The Perfect Temptation (69 page)

then
took
her back in her
arms
to give her her
own
congratulatory

kiss. "You're very
good
at keeping secrets, Preeya. I

never guessed. But I'm delighted by
the
surprise and ever so

pleased for you."

''My destiny came more quietly,
but
DO
less
fully
than

yours." Cupping Alex's cheek, she smiled
and said firmly,

"The
time
for farewells is over. Go
with
your Aiden and
be

happy. I will see you in a year's time, my
Alex."

Yes, all things in their time. And the time
had come
to

walk away. She stepped back and looked at them
all, gave

them each a reassuring smile.

"Ready to go?” Aiden asked softly, his
hand slipping

comfortingly to the small of her back.

She smiled up at
him
and nodded, then let
him
take her

hand and lead her to the horse.

He swung up and smoothly across and then
grinned down

at her. "Would you like me
to
sweep you off
your
feet,

princess?"

She laughed, remembering their conversation
and suddenly

understanding why he'd ridden a white horse
today.

For just this moment, just
to
make real that young woman's

starry-eyed, impossible dream. ''You did
that
some
time
ago,

my handsome prince."

"And I'm not about to drop you.
Ever," he promised.

''Thro around, darling, and I'll lift you
up."

Aiden settled her sideways across his lap and
wrapped his

free arm around her waist to hold her close.
She slipped her

arms around him and curled into him, her head
nestled into

the crook of his shoulder. His world right,
his head and his

heart firmly centered. he pressed a kiss into
her hair and

asked.
''Is
there anything you need off that ship?"

She snuggled closer and sighed contentedly.
"No. What

was
crated,
I ordered unpacked. I simply locked the door of

the Blue Elephant and left it
all
behind Even my valise was

empty."

''Why?'' he asked. turning the horse around
and letting it

amble away from the docks. .

''In
the depths of my
heart, I knew you'd come for me,

that I really wasn't going to leave. It was an
act of faith."

"You know me better than I know
myself."

She laughed softly. "Isn't that the way
it should be?".

"Yes, it
is."

She sat up a bit, just enough to meet his
gaze. "I love you,

Aiden. With
all
that
I am."

"I know," he whispered, pressing a
languid kiss to her

forehead.

"You aren't concerned that I told Preeya
our children

would be born in India, are you?"

India, huh? He grinned. "I didn't know
that you had. No

one translated the conversation for me."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need
to
be, darling," he assured her, chuckling

and hugging her. "I heard my name often
enough that I

didn't feel the least excluded. And I
think
the idea of our

children being born in India is an excellent
one. They should

know the world that helped make their mother
the incredible

woman she is."

"You know," she mused, slowly
wiggling deeper and

closer into the space between his thighs.
"Marrying a

princess makes you a prince."

"Prince Aiden? For God's sake, don't tell
anyone. It

sounds ridiculous."

She drew an arm from around him and trailed a
fingertip

down the buttons of his shirtfront. "As
an Indian prince," she

said, undoing the button just above the
waistband of his

trousers, "you're rather expected to take
other wives and

mistresses."

"Well, they're going to be
disappointed," he managed to

say, acutely aware that she was opening the
button on his

waistband. He hardened instantly and had to
shift under her

to accommodate it. "I'm not going to have
the time or the

energy for them," he finished raggedly,
his heart hammering.

"That's good to know."

He knew what she was going to do and yet she
still caught

him by surprise. The rhythm of the horse's
gait combined

with the slow friction of her hand against his
skin was wildly

provocative, the bold, deliberate caress of
his abdomen setting

his blood on fire. He groaned as she slipped
her band

lower
to
create the most exquisite torture he'd ever endured.

"Jesus, Alex," he gasped, smiling
down into her upturned

face. "Do you want me to make love to you
right here on this

horse?"

Her eyes lit up and her grin went brilliantly
bright, deliciously

unholy. His blood sang, his toes curled, and
he

stopped breathing.
If
he could just get them as far as the carriage

house ...

He lifted her up, turning her so that she
faced forward,

and then settled her astride and fully, firmly
between his

thighs.
His arm wrapped
tightly
around her
waist.
he
pulled

her close.

''We're going home,"
he
promised
as
he
kicked
the
horse

into
a canter, as
the
sweet temptation
in
his arms laughed

and
claimed every
last measure of his
heart
and
soul.