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“M y parents would like to know when they can meet your family.”

Darius swallowed the piece of bacon he’d been chewing and reached for his coffee, trying to put off responding for another moment.

To help with the engagement pretense, Ian had assigned him to Tahira’s detail for the next few weeks.

After being undercover in South America for months, Darius didn’t mind the easy assignment one bit.

Aside from dodging the press to attend her therapy sessions, Tahira had opted to stay sheltered behind the walls of the Clearwater Beach estate, not wanting to appear in public until the bruise on her cheek was completely gone.

The finger marks had faded, and the right style of clothing could hide the discoloration on her arms, shoulders, and legs.

Every time Darius saw one of the contusions, he wanted to kill Secada all over again.

With permission from the palace, Darius was staying in one of the guest rooms in the main house, which helped keep him out of the media’s eye.

It also meant he was spending a lot of time with Tahira—on and off duty.

This morning, they were sharing breakfast on the patio, while two guards maintained their privacy from down on the dock.

As expected, after the formal engagement announcement last week, the press had done everything they could to find dirt on the man who’d reportedly won Princess Tahira’s heart and hand in marriage.

Outside of his SEAL teammates, very few people knew Darius had been one too.

Those that did could be trusted to remain quiet about the Trident he’d earned and worn proudly yet secretively.

Most of the people in his hometown thought he’d been working on a submarine during his time in the Navy, and that was the way Darius wanted it.

As for his teammates, former and current, they had been a given—none of them would ever speak to a reporter.

However, although his black-ops life was protected, thanks to Brody’s and Nathan’s bad-ass computer skills, his personal life was up for grabs.

There was only so much they could hide in this day and age, and it hadn’t taken the media long before they’d descended on Brookford to harass its residents into telling everything they knew about Darius Knight.

Levi had assigned an around-the-clock detail to sit outside their father’s trailer to make certain no reporters ambushed the man and ended up on the wrong end of a shotgun.

Unfortunately, the tabloids were now running stories about how the Knight patriarch lived in squalor, while Darius was marrying a wealthy princess.

Thankfully, Darius had already explained the situation to King Rajeemh during a telephone call the other night.

It was Phillip Knight’s wish to reside where he did, and he resisted any attempt by his family to upgrade his living arrangements.

Since he wasn’t a threat to himself, only anyone stupid enough to ignore the “Trespassers Will Be Shot - This Is Not a Joke” signs Levi had put up along the property lines, their dad remained where he was—peacefully, most of the time.

As if sensing his reluctance, Tahira added, “I mean, your brother and sister. They realize meeting your father might not be possible. My grandfather had dementia for years before he passed away, so we understand what you must be going through. My father suggested we could meet Levi and Barrie within driving distance of your hometown. He does not want to invade Brookford with the royal entourage that must always accompany them. What would be the nearest city that would be convenient for them?”

The more time he spent with Tahira, talking about anything and everything, the more she tunneled her way into his heart.

He was attracted to her, there was no denying that.

And they got along great. She was more fun to be around than he’d realized—at least when he wasn’t on bodyguard detail.

Then, she seemed to disconnect from him, and that confused the hell out of him.

But it also put him back in his place. He wasn’t royalty and never would be.

He was a military man who’d seen things Tahira could never imagine—the worst of humanity.

Yes, she’d suffered through her own barbaric assault, but the things Darius had seen and done, in the name of God, country, family, and the innocent, should never touch the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him.

He wasn’t worthy of her. Despite the rape, she was still virtuous and na?ve, and he would only sully that.

But, damn, he wanted her. Maybe it was because he shouldn’t.

Or maybe it was because in any other lifetime, the princess wouldn’t be caught dead with such a lowly peasant.

No, that wasn’t it—he suspected Tahira would be the same person even if she’d grown up poor—gorgeous, funny, sweet, caring, generous, and intelligent.

Most of those traits he’d never noticed before, simply because he’d been a hired gun who only needed to be ready to take a bullet for her.

The first time he’d been on her protection detail, while she’d attended an AIDS research fundraiser, he’d seen a ravishing young woman, dressed to the nines, with curves that would have a comatose man sitting up to take notice.

But he’d also seen a woman so far out of his league that they were on two different playing fields.

She traveled the world and stayed in the most luxurious resorts and palaces available.

Hell, the woman wore a fucking crown on certain official occasions.

Darius had also traveled the world, but he’d done it while wearing combat boots, a KABAR, and camouflage.

And “luxurious” accommodations for him meant anywhere he didn’t have to sleep on the floor.

Yup, they were the complete opposite, but as they say, opposites attract.

And he was attracted to her—big time. Hell, he’d taken to jacking off almost on a daily basis.

Being so near her and not being able to do more than kiss or hold her was wreaking havoc on his libido.

But the last thing he wanted to do was push her into something she wasn’t ready for.

And she wouldn’t be ready until at least after they were married.

She’d held onto her virginity for so long, and just because it had been ripped from her didn’t mean it no longer mattered.

To him, she’d be a virgin in every sense of the word until after the wedding, and then it was her decision where they would go from there.

“Darius?”

He shook his head and gave her a small smile.

“I’m sorry. I zoned out there for a little bit.

Um, yeah, I guess we could arrange that.

I'll call Levi and Barrie and ask them what day and place would be good for them. We have Levi’s officers and some family friends who can watch our dad for a few hours.

We’ll have to figure something out so they can both attend the wedding. ”

As much as he didn’t want his siblings and teammates flying to Timasur to attend the event, he hadn’t been able to come up with a good enough reason for them not to.

There was no way he could tell them the marriage would be over in a few short months.

When he’d suggested the ruse to Tahira three weeks ago, he’d thought the whole thing would be easy-peasy—just another mission.

Marry, wait a few months, get a divorce or an annulment, then go on with the rest of their lives—simple, right?

But every time Darius turned around, there was some other issue he hadn’t considered.

There were more speed bumps in the road than he’d expected, but their destination stayed the same.

The wedding would take place, hopefully without a hitch, and he’d deal with the fallout of the divorce when the time came.

In another year or two, when Tahira met someone worthy of being her husband for the rest of her life, everyone would forget her first marriage had ever existed.

They had five more weeks until the wedding took place—apparently, everyone involved, including the caterers, the wedding planner, the florist, and the dress designer, had dropped everything to be involved in the Timasur wedding of the year.

It was going to be a huge shindig that Darius couldn't even comprehend, even though Tahira had insisted on a having much smaller event than her brother’s wedding the year before.

The day before the official Christian wedding was a huge affair, including traditional Timasurian dress and festivities.

Their culture and customs incorporated bits and pieces from other countries in Europe and Africa, including Mali, Egypt, England, France, Portugal, and Morocco.

Darius would be wearing a tuxedo for the church service and a silk shirt, silk pants, and sash for the cultural ceremony.

He would also be barefoot for the latter.

Yeah, he couldn't wait to hear how much shit Levi was going to give him when his younger brother saw the outfit. Hell, he was already taking a ribbing from his teammates after McCabe had walked in on Darius being measured for both outfits by a royal seamstress who’d brought several versions to the estate for him to try on.

“Have you spoken to Lahana lately?” It had been a week since Tahira had spoken to her cousin, who was spending time at her family’s vacation home in the French Riviera.

Tahira sighed. “No, I have not. She will not return my calls or texts anymore.”