Page 59 of Unforgiving Queen

“Midnight swim.” He studied me in a way that was difficult to read. “Just you and me, the moon and the stars.”

It was cheesy, but I didn’t care. Besides, it made him smile.

“On one condition,” he said.

I grinned. “Name it.”

“Tell me why you always talk about galaxies.”

My cheeks flamed despite the A/C in his apartment and wearing only his T-shirt.

I tangled my fingers in a fistful of his hair. “From the moment I saw you,” I murmured, lifting up on my toes and bringing my lips closer to his, “I saw stars and galaxies in your eyes. I wanted them—you—all for myself.”

He let out an amused breath. “Galaxies, huh?”

My heart danced along with our swaying bodies. “Yes,” I whispered. “I was so upset Papà didn’t bring you along. I was only six, but I was used to getting what I wanted.”

His eyes were stormy with emotion despite his flat voice. “My father would have been upset to lose his punching bags.”

My heart squeezed at the hint of abuse he and his brother had been on the receiving end of.

Before I could question him, his eyes glanced above my head, darting to the far right wall. I followed his gaze to the grandfather clock. The one he said his mother gifted him when he moved out on his own.

“We have thirty minutes to get changed into bathing suits,” Amon drawled. “Let’s cross another item off your bucket list. Swimming at midnight.”

Laughing and tripping over our own feet, we rushed to get changed into our bathing suits. “Do I need a cover-up?”

He shook his head, grabbing my hand. “Nobody will see us.”

I followed him out of his penthouse. We took the steps two at a time until we ended up on the rooftop.

“Maybe I should have been more specific,” I teased. “No kiddie pool.”

He laughed, the sound beautiful and perfect. Pushing a wide door with a “Private” sign, we exited onto the rooftop and I gasped. A large infinity pool took up half the penthouse roof while Paris’s glimmering lights danced on our mostly bare skin.

“Is it big enough?”

My heart jumped. “Oh, it’ll have to do,” I said nonchalantly, admiring the view.

Paris in the middle of July was usually hot as Hades, but right now, it was perfect.

I tugged him along, swaying my hips and grinning like a happy fool. Standing on the edge, I said, “On three.”

“One—”

I cannonballed into the pool, making a large splash. I came up for air to find him watching me with a smile the size of my grandmother’s Malibu estate.

“Three.” I slicked my hair back and blinked the water out of my eyes. “The water’s perfect. Come in before the clock strikes midnight, my prince.”

Broad shoulders. Bronze skin. Sculpted muscles. Amon Leone was absolute perfection in a man, and he was all mine.

He dove headfirst with minimal splash, and when he came up for air, he swam toward me. His powerful, athletic body sliced through the water until he was beside me, a strand of dark hair falling over his forehead.

I reached for it and pushed it out of his face. The water rippled around us, bringing us closer, separating us.

He yanked me to him and I hooked my hands around his neck. He dipped his head, his lips finding mine for a heartbreaking kiss—soft and so gentle.

“I think I’ve been waiting for you my whole life,” I murmured onto his lips.