My heart swells at her apology, but my mind tempers the sudden rush of emotion. After everything between Justine and me, I’m not yet sure I can trust her reasons for being here—or trust myself around her, especially when she’s looking at me like this.

“I should have been upfront with you,” she says softly. “I’m not used to having someone I can…be honest with.”

It might be an excuse, but it’s a damn good one—after meeting her family, it’s a miracle she’s even half as trusting as she is.

Before I can respond, a train whistle echoes down through the station. My ride is here.

Justine’s gaze flicks nervously to the arriving train, then to back to me. “You’re going to Montovia.”

“Yes. I decided I needed a little time at home.” I choose my words carefully, not knowing where we stand. “I thought it might clear my head.” I step closer to the edge of the platform. Even with her apology, I still think returning to Montovia for a little while would do me good.

Her voice is so soft behind me that I barely hear it above the noise of the approaching train. “Don’t go.”

I look back over my shoulder. Her blue eyes are pleading with me, begging me with words yet unexpressed. My heart aches again, but I tell myself to be strong. I can’t keep doing this—I can’t cave every time she bats her eyelashes at me. This woman already holds too much power over me.

And I do miss home, far more than I want to admit.

But the longer I look at her, the more I know I can’t deny her. This woman is in my blood, now. I might try to ignore that fact, but it’ll do me no good.

The train stops in front of me. It’s now or never. A decision has to be made.

And I make it. “Come with me.”

Her eyes widen. “To Montovia?”

“Yes. Come with me. I take it we have a lot to discuss. And I imagine your need for some time away from Rosvalia hasn’t changed.”

She hesitates. “All my things are at the hotel—”

“We’ll send for them.”

“And Carter—”

“We’ll message him. If he’s survived all evening without you, he can survive a little longer. I have to contact Sophia, anyway.” I try to keep my voice level as I continue, “Carter is welcome in Montovia, of course, but I have no intention of entertaining him indefinitely.”

She shakes her head, stalling. “I just can’t… My family…”

“Didn’t seem to be an issue when you ran off here,” I say. I level my gaze at her. “I’ll ask you again, Justine—will you come with me?”

For a moment, I think she might still refuse. But then her eyes meet mine again, and she nods. “Yes.”

She steps toward me, and without realizing I’ve moved, I suddenly find my arms around her, pulling her tight against me. She buries her face in my chest and wraps her arms around my waist, clinging to me. I drop my face, burying my nose in her hair.

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s get on the train.”

“I…I don’t have a ticket.”

“I have my wallet and we both have our titles,” I say. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

Releasing her, I take her hand and pull her after me into the nearest car. I reserved an entire compartment with my ticket, and I find it and duck inside, drawing her in behind me. The moment the door is shut behind us, I pull her into my arms again, my mouth coming down on hers.

Her lips open beneath mine, and she moans softly as she melts against me. I tighten my grip on her as my tongue traces her mouth.

I don’t know who is the first one to start pulling at the other’s clothes, but suddenly we’re both tearing at each other. I reach down and grab her ass, lifting her up and carrying her two steps over to the bench without even breaking our kiss. I know it’s not particularly responsible or princely to go at it in a train compartment, but I don’t think either of us can wait another moment.

I lay her down on the bench and lean over her, sliding her dress up her hips. She’s pulling at my shirt, trying to pull it up over my head, and I release her just long enough to allow her.

My breath catches as her panties come into view, my desire nearly overwhelming me.

“You know,” I say, my voice rough, “this will be the second time today I’ve fucked you in this dress.”

I hook my thumb beneath her underwear and pull it down her legs. She’s already working on my belt, and I help her undo it and unzip my pants.

The train whistle sounds again, and the compartment begins to vibrate as the train begins to move. I lower myself on top of Justine and kiss her deeply, trying to drink up every last bit of her. She groans again as one of her hands presses into my back and the other buries itself in my hair.

I grab her thighs and pull them apart, settling myself between them. She’s already so warm and so wet, and my cock slides right into her. I hear myself growl as I bury myself to the hilt.

The feeling of joining with her again is so intense that for a moment, I lose awareness of everything else. I start to move, joining us again and again, sliding in and out with a wild fury that seems to build with every thrust.

I never want to be unjoined from this woman ever again.

Justine clings to me, and her breath comes in short bursts. She cries out in pleasure, arching her hips up toward mine, and I’m lost in the feel of her, the taste of her, the smell of her. In this moment, she’s mine completely.

I’m not going to last long, not at this intensity. But I can’t seem to slow down, either. As I’m pushing us toward the edge, though, Justine suddenly releases me and pushes against my shoulders.

“Wait,” she gasps in a strangled voice. “Hold on.”

I’m so mad with desire that it takes a moment for her words to register, and when they do, shock moves through my body. How can she expect me to stop? Why the hell does she want me to stop? Anger rises inside of me, but it’s quickly pushed down by shame.

“Am I hurting you?” I say, suddenly worried. “Are you—?”

“I’m fine,” she says breathlessly. “I just… I keep hitting my elbow on the back of the bench. Can we switch around a little?”

The thought of separating from her, even for a second, is pure agony—but so is the thought of her being in any sort of pain. I nod, sitting up.

I expect her to sit up, too, to climb on top of me. Instead, she rolls over onto her hands and knees, facing away from me. She looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes shining with a teasing lust as she shakes her hips at me.

It doesn’t get any less subtle than that, and I’m only too happy to oblige.

In under a second, I’m behind her, joining with her again, sinking into her with a groan. This angle makes it even easier to go deep, to bury myself in her as far as I can go.

And I lose all sense of control.

Gripping her hips, I move against her, and within seconds I can no longer distinguish between her moans and my own. Everything about this woman is exquisite and intoxicating, and I would be perfectly happy dying like this, deep in pleasure with my wife.

Suddenly, she cries out, and as her body begins to contract around mine, my body tumbles toward its own finish. I slam myself into her a final time, gripping her hips as ecstasy rushes through me.

When the wave has crashed, we both collapse on the bench, and she continues to tremble slightly as the aftershocks move through her. I help her slide down her dress and then pull her into my arms as I lean back against the bench.

“That was…”

“Amazing,” she finishes. Then she laughs.

Once again, I’m shocked by the simple beauty of that sound. I drop my chin to her shoulder, pulling her closer.

And as the train carries us toward Montovia, I find myself grinning like a madman.