“You should realize by now that I don’t enjoy being dragged off to places unannounced,” Julie grumbled as he ushered her out of the black Jeep.

“And you should know by now that certain things are not up for debate,” Antonio answered, plucking Tony from Julie’s arms and grabbing the picnic basket from out of the trunk.

“That has never been a way to get a woman to agree with you,” Julie said, falling into step with him as he led their little trio out of the parking area and down a narrow, almost invisible forest path.

He could smell the salty air of the sea from here, filling his lungs. But it seemed so much less exciting now that he’d been around Julie for a couple of days, reveling in her scent. In fact, the world in general seemed like a slightly less fascinating place, because Julie was more… everything than anything else could be.

It must have been obvious to everyone around him, except for Julie, because his family hadn’t given her a moment of peace with herself or the child since the first evening. On top of that, Julie was obviously stressed and harassed by the situation. The only way to get a moment of peace and quiet had been to get out of the house completely.

Antonio would have been a liar if he’d said that he didn’t enjoy being away.

“This is becoming one of my most used sentences, but where are you taking me?” Julie asked after they’d been walking for around ten minutes.

“Somewhere that I need you to see,” Antonio replied, just as they came to a small clearing, nestled between trees on one side, and looking out to the Mediterranean on the other.

Julie gasped audibly, and it sent a thrill down Antonio’s spine. He could remember exactly how she sounded when she was excited, pleased… happy… he wanted to hear it again, even though he knew it was not meant to be that way.

The sea was twinkling and shimmering in endless hues of blue, and the sun was high and warm that day. As if they’d been expected, everything looked perfect.

“It is… wow. I don’t know what to say,” Julie said, accepting Tony as Antonio handed the boy over to set up the picnic.

“I never felt like you’d seen Italy the way she was meant to be seen, la mia bellezza. In her nakedness, without people trying to tell you what was best about her. This has always been one of my favorite spots,” he explained as he set out the food and then helped Julie and Tony sit down.

As soon as the boy was set loose, he crawled over to Antonio, choosing the faster mode of motion over walking because he was so close. Antonio chuckled, scooping him up and bouncing him on his knees then.

"Is there a reason for this?” Julie asked, still sounding slightly dubious.

“Would you question my good intentions?”

The raised eyebrow was the only answer he got, or needed, really. He grinned, shaking his head.

“My family… they can be a little much. I wanted time with you alone. Time with the two of you, in fact, and it did not appear it would be allowed to us if we stayed at the villa.”

“I don’t think it’s just your family that can be a little much,” Julie shot back. “I am curious however when I’m going to be able to return home, though. Or am I invited to the wedding?”

His gut twisted immediately. Rossella and the wedding had been two things that had not been on his mind even a little since Julie had returned to his life. It was impossible to look at the dragon when his mate was right there, burning brighter than any star, guiding him right to her.

It was something that was not lost on the Capirelli matriarch, either. The very same night, after dinner, Amira had made it very clear that Antonio had but one of two options. Marry Rossella, or be a dragon without a hoard, a dragon without a name… and a Dragon Prince no more, let alone never a King.

“No human can be permitted into our bloodline. You know this. That child… though he has dragon in him, will never be more than a half-breed, and you the laughingstock of all if you choose to turn your back on your heritage.”

It was the kind of talk that had kept many of the dragon royal families backwards, closed off and out of touch with the times for generations now. And yet it was also the kind of rule that had kept their bloodlines strong, pure, and their hoards heavy with gold. A dragon was nothing without his riches, and the very thought of being separated from the Capirelli treasure, one that he rightfully considered as his own, made bile rise up in his throat.

But what is it all worth if I am not happy?

It was a question he did not yet have an answer for.

“I doubt it would be a wedding you would enjoy attending,” Antonio said blandly, trying to settle his mind. “There’s a lot of fire. Occasionally someone falls to their death from the skies during the duels. It’s not a particularly gentle affair.”

“I don’t think there’s anything particularly gentle about what has been happening so far either,” she shot back.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“I see your tongue is as sharp as ever.”

“If anything, a bit of international kidnapping only makes it sharper,” Julie retorted, but a smile twisted on her lips as she said it.

As much as she tried to deny it, Antonio had seen her sneaking glances at him over the days, just as he sought out every possibility to look at her. Her breath quickened and her heart thrummed in her chest when they were close together, and he was certain her mind was as eagerly reliving the moments when they’d shared a bed and one another’s bodies as his did.

It was pure torture, not being able to touch her.

“We could simply enjoy the moment and leave the… problems for later, could we not?” Antonio asked, offering Tony a strawberry that the boy accepted eagerly.

It was still odd, looking at such a perfect little reflection of himself. But it was also the most calming, grounding feeling he’d ever had. Finally, things seemed to be righting themselves, if not fast enough.

“We haven’t had a wealth of time to talk at the house,” Julie said with a shrug, caving as he offered her a strawberry as well.

She accepted it, popping it in her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head for a moment and Antonio almost captured her lips again right then and there, so desperate was he to taste her again.

“That was… oh my god, these are good!” Julie said, reaching for another strawberry.

“The joys of having boundless riches,” Antonio said with a shrug. “The finest tastes are within an arm’s reach.”

She ate another two strawberries, and Antonio gladly watched her do it, before Julie got back to her train of thought.

“Okay, so you won’t tell me when I can go, and you won’t tell me what’s going to happen… will you tell me why?”

“Why I won’t tell you, or why I won’t let you go?” he asked.

All she did was nod, a slight smile on her lips.

For what it was worth, she’d been taking the whole situation with far better humor than Antonio had expected, especially since he himself wasn’t entirely certain what was supposed to happen next. He’d expected a hysterical woman, kicking and screaming the whole way. Instead, he’d been met with far more rationality and calm, considering what he had done.

“I cannot let you go. You are the mother of my child. And my child cannot be without a mother.”

Her smile wavered at that slightly, but Antonio kept on.

“And as for why I won’t tell you much… a dragon has found that life can be complicated if too much is revealed.”

“Is that just a fancy way of telling me you don’t know?” she asked.

Clever as ever.

“It may have a little to do with that,” he offered nonchalantly.

“Uh-huh,” Julie remarked, sarcasm dripping from each syllable. “Okay, so let’s take things piece by piece, shall we? You’re going to be married in two weeks.”

“That is the plan,” Antonio agreed.

“And I won’t be your secret mistress.”

“I haven’t asked you to be.”

“What was that thing about there being no towers, then?” she asked, opening up a jar of puree so Antonio could feed Tony.

“I am a dragon, not without a sense of humor,” he scoffed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, maybe it’s my fault that I couldn’t find humor in it then,” Julie said, throwing her hands up.

“That sounds reasonable.”

“You’re impossible,” she sighed, leaning back as the warm rays of the sun caressed her curvy body.

What he wouldn’t have given to peel those clothes off of her and lavish her body with the kind of attention he knew she deserved. The mental images were far too eager to come, and truthfully, he welcomed them. It had been a long time since he’d found himself excited about something, and he had certainly not been excited about someone since Julie and that spring night more than a year ago.

He offered her a glass of cider and she accepted quietly, looking at the gentle rolling of the turquoise sea beyond the rocks. The white tops of the waves were lapping at the stone, ceaseless in their futile attempts to change the cliffs.

“Why haven’t you kissed Rossella?” she asked finally, cutting through the quiet as Antonio fed Tony.

He looked up, frowning. It was a question he had been expecting, but again one that did not have a good answer. Like most things she could have asked. How could he explain that kissing another woman other than Julie simply would not be right, and at the same time be engaged to marry someone who wasn’t her?

“She… It is a marriage of convenience,” he said finally, picking the most reasonable answer. “There is no emotion in it, no passion. No amore, if you will.”

“Are you sure she feels the same way?” Julie asked without missing a beat.

Antonio’s face twisted slightly at that. He knew that it wasn’t quite like that with Rossella. What he considered a chore and something that had to be done, she had been waiting for nearly a decade for.

“I can only speak for myself.”

“Ever the politician.”

“Hopefully not,” he snorted, disdain dripping off his words.

“Why not?”

“Is there ever an end to the questions?” he sighed, wiping Tony’s mouth with a napkin as the boy took a firm hold on the spoon.

“Not as long as I’m here, I think. I didn’t ask you much last time, and look where that got me. I think this time, considering the circumstances, a bit of reconnaissance should be expected,” she laughed.

It was a beautiful sound. One he wanted to hear more of, every day if at all possible.

“My father had a way of trying to use words as weapons instead of claws and fire,” Antonio said, leaning back with his palms digging into the grass. “I think it has created an air of intrigue and drama in the royal court that has no place among the likes of dragons. If there is something that needs to be argued out, I prefer the two sides use their strength for it, after the talking is done.

“There’s certainly a balance to these things, and I would rather not be the one leading it toward weakness.”

“So a fighter, not a politician?”

“An educated fighter,” he admitted with a grin. “The best kind.”

She smiled slightly and the moment took him immediately. Antonio leaned in and when she looked his way, he captured her lips in another kiss, soft and short this time. The small gasp that left her mouth along with it was sweet music to his ears.

“You really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” she said, her words breathy.

“I am a dragon. I do not sneak.”

Yet she was certainly sneaking up on his heart, though she had never left to begin with. The only problem was, there was no way he could keep her.