Prologue
PROLOGUE
Fifteen Years Before
Oxford, England
Kashmir Kamdar lay back on the blanket, his face to the sun. He loved England, genuinely adored the years he’d spent here, but sometimes he missed the sun of Loa Mali. It could be so dark here, but on a day like this, he found his way to one of the parks and let the sun soak into his skin and he felt the connection to his island home.
“You don’t care at all about quantum mechanics today, do you?”
He didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t have to see Dayita’s frown. Her perfect lips would be turned down, but there would also be a light in those hauntingly gray eyes. “You could read the chapter to me.”
“While you snore? I think not.”
He felt her settle down beside him, their arms barely touching. Yes, that was better. Dayita Samar was the only other Loa Mali resident here at Oxford, and in the last six months he’d pretty much decided that she was the only Loa Mali resident he needed.
He even adored her name. Day. She scared off all the other guys by putting that insanely thick mound of hair up in a mousy bun, hiding her glorious eyes behind bulky glasses, and wearing somewhat shapeless sweaters. He suspected she simply hadn’t figured out how to dress for the cold weather. He wanted to see her on their island home, her body wrapped in a sari that would allow him hints of her copper and gold skin. She scared the men off with her incredible intellect as well. They were all intimidated by how freaking smart she was.
It hadn’t intimidated him. After all, he’d lived in his big brother’s shadow for all his life. He was absolutely used to being the second smartest person in a room.
“I suppose it won’t hurt to take a little nap.” She sighed beside him. “Or to watch the clouds. They’re different here. I’m thinking about taking a meteorology class in my spare time. I’m fascinated by how different the weather is here in England.”
He turned on his side and smiled down at her, his head propped in his hand. “You should feel the way the winds can whip around the Himalayas. There’s nothing like a storm at base camp one.”
Her eyes came open. “You’re telling me they let you climb Everest? I would think the guards would have a problem with that. Did you force poor Rai to be your Sherpa?”
Naturally she knew what he was talking about and that he would need someone to guide him. And she was right about the guards. “I went to Nepal in Shray’s place. He got a horrible cold at the last minute, but Father didn’t want to cancel the trip. They let me go up to the first base camp. It was more than enough. A storm hit and I froze my poor backside off. I got back to the beach as quickly as possible.”
She laughed, the sound musical to his ears. “Did you cuddle with the guard?”
“I have a ‘no cuddling’ policy with my royal guard. And you know they only really stay close when I’m working for my father. There aren’t many people here in Oxford who want to hurt the spare heir of a tiny island country. Shray, on the other hand, oh, let’s just say I’ve learned to be happy that I’m a second son.”
“It’s one of the things I like about you, Your Highness.” She rolled over too, and they were side by side. “I think it would be hard to have your whole life laid out for you. I like that you’re not jealous of your brother.”
Yes, this was the Day he’d come to… Had he come to love Day? He certainly felt more for her than he’d ever felt for a girl before. He hadn’t slept with a single model, or anyone else, since he’d met her, and he hadn’t even tried to kiss her yet.
“Most people think I should be saddened by the idea of being the spare. By being so close to the crown and yet so far away. They think I should be jealous of Shray, but I feel sorry for him. Don’t get me wrong. I adore my brother, but I don’t want to be him. You’re right. His life is laid out for him. He’ll marry some woman my father approves of, have children as soon as possible, and settle down to be the perfect king one day. Did you know they forced him to major in economics and political science?”
He shuddered at the thought. And Shray hadn’t been allowed to go so far from home. He’d studied in India so he could be close to the palace. His leash had been so very short.
Day’s nose wrinkled. “How boring. Except the math part. That’s probably fun. Maybe I’ll study it in my free time.”
He had to smile. “You don’t have any free time. I’m forcing you to study something else. It’s called human dynamics. We’re going to a pub tonight and we’ll drink and eat and watch the crowds.”
Now her eyes went wide. “I need to study. I have a test in differential equations next week.”
“Which you can pass in your sleep.” Day had forgotten more mathematics than most people ever learned. Still, he knew she would prepare. “You can study later, Day. Tonight you’re going to play. You never play.”
She sat up and started to gather her books. “I don’t and I should remember that, Your Highness.”
Okay. That was bad. Even he knew that particular tone in a woman’s voice, though he rarely heard it in Day’s. It meant he’d screwed up. Normally that tone of voice represented an off ramp, and after a few weeks with a woman, he tended to look for those.
He didn’t want one with her. He liked her. They were friends and he was starting to think they should be something more. He wasn’t a child. He was twenty years old and maybe Shray wasn’t the only one who was thinking about settling down. Not right away. Not marriage anyway, but it would be nice to settle in with her and see where they could go. The truth was he was tired of models and actresses who had no idea who Stephen Hawking was. The playboy was tired and wanted his brainy girl.
“What did I do wrong?”
She stopped, hugging her books to her chest. “Nothing. I’m being exactly what I promised myself I wouldn’t be. I’m being a foolish girl. I have a unique chance to make something of myself and here I am mooning over a boy I can’t have. I’m sorry, Your Highness. I need to go.”
He reached out, gripping her wrist gently. “Stop calling me that. Please call me Kash. I’m not my brother. I’m not destined for the throne. I’m nothing more than a young man trying to ask a lovely woman out for a date and screwing it up terribly.”
Those gray eyes went wide. “A date?”
There was something about the breathy way she said the word that let him know all would be well. He got to his knees in front of her, facing her so she could see how serious he was. “A date. It’s when a boy and a girl go out into the world and have fun.”
Her eyes never left his, never shifted coyly away. It was one of the things he loved about her. Day took charge. “I’m not one of your fun-time girls, Kashmir. You should understand that about me. If you think I’m going to giggle and hook up and walk away happy I screwed around with a prince, you don’t know me at all.”
He liked the strength in her voice. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do all these months. Get to know you. We’ve become friends. I would like to see if we could be more. Dayita, I know you think you’re nothing but a brain on two legs, but I see you as something more.”
“More?” She stared at him as though trying to find the definition in her head.
Yes, this was one of the things he needed her to understand. “You’re brilliant, but you’re also a woman. You treat all the men around you as if you couldn’t care less.”
“I don’t think the men around me like me.”
“I like you,” he said quickly, not willing to let a moment of misunderstanding pass. “I like who you are.”
Her cheeks had flushed, a deep color coming to them. “They don’t think I’m especially feminine.”
Because she knew what she wanted? He liked that most about her. “How do they know what femininity is? You’re a woman because your body is different, but I…I like your soul, too. You don’t have to be different with me. You can be exactly who you are and I’ll still like you.”
“If this is some kind of game to you…” she began and he could see the shimmer of tears in her eyes.
The last thing he wanted to do was ever make her cry. She was so strong. He wanted to add to that strength, never take from it. “It’s not a game. I like you, Day. Even better, I like me when I’m around you. Does that make sense? I like how I feel when you’re with me.”
“How do I make you feel?”
How to explain it? It was something he thought about a lot lately. He’d started to study it like a scientist would, considering all the angles, measuring his feelings versus others and coming up with the theory that Day was the right woman for him. “I feel peaceful around you. I feel secure.”
He knew it was a risk. Some women would see that as unmanly. He should have talked about protecting her. He wanted to protect her from everything, but he’d never in his life felt like a woman wanted to protect him, too.
She bit her bottom lip and seemed to think things over before she reached up and pulled the tie out of her hair, shaking it out. “Let me kiss you.”
He stopped, his whole body going on high alert. His dick twitched in his slacks. When he’d proposed this little picnic, he’d known he was going to start to ease her into a more traditional male/female relationship, but he hadn’t expected this. He’d thought he would get her to go to a pub with him and they would have fun, and after three or four outings she might not even recognize as dates, he would kiss her.
He should do it now. He should lean over and fist his hand in her hair and show her how masculine he could be.
“Yes.” He stayed still because she hadn’t asked him to kiss her. She’d been clear and plain in her intent. She wanted to kiss him. She’d asked his permission as though he was something precious.
Women threw themselves at him. They plopped themselves down in his lap and offered him all manner of sexual favors. Not once had anyone asked if they could kiss him. Certainly not in that strong tone that let him know he really should say yes because he would miss out on something if he didn’t.
Her lips curled in a smile he’d never once seen from her. That smile was wicked and it got his cock hard as a freaking rock. He hadn’t touched her yet and he was erect and ready.
She reached her hand up, fingertips brushing his skin. “Don’t move. Let me touch you. Let me learn you.”
For Day, learning was serious. She studied him, her fingers moving along his jawline. She was studying him, assessing and categorizing him. It wasn’t a bad thing. No. Day wouldn’t find him wanting. Day viewed the world itself as something marvelous, something to explore.
How would she explore him? The question made his body tighten, his whole being focus on her. The rest of the world seemed to fall away as Day leaned in and finally, finally brushed her lips against his.
He felt a spark deep inside. Her hands moved up, sliding into his hair and twisting ever so slightly. His scalp tingled and his breath caught. She kissed him softly, the ease of her lips contrasting with the sharp tingle to his scalp. Her chest came up, rubbing against his, and he felt something he hadn’t before. He felt…wanted. Not for his royal position. Not for his money.
For himself.
She went up, as tall as she could get on her knees. He was sitting back and he found the way she towered over him incredibly sexy. He didn’t have to do a damn thing. Day was in control. She would take what she wanted and what she wanted was him.
“Open your mouth for me. Let me in.”
He found himself giving in, the whole moment spiraling out of control. It wasn’t what he’d meant to do, but that was all right. He didn’t have to decide. All he had to do was follow her path and she would lead him somewhere incredible.
He was so hard he could barely breathe as her tongue slid along his. It didn’t matter that they were in a park. It wasn’t that crowded at this time of day. The River Cherwell was off to his right and there was a lovely copse of trees to his left they could go into when she wanted to fuck. Yeah, he would move the blanket, open his slacks, lay back and let her ride the hell out of him.
He’d known it would be good.
The thud thud of a helicopter broke through the intimacy of the moment. Damn it. They needed to go away. He leaned in, but she was already pulling back. Her face turned up to the sky.
“I think they’re landing,” she shouted over the hard scream of the blades rotating.
She leaned in as though to try to cover him.
He wasn’t having that. Not for a second. He moved out from under her, placing his body over hers. He felt her stiffen but he wasn’t giving in.
“Your Majesty!” A familiar figure moved toward him. His guard. Rai. He’d come with him all the way from Loa Mali. He’d left his family and spent the last four years of his life here, only short visits home connecting him with the ones he loved. Rai had been his steadfast companion, giving him space when he needed it, taking care of him when he got too wild.
Why was Rai calling him “your majesty”? He stood, reaching down to help Day up. “What’s wrong?”
Rai had a grim look on his face. “I have to get you to Heathrow, Your Majesty. There’s a plane waiting for you. Something’s happened at home. We need to go as soon as possible.”
Kash shook his head. He wasn’t leaving in the middle of a semester. “I’ll call Dad. And what’s wrong with you? It’s ‘your highne…’”
He stopped, the world shifting and twisting and turning until he couldn’t quite stand. Day was there, holding him up.
There was only one reason to ever call him “your majesty.” No one should have called him that. Not ever in his life. It was what his people called the king and queen. Only ever the king and queen.
“What happened to my father?” His gut twisted and he choked back a cry. “My brother?”
Rai shook his head. “There was a car accident, Your Majesty. The king and your brother were caught in a storm. Your brother was driving and he lost control and went over a cliff. I’m so sorry.” He went down on one knee. “The king is dead. Long live the king.”
King Kashmir.
Day’s arms went around him, but now they were surrounded by guards. Rai had brought an army with him.
Because he was no longer the spare. Because he was the last of the Kamdar line and he was king.
“We have to go.” Rai was back on his feet, nodding toward the helicopter.
Kash felt himself being pulled away from Day, but there was nothing he could do. He had to go home. He glanced back, saw her standing there with tears in her eyes.
And he knew the whole world had changed.