CHAPTER 4
Diana
“Don’t you find it a little strange that Rubare Virgina has such an enormous hotel, yet you almost never allow guests? How do you keep it running? It’s a very nice place, but it has to require year-round staff to keep it so immaculate.” I’d been wondering about the hotel since I’d first arrived in Rubare Virgina. It was enormous, and able to accommodate a hell of a lot of guests.
Prince Nic had picked me up at the hotel and brought me to explore some of his land, which was located outside the city limits. My eyes were trained on the ground as we strolled through a wooded area near the water, Nic pointing out some of the plants native to his country.
“We have parties that visit for special occasions, visiting heads of state of other countries. And we don’t have to worry much about the money to keep it running,” he explained. “We don’t exactly miss the money.”
I stopped on the path to examine another strange plant I didn’t recognize, and Nic waited patiently beside me. I was used to wealth, but the royal family of Rubare Virgina came from a whole other circle, one where nothing was impossible. They probably didn’t have to worry about the money it took to maintain a lavish hotel in their capital city. Whatever the yearly maintenance was, the sum would be a drop in the bucket for them since they had almost infinite resources.
“I don’t recognize this one. It has berries.” I was fascinated by the never-seen-before plant life and flora that was growing on the island. I was an amateur gardener and herbalist, so seeing so many flowers and plants I didn’t recognize was compelling. “I didn’t see this one on Rubare Collina, either,” I said, lost in thought.
“You’ve been to our sister island?” Nic asked, sounding taken aback.
“Yes. I’ve studied their history and culture, too. Although I obviously didn’t get close enough to royalty to find out about the Arcano.”
“It’s not broadcasted to the public,” Nic answered. “It’s something we deal with as royalty on our own. So how do you compare the two islands?”
I ruminated. “They’re similar, but I don’t know enough about your culture yet to really make a comparison. Obviously, both islands are full of natural resources that aren’t found anywhere else in the world.”
Nic nodded. “There are a lot of similarities. But don’t tell my father that. He considers them the more barbaric of the two nations. Our resources are similar, and some of our traditions are the same since our ancestors started out on Rubare Collina. The Demande family there is related to us.”
I nodded. “Cousins. I know. I’m hoping to gather enough information to write a book about the history of both islands. It’s riveting, and so few people know the history of your countries, or how they’re related to Europe.”
“You’re a writer?” he asked, sounding surprised.
I shrugged. “So far, mostly just history text books. But I’d love to do an independent project on the two Rubare islands.”
He chuckled. “As long as Rubare Virgina comes off as the more sophisticated of the two.”
I smiled back at him, adoring his sense of humor. “May the best island nation win,” I replied as I stroked the soft leaves of the berry bush.
“Our resources are better,” he bragged. “Like this plant. This one is special. We’re pretty certain it has medicinal qualities.”
I looked up at him from my crouched position and then regretted it since I had to tilt my head back so far that I ended up on my rear end.
Great, Diana. Another elegant show of grace!
Nic laughed goodheartedly, and held out his hand, but I ignored it and pulled myself up and back on my haunches. I hated embarrassing myself in front of Nic. I disliked looking like a fool anywhere, but feeling like a klutz when Nic was around was downright mortifying.
“Special how?” Embarrassed that I’d just fell onto my butt while trying to look at him, I wanted to move on with the subject and not get distracted by my clumsiness.
He crouched down beside me and plucked a piece of the small fruit. “This is the Rubare Berry Plant. We think it’s linked to our small number of cancer cases here. Our labs are still studying it, but some substance from the plant seems to prohibit the unchecked rapid growth and division of cells. The studies on it are still in progress.” He lifted his hand to my mouth. “Try it.”
I was mesmerized by his amazing eyes, and I opened my mouth as he slowly placed the plump fruit on my tongue. I’m pretty sure it took me a minute to recover from the effect of Nic’s nearness, and actually chew and swallow the small offering.
“It’s good,” I finally answered. “It reminds me of a raspberry.”
“Similar, but different,” he said in a contemplative tone.
“If it has preventative properties to eradicate cancer, that’s pretty amazing. Don’t you want to share this with the world?” So many people could benefit from the fruit that it seemed a shame that the island was the only place it was used.
He straightened, then offered his hand and pulled me back up. “I would. But my father is determined to keep it to ourselves. He doesn’t want people flooding the island for berries. And the studies aren’t conclusive yet.”
“They could be harvested, sold and distributed the same way you do your minerals and other natural resources,” I suggested.
He nodded. “Yes, I know. But my father refuses to allow us to do that. We’d have to set up harvesting facilities and plant a hell of a lot more berries. What we have now barely meets the demands of the citizens. They mostly grow wild.”
We moved on, but I shot one last disappointed look at the plant that could possibly save lives. “If the results of the research come back positive, I think you should do it,” I remarked as I started scanning the ground for new discoveries.
“Actually, I’ve been trying to convince my father to do just that, and to open up the country to tourism, too. Our people rarely travel because we do very little to support worldwide tourism. It seems like a shame not to see a little of the world. Rubare Virgina has become much too isolated. I think my father is afraid that the island will become overrun with tourists, but I can’t see that happening. We aren’t exactly in a prime location, and only some would make it a destination, maybe tourists who have already seen everything they want to see in other countries.”
“I take it he wasn’t thrilled with your suggestions.”
“He likes tradition. We’ve never really welcomed visitors. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t in the future, or that we can’t build the facilities here to allow our citizens to travel more.”
I turned my head to look at him as I walked. “What about you? You said you traveled. Have you seen much of the world?”
He shrugged. “Of course. I travel regularly to other countries. We have brisk trade and demand for our products here, and it’s necessary for me to talk to other leaders and corporations.”
“Have you been to America?”
“Yes. It’s one of the countries I frequent because of our trade.”
“I can’t imagine being cut off from travel,” I mused. “I love to go to new places.”
“I love my country,” Nic answered solemnly. “In some things, like mining, technology, and manufacturing, we’re way ahead of the times. In others, not so much. I’m all about tradition, and I understand needing to preserve it for future generations, but some of the bad ones need to end.”
I could almost see the frustration in his gaze, his blue eyes shining with something resembling regret.
“Things can change in the future,” I offered hesitantly.
Rubare Virgina was a beautiful island nation, but it was a little isolated and downright backward in its travel restrictions. I also thought Nic needed to find a way to increase production on the Rubare Berry so they could share it with the world. Maybe it wouldn’t prove to keep all cancers at bay, but the country did have a very small population that was fighting the disease. Nic had showed me the statistics while we were in The Grand Library. The berries would need more research and trials, but if it could eventually be medicinal, it was worth putting the time and money into further studies. Whatever it took to come to a final conclusion.
He grinned at me. “I wish I could have your optimism. Maybe after years of fighting with my father, I’ve become too resigned.”
“I understand,” I told him. “I still haven’t convinced my mother that I don’t want to marry one of the elite. I don’t want to marry anybody. I’m only twenty-four years old, but she treats me like I’m an old maid.”
“What about your father?” he asked.
“He passed away before I got out of high school. I miss him. A lot. It’s not that I don’t love my mother, but I feel like she’s always trying to change me. My father loved me unconditionally.”
“Why don’t you want to marry?” Nic asked in a curious baritone.
“Because I haven’t found what I want in a man yet.”
“You’ve been hurt,” Nic guessed.
“Once,” I admitted as I stopped to admire a flower I’d never seen before. It was a gorgeous lavender color, and resembled some type of lily.
“Tell me,” he encouraged.
I shrugged. “It was nothing, really. I’d only been out on a few dates with Lawrence, but I thought he liked me, and I had an enormous crush on him at the time. I was home from college on break, and he acted like he liked me for who I was and not my money. He was rich, so he didn’t really need my money—or I’d assumed he didn’t. But I overheard him talking to one of his stuck up rich friends about how he’d be willing to suffer through having a strange, unattractive wife if he could increase his fortune with my inheritance. He didn’t give a damn about me. All he wanted was to build his empire.”
After I’d told Nic the story, I felt a little vulnerable and self -conscious. I hurriedly reached up and straightened my glasses on my face, something I did not because they were crooked, but as a nervous habit.
“He’s an idiot, Diana,” Nic answered, his tone angry.
“He was just being honest,” I answered, gratified that Nic actually seemed to be upset that somebody had hurt me. “Let’s face it, I don’t exactly look like a billionaire’s daughter.”
Nic took me by the shoulders and brought me upright, then turned me toward him with a grim expression. “You look beautiful. You look like you. There isn’t a single thing about you that anyone should want to change.”
I was breathless as I looked into his amazing eyes that were just a shade or two darker than usual. Nic looked like a towering hero to me at the moment, a fierce defender that I’d never had. “Thank you,” I finally answered awkwardly.
What else could I say to a guy who just told me he thought I was fine just the way I was, and that I didn’t need to change?
Finally, I decided to share more. “My dad…I really do miss him. I’m an only child, the sole inheritor of the Longmont dynasty, and I know my mother wants me to marry well, but I want to be happy, too.”
He shook me lightly. “Never marry a man who can’t see all of the beautiful things about you, love. You need someone who will appreciate your intelligence, your curiosity, and your uniqueness. They should covet your tempting body, and want to be with you more than they want anything else. If they don’t, they aren’t worthy.”
The air around us was getting thin for me, and I was panting in short and shallow breaths as I recognized the earnestness in his expression.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever find that,” I rasped, my voice husky with the desire to reach out and touch Nic.
The space around us was electric, and I felt the current run slowly down my spine and land directly between my thighs.
I’m attracted to him. I want him naked and doing wicked things to my body right now.
“Never marry a man who can’t make you feel like this,” Nic demanded, then lowered his head to capture my lips with his.
I moaned as the heat of his mouth devoured mine, exploring with a thoroughness that had my entire body shaking with need. I put my arms around his neck so I could stay upright, clinging to him as I opened to his silent command.
He cajoled.
I responded.
He coaxed.
I let him in.
By the time he lifted his head, my own was spinning with a carnal need that I’d never experienced before.
“Nic,” I breathed out softly as I pulled back just enough to see his face.
He reached down and plucked several of the flowers I’d been admiring and handed them to me. I took them with tremulous fingers.
“It’s the Rubare Passion Flower,” he shared in a husky voice. “When a man wants a woman, he gives her these flowers.”
I wanted to ask him if he wanted me, but I bit my tongue. I disentangled myself from him, knowing I shouldn’t want anything from this prince. Nic was so damn dangerous, but I couldn’t resist playing with fire. “They’re gorgeous,” I said.
“Just like the woman holding them,” he answered, letting me go so we could continue to walk.
I sniffed the heady fragrance of the bouquet before I requested, “So tell me what the women are like here in your country.”
“Our women have the same rights as men. There is no discrimination on Rubare Virgina. I think it’s universally normal for a guy to want to protect the woman he loves, but as far as jobs and careers are concerned, the sky is the limit for both sexes if they’re willing to work for what they want. We have a lot of programs and scholarships for those who can’t afford college. Our universities offer some of the best education in the world. Women work in all professions. Other than the fact that people rarely travel here, I think you’ll find the people aren’t all that different than the female population in other European countries.”
I nodded. “It’s the same in Rubare Collina. It seems so strange to see such a happy and prosperous population. What about your mother?”
“She died when we were young. A riding accident. Ballasare was just thirteen when she was killed. She was a Rubare native, the perfect arranged wife for my father.”
I heard a touch of bitterness in his tone. “Were they happy.”
“Yes. Because my mother was a Rubarean woman, she thought it was an honor to be our queen. She loved all of us, but she could never quite stand up to my father,” he answered in a reminiscent tone.
“That seems to be an issue in your family,” I said with a tentative smile.
He nodded. “It is. But my mother worshipped him, and when he wanted her to learn to ride even though she was afraid of horses, she did it. She tolerated the parades where she had to be on a horse. But she was never really comfortable. One day, after a very large celebration parade, her horse got away from her when none of us were nearby. She lost her seat and ended up breaking her neck.”
I put a comforting hand on his arm for a moment. “Oh, God, Nic, I’m so sorry.”
I knew the pain of losing a beloved parent. And Nic had been so young. It had to have been devastating for him.
He grasped my hand and kept walking. “It was a long time ago. But sometimes I think we all still miss her. She was the softness to my father’s hard edge.”
“Did he love her?” I asked curiously.
“I think so. He took her for granted and demanded things he never should have, but her funeral was the only time I ever saw him cry.”
I squeezed his hand in sympathy. Maybe it had been a long time since both of us had lost a parent, but we understood each other in a way that many people didn’t comprehend.
I knew it was dangerous to like this man too much, but I felt so connected to him that I couldn’t seem to pull my hand away. I held on to him, grateful for the profound connection we had, and happy that I had somebody who understood me. Hopefully, he didn’t comprehend much more than he should.