He caught her staring, and she knew she should look away, but she couldn’t. There was something unreadable in that intense gaze. It almost seemed as if he couldn’t look away either. A muscle in his jaw flexed. They were stuck in this world where beauty existed all around them but had faded to nothing.
It was the slight bump of the helicopter touching down that wrenched them away.
Vasili exited first, silently helping Helia out afterwards, and, with a hand on her back and her heart thumping furiously at his touch he guided her away from the aircraft.
She paid no attention to where she was being led because, to her, they had arrived in Paradise.
Protected by steep cliffs on all sides, the resort was a hidden gem, with only a few white chalets. She heard Vasili say something, but couldn’t make out the words as they stepped onto a wooden pathway that was flanked by all sorts of plants, winding between each chalet. They were spaced so far apart they would have complete privacy. And as they walked forward she saw a private beach emerge, with pristine shore and clear waters. She noticed each pathway emerged onto the sand, like a delta meeting the sea.
‘Leave us,’ she heard Vasili say, and turned around to find their security detail disappearing off onto another path.
She looked to Vasili, who answered her question before she could ask it.
‘They will be staying on site in the furthest chalet from ours. No one is here, Helia. Apart from the resort staff, we’re alone.’
For days on end she would have only Vasili for company.
A thrill of excitement shot through her at the prospect. But so did trepidation, and a little loneliness, at knowing she had to keep away from him.
She stepped inside the chalet and had to pinch herself to remind her that now she spent her time in places like this.
The chalet was by far the most luxurious place she had ever seen. Her old apartment could have fitted in it many times over with space to spare. It was large and airy, with fluttering gauzy curtains hanging at windows and archways. She flitted from room to room. There was so much light, so many openings to the outside, that it barely seemed they were indoors at all.
And then she spotted a set of doors that undoubtedly led to the bedroom. Helia rushed through, but was drawn short. Not by the spectacular views, of which this particular chalet must have the best one, nor by the plunge pool that could be stepped into right from the bedroom itself, despite there being an enormous swimming pool out on the deck, but by the bed.
The very large, very singular bed.
Helia’s excitement morphed into anxiety as she remembered their talk. She hadn’t yet agreed to his terms and he had promised they would not be physical in any way until she did. But how would she be able to think, to keep her distance, if she was in the same bed as him?
She knew she had to while they were on this honeymoon, but she couldn’t help wonder what it would be like to share a bed with him. Did Vasili even want to?
She searched around the room, hoping for some sort of solution to magically make itself known. There was a chaise in the room, and several couches in the living area, one of which would be large enough to sleep on should things become awkward. But she couldn’t tell the King not to sleep on the bed. Especially not when they should be on their honeymoon.
Helia supposed she was small enough that she could comfortably sleep there. If there were staff in the grounds, their sleeping in different chalets was not an option—just as it wasn’t an option at the palace. They were the newly married King and Queen and they had to keep up appearances.
‘You look uncomfortable.’
Helia jumped at the deep, raspy voice behind her. She hadn’t heard Vasili enter.
‘Did I startle you?’
‘No.’
She didn’t need to see his face to know that he didn’t believe her lie. His sharply exhaled breath did that more than adequately.
‘I can sleep elsewhere, Helia. Relax.’
His voice had come from above her head, but it was his heat at her back that she felt most intensely. She would have loved nothing more than to lean into that. See if his embrace would ignite her like his kiss had, or if his immoveable hardness would comfort her.
But that was not the marriage they had, and she had to remember that fact.
‘I can’t let you do that.’
She took a few steps away from him. Distance was what she needed, or she knew she would want to savour his very presence.
‘You’ll find there’s very little that anyone can forbid me from doing.’
‘I get that you’re the King, Vasili. But I also very much doubt you would fit on that couch.’
