Royal Affair Read Online Free PDF

wouldn’t say a word to a soul about this visit.
    Marta waited, counting the beats of her
heart, until a soft knock came on the morning room door and Hilde
let herself in.
    “Mr. Schmidt,” Hilde said.
    Marta rose. “Thank you, Hilde. That will be
all.”
    Friedrich entered. He wore a hat pulled low
on his head and an overcoat far too warm for the weather. A
disguise.
    “Schmidt?” she asked.
    He shrugged. “Kurt used the name to romance
Casey. It seemed to work.”
    “This is all very cloak and dagger.” She
went to him and held out her arms. “Let me have that coat and
hat.”
    He relinquished them, and she set them on a
nearby chair.
    “What about you?” he said. “Where’s your
butler?”
    “I gave everyone but Hilde the afternoon
off.”
    “And you think I sound like a novel.”
    “I suppose we’re both a bit overly
cautious.” They’d discussed hiding their affair. If the scandal
sheets found out, they’d publish lurid headlines, which would worry
not only his family and Alexander’s but would upset the entire
nation.
    With Hilde gone and none of the other
servants about, she had him entirely to herself. Somehow, her feet
wouldn’t move, and she stood drinking in the sight of him. His two
older sons got their stunning good looks from him. The glowing skin
and dark eyes. His white hair made the other features even more
remarkable. A strong jaw and lips sculpted for sin made him a truly
beautiful man. She had to find a way to bridge the few feet between
them. Luckily, she’d anticipated the problem.
    “Some music,” she said as she went to the
portable stereo she’d set up on a sideboard.
    He didn’t remark at the oddity of her
playing music when he’d come for something entirely different. Nor
did he say anything when she slid a disk into the player and the
low notes of a saxophone came from the speakers. At formal balls,
they’d mostly waltzed. This would be a different kind of dance.
    He didn’t object when she approached him but
held out his arms in the usual fashion. With one hand in his and
the other on his shoulder, she stepped into his embrace the way she
had many times before. This time, she wouldn’t have to back away
when the music stopped. This time, she could have anything she
wanted from him.
    “I remember the first time I became aware I
wanted you,” he said. “We were dancing, and suddenly I knew I was
in trouble.”
    “Trouble?” She gazed up at him.
“Really?”
    “Definitely trouble.” With their joined
hands, he tapped the end of her nose. “You were wearing something
blue that brought out the color of your eyes.”
    Yes, that gown. She’d thought she’d caught
his attention that night. But then, he’d bowed after their dance,
and she hadn’t seen him after that. Had he been hiding from
her?
    “All of a sudden, I forgot about the other
guests and everything I had to do and could only feel you in my
arms,” he said. “The urge to kiss you became almost unbearable. I
don’t know how I made it through that dance.”
    “That was…five years ago?” she said.
    “Six. Dev’s coronation as crown prince.”
    She sighed and leaned against him. “How much
time we’ve wasted.”
    He pulled her closer, curling their joined
hands against his chest. The music surrounded them, making their
bodies move with the sultry rhythm. Turning her hand, she pressed
her palm over his heart and felt the solid beat there, perfectly in
tune with her own.
    He stopped moving and simply stood, holding
her. Another time, she could stay with him like this for hours,
basking in his warmth and strength. Today, mere gentleness wouldn’t
do. Pressing her face upward, she nuzzled his jaw with her nose and
then kissed his throat.
    Bending, he captured her lips with his own.
No shy sampling, this. No kiss good-bye or promise for the future.
He meant business, and she yielded to him, urging him on. They
clung together as the inevitable climb began. The first steps of a
journey they’d take