Princess in Love (15 page)

Nothing seemed to exist beyond this private encounter. The rest of the world, past,
present, and future, simply disappeared.

“Tell me there is hope that you will be my wife,” he said. “Tell me you will speak
to your brother and explain to him that you cannot marry the archduke—that by doing
so you will be sacrificing your happiness forever.”

“Yes.” She took his face in both her hands. “I will speak to him and I will beg to
be released from my obligations. I want to marry you, Leopold, for I have never stopped
loving you. Even when I hated you, I loved you.”

His eyes filled with emotion, and he touched his forehead to hers. “You have made
me very happy.”

His lips found hers again and this time the kiss was deep and ravenous. The ache to
feel him with her hands and devour him with her mouth was overwhelming in its intensity.
She nearly fainted with rapture when he inched closer on the settee and slid his hand
under her back to pull her closer. Soon he was lowering his heavy body to hers, kissing
her neck and stroking everywhere with his strong, passionate hands.

She wrapped her legs around his hips and felt the firm evidence of his arousal which
he pushed against her pelvic bone.

Her mind was telling her to stop, that this was wicked and wanton, but her soul did
not agree. Again, it was as if she were floating on a cloud, rising up to heaven,
and she knew this was not wrong. It was what she was meant for—to share her life,
her heart, and her soul with this man who somehow understood her more than any other
person ever could. When she was with him, she was her true self.

Leopold blazed a trail of hot kisses down the side of her neck, and she arched her
back beneath him while clutching at his shoulders. His mouth moved to the tops of
her breasts, just above her satin-trimmed décolletage, and she quivered with tingling
ecstasy when he darted his tongue into the crevice between her breasts.

“Your gown is lovely,” he said, “and you are beautiful in it, Rose, but I would dearly
love to slide it off you.”

She laughed softly. “I believe I would enjoy that as well, but it might raise some
suspicion when I return to the ballroom.”

“
If
you return,” he said with a devilish grin, “because I may decide to kidnap you.”

Her hands stroked through his wavy, chestnut hair, which gleamed in the moonlight
shining through the window, and she smiled at him in return.

“It’s not kidnapping when your captive runs off with you willingly.”

He slid a hand across the top of her thigh and slowly tugged her skirt upward, one
glorious inch at a time, while he continued to kiss and tongue the tops of her breasts.
“If only it could be so.”

A quiet melancholy settled over her while she ran her fingers through his hair and
squirmed with delight at all the erotic sensations he aroused within her. For he was
right. It could not be so.

If Rose—a princess pledged to marry the son of the Austrian emperor—ran off with her
secret lover, the Sebastian dynasty might never recover from the scandal. The people
of Petersbourg—the Royalists and Revolutionaries alike—valued virtuous beliefs and
moral conduct, and would not react well to another member of the royal family displaying
a lack of self-restraint. Her brother Nicholas had pushed those limits by stirring
up his share of scandals, which was one of the reasons Randolph had brought Alexandra
home from England to sit on the throne at his side. No one could dispute the fact
that she had royal blood flowing through her veins, while the Sebastians were constantly
judged by their behavior, for they were born of butchers and soldiers.

“You are lost in thought,” Leopold said, shifting his body to lie beside her on the
settee and resting a hand on her belly. “Talk to me.”

Rose met his gaze. “I am thinking of the future and how I will tell Randolph that
I cannot satisfy his wishes for a political marriage.”

“He will understand,” Leo said.

“Perhaps, but it is an important alliance that I will be breaking.”

Leopold, who was leaning up on one elbow, ran a finger across the pearls that were
stitched into her neckline. “Are you having second thoughts?”

There was an unmistakable menace in his voice. She could not see it in his eyes, for
he’d lowered his gaze to look down at her body. Her leg was exposed above the knee
and she was still half dazed from the fever of her arousal.

She cupped his face in both hands and urged him to look at her. “No, I am not having
second thoughts.”

“Then why are you still wearing that ring?”

She paused and looked at the engagement ring Joseph had given to her. Many times she
had watched it sparkle in the light, and always felt torn between what was expected
of her and what she truly wanted.

“I have no choice,” she replied. “I haven’t spoken to Randolph yet and I must consider
appearances. People would notice if I took it off. We must be patient.”

“For how long, Rose?” he said irritably. “I want you
now
.”

“I want you, too, but it won’t be easy. Randolph will not be pleased, especially with
the Congress approaching. He leaves for Vienna in a week and will be staying at Hofburg
Palace with the emperor. I do not see how I can bring this up at such a time when
all the great nations of Europe will be negotiating for new borders and renewed alliances.”

Leopold was quiet for a moment. “You do realize I am attending the Congress as well.”

She sat up. “I beg your pardon? You did not tell me this before.”

“It was only decided tonight at the reception before the banquet,” he explained. “As
you know, my father has returned from England and Randolph has personally requested
his presence at the Congress. Naturally my father asked me to accompany him, as I
will inherit his title one day and he wishes for me to meet our neighboring monarchs.
It is quite an opportunity. The Congress will be a historic event that will shape
the future of all Europe.”

Everything he said made perfect sense, but all she could think of was the fact that
he would travel to Vienna and possibly …

No, not possibly. He would most
assuredly
meet Joseph.

“Where will you be staying?” she asked. “Not at the Hofburg, surely.” It was the palace
that belonged to Joseph’s family. His home. It would be
her
home as well if she went ahead with the marriage.

Leopold exhaled deeply. “You’re upset.”

“Yes! I most certainly am. How can you be telling me this
now
?”

“You needn’t worry,” he argued. “I will be very discreet. We are in this together,
Rose.”

“Do you
promise
to be discreet? With Joseph especially?”

“Of course.”

Though she trusted Leopold, she couldn’t help but worry, for she recognized the depth
of his passion for her. It was fierce and dogged—which is what she loved about him—but
pray God he would show restraint when he met her fiancé.

Her initial shock began to subside as he stroked a finger along her arm and managed
to calm her nerves with the magic of his touch.

“What are we going to do?” she asked. “Should I tell Randolph about us before he leaves?
I feel that I must, but I don’t want to weaken his position once he reaches the conference.
Now is not the time for Randolph to be insulting the son of the Austrian emperor by
telling him that his fiancée no longer wishes to marry him because she has taken up
with an ex-lover.”

“Randolph may be our king,” Leo said, “but he is your brother first. I do not believe
he would force you to do anything you do not wish to do.”

“Perhaps you are right.”

Leopold covered her hand with his, pulled it to his lips and kissed it tenderly. “Whatever
hardships you must endure, know that I will be at your side. Do not despair. I lost
you once before. I will not lose you again. I do not care what it takes, even if I
have to wait a lifetime, I will. If you would prefer to wait until after the Congress
to tell Randolph, I will honor your wishes and I will reveal nothing to anyone about
what exists between us—as long as you are mine in the end.”

Her heart warmed at this clear proof of his devotion, but she could not relax just
yet. There was still so much uncertainty. “We will have to tread very carefully,”
she said.

“I always do.”

She couldn’t bear it any longer. She had to touch him, feel closer to him. Sitting
forward, she took his face in her hands. “Please kiss me. We don’t have much time
before I must return.”

At the mere mention of returning to the crowded ballroom, he pressed his lips firmly
to hers.

His hand slid down her leg and found its way under her skirts. She shivered at the
pleasure of his caress as he rolled onto her and continued to kiss her passionately
on the mouth, his tongue softly probing, teasing her with its sweet, sensual eroticism.

“Oh, Leo,” she whispered on a breathless sigh of delight. She tipped her head back
to offer him full access to her neck and shoulders. “I want you so badly.”

“I want you, too.” He slid his hand to the damp center of her womanhood.

She gasped at the shock of the intrusion, but immediately took pleasure in it as he
stroked her tender folds, exploring all her secrets, sliding his finger everywhere.

“My sweet virgin,” he whispered in her ear. “Tell me you’ll be mine.”

“I will be,” she replied. “I am.”

He shut his eyes, losing himself in the rapture of her words while he pleasured her
gently with his hand and kissed her deeply on the mouth.

Soon her body began to quiver and pulse with a current of sexually charged heat. She
thrust her hips forward, pushing against his hand and pulling him closer.

“It feels good,” she sighed, as a tremulous orgasm came upon her suddenly and unexpectedly.
She had no power to keep it at bay and shuddered beneath him in a series of tiny spasms
and moans.

Their mouths collided as she cried out. She realized he was doing what he must to
smother her cries of pleasure, in case anyone was lurking in the corridor.

When the wave of ecstasy receded, she laid her head down and smiled. “I dreamed of
a moment like this. Many of them, actually.”

He withdrew his hand and lowered her skirts over her knees. “As have I, and I will
continue to dream—now more than ever.”

“Does this mean I am no longer a virgin?”

He kissed her lightly on the nose. “I was very careful,” he explained. “I only touched
you on the outside.”

“Why? I told you I was yours. I want to give myself to you completely, and no one
else. Not ever.”

“That pleases me, Rose, but your maidenhead is not mine to take. Not until we are
man and wife. I will not dishonor you that way, and certainly not like this, on a
sofa in a back room at a ball. When I make love to you, it will be special. We will
take our time. It will not be rushed.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “That only makes me want you more. How will
I ever survive until then?”

“There are other things we can do,” he whispered suggestively in her ear, teasing
her with his seductive appeal and ensuring her that he was committed.

After what he’d just shown her, the probability of her marrying another man was reduced
to nothing.

“Other things … Such as?”

With a sexually charged smile that sent her reeling, he kissed her trembling lips.
“I will teach you everything, darling, but for now, we must deliver you back to the
ballroom.”

He stood and helped her to her feet, then bent to pick up her gloves. While she pulled
them on and ran her hands over her hair to ensure all was in order, he pulled on his
jacket and gloves.

“How shall we proceed?” she asked. “Will you go first, or shall I?”

“You,” he replied. “I will watch from the window as you cross the courtyard to satisfy
myself that you have reached your destination safely. Then I will follow a few minutes
later.”

She kissed him fiercely. “How long will it be until we are alone again? I must see
you before you leave for Vienna.”

He took hold of her hands. “Let’s meet again when you go riding.”

“That wouldn’t be wise. If my groom revealed that I met you a second time, it would
arouse suspicion. I must be very careful. Nicholas has done enough damage to this
family with his rakish ways, and if I become the root of another scandal, Randolph
will be far less sympathetic toward my feelings and more likely to ship me off to
Austria.”

“You are meant to belong to me, Rose. No one else.”

Her heart beat wildly with distress. What if none of this was possible? What if this
wonderful happiness would soon come crashing down all around her?

No, she wouldn’t let it. She would do whatever it took.

“I will tell him as soon as possible,” she said, “but we should still be discreet
until I am free.”

She waited for Leopold to make a suggestion.

His eyes glimmered with renewed purpose. “Can you slip out of the palace after dark?
Borrow a dress from your maid and a hooded cloak. If you could reach the outer gates,
I will meet you there and pick you up in my curricle. We can spend the night together
at my town house. I would have you back before dawn.”

“What about your servants?”

He paused. “A hotel, then.”

She shook her head. “No, that is too risky. Can we not sit out under the stars somewhere?”

His determined expression remained unchanged. “When? I leave for Vienna the day after
Randolph.”

“Then we could meet that final night, after he is gone. One o’clock in the morning.
I will exit through the south door and take the path along the tall cedar hedge. It’s
dark there. No one will see me. Now I must go.”

With that, she hurried back to the ballroom feeling certain that her life was at last
on the right path to happiness, for she was in love. She was in wonderful, magical
love, and nothing—
nothing
—was going to keep her from the man who was surely destined to be her husband.