His Forbidden Princess(3)

“Be right there,” Ian responded. Grabbing a t-shirt from the basket of folded laundry on the couch, he pulled it over his head. “Can I let them in?”

Sofie wiped her eyes and fluffed her hair. “Do I look okay? I mean do you think that—“

“That your mother is going to be able to tell you had sex all night?” Shit.

The way her mouth dropped open Ian could see he’d shocked her as well. And hurt her.

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

With her arms wrapped around her middle, her dark hair tucked behind her ear, Sofie looked young, scared and Ian had never felt so guilty.

“It’s alright,” she responded. But it wasn’t alright.

The knocking on the door had gone to pounding. “I’m going to let them in before the goons in the hallway break down the door.”

Her nod was tentative, afraid, and Ian’s instinct was to hold her, protect her from whatever had her so frightened. He wanted to let her know it was going to be okay. But the truth was, he had no idea what was going to happen when he opened the door. Based on Sofie’s nerves, he could only imagine how this was going to go.

He flipped the deadbolt and before he could even turn the knob, the door burst open and he was pushed against the wall with a .45 caliber pistol pressed under his chin. Nope. Not good at all.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t blow your brains out?” the goon growled. He was an older

man, maybe in his forties—big and blond, he sounded like a character out of an action film—the guy wanted to affect the air of the lethal professional, but in Ian’s mind he was on the same level as a rent-a-cop. In one quick move, Ian had disarmed him and laid the man out on the floor. He popped the magazine out of the gun, kept the ammo, and handed the empty Glock back to the goon who was flat on his back and gasping for breath.

In the meantime, the woman he’d seen out his window, Sofie’s mother, came through the door. And more than just walking in, the Queen made an entrance. Her royal blue wrap flowed off her tall, slender frame, and while she and her daughter had a strong resemblance to one another, the Queen definitely didn’t possess her daughter’s softness or warmth. No. Her Majesty was hard as nails.

She looked Ian up one side and down the other, and he had to give the woman credit, he couldn’t tell what she thought of him. Instead, she went to her daughter and embraced her.

“We were so worried, Sofia. What if something had happened to you?”

“I was safe, Mama.”

“I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her.” Damn. He wasn’t planning on saying anything; he was going to take everything in and figure out where he fit.

The queen approached. “Based on poor Jasper’s condition, I have no doubt you could protect her, Mr.—“

“Stuart.” There was no getting away from his conditioning. He pulled to his full height, almost standing at attention. “Ian Stuart, ma’am.”

“You’re American. And in their military?” His green tee shirt with the word ARMY

across the chest gave him away. Thinking about it now, he might have done that on purpose.

“Former Army Ranger, but I no longer serve. I’m a graduate fellow.”

“I see. And you’ve been seeing my daughter?”

“Yes, ma’am. For several months.” If only he could add that they were the best months of his life. “I love your daughter.”

He hadn’t meant to say that out loud, especially since he was pretty pissed off. It wasn’t the way he intended to present himself to Sofie’s parents, but locking eyes with Sofie, Ian could see she loved him, too. She may not have been honest about who she was, but what she felt was all over her face and it was very, very real.

“That’s lovely, it is. And I don’t mean to trivialize this relationship as it’s obvious by my daughter’s presence in your flat at this early hour, that this is quite serious.”

Moving to Ian’s side, Sofie took his hand. “I love him, too, Mama.”

“Oh, Sofia, my sweet girl. I know this is hard, but we’ve discussed it. Your life is not your own. What you feel for this man will pass. Your duty is to your country and any match made for you must reflect that.”

Duty? Ian could see Sofie’s eyes filling with tears. The urge to hold her was back.

Scratch that—it was so much more. He wanted to do was take her away from here, because it appeared that was the only way he could keep from losing her.

“I’m very sorry, Ian,” the queen said. “But you won’t be able to continue this relationship with my daughter. I’m sure you’re a fine young man, but she has obligations. Sofia, get your things.”