Her Prince's Secret Son (8 page)

Aleks pumped his eyebrows. “None until today.”

She whacked his rock-hard arm and listened to his chuckle as they took the steps down to an enormous barred door.

“This is so cool,” she whispered. “Just like in storybooks.”

“I doubt the original occupants saw the charm.” Aleks shone the flashlight around so she could get a better look. The space was, indeed, an ancient dungeon, dark, damp, cold and lonely. “This same gate has been here since the pits were dug in the sixteen hundreds. Before that, prisoners were housed in the towers of the castle keep.”

“Fascinating. It’s like walking back in time. Do you have a key to this door?”

“Of course.” He reached above the door, scratching around until he came up with a huge skeleton key which he used to unlock the heavy iron door. Its clang echoed eerily off the rocks. Sara shuddered, imagining the fear a captive would have experienced upon hearing that hopeless sound.

Another set of narrow, stone steps took them down deeper into the cold belly of the castle. The darkness increased as did the damp smell.

“The air smells like the old storm cellars in Kansas. Musty and dirty. Do you come down here often?”

He shook his head. “Not since I was a boy and got lost in one of the passageways.”

“Lost? You mean there is more than one tunnel?”

“Many. The maze in the gardens is nothing compared to this one. In ancient times, captives went crazy thinking they could escape only to find themselves forever lost in the tunnels. Such was the plan of the builders, an elemental and effective form of torture.”

“Eww. Horrid.” She stood in the center of a small stone room, rubbing the chill from her crossed arms. “How did you get out?”

“My father and half the royal army searched for hours.
After that, Father closed off most of the tunnels, filled in the death pits and placed a small window up there.” He aimed the flashlight upward. “Though it gives only a little light, anyone who knows where to look can see down into any open section of the dungeon.”

“No more lost boys.”

“Hopefully not.”

“Will you ever bring Nico down here?”

“Eventually. This is his heritage. He must understand where he came from before he can decide where to lead his people.”

Sara didn’t say the obvious. Nico had also come from her. Half his heritage was a world away from Carvainia’s beautiful shores. Shouldn’t he understand that part of himself, as well?

But she didn’t voice the question. Aleks had been crystal clear on the topic.

Instead, she slowly twirled around, taking in her surroundings. “Is it safe to explore?”

“As long as you have a guide.” He lowered his voice to a spooky whisper. “Though beware. The place is haunted and the cries of the tortured can be heard on moonlit nights.”

“Stop it,” she said, laughing though a bit nervously.

By now, her eyes had adjusted to the dimness and Sara began to move around, morbidly fascinated by the dungeon and its beastly history. The chamber was small and narrow with stone ledges built around the walls and divots here and there in the rock. Though she didn’t know their purposes, she could imagine men lying on the ledges to avoid the rats and filth. The divots were a puzzle.

Like dark and deathly fingers, passageways led off in several directions from the central room so she could fully comprehend the false hope of escape. She shuddered to think of the real people who had perished in this place.

She was studying yet another wall divot when Aleks touched her arm. She jumped and spun around, bumping into his chest. Without thinking, she latched on like a frightened child, pulling him tight. He wrapped both arms around her.

“A bit edgy, aren’t you?” A soft laugh rumbled against her ear.

Embarrassed by her reaction, she started to pull away. He held her for moment longer and then stepped back, his face unreadable in the shadowy light.

Sara turned her face aside, heart thudding for far more reasons than fear of the dungeon.

“It
is
creepy down here.” Stirred by the strength and nearness of Aleks she moved away to touch a place in the wall. “What is this?”

A beat of silence passed. She could feel Aleks behind her, but she could not read his thoughts. Did he suspect her emotional turmoil? Did he realize how confused and troubled she felt because of him? Did he know what power he wielded over her? Not only the power to keep her from Nico, but the power to break her heart all over again.

After a bit, he lightly touched her elbow. “Come. I’ll show you.” His voice held a strained note that she didn’t understand.

Saying little, they journeyed out of the central chamber down a tunnel so low they had to crouch and their bodies pressed close. Sara had never been more aware of Aleks’s size and strength than she was in that tunnel.

Once, she bumped her elbow and an involuntary gasp of pain hissed out. Aleks maneuvered her to his front, spooning his body around hers.

She felt strangely, wonderfully protected as he guided her through the tunnel.

Too quickly, the moment was over. They stepped out into
a second, larger chamber and separated. Sara felt the loss clear to her cold feet.

Seemingly unaffected, Aleks shone the torch around the walls.

“Here you go,” he murmured. “These are still intact. The ones in the anteroom were removed before my time.”

Rings of iron hung in pairs at the top and bottom all around the room. Here and there, a piece of heavy chain still dangled from the rings.

“Stocks?” she asked, gruesomely fascinated.

At Aleks’s nod, Sara went to one pair and stretched her hands up to grasp the rings. “Like this?”

“If you were a prisoner, would you want to face the hard stone?”

“Probably not.” She turned to face him, leaning her back into the wall while grasping the rings above her head. “Would I get a choice?”

“Good point.” One hand on his hip, he cocked his head. “I think I like this.”

“What? Me in stocks?”

“Hmm. Definitely.” He came closer.

Sara dipped her chin, feeling saucy and tingly. “Why? So you can control my every move?”

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Now, that would be a wondrous ability. Nothing more to worry about.”

Certain he meant the situation with Nico, Sara was insulted. She started to step away.

Aleks blocked her. “Not so fast. I’ve been thinking…”

Her heart began to hammer, but most definitely not from fear or insult. Aleks’s dark eyes held no animosity, no hostility. What she saw there was powerful male desire.

A responding ache settled low in her belly.

Her tongue flicked out nervously. “Thinking about what? Taking me prisoner in your dungeon?”

“I should have considered it sooner.” Eyes teasing, lips curved, he moved closer, trapping her against the stone wall. She couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to. And she certainly did not want to.

A sexy, passionate prince was irresistible. Even in a dungeon.

He slid his hands upward along the length of her bare arms. When he reached her fingers, he twined his with hers. His warrior’s body, firm and sleek, pressed into hers. Goose bumps followed in the wake of his touch. She shivered, deliciously.

He noticed. His nostrils flared.

“You are torturing me, Sara Presley,” he murmured, his mouth close enough to brush hers in a tantalizing tickle.

With a soft laugh, Sara said, “I think you’d better look again, Prince Charming. I’m the one held captive.”

Did that breathless, sexy voice belong to her?

“What shall we do about this?” he murmured. “What shall we do?”

Sara had no answer. They could never return to their carefree youth, nor could they move forward with no trust between them. No matter how attracted she was, her heart remembered the long, lonely years after he’d left. Regardless of his excuses, he
had
left her. And he had not returned.

If Nico hadn’t fallen ill, Aleks would never have contacted her. He would have forever kept her son a secret.

How could she forgive him for that?

Yet, she’d been the one to give away their child. His loathing was not without reason.

She sighed. The dilemma had no resolution. She could not change what was.

She studied the strong lines of his aristocratic face and
knew she desired him, but more than this, she still loved the man inside the handsome body. What kind of crazy woman continued to love a man who hated her?

Or did he?

The emotion emanating from the prince was not loathing. It was desire.

Was desire enough?

“Aleks,” she murmured, every nerve in her body more alive than she’d been in years.

He shook his head slightly, his rapid breath fanning her cheek. “Shh. Shh.”

His heart pounded against hers. Two hearts beating. One restrained, the other yearning but afraid to trust again, afraid to hope.

Tension pulsated from Aleks in waves. He wanted her but he didn’t want to want her.

Sara experienced a rush of power in that sudden realization. She longed to break through that control of his, to force him to be
her
Aleks again even for a moment.

Though she would willingly remain trapped against the wall for as long as Aleks was here, the hard, irregular stone was cold against her back. Aleks, on the other hand, exuded heat.

“Are you going to kiss me or kill me?” she murmured, so close to his mouth that she could have made the first move if she’d wanted to. But she wouldn’t. She might be the captive, but Aleks needed to surrender.

“So impatient,” he whispered, but one hand slid down to stroke her cheek. She shivered. He smiled. She turned her head to one side. He brought it back to center and traced her mouth with one finger.

“Arrogant pig,” she said.

“Tempting wench.”

She nipped at his finger. He laughed softly, dark eyes glittering like onyx, as he finally, finally touched his lips to hers.

He was worth the wait.

A shock of sensation washed through her like a tidal wave. She twisted free from his grip, wanting, needing to touch him. With both arms, she clasped him to her, reveling in his power and maleness.

When Aleks felt her response, he dropped his hold to thread his fingers through her hair, capturing her more completely with his kiss than he ever could with stocks and chains.

She murmured softly, feeling the hum of yearning take control. It was as though her whole being had been in a state of suspension, waiting for her prince to come along and bring her back to life.

She wanted the moment to never end. Reality had problems neither she nor Aleks knew how to resolve. But here, in his dungeon hideaway, she could forget all of that, forget the reasons they could not be together, forget the years of heartbreak.

When the kiss ended, far sooner than she’d have liked, Aleks didn’t move away. He kissed her nose, her eyelids, her forehead before resting his face in her hair. His strident breathing matched her own. She could feel the powerful beat of the pulse in his throat.

For a while, they remained still; both seemed satisfied just to hold the other.

Aware now that she had one arm around his waist and another around his neck, she let her fingers trace the coarse outline of hair at his nape and gloried in his soft murmur of pleasure.

Did the tough warrior prince never experience tenderness?

The thought touched her to the core. Someone as strong as Aleks never wanted to exhibit a perceived weakness. He
would deny himself the most basic emotional needs to remain strong and in control.

She stroked the back of his neck and traced the lean shape of his jaw.

His eyes dropped shut. Sara kissed them. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

“You smell good,” he said, inhaling deeply.

“Like a cold, damp dungeon?”

The smile widened. “Like a soft, warm woman. Like sunshine and flowers. The way I remember.”

The answer stunned her. “You remember?”

“Always.” The admission seemed to bother him.

“You never told me.” Silence and secrets had cost her everything. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Were compliments that important to you?”

“I’m not talking about compliments and you know it.”

His whole body stiffened. She felt his withdrawal long before he pulled back from touching her. And when he did, the chilled air rushed in to fill the space. She crossed her arms, afraid now that she’d spoiled their afternoon.

“You were the one with secrets.”

“We both made mistakes—”

He cut her off with a slice of his hand. “Don’t talk to me of mistakes. My son is not a mistake.”

“I didn’t mean—” She reached for him. He backed away.

“Come. Security will be concerned.”

The return trip through the tunnels was made in silent regret.

Sara wondered why she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

“Y
OUR
M
AJESTY
? S
IR
?
Prince Aleksandre?”

A hand touched his arm and Aleks jerked to attention. A dozen curious faces stared at him around the meeting table. Ambassadors from around the globe had gathered to discuss energy concerns, and he hadn’t heard a word they’d said.

“A thousand pardons.” He dipped his head. “My mind wandered.”

Sara had bewitched him. He could think of nothing but her taste and scent and the way she’d melded against him as though she were part of him. Last night, he’d slept little and when he did, a red-haired woman tortured him with kisses and lies.

The ambassador from Great Britain frowned in sympathy from the far end of the table. “How is your son?”

Though ashamed to use Nico as his excuse, Aleks answered, “Much better, thank you. He’s encountered some rejection issues but for the most part is recovering well at present.”

“Excellent. You have our kind regards.”

“Thank you. And again my apologies. Shall we address the next item on the agenda?”

The company returned to the issues at hand, haggling over a variety of concerns. He reached for his pad of paper. Note-
taking should keep him focused. To his dismay, doodles filled one side of the page. Doodles of flowers and handcuffs. His thoughts turned again to Sara, to their afternoon together. What was he going to do about Sara Presley?

When the meeting finally adjourned, Aleks had no idea what had been decided.

An hour later, he stepped into Nico’s playroom, fully expecting—and if he was honest, hoping—to face the tormenting woman. She wasn’t there. A disturbing tremor of disappointment passed through him.

Nico jumped up from a small chair and ran to him. He enveloped his son in a hug, holding back the question pressing on his tongue. Where was Sara?

The attending nurse, Maria, dipped into a curtsy. Behind her, a small table was set with several open jars and a loaf of bread.

“Your Majesty. What a pleasant surprise.” Carlo’s mother smiled as though delighted to greet him. As always, seeing her brought memories of the man who’d saved his life.

“And I am delighted to see you.” He took her hand, raised it to his lips. “How is the mother of Carvainia’s finest soldier?”

Sadness flickered through her eyes. She glanced away. “I am faring quite well, thanks to your generosity.”

“It is nothing.” He could not bring back her son but he could give her a home and a place of respect within his court. Carlo would be pleased, though Aleks’s regret would never be assuaged.

“Where is Mr. Chang?” he asked.

“He was called away.”

“His duty is here. I do not want Prince Nico left alone.”

Maria’s dark eyes registered hurt. “Sir, do you not trust me, the mother of your best friend and most loyal servant, to care
for our prince? I have no son of my own now. The young prince has become my life and soul. Surely, you know that.”

Guilt punched him in the gut. “Of course. I meant nothing except that Chang must not shirk his responsibility.”

She inclined her head in acceptance. “I’m sure he will return shortly. Would you care to join us in our snack?”

“Yes, Papa, please.” Nico bracketed his father’s face with both hands. Aleks’s heart lifted in his chest. “We’re having an American original. Peanut butter and jelly. I have never tasted anything so grand.”

Aleks chuckled. “And who told you about this delicacy?”

“Miss Sara. Her friend sent it all the way from America just for me. She said all little boys in America love PB and J.”

It was the perfect opening. “Where is Miss Sara today?”

Nico’s thin shoulders arched. “I don’t know. She brought the peanut butter and went away again.”

“In her suite with Dr. Konstantine, I believe, sir,” Maria answered. As she spoke, she lovingly stroked Nico’s hair with her fingers. Nico looked up at her with happy eyes.

The woman adored Nico. Any fool could see that. He was the son she no longer had.

The knowledge eased the worry nagging in the back of his mind. Nico was safe with Maria. Sara was wrong.

“Is Miss Presley unwell?” he asked.

Marie gazed at him with curiosity. Had she noticed the tension in his voice?

“My apologies, Your Majesty. I do not know.”

Aleks fidgeted, torn between Nico and Sara. Was she all right? She’d had surgery, too. Had she overdone yesterday in their race through the maze? Or had he pushed her too hard, holding her captive against the cold wall? Was she injured?

The memory of those moments roared back. She had made
him laugh. She had made him feel. For those few hours, he’d forgotten the weight of a nation, the horrors of war, and he’d felt young and free again.

He spun around. “I will return soon.”

“But Papa—”

Over one shoulder, he winked and said, “Save me a peanut butter sandwich.”

By the time he reached Sara’s suite, tension corded his neck, but another emotion plagued him, too. The need to see her was as strong. He knew she was trouble, and yet he could not seem to stay away.

He lifted a knuckle and rapped softly. If Dr. Konstantine was still present, he could apprise Aleks of Sara’s condition.

Sara opened the door. His stomach dipped. Red hair flowing around her shoulders, she was barefoot in a long terry cloth robe. And she’d been crying.

An alarm went off in his head. He pushed his way inside the room. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you unwell?”

She stared at him standing inside her room, fists clenched at his side, and said drily, “Come on in, Aleks. You’re welcome to burst into my room at any time.”

He reached behind her and closed the door. “Answer me. What’s wrong?”

“Don’t be imperative with me.” She sniffed and brushed away a tear glistening on one cheek.

He took her shoulders. “Did I hurt you yesterday?”

She blinked. “What are you so fired up about?”

“Dr. Konstantine was here. I thought—” Beginning to feel like a fool, he shut his mouth and crushed her to his chest.

With a sigh, she settled against his shoulder. He stroked the back of her hair, loving the texture of silk against his skin.

“I’m fine, Aleks,” she murmured, her mouth dangerously close to his neck. He felt the softness of her lips as they moved against the stiff collar of his shirt. If he moved his head just a little, she would be kissing him.

“Then why was Dr. Konstantine here?”

“An exam. That’s all.” But her voice quivered as she spoke.

He pushed her a little away, but was reluctant to turn her loose. She seemed fragile today, not at all her usual feisty self.

“Then why are you trembling?”

She shook her head. “No reason. All is well. Please.”

She tried turning away, but he drew her back to him.

“Come. Let’s sit down. You are shaky and we need to talk.”

“That’s a first. You, the king of silence, want to talk.”

“Prince,” he corrected with a slight smile. “Not king.”

Her smile returned, watery and weak, but at least present.

He led the way to a settee in the living space of her suite. She sat down and curled her feet beneath her, pedicured toes peeking out from her long robe.

“That color becomes you,” he said, nodding toward her feet.

She lifted her hands to display fingernails in the same pale shade. “Your staff is exceptional. I’ve never been so pampered in my life.” Again, tears sprang to her eyes. She dashed them away with the sleeve of her robe.

“What has upset you, Sara?” Aleks moved closer on the settee, knees turned toward her, aching to touch her again, and not sure what she needed. Why would the mention of a manicure bring tears?

“Is there something else you need that is not being provided?” Heads would roll if anyone had disobeyed his orders.

“Oh, Aleks, don’t you know? Don’t you get it?” She turned her face away, her delicate profile tragic as tears slid down on her cheeks.

He stopped resisting and touched her, using the tips of his fingers to wipe away her tears. “Was I too rough in the dungeon? Did I ask too much of you in the maze? Are you injured?”

Her look was indulgent as though he was a dim-witted child. “Yesterday was…wonderful.”

Her admission forced the words from him. “I thought so, too.”

“But you got angry again. You walked away.” She grasped his hands, leaning toward him, her face earnest. “Couldn’t we just this once have a conversation the way we used to? Could we please forget everything that’s come between and just be honest with each other?”

Unease quivered in his belly. Did the woman know the meaning of honesty? Was this merely a skillful maneuver to get her way?

“What would you like to discuss?”

“Anything, everything except the hurt we’ve caused each other. Talk to me of your work, your vineyards, your boats. Let me know you again. Help me know my son. Tell me about him as a baby. When did he take his first steps? When did he get his first tooth?”

As a leader and strategist, he prided himself on being able to read the intent of others. In Sara’s sea-colored eyes, he saw no hidden deceit, only longing. She had missed Nico’s infancy. Yes, the fault was her own, but she had suffered for it. There could be no harm in sharing memories of their son.

And so he talked. Occasionally, she interrupted with a question, a laugh, a touch. When the topic of Nico was exhausted, they moved on to memories of each other. The time she sobbed so loudly at a sad movie that he’d grown embarrassed. The time she’d baked him a lopsided birthday cake.

“You ate every bite.”

“It was delicious.” He had long since relaxed into the sofa, his legs stretched out before him. Sara had always had the ability to take away his worries and make him relax. Even then, he’d had the troubles of a nation on his mind, and though she hadn’t known, she’d had a soothing influence on him.

“Really?” she asked, grinning. “Then I’ll ask the chef to let me bake another just for you.”

With a laugh, he pulled her to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She fit well as though her curves were made for him.

He sighed, a gusty sound. What was he going to do about Sara Presley? She was under his roof and in his mind all the time. And she challenged everything he knew to be true. At least where their son was concerned.

Desire swamped him and he kissed her, reveling in the sweet way her arms snaked around his neck and in the way only Sara could make him feel.

As much as he despised the weakness, he was irresistibly drawn to this woman who’d given him Nico.

Desire. Yes, it must be desire, for that was the only emotion he could allow himself to feel for Sara Presley. He let himself wonder if he dared take her for a mistress. If he did, would he ever be able to let her go?

Sara leaned on the door facing and watched Aleks’s lean, straight back disappear into the elevator. Happiness danced in her heart. She raised a hand to well-kissed lips.

They’d spent two hours together without once fighting.

Granted, they had not discussed their hot button topic, but still, they’d communicated. Today gave her hope.

The elevator pinged, taking Aleks away. Sara started back inside the room when a movement from the opposite end of the hall caught her attention. She turned, sure she saw the
edge of an arm before it disappeared. Hair stood up on the back of her neck.

“Silly,” she said. But a shadow sprawled along the floor, as if someone stood against the wall, just out of sight.

Why would anyone do that? Was it a servant, aware that Aleks had been inside her room and now eager to spread the gossip? Not unlikely.

Curious, she traveled the length of the hall. As she approached the shadow withdrew. Turning the corner, she saw no one.

The short hall opened into a stairwell on one side and into the exercise room on the other. She peeked through the small observation window. A man in shorts and tennis shoes pumped madly on a stationary bicycle. He glanced up, raising an eyebrow.

Sara gave an embarrassed wave. She wasn’t the only guest in this wing, though she seldom saw the others.

The man nodded and went back to his sweat and bicycling.

Unable to shake the creepy feeling that someone had been spying on her—or maybe Aleks—Sara considered taking the stairs down. As she placed one hand on the cool knob, she chided herself as being silly.

The shadow must have belonged to a servant. Castle servants, as she’d already discovered, loved to carry gossip. No reason to see intrigue around every corner.

Wrapping her robe tighter, she padded barefoot back to her room. Aleks’s expensive, subtle cologne lingered in the air. She breathed it in, wondering if they could find their way to each other again.

During his visit, they had shared a cup of tea. The dishes remained on her table. She went to it, lifted his cup and kissed the edge where his mouth had been.

Was there any way she could ever repay the mistake she’d
made? Was there any hope that he could forgive her? And that she could forgive him? Today she almost believed it could happen.

But time was short.

Tears prickled the back of her eyelids. Aleks had thought she was crying from discomfort. She’d been afraid to tell him the truth. That Dr. Konstantine had pronounced her fit enough to travel soon. Very soon.

Her time with Nico, and with Aleks, was running out.

“Nico.”

She hurried to the closet and began to dress. Though she had hope, Aleks could very well send her away with nothing. Every moment with her son was precious.

In ten minutes flat, her sandals made soft click-click sounds on the carpeted corridor of the family wing. She shook her head in wonder that a child of hers would have an entire suite to himself. The playroom, where he now spent much of his time, was a wonderland of toys and equipment. A climbing toy and tube slide occupied one side of the big room. Colorful game rugs, blocks, a train, electronics, books, art supplies and shelves of toys filled the space.

He son had everything…except his mother.

Eager to tell Nico about the flock of feeding cranes she’d seen from her balcony, she sailed inside the playroom without knocking…and came up short.