A Royal Amnesia Scandal(13)

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

Swiping the moisture from her cheeks, Kate shook her head. “No. You could never hurt me.”

“What is it? Did you not want to make love with me?”

A vise around her heart squeezed.

She shook her head. Eventually she was going to strangle herself with this string of lies.

“I’m just overwhelmed,” she admitted. “We hadn’t been together before.”

Luc studied her a moment before his brows rose. “You mean to tell me we hadn’t made love before?”

Shame filled her. She couldn’t speak, so simply nodded.

Luc muttered a slang Portuguese term that no member of the royal family should be heard saying.

“How is that possible?” he asked. “You said we’ve been working together for nearly a year.”

“Your family has a rule about staff and royal members not being intimate. We’ve been professional for so long, we both just waited. Then we ended up here on this getaway and...”

She couldn’t finish. She couldn’t lie anymore. The emotions were too overwhelming and her body was still reeling from their passion.

Luc came to his feet, cursing enough to have her cringing. He was beating himself up over something that was 100 percent her fault.

Unable to stand the tension, the heavy weight of the guilt, she jumped to her feet. “Luc, I need to tell you—”

“No.” He turned, facing her with his hands on his narrow hips. “I took advantage of you. Kate, I am so, so sorry. I had no clue. I got caught up in the moment and wanted to forget this memory loss and just be with you.”

“No. This is not your fault in any way.” Holding on to the knot on her towel, Kate shivered. “Let’s get dressed. We need to talk.”





Eight

Luc grabbed his clothes from the bedroom and went to the spare room to get dressed. Of all the plans he’d had for Kate, taking her when she wasn’t mentally prepared for it sure as hell wasn’t one of them.

Their history explained why she’d tensed when he’d come up behind her in the shower, explained the onslaught of tears afterward. Not to mention the way she’d stiffened against him in bed last night.

Luc cursed himself once again for losing control. He’d thought he was doing the right thing, thought he was getting them both back to where they’d been just before his ridiculous accident.

Heading back down the hallway, he spotted his clothes. Looking at them now he felt only disgust, as opposed to the excitement and anticipation he’d felt when he’d left them behind without a care.

He grabbed each article of clothing and flung them and his towel into the laundry area. He’d worry about that mess later. Right now he had another, more important mess to clean up, and he only hoped Kate would forgive him.

Guilt literally ate at him, killing the hope he’d had of making this day less about his amnesia and more about them.

By the time she came out, she’d piled her hair atop her head and sported another one of those little sundresses that showcased her tanned shoulders and sexy legs. The legs he’d demanded she wrap around him.

Kate took a seat on the sofa and patted the cushion beside her. “Just relax. Okay?”

Relax? How could he when this entire mess had started with him forgetting every single damn thing about the woman he supposedly loved?

Wait, he did love her. When he looked at her and saw how amazing and patient she was with him, and damn it, how she’d let him take her in the shower, and didn’t stop him, how could he not love her? When he looked at her, his heart beat a bit faster. When he touched her, his world seemed to be a better place.

He just wished he could remember actually falling in love with her, because all he could recall was this all-consuming, aching need that was only stronger now that he’d had her.

“Luc.” Kate held out her hand. “Come on.”

He crossed to her, took her hand and sank onto the couch beside her.

“Tell me you’re okay,” he started, holding her gaze. “Tell me I didn’t hurt you physically or emotionally.”

A soft smile spread across her face. “I already told you, I’m fine. You were perfect, Luc.”

She held on to him, her eyes darting down to where their hands joined.

“Before you fell, we were fighting,” she told him. “I take full responsibility for everything that’s happened to you, so don’t beat yourself up over the shower.”

Luc squeezed her hand. “The shower was all on me. If we were fighting before my fall, then that took two, so don’t place all of that blame on yourself.”

Kate smiled. Her eyes lifted to his. “We could play this game all day,” she told him, her smile dimming a bit. “But I need to talk to you.”

“What’s wrong?”

Her tone, the worry in her eyes, told him something major was keeping her on edge.

“There are so many things that you need to know, but I’ve been holding back because I don’t want to affect your healing process.”

Luc edged closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. Easing back against the cushions, he kept her tucked against him. “If something is worrying you, tell me. I want to be here for you. I want to be strong for you.”

Kate’s delicate hand rested on his thigh. She took a deep breath in, then let it out with a shudder.

“I was adopted.”

Her voice was so soft, he wondered if she actually meant to say it out loud.

“Did I already know this about you?” he asked.

“No. The only people who know are my parents.”

His mind started turning. Her parents worked for his parents. Memories of them in his house flashed for an instant.

“Scott and Maria, right?”

“Yes.” Kate tilted her head up to meet his gaze. “You’re remembering.”

“Not fast enough,” he muttered. “Go on.”

Settling her head back against his chest, Luc wondered if it was easier for her to talk if she wasn’t looking right at him.

“I was born in the States,” she went on. “Georgia, to be exact. My parents adopted me when I was six. I only have vague memories of being there, but it’s always held a special place in my heart.”

Luc listened, wondering where she was going with this and how it all tied back into what was happening between them now.

“My parents ended up moving to Ilha Beleza to work full-time at the palace. They used to just work at the vacation home back in Georgia. Your family has one off the coast.”

Closing his eyes, he saw a white house with thick pillars extended to the second story. A wraparound porch on the ground floor had hanging swings that swayed in the breeze. Booker and a young Kate running in the yard...

Yes, he remembered that house fondly.

“Since I’ve been your assistant, I’ve wanted you to visit that orphanage, the one I came from, but we’ve butted heads over it.”

Luc jerked, forcing Kate to shift and look up at him.

“Why were we fighting over an orphanage?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I have no idea why you won’t go. To be honest, I just think you don’t want to, or you didn’t want to take the time. You’ve offered to write a check, but I never can get you to go there. I just felt a visit from a real member of royalty would be something cool for those kids. They don’t have much and some of them have been there awhile, because most people only want to adopt babies.”

Luc glanced around the sparsely furnished room, hoping for another flash of something to enter his mind. Hoping for some minuscule image that would help him piece it all together.

“Is this why we were arguing before I fell?” he asked, focusing back on her.

“Not really. I tried bringing it up again, but you blew it off.” She let go of his hand and got to her feet, pacing to the open patio doors. “We were arguing because we’re both stubborn, and sometimes we do and say things before we can fully think them through.”

He could see that. Without a doubt he knew he was quite a hardhead, and Kate had a stubborn streak he couldn’t help but find intriguing and attractive.

“When your memory comes back, I want you to know that everything I’ve ever done or said has been to protect you.” Her shoulders straightened as she kept her back to him and stared out the doors. “I care about you, Luc. I need you to know that above all else.”

The heartfelt words, the plea in her tone, had Luc rising to his feet and crossing to her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he kissed the top of her head.

“I know how you feel about me, Kate. You proved it to me when you let me make love to you, when you put my needs ahead of any doubts you had.”

She eased back against him. “I hope you always feel that way.”

The intensity of the moment had him worried they were getting swept into something so consuming, they’d never get back to the couple they used to be. Even though he didn’t remember that couple, he had to assume they weren’t always this intense.

“What do you say we take the boat and go into town?” he asked. “Surely there’s a market or shops or restaurants to occupy our time. We need to have some fun.”

She turned in his arms, a genuine smile spreading across her face. “I was going to suggest that myself. I haven’t shopped in forever. I’m always working.”