I looked at the folded paper in my hands and uncurled the page. I didn’t know what I was about to read, only that Corbin’s eyes were on me, watching me, studying me as I read the letter.

“This…this can’t be.”

I looked at him. My heart was in my stomach. I didn’t know whether to throw up or start to cry. I swallowed hard, fighting the tightness in my throat.

“It is.” He plucked the paper from my fingertips and returned it to his jacket.

“How do you know? How do you know it’s not some kind of trick?” I was shaking. “It could be extortion. It might not be true.”

“Sophia was never like that. She wouldn’t have cheated on me. The baby is mine.”

“You-you have a daughter?” My heart was breaking as the words came out.

He nodded slowly. “It appears so.”

I pressed my palm to my forehead. The thoughts weren’t coming quickly enough. I should have a plan. I needed to deal with the fallout of this kind of news. I would have to talk to the king. Wallace would need to be brought in.

“Elena?”

I bit my lip. “Yes?”

“We can’t tell anyone about this.”

“What do you mean? There is a princess out there. A direct line to the Marquis crown. Are you saying the king doesn’t know?”

He shook his head. “No. You’re the only person I’ve told. And maybe in some vague way Johannes Montclair. His top security agent is looking for Sophia now. I’m sure he put the pieces together by now. He’s done this long enough to know what I wanted her found.”

I blinked. “When did you get the letter?”

Corbin rested his head on the back of the seat. “The night before the last library dedication. Two months ago.”

“And that’s why you drank that morning?”

He nodded. “I drank and then drank some more. I was drinking in the bathroom before Annalise introduced me. I’m not proud of that moment.”

“Oh my God. What are you going to do? What do you want me to do?”

He sat forward. He grazed the side of my cheek with his thumb. I held my breath. The gesture was so intimate and familiar.

“Keep my secret, Elena.”

I nodded, afraid if I moved my head too much his thumb would fall away. But we pulled up to the palace gates and that brief spell was broken.

Kurtis stopped at the royal entrance. Wallace greeted us.

“The ambassador is already here.”

Corbin patted him on the shoulder. “Good to see you too, Sut.”

“Well?” The stodgy manager urged me out of the car. “Are you going to meet with the ambassador’s aide or not?”

“Right. Of course.” I held Kurtis’s hand and exited the car. It was never easy climbing out with this tight pencil skirt.

Corbin was already in the palace. He had been digesting this news for two months. I had only known for ten minutes and I didn’t know if I would ever be the same.

He was a father.

* * *

The Galona ambassador to the United States had requested a conference weeks ago. Prince Henri had asked me to handle it on his behalf. Now that Corbin had returned, I didn’t have to meet the ambassador on my own. It certainly favored the crown to have a royal in attendance to hear his grievances. I walked in and out of the room taking notes and listening to his list of complaints while Corbin nodded absently. The ambassador hated living in D.C. He was ready to leave his post in the States.

After the meeting Corbin told me he was going to the pool to swim laps. The rest of the day was cleared for him. I didn’t know how long the meeting would run. The ambassador was known for dragging out any conversation he could.

I stopped by my quarters to catch my breath. Royal managers had larger accommodations than other staff. I had a full bedroom, bathroom, and an efficiency kitchen and living area. Wallace of course had the largest of any of us. He had a four-room apartment, yet he lived alone.

I noticed the prince’s pajama pants and T-shirt had been laundered and were folded neatly on my bed. I gathered them in my arms. My skirt and shirt were probably still hanging in his closet. I needed to make a quick trade while he was still at the pool.

I left my apartment and walked through the staff passageway to his apartments.

It was quiet inside. There were no maids or valets.

I pushed open the bedroom door and marched to the closet. As soon as it opened, I was hit with the scent of Corbin. I placed the T-shirt on the top of the stack and found the pants pile. But when I turned to gather my clothes, they weren’t there.

I lifted his suit, in case it had been hidden underneath. It wasn’t there. Hmm. I searched the racks, praying it was here and he was the one who moved it. If someone on the staff found my clothes, I would be mortified. And for no good reason. It was for game night. I didn’t even have a good story to tell Cosette.

I sighed when I spotted them behind one of his uniforms.

“Gotcha.” I triumphantly snagged the blouse from the hangar.

“And what’s that?”

I froze. Corbin stood, blocking the doorway. He was dripping wet with a towel around his waist. I stared as a water droplet slid over the rigid muscles of his chest. Holy shit.

“Clothes.” I held up my shirt. “I didn’t mean to leave them here last night. I’m sorry.”

“I put them out of sight for you.” He winked. “I knew you would be the last person who would want to start a royal scandal.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I brought your things back.”

“Did you?”

The closet door started to close behind him. My pulse raced.

I nodded. “I did.”

There was something in his eyes. Something I’d never seen before when he looked at me. He moved closer. Maybe I was used to keeping a certain distance between us, so I stepped backward.

The door clicked in place. Corbin sighed.

I didn’t know how to move without wanting to leap straight into his naked torso. That towel was barely being held at his hipbone.

He leaned a palm against a shelf near my head. “I showered after the pool,” he explained. His voice was low. “But I forgot to take a change of clothes with me. I left my bag here my mistake.”

I nodded. “Well, I can let you start your evening. I’m sure you’d like to get dressed. Should I order supper for you with the ambassador? He decided to stay in the guest suites for the night.”

“Hell no,” Corbin growled. “An afternoon was enough with him.”

I started to move, but I was caught under his arm. My eyes landed on his hungry stare as his free hand slipped to my waist. I gasped as he curled me against his body. The water seeped through my silk blouse, chilling my skin.

For a second the world stopped.

His lips brushed against my mouth before he crushed my protest with an earth-shattering kiss. His tongue dipped against mine, twirling in rhythm. He sucked at the corners of my lips, kissing, and teasing.

Both his arms wrapped around me, so I was his prisoner. I had no options but to surrender. To let myself get lost in the recklessness of his kiss. My fingers tangled in his damp hair as I fell farther into the delusion that this was real. That after all this time, he wanted me.

It couldn’t be possible. I struggled to find balance. I needed to steady myself. But his tongue flicked at mine and my core tingled with neediness. I ached for him.

Corbin’s palm rounded my ass and he clutched it possessively.

“Your body is fucking incredible, Elena,” he growled in my ear, kissing along my neck and throat.

My head fell backward. His fingers worked the pearl buttons until my shirt lay open.

“And your tits are fucking exquisite.”

He lowered his head, pushing the intricate lace out of his way so he could suck my nipples.

I gripped the back of his head while he dragged them between his teeth, toying with one and then the other.

“Oh God,” I mewed. I still didn’t believe it was real. I was sleepwalking through a fantasy. I had to be. Only, I never wanted to wake up.

He released the zipper on the side of my skirt, sliding it over my hips.

He dropped to his knees, burying his face between my legs. I hissed when I felt his finger slide under my panties.

“No.” I shook my head when he moved it between my folds.

He groaned, coating it in my wetness.

“We can’t,” I whispered. But my body was in complete opposition to my words. I’d never wanted anything the way I wanted this.

“We can.” He looked up at me. “And we will.”

His wide hands landed on either side of my waist as he brought me to the floor. I stared up at him, mesmerized by this man.

I breathed heavily. “I-I can’t. I want to. God, do I want to. But it’s against royal proto—”

“Elena.” He tugged the panties over my thighs before he tossed the towel from his body. I stared in total shock at his shaft. Holy shit it was a throbbing glorious rod of steel.

I felt the flash of heat spread through my core. I wanted it to pierce the ache inside me.

“Do you want to be fucked by royal protocol, or fucked by me?” he growled.

I didn’t need to think through my answer. I had played this exact scenario in my head in a fantasy and in that fantasy, I never turned the prince down.

“You,” I whispered. “I want to be fucked by you.”

His eyebrows rose. “God, I had no idea you had a dirty mouth. You’re hotter by the second, Elena.”

His lips crashed into mine as his body covered mine. His skin was hot and smooth. My hands ran over his back, tracing the lines and angles of muscle. It didn’t seem possible I could know everything about him, except this. I didn’t know how he tasted. I didn’t know the warmth of his body. I didn’t know his cock was something that legends were made from.

He rolled me on my stomach, unclasping my bra and dropping it from my arms, urging me to support myself on all fours. He kissed my shoulders as he pinched my nipples between his fingers.

“Oh shit,” I moaned.

His other hand ran an electric pattern around my clit, through my slit before his fingers pushed inside my pussy. I bucked every time he slid another finger inside me.

My body had never been so alive. So awake. There was a fiery current running from my breasts to my core. Corbin was orchestrating every sensation. Every impulse. Every ounce of ecstasy. My hips moved eager for more.

“You’re getting wetter and wetter,” he grunted. “I think I can make you come like this.”

I shook my head again, knowing I was losing the battle to do the right thing. I was on my hands and knees, naked with the prince in his closet. I’d lost the battle, the minute he arrived.

I arched, feeling the fullness of his fingers push deep inside me.

“No. We shouldn’t even—”

“Oh, Elena. My perfect proper Elena. You’re going to come so hard. Because it’s exactly what I want,” he growled. “I want you to know how good I can make you feel.” He twisted my clit between his fingers, drawing exquisite pleasure. If only he’d twist harder.

“Oh God.”

“Yes,” he uttered huskily. “Fuck my fingers, princess.”

I was like a wild panther, out of control, with one goal in mind. To find release from the pent-up years of sexual frustration and want. Years of lusting after this man. Years of loving him from a distance. I jerked backwards, eager for more fullness. More of his fingers.

I panted, letting the inhibition drip from me. His breath was hot against my neck. There was no turning back as the first cataclysmic wave smacked me. I clutched at his fingers desperate to be grounded in this moment. I was throwing myself off a cliff.

Corbin’s teeth nipped at my shoulder while I rode the orgasm on his fingers.

“Oh baby,” he moaned, sliding in and out of me, driving me higher. Pushing me to a new level of lust.

My fingers dug into the carpet as the rays of pleasure rippled through me. I sank on his fingers fully, letting him fill me, take me. His hand wrapped around my breasts, positioning me upright as he held me against his chest. I whimpered with nowhere to escape.

“Fuck me,” he commanded.

I nodded, riding slower this time, curling my hips forward and back. “Like this?” I asked barely able to whisper.

“Fuck yes.” There was so much pain in his voice. “Come now so I can fuck you with my cock. Come hard for me. You need to be dripping wet. Show me how much you want to be fucked.”

Oh, his dirty words unleashed something in me. The juices flowed between my legs. My body convulsed and vibrated. I flung my head backward on his shoulder, feeling his lips sear into my skin. His thumb rubbed over my throbbing clit and I lost all hope of regaining my sanity. I bounced and rocked until the last surges of my climax faded.

If I thought there was going to be a lull to let me collect my thoughts and emotions, I couldn’t be further from wrong.

Corbin growled and the energy changed between us. The air felt different.

We were headed into new territory.