Just when she thought she could stand no more, he gently pressed her back on the bed and prowled over her, kissing and licking and nipping wherever he could reach. Then his mouth reached the core of her. At the first touch of his tongue, she moaned deep in her throat. His fingers joined the assault, and she could barely contain herself, as if she’d grown too big for her skin.
She clutched the sheets, helplessly giving herself over to sensation. Her hips flexed of their own accord, but his hands and mouth continued, slowly driving her out of her mind with the sweet torture, until all feeling coalesced and peaked at a point higher than she’d known existed and then shattered into a thousand shiny fragments.
She heard him opening a drawer in the nightstand. He retrieved a condom and quickly sheathed himself. But instead of coming straight back to her, he hovered, his weight resting on his hands on either side of her shoulders, his gaze locked on hers. The clarity of the look—no masks, nothing to hide behind—made something move inside her chest. It was if she was seeing into his soul. She reached up and ran her fingertips down his cheek, along his jaw, and when they reached his mouth, he tenderly kissed them.
Then he leaned down and captured her mouth in a kiss that was pure heat and desire and urgency. Without breaking the kiss, he positioned himself between her thighs, and she moaned deep in her throat. He entered her slowly, giving her time to adjust, but she wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him on, reveling in the warm rush of sensation as he began to move.
He rocked in a rhythm that she wanted to last forever and her body strained for his, wanting more, meeting every thrust of his hips.
She struggled for air, shifting restlessly on the sheets as the world pulsated around her. She gasped his name, over and over, could think of nothing else. Her body tightened around him. She was on the edge of something so intense, she wasn’t sure she could handle it when it came, but if they stopped now she’d lose her mind.
And then he changed the angle and she fell over the edge of the world, falling, falling, soaring up, soaring as the world exploded around her, and she heard his words of release as he joined her.
Nine
Jenna woke slowly, surrounded by heat and male limbs. Still drowsy, and with the memories of their lovemaking lingering, she was perfectly content. More than that—in this glorious moment, blissful happiness filled every cell in her body.
She slid to the side, away from the weight of arms and legs, and propped her head on her hand so she could see Liam better. He mumbled something in his sleep and adjusted his body, and then his breathing became even again.
With his gorgeous face smoothed in sleep, he seemed relaxed as he never did when awake. But awake or asleep, there was no doubting his strong heart, his fascinating mind, his noble sense of honor. This was a man she could fall in love with...if she let herself.
A shiver ran across her skin. Of course, she would never let herself do that. It was time to sort out her life. She had to go home.
She had no idea how her family would react to her arrival, to Meg, but she had to at least tell them. Seeing Liam’s parents with Bonnie had rammed that point home like nothing else could. Both her parents and Alexander’s deserved to meet Meg. And Meg deserved to meet them.
Softly, she touched a fingertip to Liam’s dark, wavy hair. She would give him notice so he could find another nanny, but she wouldn’t deceive herself that he was merely her employer. Not while she lay naked in his bed.
She didn’t know what they were to each other now, but one thing she knew without question—Liam deserved to know the truth. If she was prepared to share her body, then she should share the rest, too.
And she needed to tell him today. Before she gave notice, before anything else happened, she had to tell him who she really was.
She slipped out of the bed and found her clothes. After getting dressed and checking on Meg—and ducking into the nursery before remembering Bonnie was still with Katherine—Jenna grabbed her robe from her room and crept down to the conservatory to try to think of the right words. The words that would help Liam understand everything she had to tell him.
Unfortunately, she had to wonder if words that magical even existed.
* * *
Liam woke alone in the dark.
In general, that wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but it wasn’t one he expected to face tonight. Not after sharing his bed with Jenna.
Still drowsy, he’d reached out, hoping to find her ready to make love again, but instead he’d found the sheets cold. He’d grabbed his trousers and, zipping them up, headed for the hall.
His first thought had been that Bonnie had woken, but he’d checked the nursery, belatedly remembering she’d been with Katherine overnight. Then he’d checked Meg’s room and Jenna’s and, coming up empty, had started to worry.
He’d finally found her in the conservatory, sitting on the overstuffed green striped sofa, her arms wrapped around her knees in front of her. Her gaze settled on him, but she didn’t move.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked warily, sending up a little prayer that she hadn’t had second thoughts about sleeping with him.
“No.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “It depends. Maybe.”
“Regrets?” he asked and held his breath.
Her eyebrows lifted. “About making love? No. I wanted you so badly I couldn’t see straight.”
He’d suspected as much but was glad to hear it confirmed. The feeling had been entirely mutual. “I like the sentiment, but I don’t like how it was in the past tense.”
“There’s something...” she said with a slight tremor in her voice. “Something you don’t know.”
“Whatever it is, it can wait till morning. Come back to bed.” He held out a hand and gave her a lazy smile. “I had plans for the rest of the night, involving you, me, my bed and none of these clothes we’ve accidentally acquired.”
A smile flittered over her face, then was gone, leaving her features sober once more. “No, it really can’t wait. In fact, I should have told you before I invited you into my room.”
He wrapped his hands behind his neck and stretched. “All right, shoot. But be warned, as soon as we’re done here, we’re going back to my bed.” The heat began to spread through his body at the thought. “Those plans I have? They’ll take the rest of the night.”
She looked down at her interlaced fingers resting on her knees. “I need to tell you the truth. About me.”
The truth about her? He stilled, suddenly focused. “Go on.”
“Jenna is short for Jensine.” She moistened her lips, swallowed. “My real name is Jensine Larson.”
“You changed your name? Why?” That didn’t seem so bad, if that’s all there was, but seeing how serious she was, he stood a little straighter.
She looked up and met his gaze squarely. “I have a title that goes before my name. Princess. I’m from the royal family of Larsland.”
Liam lost his breath for a full second. A princess? Here in his house. Less than an hour ago in his arms, welcoming him with her body. Of all the scenarios he might have expected, this had never rated a thought. A princess. Seriously?
He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry, I haven’t brushed up on my royal protocol lately. How close to the crown does one need to be, exactly, to be called a princess?”
She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it back in a ponytail, then letting it go to fall over her shoulders again. “My mother is the queen, the current monarch. My father is the prince consort. My eldest brother is the crown prince.”
Right. The daughter of the queen. It was so ludicrous he could have laughed. But he didn’t. “And Meg?” he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.
“If she had been born at home, and I had been married, she would be Princess Margarethe. Maybe she still is—I don’t know how this will play out when I go home.”
“Royalty,” he said, still trying to get the concept to compute in his head.
She picked up her cell from the coffee table beside her and held it out to him. “Check online. I know you want to.”
When he didn’t reach to take the phone, she clicked a few buttons, then held it up for him. “That’s me second from the left,” she said as she passed him the device. This time he took it and gazed at the screen. “The photo is a couple of years old and my hair was longer, but it’s still me with the rest of my family.”
She had pulled up the official website of the Larsland royal family. “Princess Jensine Larson,” he said slowly.
“Yes.” Her eyes held a world of pain, and he didn’t understand any of it.
He rubbed his eyes and sank down onto a sofa across from her. It really was true. His brain wasn’t awake enough for this. “So what happened? How did you end up as Jenna Peters, nanny to Bonnie Hawke?”
“I was in love with a captain in the national army,” she said, her voice so faint he had to strain to hear. “He was from an old family, and though we hadn’t talked about it specifically, I think we both thought we’d get married one day.”
His mind jumped ahead and suddenly he had a vision of Rebecca, pregnant with Bonnie, choosing not to tell him. His stomach hollowed. “Does he know about Meg?”