Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Keira stretched languidly, every muscle in her body sore from their last couple of romps. “I think I can manage getting dressed without your help, Your Highness.” She sat up slowly, the sheet pooling around her waist. “Though after that performance, I’m not making any promises about walking in a straight line.”
Alexei’s eyes darkened as they traced over her bare skin. “Keep talking like that and we’ll miss our landing entirely.”
“Promises, promises.” She slipped out of bed, very aware of his heated gaze following her every movement. Her legs were shakier than she’d care to admit, but she managed to retrieve some fresh clothes from her bag.
“Keira.” His voice stopped her as she reached for her bra. When she turned, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, completely unselfconscious in his nudity. “Are you really okay with this? All of it?”
The question caught her off guard. After everything they’d just shared, the concern in his tone made her chest tight. Was he worried she wasn’t ready or capable because let’s be honest here, she wasn’t sure she was. But there was something scarier than that and she needed to be honest with him.
“Define okay,” she said, echoing her earlier words. But this time there was no sarcasm, just honest uncertainty. “Because I’m terrified. Absolutely terrified of meeting your father, of being scrutinized by an entire country, of having my life dissected by the media.” She gathered up her outfit for landing and stuffed the travel clothes she’d worn aboard back into her bag, then faced him fully. “But I’m more terrified of walking away from you.” There and now she’d just laid herself open to him. Not words of love but as close as she was willing to admit to… just yet.
Something shifted in his expression, relief and something deeper flickering across his features. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”
She slipped into the toilet connected to the bedroom and cleaned herself up, thanking God this time he had used a condom. She flushed and went back out to finish their conversation.
“Will we?” She reached for her dress, a simple blue sheath that had seemed appropriate for most things but now felt woefully inadequate for meeting royalty. “Because in thirty minutes, I’m going to be in your world. Your country, your rules, your father’s expectations.” She tugged the dress over her head, smoothing it down. “What if I don’t measure up?” She hadn’t had the easiest life as a youngest child. She had lost her parents young and been made to get part–time jobs to pay her way by her aunt and uncle. Her life had only become easier because Sutton had taken up modeling to support her and Blair, allowing them to finish their studies
when she hadn’t been able to.
Alexei stood, moving to her with a predatory look in his eyes. His hands framed her face, forcing her to meet his eyes. “You will. You’re stronger than you think, Keira Warner.”
“I hope you’re right.” She leaned into his touch for just a moment, drawing strength from his certainty. “Because I have a feeling I’m about to find out exactly how strong I am.”
A soft chime echoed through the cabin, followed by the captain’s voice over the intercom. “Your Highness, we’ll be beginning our descent into Wystovia in approximately twenty minutes. Please prepare for landing!”
Reality crashed back in with the announcement. Keira’s stomach dropped, and not just from the plane’s descent.
“Twenty minutes,” she repeated, suddenly frantic. “Oh God, Alexei, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. Do I curtsy? What do I call your father? Your Majesty? Sir? Dad?” She was spiraling now, her hands shaking as she reached for her shoes. “What if I trip? What if I say something wrong? What if”
“Keira.” Alexei caught her hands, stifling her frantic movements. “Breathe.”
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She tried, but her lungs felt too tight. “I can’t do this. I’m not cut out for this world. I’m going to embarrass you, embarrass myself
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“Look at me.” His voice cut through her panic. When her eyes met his, he smiled that devastating smile that made her forget how to think. “You’re going to be fine. Better than fine. You’re going to be magnificent.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve seen you handle hostile diplomats, angry reporters, and one particularly difficult prince,” he said, straightening her dress with gentle hands. “A king is just another man with an opinion.”
“Aking who can have me thrown in the dungeon if he doesn’t like me.”
Alexei laughed, the sound rich and warm. “We don’t have dungeons anymore. That’s so medieval.” But he was glad to see she still had her spark.
“How reassuring.” But despite her sarcasm, she felt some of the panic receding. His calm confidence was infectious.
He used the bathroom and then finished dressing quickly, transforming back into the polished prince she was used to seeing in public. The crisp white shirt, perfectly knotted tie…. that tie, dark slacks that fit like they’d been tailored specifically for his body, which they probably had been. She had always thought he had a mighty fine ass.
“Ready?” he asked, offering her his arm.
“No.” She slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow anyway. “But let’s do this before I lose my nerve entirely.”
They made their way back to the main cabin, where Mitchell was coordinating with the security crew. He looked up as they approached, his expression professional despite whatever he might be thinking about their extended absence.
“Your Highness, Miss Warner.” He nodded to them both. He sat down across from them; this time Keira was pulled into the seat next to Alexei. They all belted up for landing.
Once secure in their seats he updated them. “The King’s motorcade will be waiting on the tarmac. He’s requested a private audience immediately upon your arrival.”
Keira’s stomach lurched again. “Immediately? Like, not even time to freshen up or-”
“My father doesn’t believe in delay when he wants something,” Alexei said grimly. “It’s better to get it over with.”
“Get it over with,” Keira repeated. “You make it sound like a root canal.”
Mitchell’s mouth twitched, with amusement. “Your Highness, if I may suggest, perhaps a brief overview of protocol for Miss Warner?”
“Right.” Alexei turned to her, his expression growing serious. “When you meet my father, wait for him to extend his hand first. Address him as “Your Majesty‘ initially, then ‘Sir‘ is acceptable. Don’t sit until invited, don’t speak unless spoken to-”
“Wait, what?” Keira’s eyes widened. “Don’t speak unless spoken to? What am I, a Victorian child?” Was he joking?
“It’s just for the first meeting,” Alexei sajd quickly, reading her expression. “Just until he gets a feel for you.”
“And what if he asks me something I don’t want to answer? What if he asks about our relationship, or my background, or-”
“Answer honestly,” Alexei said firmly. “My father values honesty above everything else. Don’t try to be what you think he wants. Be
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yourself.”
“Myself is what got us into this mess in the first place.”
“No,” he said, his voice soft but certain. “You, just the way you are is why I want you around. You are a breath of fresh air.”
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The words hung between them, loaded with an admission neither of them was ready to make just yet. Keira’s breath caught, her heart hammering against her ribs.
“Alexei-”
The plane lurched slightly as they began their descent, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. Through the windows, Keira caught her first glimpse of Wystovia with its rolling green hills. A coastline that looked like something from a postcard, and in the distance, a city that seemed to rise from the landscape like something from a fairy tale.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, momentarily forgetting her panic. She had travelled with Alexei, but never when he was coming home… only ever on business.
“Wait until you see the palace,” Alexei said, watching her reaction. “It’s been in my family for over six hundred years.”
Six hundred years. The weight of that history, of the tradition and expectations that came with it, settled over her like a heavy cloak. What was she doing here? What business did a girl from New York have walking into six centuries of royal legacy?
But then Alexei’s hand covered hers, his fingers warm and steady, and some of that panic receded. He was letting her know he was there for her.
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AD
