His hair fell over his forehead, sweat dripping down his face. “I am really going to miss this about the academy.”
The confession caught me off guard. “Then don’t stop after graduation.”
Royce chuckled. “I have to. My father already has a shitload of work waiting on me the moment I go back home.”
I blocked another attack, biting my lip as I tried to best him, to find his weakness. “I guess it sucks to be you.”
He got closer and before I knew it, I was flat on my back, his sword at my throat. “Lesson three. Don’t engage in any conversation with your enemy. He will only distract you.”
I pushed away his sword with my own, distracting him long enough to hook my foot around his ankle. “Same to you, Royce.”
I pulled hard and he went down, grabbing a hold of my leg as I tried to recover. Both swords went clattering harmlessly on the mat, but I fell on top of Royce, my body colliding hard with his. He rolled over immediately, trapping me against his hard body and the mat. I could feel every hard inch of him and when he looked at me, I didn’t know what to do.
Especially when his lips collided with mine.
For a moment, I froze, feeling his lips against mine. Royce was kissing me.
Royce was kissing me!
My body reacted before my mind did, my arms gripping his hard shoulders as my lips molded to his in a feverish pitch. Royce’s lips moved over mine expertly, coaxing my mouth open with a gasp so that he could slip his tongue inside.
A moan escaped me, my hands thrusting into his hair as he ravaged my mouth, his hand sliding down the length of my body. The movement made my eyes fly open and I pushed Royce off me, scrambling back on the mat to put some distance between us.
Oh my God, I had been kissing Royce like my life depended on it!
“What the hell, Anna?” he said, pulling himself to a seated position.
I brought a shaky hand up to my swollen lips. “You kissed me.”
“Damn right I did and unless I was mistaken, you were kissing me back.”
Well, I couldn’t deny that. I had been kissing him back, very thoroughly at that. “It was a mistake.”
He arched a brow, letting his arms rest on his knee. “Really? You think that, pauper?”
I couldn’t tell him the truth, but no I didn’t think it was a mistake. It had felt right.
Way too right. “I’m kind of still involved with Arthur,” I said lamely.
Royce laughed harshly. “Yeah, and I am destined to be the king of England. You and Arthur haven’t been an item for quite some time.”
“That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be for the future,” I shot back, attempting to hide behind my words. I was so embarrassed that the kiss had made me want more and only if I could get it from Royce himself.
Dammit. I was lusting after my one-time enemy.
Royce shook his head. “I don’t believe you, pauper. Arthur was not the man for you, and you know it. He was just the one who got to you first. Remember, we were all supposed to share you until he went rogue.”
An old familiar hurt bloomed in my chest and I scrambled off the mat, heading for the door, my vision blurred. Why had he cracked open that seed of hurt?
Royce grabbed me about the waist before I could get to the doorway. “Anna, wait.”
I tried to fight him, but he pulled me back, his strong forearm locked around my waist and holding me against his body. “Just let me go.”
“I didn’t mean it to hurt you,” he said quietly. “I swear it.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t,” he repeated, pressing his lips on my bare shoulder. I had taken my sweatshirt off within the first thirty minutes of our training and even now my body was soaked with sweat.
Now I wished I had left it on. “Let me go.”
He didn’t, keeping me in place. “Tell me one thing, pauper, and I will.”
I had to get away from him. He was scrambling my brain, my feelings, everything. I couldn’t think straight. “What?”
“Has Arthur kept his promise about helping you find your mother?”
The question came out of nowhere and I froze, surprised. No, he hadn’t. He had actually told me to back off, saying that he was scared Isauros would kill me if I continued. I remembered my anger toward him and how I wished that someone would help me. “No,” I said softly, slumping in his embrace. “He didn’t.”
Royce’s hold relaxed on me, but he didn’t let me go nor did I try to pull myself away from his warm body. It was nice to just have someone holding me. “Let me,” Royce said after a moment. “Let me help you.”
I let out a choked laugh. “How?”
Royce released me then and I turned, seeing his face. It was stone solid, without a hint of softness to it. “I’ve been doing some digging, reaching out to some of my contacts in the United Kingdom. They have found a travel record for an Irene Komita from Athens to London eighteen years ago.”
“Eighteen years ago,” I repeated, a small kernel of hope blooming in my chest. “That would be …”
“How old you are,” he finished for me. “I think it might be your mother, but I have to verify the information.”
It was a start, a big one. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Let me help you,” he replied. “That’s all I ask.”
I eyed Royce, unsure of what he wanted out of this. Well, he had already told me what he wanted. He wanted to marry
