Part 29 (1/2)

”As are you,” Sebastian replied. ”Will you accept it?” She started to shake her head but he added, ”You won it, fair and square. It is yours and only yours, belongs to you now.”

”Why would you bet something so precious on a game?”

Sebastian fought the laughter inside to answer with the simple truth. ”I didn't think I'd ever lose it. I was arrogant and foolhardy. But it is yours, forever and always, and I would have it no other way.” His voice was soft, curling around her into a cloud of contentment, and she couldn't say no.

”I will accept it, thank you.”

He stepped back from her and she felt the loss of his warmth in every single fiber of her being. She could not take any more of this his mere presence was seducing her. The longer she talked to him, the longer she looked at him, the more addicted she became, the harder it would be to kick the habit. She needed him away from her, now.

”The s.h.i.+rt you owe me?” she questioned.

Sebastian was so happy she'd accepted his gift, the first part of his plan falling into place, he wasn't paying enough attention. ”In the trunk,” was his offhand answer, not looking at her as he placed the jewelry box on the table. By the time he turned back, she was on the floor, the tissue paper of his final package falling open.

”Really? Really?!” she seethed, balling the s.h.i.+rt up and throwing it at him. ”Get out.”

A string of harsh Sezynian words escaped him this could not be happening, he was so close. ”Kat ”

”No. NO!” The anger, at least, had chased away everything else at the moment. ”What in the h.e.l.l makes you think that that's okay? How many times do I have to tell you no before it gets through that thick head of yours.”

”I ” he began but was interrupted again.

”I am not someone that you can just keep casting aside and coming back to when you feel like it. You can't bribe me with expensive gifts to do your bidding.” She picked up the purple s.h.i.+rt from the floor, and held it up, the words 'So I Still Need to Get Married . . . ?' clear as day across the front. ”How many times do I have to tell you no before you get the hint? And what, now you've wasted all your time with proper, royal Sezynian girls and you need a back-up and oh, Kat's around, Kat will do it.”

”It's not like that at all.”

”Really?” Kat put more contempt and disdain into that one word than Sebastian ever thought possible. ”Let's recap, shall we? Every time you got tired of dating or trying, you'd propose to me. Let's mock romance and love, hey Kisa want to spend the rest of your life hitched to me. I don't have feelings but I'm really good at wiggling my eyebrows.”

She started pacing the floor. If she stopped she was going to burst into tears, crumble into a million pieces. ”You don't want to get married. You never wanted to get married. So you'd hang around with me, your convenient commitment s.h.i.+eld, letting you keep everyone at a comfortable distance. And now you've just gotten too good at doing it and you think I'll just ride in and s.h.i.+eld you again.”

”That's not what's going on here.”

”I am worth more than this. I demand more than this.” She met his eyes, anger making her both bold and broken. ”I deviated from the plan and I won't again. I made some mistakes but that doesn't mean that you get to capitalize on them. I'm not going to let you or anyone else play me for the fool again.”

”Please tell me how I'm trying to take advantage of you?” Exasperation threaded through his words. ”Last time I checked I wasn't the one hopping beds or couches.”

”Get over yourself Your Highness. It's time to grow up.”

”That's exactly what I'm trying to do.” His voice was desperate, skirting the edge of pleading. He had to make her understand.

”No it's not!” She stopped, her loud declaration halting her in place. ”You're just trying to use me again. I'm not stupid I know you kept me around to annoy all the prim and proper people in your life.”

”And because I enjoy your pleasant company, let's not forget that.”

”Are you mocking me?” She glared daggers at him. ”Get out of my house.”

”Not until you let me say what I've come here to say!” Kat paused before waving her arm, a mocking gesture that he had the floor. ”You're right about almost everything but there's one other piece of important information. That this is not a game or a trick or any other type of transient distraction. You're overlooking how much I want to be with you. How much I need you. How much I . . .” He hadn't said it out loud not even to himself. Everyone knew but he'd never said it, the words had not crossed his lips. Until now. ”How much I love you Kisa.”

Her eyes widened in shock and her breath came out in a loud whoosh, his statement knocking the wind out of her. ”That is not funny. That's just . . . why would you even say that? That's just cruel. I know you don't believe in love.”

”That was before,” he said, reaching for her.

”Before what?”

”Before this.” His hand made contact with her, his fingers curling around her arm as he stopped her from leaving the room. The minute he touched her it was hard to breathe, his thumb lightly caressing her wrist, making lazy trips across her skin. ”Before you.”

”Please don't.” The words barely came, escaped as a breathless plea. ”You don't believe in love,” she protested, not able to pull her eyes away from his hand.

”I do now,” he whispered, so close to her ear she could feel his lips move.

”I don't believe you.”

”Serdtse means heart. I meant every word mine is yours, only yours, forever and always.”

”You just want to marry me so you can be King.”

”No,” he said, putting a hand under her chin and drawing her gaze to his. ”No. I want to marry you because the last week has been torture without you. Because I feel like I'm going crazy when I'm not near you. Because the thought of spending my life with anyone else is a future I just can't bear. I want to, and am ready to, marry because of you.”

”I can't be a Queen. I can barely be a matchmaker.” Kat looked away. It was useless; she could never be a country's jewel or treasure.

”You don't want to be Queen? Fine I abstain.”

”What?” she gasped. She looked at him expecting to see humor; his eyes showed only conviction. ”You can't do that, let Violetta and everyone else win.”

”I don't care. Anastasia will take care of that.” He paused to take a deep breath. ”I love you more than I hate her. Let me spend the rest of my life proving it to you. Marry me, please, agree, because I'm not leaving until I hear you say yes.”

Kat's heart stopped. Everything she'd ever wanted a man who stuck.

Chapter 27.

A smile unfurled across Sebastian's face the minute she entered the room. ”You're driving me crazy Kisa,” he murmured.

”What, this ole thing?” she teased. She was wearing his Petrescu s.h.i.+rt, nothing else, chocolate hair cascading around her head in a messy crown that made his hands itch to touch her. It reminded him of their first night here in Sezynia and he couldn't stop himself reaching for her.

”Such a wonderful way to start the day,” the Prince said, pulling her close for a slow, intimate kiss. He let her go regrettably and went back to fixing his tie.

”What are you doing today?” Kat asked.

”Meetings followed by briefings and then, oh, I'm sure more meetings. So fun to be back home at the castle, isn't it? I'll be counting down the minutes until I see you at dinner.” His comment was followed by silence and when Kat didn't rush to fill it he glanced her way. She was staring at him with a slightly heartbreaking look. ”What's wrong?”

”Did I disappoint you?”

Sebastian was taken aback and turned, giving her his full and undivided attention. ”Why would I be disappointed with you, Serdtse moya?”

Kat wouldn't look at him, idly twirling the engagement ring on her finger. It still felt foreign there, surprised her every time she caught a glimpse of it on her hand. ”Because we're not going to be married before your birthday.”

”That? No, perish the thought,” he said. ”I'm the one that lives in a country where a woman can't rule or even get married without parental sanction before thirty. What a beautiful little gem that was that Prince Vlad dug out of the history books, no? Did I ever tell you that Violetta is a scholar of Sezynian traditions and folklore; bet she never knew it would come in so handy.”