When Luka woke up the next day, the space beside him was empty.
Looking around in confusion, he saw that his bedroom was empty of Maya. They’d made their way to his bedchambers in the middle of the night, leaving her drafty lab behind for the warmth of the roaring fire in his rooms.
They’d tumbled into bed in a tired heap, cuddling together for warmth, before a lazy passion had them reaching for each other again. And when his name had spilled from Maya’s lips as she’d clutched him close, Luka had never felt so happy. So sated.
He’d gone to sleep with a smile on his face, only to wake to a cold bed and silence.
He had just finished his morning ablutions when there was a knock on the door, and his butler entered. The valet had laid his clothes out in his dressing room, and his butler had come to speak to him about his day.
“Postpone everything,” he said tersely. “I have things to do today.”
“But, Your Highness, you have a letter from the Tsar—”
“Stoffel will handle it,” he said, already striding to the dressing room and pulling on his clothes. “I’ll stop by my study on the way.”
Luka found Stoffel in his study, sitting at his little desk with papers spread out all around him.
“Your Highness, the Tsar invites us to Rurik Castle. He is opening court for the season.”
“And we shall attend,” Luka said. He needed to talk to his mother about Maya, tell the Second Queen he wanted to marry her…
He broke off with a smile. He had much to plan. He needed to talk to Maya’s father, and his own father…there was a lot to do.
And for the first time, he would dance with Maya at some of the balls. He was looking forward to it.
“Where is Lady von Rakhmonov?”
Stoffel blinked. “In her lab, I would think. She’s working on something in there, I could hear her hammering as I walked through the halls.”
“Excellent. I shall be back shortly.” Luka crossed the room, smoothing his hair as he went, ignoring his aide’s amused look.
He was at Maya’s lab a few moments later, and he walked in without knocking, his steps light and his heart soaring. Maya was at her workbench, looking down at a little bit of wire on the surface, and she did indeed have a hammer in her hand.
“Luka!”
She sounded surprised to see him, and Luka grinned. He leaned down to press his lips to hers, and she turned her face away, so that his kiss glanced off the side of her face, instead.
“What’s wrong?” He reached out to touch her, but Maya flinched away.
“Don't,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Luka frowned. “Maya, what's wrong?”
“I can't do this,” Maya said, her voice cracking. “Last night was a mistake. We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Luka's expression turned to one of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Luka—”
He waited for her to go on, but she just looked at him guiltily.
“You always do this,” he said accusingly, when it looked like she had no answer for him. “Why do you retreat from me, anytime we share anything real?”
“I don’tretreat,” Maya snapped, but her actions belied her words, as she stepped away when he made to come closer to her again.
“You’re doing it right now,” he shot back, and she looked down at herself as if she didn’t understand how she was standing across the room from him.
He walked toward her slowly, as if she were a spooked animal. He could see it in her eyes what it cost her to stay there, even as she fought the urge to move away from his advance.
