His strong touch sent a burst of heat through her. She hesitated too long before attempting to tug free. “Geoff and I talked. Given the circumstances, he thinks it would be less confusing for Marc if he stepped out of the picture and gave you and Marc a chance to bond.” Chest heaving, she stopped trying to make Christian let her go and stood glaring at him.
“It wasn’t much of an engagement if he gave you up so easily.” Soft and measured, Christian’s remark cut her deep.
“He’s concerned for Marc.” Geoff had been right about her scheme being a bad idea. It had backfired mightily, and once again Christian perceived her as mundane and unable to inspire a man’s passion. “My son loves Geoff. You should appreciate that he was willing to step aside and not complicate an already tricky situation.”
Terrified that Christian would see the tears scalding her eyes, she spun away from him and took several steps toward the French doors and the safety of the garden. But she wasn’t fast enough and he caught her before she could slip outside.
“I was ready to battle him for you,” he murmured, fingers grazing the wet streak on her cheek. “To demonstrate how committed I am to being your ardent husband and a zealous father to Marc.”
Such beautiful words from such a challenging and unpredictable man. Noelle couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. She was still debating when Christian cupped her face in his hands and brought his lips to hers.
The delicious pressure of his kiss held her immobile with shock. She was transported back in time to their first kiss. It had started very differently than this one, in merriment not bitterness. They’d been laughing at something silly, a bit of urban slang she’d used wrong.
In the beginning of their unlikely friendship, Christian had come to her apartment when he was feeling low and out of sorts. He claimed she had a knack for chasing away his shadows, and she was flattered that a charismatic prince, one whose favor was sought by everyone, saw her as special.
Noelle tunneled impatient fingers into Christian’s hair and pushed her greedy body hard against his. She was starving for physical affection. Being hugged by her son was wonderful, but sometimes she just craved a man’s hands on her. To feel a little helpless as he tore off her clothes and had his way with her. And Christian had a knack for this sort of thing. His firm, masterful touch reduced her to quivering need.
His fingers bit into her hip as she rocked against him, the ache between her thighs building. She rubbed her breasts against his chest to ease her yearning, but the friction only caused her to burn hotter.
Men’s voices, coming from the direction of the garden, awoke Noelle to the insanity of what she was doing. She broke off the kiss, but hadn’t the strength to escape Christian’s embrace. Had she lost all sense? Any second they could be discovered by the palace’s staff, Christian’s family. Her son.
Christian took advantage of her unsteadiness and buried his face in her neck. His lips glided over her skin, leaving a tingling sensation in his wake. “I knew you’d come around.”
An icy chill swept through her at his words. Noelle clenched her teeth and cursed her impulsiveness. She tensed and twisted away.
“I haven’t come around to anything.”
“Ten seconds ago you were melted butter in my arms.” He crossed said arms across his formidable chest and lobbed a wolfish grin in her direction. “I’d say that’s a pretty good indication that you agree it’s better for all of us if we marry.”
With her heart pumping gallons of hot, sexually charged blood through her veins, it was a little hard to pretend she was unaffected by their steamy kiss. “Sex was always great between us,” she admitted, “but it’s not a reason to get married.”
“Not the only reason obviously, but wouldn’t you be happier with a man who can drive you wild in bed? I do that for you. Why are you fighting this?”
His arrogance left her momentarily speechless. She spent a silent few seconds studying his face. What she saw gave her reason to believe his confidence was at least partially contrived.
“I’m not fighting anything. I’m trying to make a sensible decision based on what’s best for Marc and me.” Her cheeks heated a little at the skeptical look in Christian’s eyes. Okay, plastering herself all over him hadn’t been sensible, but to be fair, he had a gift for jazzing her hormones and muddling her judgment. “And being kissed by you isn’t making that any easier.”
He stretched out his hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. Her wobbly knees hadn’t let her move beyond his grasp, and she found herself held in place while he closed the narrow gap and dropped his lips to hers once again. Hard and brief, the kiss affirmed that he respected her admission and wasn’t about to back off.
She sighed as his hand slid away. “I really need to go see what Marc is up to.”
“Let’s go.”
Christian refrained from touching her as they exited the room and headed across the lawn in the direction of the koi pond. Longing knotted Noelle’s muscles. Already she was too aware of the exact distance from his hand to hers. The expressive nuances of his gold eyes as he darted a glance her way. The heat pooling in her belly as she relived their kiss.
Marc was lying on one of the flat rocks surrounding the pool, his nose inches from the surface of the water as Noelle and Christian approached. Her son’s enthusiastic chatter wasn’t distracting enough for Noelle to miss the curiosity in Olivia’s gaze as it bounced between her and Christian. Unable to stop the rush of heat that suffused her cheeks, Noelle wasn’t sure whether she liked the princess’s obvious approval. With so many people counting on Christian to produce an heir and Marc waiting in the wings to be legitimized, the pressure on Noelle was mounting.
Would anyone understand if she turned Christian down? Was she wrong to want her son to grow up without the responsibility of ruling a country looming over his head? And was it selfish to take her own feelings into consideration? Christian might be the sort of lover every woman dreamed of, but was he husband and father material? No, based on her past experience with him. But five years had changed her. Could the same be said for him? And how involved was she going to let herself get before she knew for sure?
Six
Christian stopped on the opposite side of the fishpond from his son and drank in the sights and sounds of the energetic boy from behind a polite mask. His heart continued to drive against his ribs following the encounter with Noelle in the green drawing room. An odd lightness had invaded his head as if he wasn’t getting the proper amount of oxygen. Which was ridiculous because he was gathering huge lungsful of air laden with the scents of fresh-cut grass, newly turned earth and Noelle’s light floral perfume. He suspected her scent was affecting his equilibrium.
Marc laughed as one of the big orange koi flipped its tail and sent water splashing onto his cheek. “Mama, did you see that? The fish waved at me.”
“I saw. Why don’t we take a walk to the barn?”
“It should be about time for Bethany and Karina’s riding lesson,” Gabriel added. “Maybe you’d like to see their ponies?”
“Sure.” Marc got to his feet and went to slide his hand into Olivia’s. “Will you take me?”
She exchanged a brief, poignant look with her husband and then shook her head. “I’m afraid Prince Gabriel and I have someplace we need to be, but Prince Christian knows the stables inside and out. He can take you.”
Olivia and Gabriel said their goodbyes and headed for the palace. Marc watched them go before turning to his mother.
“Can’t I just stay here with the fish? I don’t care about ponies.”
“A second ago you were ready to visit the barn,” Noelle pointed out, the skin between her sable eyebrows puckering as she frowned. “And since when don’t you like ponies?”
“I’ll go if he doesn’t come with us.”
“That’s impolite.” Thunderclouds formed in her eyes. “Prince Christian is a very busy man. He is taking time away from his business to spend it with us.”
“Can’t he just go back to work?”
Noelle’s lips firmed into a tight line, and she cast a mortified look Christian’s way. Despite being frustrated that he was his son’s least favorite person, Christian liked that she was concerned about his feelings.
“First the stables,” Christian said, his tone shutting down further argument. “Then I’m going to take you and your mother to lunch at a really wonderful restaurant down by the river.” Neither lunch nor being seen together in a public place had been a part of their original plan for the day, but Christian was feeling a little desperate at the moment.
