Page 13 of The Accidental Prince (Accidentally in Love #3)

H e never should have brought her to Durin’s home. The old man had voiced too many suspicious comments, and Karl knew Serena had formed her own doubts.

When they reached the forest, he dismissed Samuel and Bernard, who had walked up to the abbey ruins. He commanded them to take the supplies Father Durin had offered, back to the manor house.

“What are you going to do about the island?” Serena asked, when Karl walked alongside her through the forest.

“I’ll visit the different towns and find out what’s been causing the famine. Then I’ll send recommendations to my father.” In his mind, he’d already begun a list, but he needed further information.

“Why didn’t the governor alert the king?”

“Likely he was afraid he’d be blamed for the problems.” When they reached the steep slope, Karl offered his arm. He walked through the woods by memory, knowing the path well. He heard the sounds of a raven cawing and the light crunching of leaves as an animal scurried through the brush.

“I can see why you were afraid of these woods, as a boy. I can almost imagine something coming out of the shadows.” Serena moved closer to his side, and he put his arm around her waist.

Karl stopped walking a moment, fixing his gaze upon her. “Nothing will happen to you when I’m here.”

“You can’t protect me from everything.” In the shadows, he couldn’t see the expression on her face, but he heard the regret.

“Because you won’t allow it.” He slowed their pace when the path grew steeper. Using the trees for balance, he kept his arm around her.

“I’m afraid that they’ll find me again,” she confessed.

Within her tone, he heard the unsettled worry, as if she expected soldiers to drag her away to a dungeon. “Would it be so terrible to go home?”

“I’ve been imprisoned in a place where I cannot make my own decisions. I’m ordered around and beaten when I disobey.”

His temper darkened at her confession. The more he looked at her, the more he saw the broken pieces of her spirit.

Someone had bruised not only her body, but her confidence.

Deep inside, his anger brewed—not at her, but at the one responsible.

Someone had undermined the princess’s confidence, making her believe that she had no choice but to flee.

With great effort, he calmed his temper and kept his voice soft. “It wouldn’t have to be that way,” he said. “Do you think I’d let anyone lay a hand upon my wife?”

She closed her eyes, as if to hold back tears. “No. But you should choose another princess. I would never be the right wife for you.”

He said nothing, for she was the only wife he could have. Without a title of his own, without a kingdom, he would be reduced to nothing. His only hope of becoming a prince was to wed her.

And she no longer wished to be a princess.

Once again, Fate was mocking him. It wasn’t possible to find another bride, and Serena would learn of his lost title, soon enough.

It was growing dark outside, the trees casting shadows over the path.

Serena wouldn’t look at him, and she’d clutched both hands against her chest. In the fading light, her dark blonde hair held tints of gold.

She looked fragile, and in that moment, he wished he weren’t such a bastard.

An honorable man would do what he could to help her, to let her go.

You haven’t a shred of honor. You tried to use her, and this is what you deserve.

“You despise me, don’t you?” he said quietly.

Her face turned back to his, confusion in her green eyes. “No. You might be overbearing and stubborn, but you aren’t that terrible.”

He didn’t believe her. “I stole you from the palace and brought you to the most forsaken place on earth.”

Serena’s mouth faltered as if she didn’t quite know what to say. In the end, she offered, “It hasn’t been easy, that’s true. But it’s not so bad on the island.”

“And your reasons for not wedding me…is it only because you don’t want to be a princess?”

She walked alongside him to the water’s edge, her shoes pressing footprints into the damp sand. “If you were an ordinary man and I, an ordinary woman, you’d want nothing to do with me.”

“You underestimate yourself.” He reached out to her, his hand grazing hers. “Though I already know you want nothing to do with me.”

Her eyes were studied him with nervousness and interest. “You are an overbearing tyrant.”

“I don’t like it when I don’t get my way,” he said, stopping in front of the water’s edge. The air had turned cooler, the afternoon shifting into evening. The setting sun slid behind a cloud, the golden rim haloing Serena’s hair.

“I’m not marrying you,” she whispered again, her gloved hands touching his.

“I know.” He drew her hands around his waist. “You’d never want a man like me.”

“What kind of man are you?”

“Demanding.” He moved in, touching his nose to hers. He could feel her tremble, the fear he’d conjured by his nearness. “You’re right to stay away.”

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“I’ve already ruined you,” he said against her cheek. “It seems unfair that I should be blamed for your undoing…and I’ve never even kissed you.”

“That’s unnecessary,” she said. But though he’d released her waist, she didn’t try to escape him.

“I disagree. I think you should at least be forced to kiss a tyrant. Before you decide that I’m not what you want.”

Her eyes were wide, and she started to glance over her shoulder when he leaned to brush of lips upon hers. He’d already butchered any attempts at courtship or good manners. He had nothing else to lose.

Serena stood like a stone pillar, too afraid to move.

Karl lifted her hands to his shoulders, guiding her into the embrace.

He framed her face with his hands, sliding his fingers into her hair.

She didn’t know how to kiss, and her innocence pleased him.

There was a sweetness to her, an awkwardness that made him want to teach her what he wanted.

Her mouth softened, and he took her deeper, winding her arms around his neck, bringing her body against his.

The softness of her feminine shape against him was like a rich liquor, intoxicating and sweet.

He kissed her fully, capturing her mouth and giving her no chance to pull away.

She was entirely at his mercy, and he could taste the shock against her lips.

He didn’t care. If he was to be incriminated and refused as a bridegroom, he wanted it to be about him, not his nonexistent throne.

For a long moment, she did nothing except stand motionless, accepting his mouth upon hers. But as the kiss went on, she suddenly caught the rhythm. When her lips moved against his, kissing him back, he was caught by the tantalizing warmth of her mouth.

He wanted to show her that there could be more between them if she’d allow it. With his palms, he caressed her spine, drawing her close, until her chest was against his. She was starting to soften beneath his onslaught, and when her mouth opened wider, his slid his tongue inside.

A soft moan of surprise came from her, but he didn’t stop. He invaded her mouth, not allowing her to catch her breath. When she dared to slide her own tongue against his, instinctive needs pulled at him, to bare her skin and feel her softness against his hard length.

Serena broke away from him at last, her hands pressing against his chest. Her shoulders were tense, and he felt the slight tremor in her body. “I shouldn’t have let you kiss me, Fürst Karl.”

“Karl,” he corrected. “Just Karl.”

“I cannot call you by your first name. It isn’t proper.”

No, but he wasn’t a prince any more. The title felt like a mockery of his former status. “When we’re alone, it doesn’t matter what you call me.”

Her fingers reached up to her swollen lips, and she looked fearful of what she’d done. He said nothing more, for he’d pushed her more than she was ready.

Even if she had kissed him back.

When they rode along the edge of the water, Serena sensed that they were being watched.

Though the prince had allowed her to ride the horse the footman had brought for her, she kept close to his side.

Bernard and Samuel took the lead, with the supplies tied to their horses and torches to light their path.

The moonlight cast a shimmering band of silver upon the quiet waves. The prince drew closer to her, keeping his voice low. “We have visitors, Princess. And I don’t think they’ve come to pay a call.”

She clenched the reins of her horse and followed the direction of his gaze. Along the edge of the hill, she spied the flare of torches. “What do you want me to do?”

Karl withdrew the revolver from his coat and cocked it. “You’re going to stay with me. Bernard and Samuel will keep them occupied while we ride to the manor. It’s not too far.”

“What about them? What if—?”

“They’ll be all right,” Karl assured her. “Both of them are armed, and they are trained to protect us.”

Inside, she struggled to remain calm while Bernard and Samuel came to ride alongside them.

“How many?” Karl asked. From the somber look of the men, Serena suspected they were outnumbered.

“It’s too dark to tell,” Bernard answered. “But we’ll hold them off as long as we can.”

The prince absorbed this knowledge and pointed his revolver skywards, firing a single shot.

“What was that for?” Serena asked.

“Reinforcements,” was all he would say.

Serena huddled against the horse, wishing she understood what sort of threat they were facing. Her answer came a moment later, when four men emerged from the shadows, carrying their own torches. All were armed.

Karl brought his horse close to her, and murmured, “When I give the command, ride toward the hills as fast as you can. Don’t look back, and don’t stop. I’ll follow you.”

She nodded, knowing that her life might depend upon blind obedience in this instance.

The leader of the men came forward, and his body was painfully thin, the bones of his cheeks showing. He held a gun in his hands and his men moved to flank them. “Give us your supplies,” the man ordered.