Page 11

CHAPTER 11

TRISTAN

At the back of my mind, I’m worried. It’s a nagging at the skin on my neck. As if it’s like an itch I just can’t reach. Not because of everything Parker confided in me, but because Amelia was late coming down from our room. When I saw her, she wasn’t smiling like she normally is, and there’s a worry shining brightly deep in them. The fact she didn’t immediately tell me what’s bothering her makes me worry more. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I try to relax.

We’re still learning about one another, and perhaps this is something she can’t tell me yet.

“Are you ready?” I ask her, motioning out to the bike. I’m anxious to get going. The longer we’re in here, the more we’re running out of time to spend together.

“Yup, just let me grab my jacket.”

My eyes track as she takes long strides toward the closet we keep them in. Her legs are impossibly long, although she’s on the shorter side. Closing my eyes, I can imagine them wrapped around me and the serene smile on her face.

“Tristan? What are you thinking about?”

Smirking over at her, I answer, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Her eyes flitter down below my waist, catching what I know is a slightly hard cock. It’s no surprise. It always is around her. “I think I already do.” She reaches out, grabbing the waistband of my pants. “Let’s go, Tris. Otherwise we’re not going to leave.”

She’s damn right about that. Cupping my palm around the curve of her ass, I slap it, causing her to jump and a cute little surprised gasp to escape her lips. Digging my fingers through her hair, I wrap it around my fist and yank back. It exposes her neck to my lips, and I take advantage, smearing my kiss up to her jawline. “I love you, Lia. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I won’t.” With a turn on her heel, she’s out the door, and I’m following her like a lost puppy.

Typically, getting on my bike and this drive are the best things to settle my nerves, but today the silence in my ears because of the helmet is disconcerting. When I see a turnoff up ahead, I make a hasty decision and pull onto the gravel. It’s an outlook we’ve never been to before, and if I can, I’ll use it as an excuse to get her to talk to me.

When I come to a stop, I steady the bike so she can get off.

We glance out at the steady waves on this side of the island, and I look over at her. “Why were you so quiet when you came downstairs? There was a troubled look on your face, and I’m just wondering what happened. I know I didn’t ask you then, but I didn’t want to start our ride off on a bad note.”

She sighs heavily, raising her shoulders in question. “I was talking to Shannon, and a few things that we were discussing struck me as odd and worrisome, if I’m being completely honest.”

Her tongue comes out to lick her lips. Then there’s a tell, she pulls her hair back into a ponytail, holding it with her hand. She only does this when she’s nervous. It’s a way to keep her hands busy and her eyes away from anything that will allow me to tell what she’s really thinking. “What are you worried about?”

“Did you know Shannon used to work for the Calders?”

This isn’t news to me, but I play it off. “I didn’t, but I’m sure that she was checked out before she was allowed around us. Parker always makes sure we’re safe.”

“Yeah.”

But there’s still some wariness in her.

I wrap my arms around her neck and pull her in close before dropping a kiss on her forehead. “You’re not worried? Not about Crona?”

She wraps those arms around my waist and snuggles in close.

I try not to let her know that I am. My advisers have also been talking about Crona, and the fact that she’s mentioning it worries me a lot. “What did she tell you about it?”

“She ended up leaving because she didn’t trust them. She’s never discussed it before. Not that I don’t trust her, because I do. I trust her with everything. But it just struck me as odd that we’ve never discussed it. What else do I not know about her?”

My wife looks up at me, as if she wants me to tell her, but I let her keep talking. She’s the smartest person I know when she’s talking things out on her own. But there are secrets I have.

“I feel as if that’s my responsibility as her queen—to know about her life and to question the things she did before. When I heard her say that, I did a double take.”

I would’ve too, and now that stress I was hoping to get rid of is back with a vengeance. To loosen myself up, I move my neck back and forth, listening as it cracks and sighing with relief.

At that moment, her eyes turn to me, accusatory. “You knew, didn’t you? I can’t explain it, but my intuition says you knew.”

Honesty goes a long way, and I know that about marriage, so I’m going to give her a little so that she’ll trust me when it’s imperative. “I knew about it. I know about everything.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Tristan?” The tone of her voice is disappointed, and I hate to know I’m the person that caused it to be there.

“Because it didn’t really have anything to do with you. At the end of the day, it’s my decision, with Parker’s approval, who works with you. You get to choose. I give you the people to choose from.” This doesn’t make me feel good, to be manipulative, but there’s so much I have to keep secret from everyone. She needs to know how much I care for her. “I’m not going to give you someone who’s going to harm you. I hope you know that. I love you. If you got hurt, I would never forgive myself.”

There’s a moment of silence between us that could turn awkward, but it doesn’t. Instead, she inhales deeply and holds my hands with hers. I wait for her to speak and give her my full attention.

“I appreciate you taking care of me. No one else has ever done that. Not like you.” With her hand, she releases mine and then runs her palm down my cheek and neck. I lean into it as she begins talking again. “I just felt blindsided.”

There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to broach this subject, but I know I must. She needs to understand her place in the grand scheme of things. “You are my wife, and I respect you. I will respect you every step of the way. I hope you understand that. At the same time, there are going to be things I have to keep from you because I am the King of Haldonia. And there are going to be things that I have to take to my grave, Amelia—things I can’t tell you about.”

She tilts her head to the side, nodding. With the way she’s chewing on her lip, she wants to say something. Somehow, she keeps it in while I continue.

“Not that I don’t want to, but it’s important. There are issues and threats to this country. I have to keep up on that. I have to keep you safe, the country safe, myself safe. If I’m out here blabbing everything I hear, that’s not going to happen. I hope you understand.”

She smiles softly. “I do. I do, and I know all of this. Sometimes I just have to remind myself our marriage isn’t exactly normal.”

“I’m sorry. I know how you feel. There were times when I was a teenager when I had to hold secrets from my best friends. It hurt, especially when I could protect them. This”—I gesture between the two of us—“doesn’t make me feel any better. Can we please have a good afternoon together?”

There’s a part of me that wants to tell her what I know. There’s another part of me that wants to keep her in the dark, but I know after this discussion she’s not going to go for it.

“We can.”

I tilt her chin down with my thumb and forefinger. “Enjoy this day, Lia. It might be one of the last ones we have for a while. Interpret that however you wish.”

Her eyes pool with tears and realization spreads across her face. I’ve told her, without telling her. “Let’s go.” She reaches her hand out to mine. “We’re going to have a great day.”

“That we are.”

She giggles as I chase her along the beach. On this side of the island, it’s not covered in rocks. There’s flat sand, and although it’s cold, we’re having a great time. Her dark hair whipping around her body teases me as I chase behind her. Once I catch up to her, I hook my arms around her waist and take her down, my body covering hers. The smile that’s been spread across her face is wiped away, replaced with a seriousness that causes my chest to tighten. “You’re beautiful.”

“You’re trying to flatter me,” she whispers. “So that you can get my clothes off.”

She knows me better than anyone else. When we were approached about our arranged marriage, this was the part I was worried about. Would we know each other? Really know one another? The way couples who have been together for years do? Just because we were introduced not long before our marriage, I still wanted us to be like my parents.

Turns out, we have been, and I love it.

“I don’t think I have to flatter you to get your clothes off, Lia.”

Licking her lips, she flutters her eyes down. “You’re right, you don’t. It would take a lot less for me to take my clothes off for you, although maybe not here.”

I’m pulled back to the present. She makes me forget everything. Where we are, who can see, and that I’m the king of a fucking country and should conduct myself as such.