CHAPTER EIGHT
Sebastianos
How was this possible?
I could scarcely believe the intern in front of me was the very same girl I’d been thinking constantly about for weeks. It was like the heavens opened their gates and floated her down to me. And if it was even possible, she was even more beautiful now. Her big eyes practically glowed while the rays of light shining in through the stained-glass windows above us reflected off her glossy hair.
She was a vision.
And she was injured. Maybe on the verge of passing out.
To save her further embarrassment, the moment my uncle excused us, I took her injured hand by the wrist and hauled her toward the door, her heels clacking on the marble as I fled with her.
The moment we cleared the doors, I glanced back at her, making sure she hadn’t disappeared like she had that morning. When her eyes met mine, she pulled against me, digging in her heels to slow our forward movement.
“What’s happening?”
I just shook my head. I couldn’t explain it either. What were the chances of us ending up in the same place?
Lifting her hand to her forehead, she swayed a little, and I didn’t hesitate to scoop her up in my arms. “I don’t know, but we’ll discuss it after we get you cleaned up.”
She struggled against me. “Don’t. I can walk. I’ll get blood on you.”
I gripped her tighter and strode to the infirmary. “We’ve shared every other possible bodily fluid, blood is nothing.”
That shut her up and turned her face that pretty pink I so adored.
With every step I took, my army instincts kicked in. Why was she in Cassia? Was this a setup? Had she been sent to seduce and distract me?
“What’s wrong? Please put me down if I’m too heavy.”
I realized I was frowning and relaxed my face, forcing a chuckle I didn’t feel. “You weigh less than my dog, Iliana.”
It was her turn to frown. “Are you calling me a dog?”
A memory flashed of her on her hands and knees, doggy style. I could remember vividly watching my cock slide in and out of her body while my thumb slid into her anus, causing her to jerk in surprise before pushing back for more.
My cock filled with blood. Damn.
Slowing, I turned down a hallway, needing a moment before taking her to the nurse. We needed a moment to talk. I needed a moment to recover. I needed…
Dammit. I needed her.
But not yet. Maybe not ever again, but I needed to be careful right now.
Stepping into a shallow alcove, I put her on her feet but kept my hands on her slight shoulders. The heels she wore made her at least four inches taller, but she was still more than a foot shorter than me.
She tilted her head up, and it took all my willpower not to take her lips with mine. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
“What brings you to Cassia, Ana?” I searched her face. “Or do you prefer Iliana?”
She licked her lips. “Iliana normally, and I’m here for school. You?” She laughed, shaking her head, pressing a bloody hand to her forehead, leaving a streak of red. “Sorry. You’re here because you live here, right? Duke or Prince Sebast—”
“I’m both, but I prefer the title of duke.”
She made a soft snorting sound. “Why? Is prince too Disney for you?”
I laughed softly, glad to see her rallying. Her face was at least no longer a deathly pale, and two circles of pink were spreading across her cheeks. I wondered if she was remembering our night together as well.
“Tell me more about how you came to be here in Cassia.”
But I already knew.
Not that I’d known that Iliana Costas was my Ana, but I’d reviewed the interns file just that morning.
The information was still fresh in my mind.
Iliana had a Cassian father of minor nobility and an American mother. She was a photography graduate student whose visa was filled with trips around the world. Even as I’d read the dossier, I remembered reading about a trip the intern had made to Peru… which made me think of llamas… made me think of my Ana.
But intern Iliana, I learned in the few moments I had to review the information, would be graduating at the end of the fall semester on an exchange program she’d applied to months ago. I knew where she was staying. Hell, I even knew her blood type. A-positive.
But before I could dig deeper and move to the section with her photograph, there had been a security alarm. It turned out to be a maid stealing an expensive watch, but it had been enough to take me away from learning more about Iliana Costas.
Of course, I knew much more about Iliana Costas than I could have ever realized at the time. I knew her scent. Her taste. The little noises she made when she was about to come. The noises she made when an orgasm left her a trembling mess. Damn… she was so fucking responsive.
And here she was, and it was nearly impossible for me to keep my hands to myself.
“How have you been these past weeks?” I asked when she told me most everything I already knew.
“Good, thank you, your…” Those huge green eyes looked up at me. “I’m not sure how to address you. I’m sorry.”
Unable to stop myself, I ran my thumb over the streak of blood on her forehead, which reminded me that she was bleeding, so I jerked a handkerchief from my pocket and began to bind her hand. Something I should have done much sooner.
“Relax, Iliana,” I said, keeping her small hand in mine. “I promise not to throw you in my dungeon and lock you away if you get it wrong.”
Her pale eyes grew larger. “You have a dungeon?”
I laughed. “Actually, yes. This is a very old castle, and there are many secrets it houses that aren’t very pleasant.”
She shifted from one foot to the other, making me look down at her feet. Fuck. Her wounds.
“Let’s get you cared for and then we can talk some more.”
She nodded, looking relieved. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”
I wanted to scoop her into my arms again, carry her the rest of the way, but I knew the gesture wouldn’t be welcome. I took her unwounded hand instead. “Let’s go.”
When we reached the small clinic, the nurse on duty rushed around the reception area and motioned us into a small exam room. She dipped into a quick curtesy before turning her attention to Iliana. “Τι συνέβη?” she asked, but Iliana just frowned and looked over at me before seating herself atop the exam table.
“What happened?” I repeated, and the nurse nodded her understanding that she would need to speak English from then on.
“I was trying to pick up some broken glass from the floor.” Her cheeks pinkened again. “What can I say, I’m a klutz.”
“What is this klutz?” the nurse asked, clearly confused.
“Clumsy,” I explained before turning back to Iliana. “Why didn’t you have housekeeping assist you?”
She looked at me like I was crazy, then hissed as the nurse unwrapped her hand. “It was my mess. My cleanup. I’m a peasant, remember?”
The nurse laughed and covered it quickly with a cough. “This appears to be deep. Let me inspect the other injury.”
Iliana frowned at her hand. “Thank you, nurse, um… I’m sorry I don’t know your name.”
“Adelpha,” the nurse supplied.
Iliana snorted. “One of the few names that doesn’t end in a “os” or “is” or “as” sound.”
My lips twitched. God, even bloody, she was adorable.
Adelpha rolled up the leg of the capri pants to inspect her knee. “No stitches here. I think some butterfly bandages will do the trick. Give me a moment, and I’ll get you cleaned up.”
She worked quickly and had the knee taken care of inside two minutes.
The hand, we discovered, was trickier. Iliana might need stitches, Adelpha thought. At the very least, she needed to have the doctor take a look, and that would take a bit as the doctor was out on a call.
“He’ll be back within an hour, though,” the nurse said after bringing Iliana a drink and helping her get comfortable on the table.
Iliana was quiet when the nurse left and stared at her hand.
“You’ll be okay,” I said, hoping to relax her a little.
She inspected her knee. “I know.” When I settled into a chair, she shot me a look. “You don’t have to stay, Your Grace.”
“Don’t call me that.” The words came out more harshly than I’d intended, and I swore she paled a little.
“But—”
“I’ve seen you naked.” Her eyes grew big as she glanced at the door. I stood up and shut it, which I should have already done. “You don’t have to call me anything but Seb when we’re alone together.”
She didn’t exactly deny me, but she didn’t acquiesce either.
“You still seem scared,” I pressed. “What’s wrong?”
Her pretty green eyes flashed to mine, and I saw a flicker of annoyance. Good. Anger was always better than fear, in my opinion.
“This is insane,” she whispered, gesturing to me and back to her. “We weren’t supposed to see each other again, and you really weren’t supposed to be a member of the royal family for crying out loud.”
I laughed. “Funny, right?”
She glared at me. “Not at all.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Come on, just a little? A smidge funny?”
Iliana narrowed her eyes and was quiet for a second. “Fine,” she said quickly. “Just a tiny dust mote speck-sized funny.”
Then it happened. She smiled.
It wasn’t big, but it was there, and it reminded me of how she looked when she’d just lost the first round of the drinking game we played at the Green Dragon.
I found myself enjoying her smile.
“It’s not just ha-ha funny,” she said. “It’s really weird funny too, that the two of us ended up here. What do you think the chances are on that?”
“I have no idea. I don’t think the statistical probabilities go that high.”
In front of my eyes, she relaxed. “I know, right? And you’re royalty, for heaven’s sake. How in the world did you end up at the Jolly Green Dragon in the first place?”
You. I went there to meet you.
What the hell?
I shook my head and focused on what she’d said. “Jolly Green Dragon?”
She was laughing by the time she explained the name, leaning forward too. We were just inches apart, the pull between us strong again.
I needed to taste her again. I needed to see if she was as sweet as before.
As if she sensed my train of thought, her gaze fell to my lips.
I stood and pushed my hands through her hair. “Η Άνα Μου.”
I hadn’t meant to say, “My Ana,” and was glad that she couldn’t understand what had slipped from between my lips.
“Seb.”
The word was so soft I barely heard the sound. My lips were so close to hers now. So very close.
And the doorknob rattled.
I sprang back just as the door opened and Dr. Galanis walked in.
She gave us both curious looks but said nothing as she introduced herself to Iliana and began to inspect the wound.
She poked and prodded at the skin on Iliana’s hand enough to make Iliana wince, but just when I was sure we’d get bad news and need stitches, she took a step back and got a medical kit from the top shelf of the cabinets.
“I think medical glue should be just fine,” she said as the nurse wiped a disinfectant across Iliana’s hand, causing her to wince. I felt myself wanting to comfort her but stayed where I was.
In a few minutes, it was all done, and Iliana was handed a bottle of spray to use when she changed her bandages each day.
“Don’t get it wet for at least twelve hours,” the nurse said as we made our way out. “Come back if you think it may be getting infected or isn’t healing well. You should be back to normal in a couple weeks.”
Iliana thanked them and turned to leave, but I gripped her elbow before she could scurry away and steered her toward my office.
“I need to get back,” she said under her breath as we passed a group of people who didn’t miss the fact that I was leading this woman in a rather intimate embrace, especially for me, through the halls.
“You’re off for the rest of the day,” I said. “I messaged Thierry, and he said they’ve already wrapped up. I had your things sent to my office, and I’ll get you a car home.”
As I promised, when I opened the door to my office, her belongings were neatly placed on my desk.
“Now,” I said, as she gathered her things, “let me get you a car to take you home.”
She shook her head, finding her voice. “No, thank you. I need to learn the bus system better. I can find my way.”
I didn’t have a logical argument to that, but I also wasn’t ready to say goodbye for reasons I wasn’t prepared to investigate.
“Fine,” I said, blowing out a frustrated breath. “But I’m walking you to the bus station outside the gates at least.”
She sighed and headed toward the door, leaving me to join her or not. In one long stride, I reached around her to open the door. “Does Thierry have you working every day around here?”
“Three or four days a week at most,” she said as we headed down the hall. “Some weekend events, from what I gather.”
“Are you enjoying Cassia so far?”
Her dimples appeared for the first time since we’d entered my office. “From what I’ve seen, it’s beautiful. I’m excited to learn more. There’s so much history to explore.”
“Our coastal villages are breathtaking.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t reach for her. “I’m sure Thierry will have the team going out there at least once for some photos for the Ministry of Tourism.”
“I’d like that,” she said. “I’m not very well-versed in portraits. I’m kinda bummed I missed it today. I was hoping I’d pick up some pointers from Mr. Masters.”
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to learn under his tutelage.”
Sooner than I’d hoped, we arrived at the bus stop just outside the pedestrian gate. At my appearance, people stopped on the sidewalks, pointing in our direction. Unsure of what was happening, Iliana took a step back and looked down at the ground.
“No need to hide from people’s curiosity,” I said, trying to make her less nervous. “It’ll only make them more curious.”
She didn’t seem to believe me, so I nodded at a woman seated on a park bench who was especially blatant in her staring. “Look over at the woman in the orange top staring at you and stare back at her.” Iliana looked at me like I’d grown another head, and I simply raised an eyebrow, daring her. “Look at her like she’s the one being rude, and you’re silently calling her out on it. Think of it as defending your boundaries without having to fight.”
Iliana gave me one uncertain look before turning her body and finding the woman I was talking about. I knew the moment they locked eyes because the woman on the bench immediately looked away and pretended to be interested in something on her phone. Iliana turned back to me and smiled.
“I don’t know how you do it,” she said, a little bit of awe in her voice. “It would be overwhelming.”
“I’ve been fortunate. All of my adult life has been in the military, so I’ve been able to avoid this type of thing. That all changed recently, and public interest will soon be brutal.” I looked around, realizing I had a few more minutes before that very thing happened. It was a given that someone was messaging a tip line somewhere. It was how things went. “So, I should probably head back in.”
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say or what I wanted her to say, but both of us were quiet for an uncomfortable stretch before I cleared my throat.
“It was good seeing you again, Miss Costas,” I said, regretting instantly how stiff and formal I suddenly sounded. But I saw a familiar news van pulling up across the block and knew my time was up. Once they got their claws into Iliana’s identity, they’d probably hound her and her family too.
“Same to you, your…” She smiled, catching herself before finishing the title. “Seb.”
“l hope to see you around.” I realized that I hadn’t hoped for something as strongly in a long time.
She grinned, her dimples winking at me, making me grin back. “Maybe.”
Before the van door opened, I turned away. The guard swept the door open, and I stepped into the palace walls.
Maybe, my ass.
I’d be seeing a lot more of Miss Costas if I had any say in it.