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As her heart shattered with love and hope, she stroked his neck, tumbling into the sweet, stunning rush of afterglow, and pressed her lips to the scar beneath his hairline, branding him for ever as hers, too.
A while later he finally let her go, to gather his clothing. She stepped off the table, but when her knees wobbled he scooped her into his arms, dropping a kiss to one thrusting nipple.
‘I want to protect you, always,’ he said, his gaze fierce.
It was an expression she had seen many times before on his face, but why had she allowed her own insecurities to misinterpret it?
Of course he loved her. He just didn’t know how to say it, how to talk about it, how to show it or even understand it, because he’d spent his childhood with a man who had made him feel unlovable.
‘So don’t ever run out on me again, okay?’ he demanded.
She nodded, humbled by the passion in his voice, and the determination.
‘Okay, but you’ve got to let me protect you too, Rene,’ she said, brushing his hair back to stroke the scar. ‘Don’t shut me out again. Will you promise?’
‘It’s a deal,’ he said, hugging her close, his breathing harsh. ‘Now, show me where the damn bedroom is, so I can get naked too and we can seal this damn deal properly.’
She let out a raw laugh and pointed to the staircase.
But as he marched up the stairs, holding her securely in his arms, she knew, as much as she would love to have his child, it really didn’t matter if he got her pregnant. Because he would always be hers now. And she would always be his.
EPILOGUE
One year later
‘IBAPTIZE YOU,Mia Isabelle Elise Gaultiere, in the name of the…’
Rene grinned as the Archbishop drew a wet cross on his three-month-old daughter’s forehead and she let out an indignant yell, drowning out the rest of the prayer.
As the poor man went to hand the squalling baby back to her mother, Rene reached in to take her.
‘Hey there, Princess, don’t worry,’ he murmured to his child. ‘Daddy won’t let the bad man do that again.’
He smiled as she continued to show off her lung capacity to the small collection of invited guests he’d insisted on for the private christening, after a lot of back and forth with his advisers and the palace press officer. His little princess kicked and bawled, her face screwed up in outrage, but began to quieten when Rene gathered her against his chest and pressed her to her favourite spot, on her daddy’s shoulder.
‘Well, that went well,’ Melody whispered to him, the tone wry despite the sparkle of humour in her eyes—the incandescent blue which his daughter had inherited.
God, how could he love this woman more? Not only had she given him a daughter he adored exactly nine months after that rainy day in Wales, but she made a magnificent Princess, ready not just to take on the responsibilities of monarchy but to improve every aspect of his life and work.
‘Yeah, no one messes with Princess Mia,’ he whispered back as the officiant struggled to finish the ceremony above their daughter’s still surly protests. ‘Not even the Archbishop of Saltzaland.’
He chuckled as he leant down to kiss his wife. But then he inhaled her scent above the talcum scent of their baby—and the familiar need shot straight to his groin.
He forced himself to draw back, determined to put a chokehold on his desire.
As the small congregation came up to congratulate them both he patted his daughter’s back, while rocking her from side to side and crooning words of encouragement. It was a move he’d perfected in the early hours of the morning over the past three months—every time he raced into the nursery to pick her up whenever she cried. And, as always, because Mia was already a daddy’s girl, it did the trick.
Travis Lord—who, with the Queen of Androvia, had just been appointed as Mia’s godparent—joined him and Mia as the guests made their way through the Palace to the stateroom where the rest of the ceremony to celebrate Mia’s naming day was being held.
Travis’s heavily pregnant wife and Melody walked ahead of them, chatting away as if they hadn’t seen each other in months, when Rene knew for a fact Melody had visited the couple only a week ago to introduce them formally to Saltzaland’s new Princess. He’d missed his wife and child horribly during those twenty-four hours. But the strong friendship between the two women had been a godsend as Melody had settled into her role as Saltzaland’s new Princess, so Rene couldn’t complain too much.
‘You’re a pro already with her, man,’ Travis murmured, impressed.
‘It’s easier than it looks,’ Rene replied as his daughter let out one last hiccup of outrage, then sighed and snuggled against his neck.
Her slight weight made his heart feel so full with love he sighed, too.
‘I sure hope so,’ Travis replied. ‘We’re gonna have to hit the ground running. Belle’s having twins, we just got the confirmation,’ he added, sounding shellshocked.