'Anyway,' she said. 'Why build a home here? Don't get me wrong-it's absolutely stunning-but why not live at Galancia Castle?'
His gaze drifted out to sea, but not before she saw the shadow of pain wash over him. 'I live there too. But my uncle and I are not the best of housemates. Even with thousands upon thousands of square feet and over two hundred walls.'
Seemed to her they were divided in more ways than one. Even as she struggled to take it all in she dug for more. 'I've heard it's one of the most opulent, palatial castles in the world.'
'It is the devil's lair.' A deep feminine voice sounded from beside her. 'Our Prince is better here. That place makes him dark and that man drains the life from him. Welcome … welcome.'
Thane shoved his hands through his raven hair, discomfort and agitation leaching from him.
Luciana yearned to straddle his lap, take away his pain just as she'd once done, but instead she jiggled her chair backwards to welcome Pietro's wife.
'Buenos dias,' she said, standing to accept a warm greeting and a kiss to both cheeks. The astounding affection filled her heart with elation and almost thrust her into a stupor.
Cupping her face, the petite brunette spitfire beamed. 'Good gracious, you are a real beauty. Little wonder he will not take-'
'Hanna,' Thane ground out in warning.
'Ah, hush. Let an old woman be happy.' She clapped her palm over her chest. 'This will be the best Christmas we have ever seen.'
It took all of Luciana's willpower to maintain her serenity. Never mind that the woman had just told the dark Prince to hush-why the blazes was she casting her festive aspirations on Luciana? Why should she think Luciana would be here for Christmas? Was Thane so darn confident he'd been shouting it from the rooftops?
Of all the arrogant, conceited …
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell every Galancian within hearing distance that she'd be long gone by then. But as if Thane sensed her freefall he picked up her hand, lifting it to his lips. Tenderly he kissed the sensitive pulse-point that pounded at her inner wrist as he locked those mesmerising eyes on hers.
His electric energy zeroed in on her. The panicked dizziness abated. All extraneous noise drained from her perception until there was only him. Until she plunged back to her seat in a dreamlike daze.
How do you do this to me?
And then there was this couple, welcoming her with open arms despite the inbred hatred between Arunthians and Galancians, behaving as if she were their saviour. It was surreal. But it was wonderful too.
Even his beasts gazed at her with loving amber-hued puppy-dog eyes, one of them even resting its slavering chin on her knee. Lord, she couldn't resist his dogs. Had to stroke the short, furry wheat-brown coat. Brush those velvety ears between her thumb and forefinger.
Natanael would adore you, she thought with a stab of anguish.
He would adore all of this. He had pined and pleaded for a four-legged friend and he loved people, being the centre of their world. She could just hear him chattering, see him frolicking on the beach, dwarfed by these huge hounds, building sandcastles with Thane, his-
Luciana closed her eyes and swallowed thickly around the fear clotting her throat. She didn't want to make the connection-didn't want to acknowledge who this man was to her son. Had to focus on escaping, protecting Nate …
But what if in reality it wasn't Thane he needed protecting from? What if Thane was the only person in the entire world who could truly protect Nate?
He wasn't the man she'd met in Zurich. He was harder. More ruthless. More determined. And yet he wasn't the monster people claimed him to be.
Head pounding, as if it had been jammed in a nutcracker and split open, she couldn't think. Couldn't breathe.
So she smiled and nodded in all the right places while the endless waters of the Med called to her, the sound of its gentle lap, its tranquil stillness, soothing the disharmony in her heart and mind. But she didn't need to be looking at the ocean to realise she was burying her head in the sand. Again. That was exactly what she'd done in Hong Kong. Her utmost to pretend that her time wasn't running out. And where had it got her? Into inevitable torment when faced with reality.
If she waded through the mess of enemy nations and her throne she was a mother. First and foremost. Yes, if Natanael came to light it would ruin her in the eyes of her people and her father would likely disown her. But so be it. The only reason she'd kept him quiet was to keep him safe.
She'd pleaded to have him. The fact that he was alive right now was why she lived with the pain. The fact that his beautiful face lit up her entire world was why she lived in the dark. But if there were no danger to him there would be no reason for his true identity not to be known. His happiness was the most important thing to her. And if her little boy could have a daddy who was a good man-who would love him and protect him above all else-then Nate deserved that and so did Thane.
As for her crown … Her father would have to bend his rules and laws. Allow Claudia to take the throne despite the fact that Lucas wasn't of blue blood. Or he'd have to get over the fact he'd washed his hands of Andalina years ago and command her return from New York. Granted, the thought of Andie being Queen was hellishly scary, but her father would have no choice. If she was ruined, the damage was already done.
For the first time in years Luciana had choices. She only had to use them wisely. Be absolutely sure she was doing the right thing by telling Thane the truth.
Hanna and Pietro bade them a fond goodbye, leaving them alone once more.
'I believe I promised you a date,' he drawled. 'Lunch at the southern reef? A horse-ride along the beach or up into the vineyards? It's beautiful up there. What's your pleasure, angel?'
You. Heaven help me … you.
The man being worshipped by the sun before her. She wanted him to be real. Wanted the portentous voice inside her to be quiet, cease whispering that she was sitting in an audience watching a play-a performance being acted to perfection just for her-while she was blind to the true intent of the show.
'What do you want, Luciana?' he asked huskily.
A proper family. A wonderful daddy for Natanael. Love.
But all she said was, 'All of the above.'
CHAPTER EIGHT
IN HINDSIGHT, A HORSE-RIDE probably wasn't the greatest of ideas, considering he'd almost choked on his own tongue when Luciana had poured that luscious body into some lightweight fawn jodhpurs and a figure-hugging cerise pink T-shirt-the outfit borrowed from one of Pietro's rake-thin girls. Talk about an exercise in torture.
He'd just put in the longest twenty-minute car-ride of his life. And now he cursed the idiota who had secreted the royal stables so far inland. He would fire the man if he didn't suspect it had been himself.
Arms folded across his wide chest, his foul temper exacerbated further still when every stable boy tripped over himself to attend her, but eventually she chose a deep chestnut thoroughbred named Galileo and Thane took his favourite black stallion, Malvado. The twinkle in Luciana's eyes told him she thought 'wicked' a very apt name for his beast of a mount. He didn't bother arguing. It was true that only Thane could dominate him.
Unsurprisingly, she rode like a pro and lured him into a race up into the vineyards, with the rich earth spraying in their wake, the fresh breeze whipping her bronze hair behind her and slapping her cheeks with colour.
Never had she looked more bewitching or more free. More real and more like his Ana.
Gradually she slowed to a trot, then an easy walk, and Thane pulled at the reins and drew up beside her.
'Good?' he asked.
'Yes. Wonderful.'
Those pink-smothered breasts rose and fell with her every soft pant and a huge smile curved her lips. Lips he wanted to make love to until her breath was ragged for him.
'I didn't expect it to be so gorgeous here. Warmer than home for December.'
Thane felt the muscle in his jaw spasm as he ground his teeth hard. Galancia would soon be her home, and the sooner she accepted that the better for his state of mind.
'Then again, you are closer to Africa here,' she went on. 'The air is hot and sultry. Everything just feels … '
'Relaxed? Calm?'
'Exactly. Maybe too calm-like the calm before a storm.'
A pensive crease lined her brow and she threaded the leather reins in between her long fingers, staring far into the distance as if she were a million miles away. Much as she'd done at breakfast. It vexed him because he was blind to the reason. He wanted her here. With him.
'Penny for them?'
She fobbed him off with a rueful smile. 'I doubt they're worth that much.'
Thane didn't believe her for a second, but let it go when she lifted in her saddle to twist and take in their surroundings. The endless rows of vines were heavy with juicy red grapes and lush dark green foliage.
'So these are your famous vineyards? Never tried the wine myself.'
'You should. In fact tonight I'll pour you a glass of one of the best wines in the world.'
She arched one brow at the vainglory lacing his words but he gave a nonchalant shrug. Why shouldn't he be proud of what they'd achieved? And moreover …