Chapter Eleven

Leo

I keep Willa’s hand firmly in mine as we walk back to the cabin. There’s a crisp coolness in the air, a kind of electricity I can feel down to my bones. My heart’s racing with each step, full of what’s about to happen and wanting her so much that I don’t even know if I can wait.

When we finally reach the door, I stop her there. She looks up at me, her eyes wide and full of love. “Do you have a thing for doors, my sweet prince?”

My pulse quickens and I gently press her harder against the door, holding her in place, like if I let her go for even a second, she’d slip away. I lean in close, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek, and the words tumble out of me in a whisper, “I love you, Willa. I love you.” It’s like I can’t say it enough times, can’t get it into the air fast enough.

Her eyes soften. I press my lips to her neck, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my mouth, moving slowly, memorizing each curve, each soft place. I kiss along the lines of her face, along her soft cheek, and down again, needing to breathe her in.

I pause, close to her ear, my voice low and rough. “I want to take you inside and make love to you.”

I feel her shiver against me. “What are you waiting for?” she asks.

I quickly open the door and we fall into the cottage, tearing the clothes off each other. This isn’t our first time together. We’ve managed to sneak moments together this last month, but this is our first time together as a true partnership. It feels momentous.

Willa is completely undressed in front of me before I’ve managed to get my pants off. I can’t move. “Damn, baby, you are incredible. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t forgiven me.”

“I know what you can do now to make up for being such a butthead.”

I take a step toward her. “A butthead? Did you just call the Crown Prince of Lanos a butthead?”

For a split second, she looks afraid that she’s overstepped and then she smiles, turns and runs for my bedroom.

“Get back here!” I yell without any heat at all. The truth is I’ll chase her forever.

Quickly I remove the rest of my clothes and make sure the cottage door is locked. The last thing we need is her family or my secretary walking in on us. It’s Christmas Eve and I plan to spend the night worshipping the best gift I’ve ever been given.

“About time you came back here,” Willa says as I walk in. She’s lying naked across my bed, her body flush and perfect.

“Darling, you are the one that’s about to come,” I pull her legs down the bed to hang over the end and run my fingers through the wet slit between her thighs. “So ready for me.”

“I want you now, Leo.”

“What if I wanted to take it slow?” I tease her with the tip of my cock, rubbing the head against her tight bundle of nerves.

“Is there some terrible consequence for killing a royal in your country?”

I laugh but give her what she wants. In one hard stroke, I enter her body. The walls of her pussy grab my cock tightly making it nearly impossible to pull back out. I’m so close to coming already.

I pull all the way out. “Up on your knees, baby.”

Willow immediately does what I ask and when she’s ready turns to give me a saucy wink over her shoulder. “Please, Leo…”

I enter her slower this time, going deeper than before. This may not have been a good idea. This feels even better than before. I get lost in the rhythm and the sensations. Willa’s moans urge me on.

“Leo, I’m gonna….”

I reach around and pull her body up against mine with one hand on her chest and the other rubbing right, hard circles on her clit. Willa explodes, screaming so loud I’m sure my ear will be ringing for hours. She squeezes my dick so tightly that I can’t stop myself from following her right over the edge and with two more pumps I come inside her, filling her up.

Willa lays down, yawning, and pulls me to lie beside her.

“I love you, Leo.”

“I love you, too. You should go to sleep. It’s been a hard couple of days. I’ll get something to clean us up and call Luke to tell him you’re safe. Then I’ll be right here beside you, darling.”

“Mmmph.”

Willa is already on her way to dreamland. I quickly get a warm rag and clean her up as best I can without waking her up. Pulling the covers up around her shoulders, I kiss her forehead and walk out of the room. I was serious about calling her brother, but not just to tell him that she’ll be here with me tonight. There’s something else more important I need to talk to Luke about.

Chapter Twelve

Willa

I wake up slowly, my eyes fluttering open to the soft glow of morning light filtering through the curtains. The air in Leo’s cottage is crisp, the kind of cold that feels refreshing. I reach for the spot next to me, expecting to find him there, his body still tangled in the sheets, breathing steady and calm.

But the bed is empty.

My heart skips a beat. Leo’s gone.

I sit up, the sheets sliding off my body as I stretch my arms, blinking away the fog of sleep. The scent of fresh coffee drifts from the kitchen, teasing my senses. The sounds of the house are different today —quieter, almost reverent as if the entire world is holding its breath.

I slide out of bed and pad barefoot across the hardwood floor, I grab Leo’s dress shirt from the night before, pull it on, and head toward the living room. I can hear the faintest rustle of paper, the sound of Leo’s voice low and soothing, but I don’t know who he’s talking to.

When I step out into the living room, my heart melts in an instant.

There, in front of the Christmas tree, Leo stands, The twinkling lights are reflected in his eyes. His tall frame is draped in a sweater and somehow he radiates a certain regality that can’t be hidden even in moments like this. Now that I know his secret I’m not sure how I didn’t see it before.

And then I notice what he’s holding —a small, elegant box, with a silver ribbon tied around in a box. My breath catches in my throat.

“Leo?” I whisper, unsure if my voice is strong enough to carry the weight of the question I’m about to ask. “What’s going on?”

He turns to me, and the expression on his face —a mixture of love, vulnerability, and certainty— makes my pulse quicken. He takes a step forward, his movements smooth, confidence in every step.

“Good morning,” he says, his voice soft, his smile making everything inside me feel weightless.

“Good morning,” I echo, my voice trembling. I’m not sure what’s going on, but the air shifts around me.

“Willa,” he starts, his voice steady but full of emotion. “I know this is all happening so fast. We’ve only known each other for a month, but I know in my heart that I’m meant to be yours. We are meant to be together.”

My heart stutters in my chest. I swallow hard and try to steady myself.

“You’ve made me feel like I’m more than my title. I feel like the man I’m supposed to be when I’m with you. I can’t imagine my future without you.”

I take a step closer, my feet moving on their own, drawn to him. I can’t breathe. My chest feels too full, too tight, and my throat is thick with unshed tears.

“I love you, Willa,” he says, his voice raw now. “More than I ever thought possible. And I don’t want you to come to Lanos as just my girlfriend. I want you to come with me as my fiancé. I want you to come with me as my future princess.”

And then he’s down on one knee.

The world spins around me, but I stand still completely frozen in the moment. He holds out the small box, and my heart flutters, a thousand emotions filling my chest at once.

“Willa Ashford, will you marry me? Will you be my partner, my equal, my love, for the rest of our lives?”

For a moment, the only sound in the room is the rapid beat of my own heart. I stare at him, at the earnest look in his eyes, and my breath catches in my throat. I don’t even know how to speak. It’s too much, too overwhelming, too perfect.

And then, the words spill out of me, a simple answer that feels like the only thing I’ve ever needed to say.

“Yes.”

He’s up in a second, pulling me into his arms and I feel his lips on mine, gentle at first, testing, but then with all the passion and love we feel. I melt into him, my body instinctively responding to his. He lifts me against his body and I wrap my legs around his waist.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment,” he whispers, his voice hushed and full of awe. “I’ve dreamed of you. I don’t want to wait. I want to spend every day of my life with you, Willa.”

Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and I can’t stop smiling, can’t stop the joy that fills every corner of my soul. The moment is so wonderful that I feel like I’m dreaming, but when I feel the weight of the beautiful ring he slides onto my finger when I see the pure joy in Leo’s eyes, I know this is real. This is us.

I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.