CHAPTER 11
Diana
I stayed with Nic for the next few days, unwilling to leave his side before I saw those mesmerizing blue eyes.
The doctors swore that he was going to pull through just fine. Things were a bit rocky right after surgery because Nic had lost so much blood, but he was no longer as white as the sheet that covered him now, and he seemed to be resting comfortably since he was well-sedated with pain medication.
The rest of the royal family had gone home to get some much-needed rest, but I’d planted my ass in a recliner by the bedside, sleeping in small chunks of time when I absolutely couldn’t stay awake.
I’d left Nic once, and I’d paid for that decision when I’d tried to fly home. According to King Heinrich, the Arcano had gotten wind of the plan for me to leave, and since I’d been Nic’s only possibility for marriage, they’d sent out a warning.
I shuddered as I sleepily watched the monitors from my chair, reassured by the steady beat of Nic’s heart.
If nearly killing a prince was a warning, I’d hate to see the Arcano when they were seriously out for blood.
King Heinrich had told me as long as I stayed here, Nic would probably be left alone until he recovered.
But what would happen when I had to leave?
The plan was to find Nic a wife, and then I could quietly slip away. Well, that was King Heinrich’s plan anyway. Ballasare and Jessica swore that Nic wasn’t going to accept any other bride except me. They thought Nic had more information than I did, but they thought wrong.
I had never told him about Alex.
I knew I’d been with Alex that night. My memories were hazy, but I remembered him kissing me as we entered my hotel room. Maybe Nic was a big man, and maybe I’d been inexperienced. But I had been no virgin when the prince had set my body on fire.
“Diana?”
Nic’s husky, raspy voice had me on feet almost instantly. “Nic,” I whispered, my eyes flooding with tears as he opened those incredible eyes and pinned me as I stood beside his bed.
I stroked his cheek gently. “Don’t try to speak. You’ve been sedated. Just rest.”
He didn’t listen. “You’re here. I thought you left.”
“I came back.”
“Good. I need you,” he said contentedly.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the Arcano would try to hurt you when they found out I was leaving,” I said in a broken voice.
“Then don’t try to leave me anymore,” he answered with a small grin.
“I love you, Nic. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you, but I hated myself when I thought something might happen to you and you never knew,” I said in a breathless voice.
He reached out his hand, and I grasped it with mine, wishing I never had to let go. “I should have told you that I loved you, too,” he said hoarsely. “I’m an idiot for not telling you sooner. I think I fell for you almost from the first day we met.”
My heart twisted painfully. “We can’t marry, Nic. I love you, but for your family and your country, you need to take a wife. Next time the Arcano might very well kill you.”
“Oh, we’re marrying sweetheart,” he contradicted.
He looked weary, but otherwise seemed to be coherent. “Not possible. Jessica said she told you everything.”
“She did.”
“So how can you not think the situation isn’t a threat to your family?”
He squeezed my hand. “Because you were a virgin the night I made love to you, Diana. I wiped the blood up after you went to sleep. I would stake my life on the fact that you were untouched before I claimed you.”
“But Alex…”
“There is no Alex,” Nic said patiently. “There’s only me. It’s always been me.”
“I wish it had been, but there was an Alex,” I said stoically.
“Diana, I fell in love with you the moment you tripped down the stairs and into my arms. My name is Niccolino Alexander Demande. Alex is my middle name. I didn’t want to go to the ball as myself that night, so I adopted a different persona. I’ve done it before when I wanted to see the world after I’d finished up my business in other countries. I blend in. I hide. I do everything I can not to be recognized. Sometimes I just want to be another party guest and not a prince.” He sounded winded and tired after his confession.
“You were Alex?” I asked, stunned. How was that possible? “His hair was blond, and his eyes were dark.”
“Rinse out hair color and colored contacts,” he replied. “Since I wanted to avoid notice when I was on business, I learned a lot of tricks to disguise myself. Are you convinced now? If not, I can tell you almost everything that we talked about that night.”
“Yes, I’m convinced,” I answered simply.
I searched my brain for our conversations and interactions at the ball. Honestly, now that he’d told me and I believed him, it was difficult not to be aware of feeling exactly that same way about this man, no matter what persona he donned.
I’d been attracted to Alex.
I was attracted to Nic.
There hadn’t been a single man who made me feel those kinds of emotions during the entire twenty-four years that I’d been on Earth. How had I not guessed that Alex and Nic were one and the same?
“You came to my hotel room after the ball,” I reminded him.
“I did. I wanted to make sure you were safe. I kissed you and you passed out. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one,” he joked lightly.
“That’s why I don’t remember having sex,” I said in a loud whisper.
“You don’t remember because it didn’t happen. We had fun together, but I’m not…a jerk,” he said, stumbling over the unfamiliar word. “I don’t make it a habit of having sex with an unconscious female. I wanted you willing or not at all.”
I was still trying to absorb what Nic was saying, and all that it meant. “Why didn’t you tell me when we met the next morning?”
“I was hoping I could improve your opinion of royalty before I confessed. I never knew that you’d assumed we’d been intimate or I would have told you immediately. I thought you’d just forget about Alex and you’d start to see me.”
“I always saw you,” I admitted.
When I thought back to how I’d spoken to Alex about the prince, I might be able to understand why he hadn’t outed himself. Since I was willing to sleep with whoever talked to me at the ball, I guess I painted a pretty bad picture about how much I didn’t want to be with Prince Nic.
But he could have told me later, after we’d gotten to know each other. “Why didn’t you tell me later?”
“I honestly didn’t see it as anything important anymore. Alex disappeared and we connected very quickly. I wasn’t even sure you remembered much of that night, so I decided to wait until you mentioned it. Other than the kiss, it was pretty innocent.”
“I didn’t think it was,” I reminded him. “I thought I’d given my virginity away to an unknown man who I liked but would never see again. You said to enjoy the island in your note, so I assumed the deed was done.”
“I said that because I knew I’d find you the next morning. I’m sorry, Diana. I really am. If I had known that you were waiting for me at the ball, I would have gladly come as myself. But my father arranged everything, and I was angry with him. I didn’t think I could possibly meet anybody I was crazy about at an event that had been rigged to bring me in contact with a suitable bride.”
“But you stilled showed up.”
“I did. I knew it was my duty to be there, but I didn’t want people to just see a wealthy prince.”
“I don’t care about your money. I’m already rich.”
“I know,” he muttered. “That made it difficult to impress you.”
“Oh, I was impressed,” I corrected him. “But it wasn’t your money or your title, and I’d just as soon not be a princess. But I started to understand that this country and your responsibilities are part of who you are.”
“So can you possibly be a princess, even though you don’t really want the title?”
I shrugged. “I’ll think about it. Maybe once I’m over the fact that you duped me.”
He grinned up at me. “I’ll make it up to you, and I’ll make it worth your sacrifice. I promise.”
He looked worn out, but so incredibly…alive. Knowing how close I’d just come to losing him terrified me.
“Rest,” I demanded. “That’s enough talk for now.”
He yawned. “You look tired, love. Have you slept?”
His concern for me, when he himself was in a lot of pain, touched me. “I’m fine. I don’t want to leave.”
“Kiss me,” he demanded. “Then go back to my place and sleep.”
I smiled weakly. His place was actually a very large castle that extended over an enormous amount of acreage.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I doubt they’d let me in,” I teased.
“They will let you in,” he answered. “It’s your home now, too.”
I stroked a lock of hair from his forehead. “Go to sleep and don’t worry about me. I’ve been just fine where I am for the last few days.”
“Have I been out that long?” he asked in a concerned tone.
“Yes. Your birthday is the day after tomorrow.”
“Then they better let me the hell out of here,” he mumbled. “And kiss me like you mean it. That wasn’t a proper kiss.”
I watched as his eyes fluttered closed. I knew from his slurred speech that he couldn’t stay awake any longer.
Kiss me like you mean it?
I smiled as I looked down at his sleeping form. There weren’t going to be kisses like that for some time. Nic had healing to do, and I didn’t want to do anything to hold back his full recovery.
But we were going to get married.
I wasn’t completely over the fact that Nic hadn’t come clean about Alex, but I guess I understood why he hadn’t. The only reason I occasionally thought about Alex after I’d met Nic was because I’d slept with him, which ruined my chances of being Nic’s wife. Had I known the situation for what it had been, I would have considered it a fun interlude with a nice guy.
I sighed as I pulled my hand from his, trying not to wake him, then plopped back into my chair. No way was I going to his castle. I wanted to be here every time he woke up in case he needed me.
Grabbing my purse from the chair next to the recliner, I pulled it out and dialed Jessica.
There was going to be a wedding, and I wanted it announced as soon as possible. King Heinrich could make the announcement while Jessica and I planned a wedding from Nic’s room in the hospital. Maybe it wasn’t the way royalty usually married, but it was going to be necessary to keep the Arcano happy.
I felt a shiver run down my spine as I looked at a defenseless Nic in the hospital bed, the left side of his chest and shoulder completely bandaged.
Somehow, the Arcano had managed to miss his heart when they’d sent the blade of a small sword through his shoulder and the upper part of chest. It had been agony to sit through those first few days, hoping Nic would live.
I loved him so much it hurt, and it seemed like a miracle that he loved me back.
Finally, I’d found the man that loved who I was and not the money I could bring him. A guy who could be a best friend and a lover for the rest of our lives, and I wasn’t ever going to let him go.