Leopold: Part Five (7 page)

I
leave
her alone for an hour—an
hour
—and my father’s crony insults her and manages to convince her to leave. This is unacceptable.

I march down the stairs toward Elle. She rises, as does my sister.

“Don’t you dare think of leaving,” I tell Elle firmly.

She raises an eyebrow. “Is that an order?”

I run a hand through my hair. “Not an order. A… Elle, I want you here with me. I thought
you
wanted to be here, too.”

“I do,” she says. She glances toward Andrew, who’s still sitting on the bench beside us. “I’m just not sure I’m welcome here.”

“We have a deal with my father, and my father’s word is law,” I tell her. “I don’t care what anyone else in the palace says. And I especially don’t care what Stephan says. That man is a vile excuse for a human being.”

“Who works for your father,” Elle points out. “Would he send me away without your father’s permission?”

“If he thought it was what my father wanted, then yes,” I say. “But he won’t disobey a direct order. Believe me, I intend on having a word with my father to ensure this never happens again.”
And a word with Stephan, if I can find that weasel.
Stephan is smart and cunning but also incredibly loyal—which is why my father has kept him in his employ for so many years. He’s exactly the sort of man you want working for you, not against you—though I’d take the good-natured Matthias over the loathsome Stephan any day.

He called her a bloody courtesan. While she was a guest under this roof.
First my father and now Stephan—and here I was hoping to give her a proper welcome to Montovia. She probably believes we’re all a bunch of arrogant bastards now.

And speaking of arrogant bastards, my brother has risen from his bench.

“I’ll have a word with our father,” he says. “But not tonight. Not with the mood he’s in.”

I can’t believe Andrew is offering to defend me to our father for a second time, especially after the way we ended things at supper—he must be after something. But before I can raise my suspicions, Elle speaks.

“Did something happen at dinner?” she asks.

“Unfortunately.” My gaze moves to my sister. “Would it have troubled you to be on time?”

Sophia shrugs and pops a piece of candy into her mouth. “You could have warned me he was in a foul mood. I didn’t know you were bringing Elle to the palace today.”

“Elle has nothing to do with it,” I say. “He would have been angry with you either way. You know better than to keep flaunting the rules, Soph.”

She laughs. “What’s going on here? Did you switch bodies with Andrew or something? I can’t believe I’m getting a lecture from you of all people about breaking the rules.”

She’s right
, I realize.
How did this happen?
But then my eyes fall on Elle again, and I remember why I’m here. Why I’m doing all of this.

“It would just help Elle and me tremendously if we all did everything in our power to keep from upsetting our father too much. At least for a little while.” My gaze flicks back to Sophia again. “Why were you so late, anyway?”

She shrugs and smiles. “As I said, I was volunteering and lost track of the time.”

I frown. I’m not a fool—and neither is Sophia.

“What sort of trouble were you getting into?” I ask her.

Her eyes gleam. “I promise, Brother, I was every bit the proper princess.”

I very much doubt that. Andrew doesn’t look convinced either, but he doesn’t say a word.

“Just try to behave,” I tell her. “Please. I think we’ve had enough drama for one day.” I slide my arm around Elle’s waist, but when I try to lead her back up the stairs, she doesn’t move.

“Leo…” she says.

My chest tightens. “I think we should go inside,” I say carefully. “Have you had anything to eat yet?”

Elle glances back at the car waiting nearby, then at my brother and sister.

“I don’t want to cause trouble between you and your father,” she says finally.

“Nonsense,” I say. “We cause trouble all on our own, whether or not you’re here.”

“It’s true,” Sophia says.

“I just… Leo, what am I doing here?” Elle slips out of my arm. “I don’t belong here. Stephan might have been wrong about me being a whore, but he was right about that. I belong back in the U.S. I might still be able to make that job interview if I leave now.”

I can’t believe after all that’s happened that she’s still talking about leaving.
I’m going to strangle Stephan the next time I see him.

“You can’t be serious, Elle,” I say.

“I’m very serious,” she says. “This isn’t real life, Leo—not for me, anyway.”

I’m suddenly very aware that we’re having this conversation in front of Andrew and Sophia.

“Shall we continue this conversation inside?” I ask her. I have no intention of letting her get into that car. If I have to throw myself in front of it, I will.

I see the indecision in her eyes. I look over at Sophia, wondering what was said between them before I stumbled out here, but my sister just shrugs. She wouldn’t try to drive Elle away, not like my father. Andrew is a different story, but on the other hand, he
did
just offer to speak to our father about Stephan.

“Please,” I murmur to Elle. “Let’s just go inside and discuss this.”

She nods. “Okay.”

As she starts up the stairs, I gesture at the car, making it clear to the driver that he is no longer needed.

I can’t believe how close I came to losing her again. I can’t believe that even now, after everything that has happened, she’s thinking of walking away from this.
What might have happened if I’d come a moment later? When I returned to her chamber and found it empty, I nearly had a heart attack. If I hadn’t heard the car horn, I might still be looking for her. She might have been well on her way to a plane by now. She might have been halfway across the Atlantic before I’d even realized where she’d gone.

We’re not back to her room yet, but I don’t think I can wait that long. I need answers.

I grab her arm, and she gives a little gasp of surprise as I pull her into the nearest room—a parlor that sees little use this time of year. The room is dark except for the last red rays of the sun coming in through the window, but I don’t care. I pull her against the nearest wall and prop my hands against the wall on either side of her.

“Why were you going to leave?” I demand. “I want the truth, Elle.”

“I’ve already told you Stephan made it clear I wasn’t welcome here,” she says.

“And
I
made it clear that you were. Why would you believe that bastard over me?”

“It’s not that I believed him over you. It’s just… Look around you, Leo. Then think back to where we met. Or to my house.
That
is my reality. Not this. Sure, I can spend the next three months playing princess, but why? What happens after that? At some point, the clock will strike midnight and then all of this will be over. I can’t just spend three months of my life living in a fantasy world. Life doesn’t work that way for most of us.”

I don’t say anything for a long moment. My entire body is rigid, and my fingers press hard against the ornate wallpaper.

Finally, I blurt, “And you think you’d be happier spending those three months in Oklahoma?”

“That’s not… Dammit, Leo, my whole life was turned upside down overnight! A few days ago, I had no idea I’d ever see you again, and now suddenly I’m somehow committed to living in Montovia for three months. It’s a lot to take in.”

I push off from the wall and spin away from her, trying to think. I’ll admit I was a little quick to agree to the terms laid out by Andrew, but I was so relieved that my father had agreed to them, I didn’t stop to think. Still, it changes very little. I want to be with Elle. I’m not about to let either of us walk away from this again.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I say carefully, still keeping my back to her. “Do you or do you not think you’d be happier in Oklahoma than you would be here?”

She only hesitates a moment. “In Oklahoma, I’d have a job.”

“You can have a job here,” I say, turning. “Or you can volunteer with Sophia down at Montovia City School, or you can just think of this as an extended vacation. Whatever you wish.”

“I still have that interview—”

“Which you could cancel. My understanding is that it happens all the time.” I take a step back toward her. “The truth is that you have no commitments back in the United States. You have no professional or social obligations there. Which means you have the freedom to make this decision based entirely on what you
want
, not what you feel you must do.”

“This is just a fantasy,” she says. “It has to end sometime.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps not,” I say, taking another step closer to her. I see something flicker in her eyes—uncertainty? Fear?—so I try it again from a different angle. “Every moment I spend with you is a fantasy, Elle. I can’t say when or if this will end—only the universe knows that. I might walk outside tomorrow and be struck by lightning and die on the spot. But that’s why I choose to embrace what is right in front of me.”

I stop right against her, so close I can feel the heat of her body.

“There are no guarantees in this life,” I murmur. “And I refuse to run from things simply because they might one day be taken away from me. I prefer to take each moment for what it is and accept what happiness and pleasure I can.”

My hands rise to either side of her face, and her eyes flutter closed as my fingers skim across her cheeks.

“Not all of us can think that way,” she says without opening her eyes.

“Humor me,” I whisper.

Her hands come up to my sides. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”

I smile. “It’s been a long time since you called me that. I was starting to miss it.” My face lowers toward hers. “Don’t leave, Elle. Stay here with me.”

“Three months—”

“One day,” I counter. “Agree to stay here for one day, and then tomorrow you can decide if you want to stay another. And the day after that you can decide if you want to stay one more.” I intend to make her time here so pleasurable she’ll never even consider leaving again.

“One day,” she agrees softly, tilting her face up toward mine.

I kiss her gently at first, brushing my lips lightly against hers once, twice, three times. I don’t want her to see what it did to me, knowing how close I was to losing her again. But when I feel her fingers tighten on my jacket, pulling me closer, I start to lose control. The next time my mouth meets hers, I growl and push her firmly up against the wall, pressing my body against hers.

I haven’t forgotten the promises we made to each other when I left for supper. I hadn’t intended for things to happen here, like this, but I’m not about to be picky. I drop my hands from her face and slide them down her body, gliding my palms over the soft heat of her curves.

She’s here with you now
, I remind myself.
She isn’t going anywhere tonight.

But it’s hard to convince myself of that entirely. My body thrums with a sort of carnal desperation. She was nearly taken from me, and I won’t be able to rest until I’ve possessed her fully again.

She seems just as eager. Her hands tug at my clothes while her mouth meets mine with a passion that matches my own. I slide my fingers beneath her shirt, starving for the feeling of her bare skin. But it’s not nearly enough.

There’s a settee beside us. I grab her and throw her down on top of it, then lower myself on top of her. It’s not nearly large enough for both of us, but I don’t care. Our mouths find each other again, and then I’m only concerned with getting her out of her clothes.

She’s wearing pants, curse her. If she were in a skirt, I’d already be inside of her. I tug at her zipper with one hand and my zipper with the other, all while her tongue teases mine in a way that sends a jolt of need all the way down to my toes.

By the time I get her pants down her hips, I’m nearly blind with my desire. My fingers slip between her legs, and I’m relieved to find that she’s just as ready as I am. Thank God. I don’t think I could have waited another moment.

I shove my pants down and shift on top of her, trying to position myself on the settee without pulling my mouth away from hers. I end up with one leg hanging off the front of the small sofa—silently cursing whoever designed it to be so damnably narrow—and with her opposite leg hooked over my arm. If I had the patience, I’d try rolling her over onto her hands and knees instead, but I don’t think I can wait any longer. I sink into her, groaning as I feel her wet heat around me once again.

She throws her head back against the cushions as I begin to move. Her hands cling to me, urging me on, but nothing encourages me more than the soft, sweet sounds rising from her throat. I lean forward and kiss her again as our hips rock against each other. The settee creaks beneath us, but nothing can stop me now.

She’s mine
, I think.
She’s here, and she’s mine.

She’s moving quickly toward her peak—both of us are. The emotions of the day are all coming to a head now, leaving us clinging desperately to each other as we try to ease the tension in our bodies. I grip the arm of the settee, my nails digging into the polished wood as I try to bring her over the edge. Her breath is coming shorter now, her small cries becoming higher as her fingers press into my skin.

“I love you,” I rasp, because I want her to hear it again. Because I need her to know how I feel as I bury myself inside her. She’s mine. She’ll always be mine.

Her eyes come open, looking up at me in the last threads of light coming through the window. “I—”

Her voice is cut off by a sudden groan of the settee beneath us, then the sharp
craaack
of splitting wood. The small sofa suddenly pitches to one side, sending us both tumbling forward as one of the legs gives way beneath us.