Chapter 41
A lexandra
After saying goodbye to my father and Sarah, who was now back at his side where it seemed she belonged, we returned downstairs. Raphael’s team talked to the police, Riss, Will, and Johnnie sitting in a row and looking forlorn. Riss gave me a sad smile, but I couldn’t return it. If she’d suspected anything at all, she should have told me. Instead, she’d taken the money then acted after. I couldn’t forgive that.
Raphael checked in with Ben that we weren’t needed, but Ben shook his head. “Barrington is in custody after they nabbed him elsewhere. The picture of ye, Raphael, has been taken offline, and your name never appeared. The latest headlines are the shot of the king with his cousin, but the press is hustling to present the news in a different way. All the other articles about ye, Alex, are vanishing. They’re offering it as a rare glimpse into the close royal family with two of the younger generation spotted out for a stroll. They’re commending the king for visiting his elderly uncle. No hint of ‘find the princess’ now. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.”
Another knot of stress dissolved. Perhaps the last one. Today had done a number on us all.
Ben waved us off. “Go on home. We’ll handle it from here.”
The release we both needed.
In what felt like no time, we were in the air and flying to the McRae estate. On the flight, Raphael had me unlock his phone to see the picture of his new nephew.
I gazed at the gorgeous swaddled cutie. “He looks just like you.”
“Do you think?” At the aircraft controls, the landscape flew by behind Raphael. “I always thought this baby’s birth would terrify me. That feeling hasn’t hit yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe from my father, but I’ll do everything I can to make sure that bairn is. And ye. So will my team.”
“So will my family. I asked the king for a favour.”
I told him what I’d said and what King Philip had confided in me.
Raphael’s eyes widened. He swore, his grip on the helicopter’s controls tight. “I can’t believe ye did that for me.”
“This thing between us? It works both ways. I get to protect you, too. And if that means calling in all the king’s men to put your father in jail the second he steps foot on this island, then so be it.”
He laughed, relief obvious on his features. “Aye, princess. That helps. Fucking hell, that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”
That was more than good enough for me.
Back at our cottage, Raphael locked the door then brought me into his arms and just hugged me. The afternoon was at an end, though the sun was still bright around our closed curtains. Enough to make our hideaway even cosier.
His low, beloved voice rumbled in his chest. “So apparently I’m marrying a princess.”
I pushed at his chest with a laugh. “Don’t. I can’t believe my father’s meddling. At least it means he likes you.”
He didn’t let me go. “I like him, too. I’m in love with his daughter.”
My protests faded. I gazed up at him in happy shock.
He brushed over my cheek with reverent fingertips. “I’m pretty certain I’ve been in love with ye since that first time we danced together. Ye stole my heart when your palm slid under my shirt to lie on my chest. Ever since then, you’re the only person who could ever have got in, despite the obstacles I put between us. Ye were already there. You’ve shown me what it is to want someone so badly that nothing else matters. Only ye. I’m in love with ye. Completely, wildly, and in over my head.”
My fingers trembled, but I laid them down in the place he’d said, where the steady thump of his heartbeat underscored his words.
It was my turn to speak. “I thought I’d lost you today. I thought enough had happened to drive you away from me. I should have trusted this because I feel it, too. I’ve never loved anyone else. I’ve never even tried. Yet I’m so, so in love with you.”
Emotion crinkled his brow, but he smiled. “Our hearts knew before we did. Be mine, princess.”
“Always.” I pressed up on my toes and kissed him.
Raphael returned my kiss with urgent energy that spilled into pawing at each other’s clothes. We didn’t even make it into the bedroom, dropping to the sofa then the rug to forget the craziness of the day on each other’s bodies and celebrating all we’d found.
I loved him. He loved me. I’d show him every day how much that meant.
Later, in our little kitchen, as the sun set, Raphael cooked dinner for me. I was sure to praise every bite.
Then after, he bundled me into his car for a drive out onto the estate.
We had the windows down to the warm night. It was nearing the end of summer, but right at the beginning of us.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
He smiled across the car and used our joined hands to change gear, not giving up an answer. I found out soon enough.
We left the car behind at a dark track then set out on foot. The lapping water clued me in.
“We’re at the loch?”
“When I brought ye to Scotland, ye asked me if everything I’d described on our late-night phone call was real. This was on your list.”
We emerged from under the cover of trees to the flat rocks he’d told me about in his skinny-dipping story. The one where we’d stripped and swum together. And after, got down and dirty on the banks.
I shivered in anticipation and danced ahead, slipping my sandals off at the water’s edge.
“I want to ask ye something,” Raphael said.
I twisted to face him. He was already out of his boots, his t-shirt discarded, too. I loved that view so much. I’d never get over his muscular forearms and broad shoulders. He was too perfect for words.
“Ben and Valentine’s double wedding to Daisy and Mia is next week. Will ye be my date?”
Coyly, I tugged the hem of my top to reveal my belly, extending my arms up and up. “Sure you want a mischievous princess around? Last I recall, you told me you’d keep me if you could. Has that changed?”
His focus slid up my body, lingering when I discarded the shirt.
“How about I keep ye for good?”
I kicked off my skirt then reached for the fastening of my bra, pausing. “Is that a formal offer for me to move in with you?”
Slowly, he nodded then shucked his jeans, his shorts already tented.
I pointed at them. “Off.”
This corner of the loch was all he’d described. An isolated inlet where no one could see us. I had no fear anymore.
He obeyed me, and my bra went the same way as his shorts, then I drew my fingers down to the line of my underwear, the last remaining item of clothing between us.
Raphael cupped his dick and watched me. “Move in with me, please.”
I whipped off my underwear and threw them at him. Then I carefully descended into the cool water, shivering for more than one reason. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
He made a break for it, and I squealed as he splashed in beside me. I swam, but he was right there, capturing me in his arms, just like I’d imagined when he’d talked to me on our late-night dirty phone call.
“Yes, I’ll move in with you. There is no place I’d rather be than at your side.”
Raphael kissed me.
We made love on the banks of the water, and it was every bit as incredible as I’d imagined.