CHAPTER 2 - RAYMOND

What could Lady Penelope possibly want? The color drains out of Selena’s face. She ends the call and turns her phone off.

“Is everything okay?”

She nods. “I’ll tell her my phone died on me or something.”

“You have a dozen phones in the house,” I remind her.

Selena shrugs and wraps her arms around me. “I’ll deal with that when the time comes?”

How can a man feel so powerful in the arms of the woman he loves, and still feel so helpless at the same time?

“You should go.”

She presses her body against mine and then pulls away. “I guess I should.” She blows me a kiss.

Watching Selena walk back to Cornwall House never gets any easier. I never expected to fall in love with a royal. Anyone in their right frame of mind would have avoided Selena Cornwall like the plague – except me. I watched her grow from an awkward tween into a beautiful, young lady. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love with her but fate, it seemed, had other plans.

I pack my paint and canvas and walk back to my cottage across the river from Cornwall Estate. My two bedroom cottage is a far cry from Cornwall House with its dozens of bedrooms, four separate dining rooms – one for each season, and two Grande dining halls. I imagine Selena dressed in one of her flowing gowns gliding through the halls. Selena Cornwall deserves to live her life in the style she’s been accustomed to. Instead, she’s chosen to settle with a commoner like me.

I rush home when thunder rumbles. Pregnant raindrops pound the rooftop in the same instant I shut the door behind me. After a few minutes, the sky calms down. My packed suitcases are lined in the lounge behind the two-seater sofa. Paris will be our fresh start. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with Selena. Just thinking about her fills me with warmth and joy no alcoholic beverage can rival.

My phone rings. “God!” I scream, shocked at the sudden sound in my silent cottage. “Hello?”

“Raymond,” Selena whispers.

Heat pools in the pit of my belly. “Hey,” I murmur my voice growing gruffer by the minute.

“My mother is attending a birthday party at Northington Palace this evening. Do you want to come over?” she asks me.

I want to say yes. “It’s too risky, Selena. We have to play it safe. We’ve waited too long to expose our relationship.” I clench my fists tight. Every cell in my body urges me to go to Selena, but my brain urges me to be rational, to protect Selena from her own desire.

“I knew you would say that.” She giggles.

Someone knocks on my door. Who would visit me during an impending storm?

“Aren’t you going to open the door, Raymond?”

Oh no! I rush across my small lounge and fumble with the lock. After what seems like an eternity I manage to open the door. Selena tumbles into my arms. I kick the door shut and grab her before she falls. She flings her arms around my neck and presses her lips against mine. Greed overpowers me for a few moments. I lose myself in her heated kisses, crush her body against mine, and wish I could stay like this forever. Holding Selena in my arms feels so right. It’s like I’ve waited my entire life for her, and I’ve finally reached home.

I break off the kiss first. “Selena, we shouldn’t be taking chances like this.”

“Raymond,” she moans, untucking my shirt from my pants. I take her hands and lead her to the sofa.

“What if your mother catches us?”

Lady Penelope had always treated me like a servant, a mere commodity she required to tutor her daughter in art so she could converse with gentlemen of their own status.

“I told you that my mother is attending a party at Northington Palace. She won’t be back anytime soon. She’s probably looking for a replacement for my dead father.” Selena’s smile fades away.

“Or she could return home because the party is a flop.”

Selena pulls her phone out of her jacket pocket and holds it out for me to look at. She’s opened the Northington Palace social media page which is live-streaming Prince Michael’s birthday party. Her mother waves for the camera when she notices it. “See, she’s enjoying herself. I don’t see why we can’t have some fun while she’s away.”

“It’s very unbecoming for a royal of your upbringing to suggest something like that,” I say even though my body begs me to accept her invitation.

“Aw, come on, Raymond.”

“Lady, Selena, you shouldn’t be throwing yourself at me like this especially while we’re still in your family’s territory.” I sigh. “I don’t want you to ruin your reputation because of a commoner like me.”

Selena gasps, hurt by my words. “I love you, Ray, I always have and always will.”

“I love you too, but I also have to behave in a manner that will be in your best interests,” I tell her, “we can do whatever we want when we’re in Paris. While we’re here, we need to pretend like we don’t share a relationship outside of me tutoring you for Art.”

Tears fill her eyes. “Do you have any idea how difficult that is for me? I’ve been in love with you forever.”

I sit down beside her and take her hands in mine. “I know how tough this is for you because it is just as tough for me. I hate doing this to you and God knows, staying away from you is the most trying thing I have ever had to do in my entire life.”

“So what do we do?” she asks, leaning towards me and resting her head on my chest.

“Wait until we reach Paris.” I stroke her hair. “We cannot blow our plans just for a few nights of lust. You know that you are my weakness. I will never be able to control my desire for you once I give in.” I cup her face and stare into her honey brown eyes. “I want you so much. I swear when we get to Paris, we won’t leave our apartment for days.”

She giggles shattering the intensity of the moment. “I can’t wait.”

I tickle her sides and she collapses on the sofa laughing. “Stop it, Raymond.”

This is how I wish to spend the rest of my life.