kissed her cheek, unaware he was showing affection to his mother. “And do not reveal to her all my bad habits.”
Elena reached up and patted his face. “Godspeed, cara mia.”
After Adan left the room in a rush, Piper regarded Elena again. “I’ll give you my word not to say anything to him, as long as you promise you’ll tell him the truth. If you don’t, I will.”
Elena oddly didn’t seem at all upset by the threat. “I will tell him before you depart. And I sincerely hope you will tell him what you have been concealing from him, as well.”
That threw Piper for a mental loop. “I’m not hiding anything from Adan.”
“Yes, my dear, you are.” She started for the door but turned and paused before she exited. “You love him, Piper. Tell him soon.”
Long after Elena left the nursery, Piper stood there aimlessly staring at the sleeping baby as she pondered the former governess’s words. Did she love Adan? Did she even dare admit it to herself, much less to him?
Yet in her heart of hearts she knew that she did love him, and she loved his son as she would have her own child. Regardless, nothing would come of it unless Adan felt the same way about her. Only time would tell, and time was slowly slipping away.
* * *
At half past midnight, Adan arrived at the palace initially exhausted from performing his duties. Yet the moment he entered the corridor leading to the living quarters, his fatigue began to dissipate as he started toward his first stop—the nursery to see his son. After that, he would retire to his bedroom in hopes of finding Piper waiting up for him. He certainly wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t, considering the lateness of the hour. And if that happened to be the case, he would use creative kisses in strategic places to wake her.
He found the nursery door open and the room entirely vacant. An empty bottle on the table next to the rocker indicated someone had recently been there to tend to Samuel, and he suspected who that someone might be.
On that thought, he traveled down the hall at a quick clip, and pulled up short at the partially ajar door when he heard the soft, melodic sounds of a French lullaby.
“Dodo, l’enfant do, l’enfant dormira bien vite. Dodo, l’enfant do. L’enfant dormira bientôt.”
The lyrics alone indicated Piper could be having difficulty putting Samuel to sleep, but Adan imagined her sweet voice would eventually do the trick. He stayed in the hallway, immersed in faint memories of Elena singing him to sleep. Sadly he’d never had the pleasure of recalling his own mother doing the same.
He wondered if Samuel would eventually resent him for taking him away from Talia. Provided Talia actually agreed to signing over her rights, and he didn’t change his mind about asking her to do that very thing.
The sudden silence thrust the concerns away and sent Adan into the bedroom. He discovered Piper propped up against the headboard, eyes closed, her dark hair fanning out on the stack of white satin pillows beneath her head, and his son, deep in slumber, cradled against her breasts. Had she not been gently patting the baby’s back, he might have believed she’d fallen asleep, as well.
He remained in place, recognizing at that moment how greatly he appreciated this woman who had stepped in to care for his child without hesitation. He’d begun to care for her deeply, more than he had any woman. But to expect her to continue in this role much longer would be completely unfair to both her and his child. She had another life in another country, and she would soon return to resume that life.
When Piper opened her eyes and caught his glance, she smiled before holding a finger against her lips to ensure his silence. He waited at the door as she worked her way slowly off the bed and approached him at the door. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered. “Unless he wakes again.”
Unable to resist, he softly kissed the top of Samuel’s head, remarkably without disturbing him, then leaned and kissed Piper’s cheek, earning him another smile before she left the room.
In order to be waiting in bed for her return, Adan launched into action. He stripped out of his clothes on his way into the bathroom, turned on the water in the shower, then stepped beneath the spray and began to wash. He’d barely finished rinsing when the glass door opened—and one beautiful, naked woman with her hair piled atop her head boldly joined him.
Using his shoulders for support, she stood on tiptoe and brought her lips to his ear. “I missed you.”
He framed her face in his palms. “I missed you, too.”
All conversation ceased as they explored each other’s bodies with eager hands as the water rained down over them. They kissed with shared passion, touched without restraint. Adan purposely kept Piper on the brink of orgasm with light pressure before he quickened the pace. She released a small moan, then raked her nails down his back with the force of her release. He soon discovered she was bent on reciprocating when she nudged him against the shower wall, lowered to her knees and took him into her mouth. He tipped his head back and gritted his teeth as she took him to the breaking point. Refusing to allow that to happen, he clasped her wrists and pulled her to her feet.
“Not here,” he grated out, then swept her into his arms, carried her into the bedroom and brought her down on the sheets despite the fact they were soaking wet.
He slowed the tempo then, using his mouth to bring her more pleasure as she had done with him, until his own body demanded he hurry. In a matter of moments, he had the condom in place, and seated himself soundly inside her. She sighed when he held her closer, yet he couldn’t seem to get close enough, even when she wrapped her legs around his waist.
All the unfamiliar emotions, the desperate desire, culminated in a climax that rocked him to the core. He had difficulty catching his breath as his heart beat a thunderous tempo against his chest. Piper began to stroke his back in a soothing rhythm, bringing him slowly back into reality. And that reality included an emotion he’d always rejected in the past. An expression he had never uttered to any lover. A word he dared not acknowledge now, for in doing so he would be completely vulnerable to a woman who was bound to leave.
He preferred to remain as he’d always been, immune to romantic love. Yet as Piper whispered soft words of praise, he wondered where he would find the strength to let her go. He would find it. He had no choice.
But not now. Not tonight.
* * *
Three weeks gone, one more to go.
As the first morning light filtered in from the part in the heavy gold curtains, Piper couldn’t stop thinking about how little time she had left before she went home. And as she lay curled up in the empty bed, hugging a pillow, she also couldn’t stop pondering Adan’s abrupt change in mood.
For the past several days, he’d begun to spend more time with the baby when he wasn’t at the base and a lot less time with her. She felt somewhat guilty for even questioning his paternal role, but she didn’t quite understand why he’d started coming to bed in the middle of the night. Nor could she fathom why they hadn’t made love in over a week when they hadn’t missed a day since their first time together.
She questioned whether Elena had told him her secret, but she felt certain Adan would have told her if that had been the case. Blamed her for meddling, for that matter. Maybe the prince was simply preparing for their parting. Maybe the pretend princess would
