He found Helia in his arms, but instead of extricating himself from the tangle of their sleepy embrace he pulled her more tightly to him. Breathing in her scent. Pondering the fact that even in sleep their attraction had them gravitating towards each other.

It was exactly what he had been afraid of. And even more worrying was how much he wanted to keep holding on to her. He couldn’t need her like this. He wouldn’t allow himself to.

She was right, he had to concede. It would be an unbearably long life spent in misery if they continued as they were now. He was only twenty-nine, she barely a year younger. They had their whole lives ahead of them. The issue was that Vasili had spent most of his life alone. There were always people around him, and yet there was never a personwithhim.

If he didn’t have friends, how could he be one?

He wouldn’t consider himself an adequate one for Helia, that was for certain. She was a good person. Didn’t she deserve a better friend than he could be?

Even as he thought that he knew he couldn’t stay away entirely. He wanted to explore her body. To know her. So, while he might not have the ability to be a friend, or a husband, or even a good king, he could make an effort for Helia while maintaining his boundaries. He would endure this attraction until she gave him her promise that she would accept a life on his terms.

Which meant he would have to start spending time with her and not fleeing as he had done the day before.

Vasili eased away from Helia and slipped a shirt over his head. He called room service for coffee while thinking about how he could spend the day with Helia while remaining cordial and pleasant, and then he made another call.

He settled on the edge of the bed. ‘Helia,’ he said gently. She scrunched up her nose, letting out an irritated grunt that made his heart twinge. ‘I have a surprise waiting. I think you’d be most displeased if you missed out on it because you’d slept all day.’

‘It’s not all day,’ she mumbled.

She tried to turn away from him, and Vasili could see the exact moment that her brain caught up with the rest of her. Eyes widening, she moved to sit up.

‘Vasili, I’m—’

‘Come on, there’s coffee waiting and you need to get ready.’

‘Why are we awake so early?’

Helia ran her fingers through her hair, bunching it over her shoulder. Vasili followed the movement, picturing his fingers tangled in her locks.

‘You are a prickly one in the morning—do you know that?’

She only looked at him, with no expression on her face.

He felt his lips twitch into a smile. ‘The surprise is out on the water.’

‘Great. So it’s not for me.’

‘Oh, no, you don’t.’ He grabbed the covers as she tried sinking further down into the bed. ‘I expect you outside in fifteen minutes.’

With a glare and a few mumbled words she tossed the covers off. ‘I’m up.’

It didn’t take her long to get dressed, and when she emerged in yet another mind-boggling bikini, with a sheer dress over it, Vasili knew it would be a very long day.

‘I didn’t think kings were meant to wear shorts,’ she teased, taking in his outfit.

‘They do when they’re on honeymoon at the beach.’

‘So where are we going?’ Helia asked as she fell into step beside him.

‘You’ll see.’

He led her along various paths, all of which he had explored on his own over the years, until they came to a pier with a single boat docked. Polished wood and shiny fibreglass gleamed in the morning sun.

‘Vasili, I can’t...’