I come hard.

His hips pound against me, brutal, punishing, and he’s gone in a flurry of groans, my name whispered over and over as he claws at my hips, releasing every inch of himself inside me, shooting as far and as deep as he can go.

When we’ve both caught our breath, when our hearts have slowed their schizophrenic pace, he pulls out of me and he grabs my waist, lowering me to the hardwood floor, my ass completely numb.

“Well,” I say after a few moments, reaching up and straightening his tie. I’m a bit unsteady on my feet, my legs feeling heavy, my head full of stars and champagne. “Wasn’t that a royal treat?”

“I think we both needed that tonight. Just so we can get through the rest of this evening.” He grins at me and grabs my hand, squeezing it. “Let’s go join the party.”

“I think they’ll know what we were doing,” I tell him as we open the doors and look out into the hall. Empty.

“Let them think what they want,” he says.

Though I have a feeling he might regret saying that.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Viktor

“Viktor, we need to talk.”

The four scariest words on the planet.

“So this isn’t really about skiing, is it?” I ask my father.

The two of us are on cross-country skis on his palace property. My father is hell-bent on staying in shape since his father and grand-father both were victims of heart disease so in the winters he skis around the grounds, doing laps for hours.

Today it’s blisteringly bright and sunny and not as cold as it has been, so skiing made a lot of sense when he invited me. I was going to ask if Maggie could come but I also know that if he wanted Maggie to come, he would have invited her. That’s the way my father is. Plus, I have a feeling that Maggie has never been on skis a day in her life.

So while I’m here with my father, she’s helping Bodi set up the palace for her brothers and sisters. They arrive tomorrow and she’s more than excited to finally see them. I’m excited too, it will be nice to have them around bringing a little life into the cold palace.

“It’s good to get fresh air, clear your head,” my father says, taking a deep breath through his nose, his chest swelling. He looks to me. “You know, I want to apologize the other day. At Aksel’s dinner party.”

I wasn’t sure if he would, so to have him do it now, even days later, is a relief. While Maggie stayed talking to the guests after dinner, I was taken aside by my parents and giving a lecture like you wouldn’t believe.

All about Maggie, of course.

About how common she is.

About how unsuited for the role of princess she is.

About how unsuited for me she is.

My mother brought up countless duchesses and countesses and ladies and whatnot that I could date instead. All Swedes or French or even German. European ladies of refinement.

My father said that Maggie was complicating my job as heir apparent since I’d already cancelled so many appearances and meetings because of her.

They went on and on and on.

I argued back.

I did my best to prove my points.

Love being the biggest one.

But even though they are my parents and I’ve spent my life arguing, they are so good at turning things around on you and reminding you of their power. You know, as the King and Queen.

Needless to say it all ended on a sour note. My mother softened a little in her stance toward Maggie but my father was rather rude and pig-headed about it. I ended up leaving the conversation and going back to find Maggie. Dragged her into my parent’s library and had my way with her, as a way to remind her, remind myself, that she’s mine and no one can take that away.

I don’t say anything, just keep looking at my father. In this harsh light of winter, he looks older than I’ve ever seen him and for the first time I realize how much Alex’s death must have ruined him. It makes my heart heavy for the first time in a while. The first time since Maggie has been here.

“I was a little harsh on Miss McPherson and I realize that she does mean a great deal to you. We still don’t approve, nor do we really understand your desire to be with her, other than her being a pretty face, perhaps a little exotic to us Swedes.” He pauses. “But because she means a lot to you and because we have a monarchy to protect, I got some disturbing information this morning.”

My lungs ice over. “What?”

“As you know we have many friends in the press. Upstanding journalists and the like. And we’ve been using them to crack down on unfair reports and speculations at other publications, especially with what happened with Alex’s death. So many headlines were cruel and just so damn unfair.” His voice breaks at the end there and he trails off, looking away. I’m not the type to hug my father and I’m not sure what to do. Finally he looks back, this time to the palace in the distance, regaining his composure.

“This morning we got word that one of the tabloids has discovered Maggie’s identity.”

“What?” I exclaim. “Who? How?”

He shrugs, frowning. “I don’t know,” he says gruffly. “No doubt someone in King Aksel’s group. I don’t even know who half those people were or why they came but anyway. Must have been one of them. Maybe someone in our own house.” He eyes me. “Maybe someone in yours. Whoever it is got a lot of money in exchange for the information. But the tabloid is going to run it in the morning, with the full story on Maggie.”

I’m having trouble swallowing, there’s so much anger coursing through me. “Do they have pictures?”

“I don’t know. But they know who she is, I’m sure they can pull one from her university if they wish.”

“Fuck,” I say, making a fist, wishing we were closer to the pines so I could start punching them until my knuckles bleed.

“It’s going to be tough for you,” he says. “And for her.”

“And her family,” I tell him. “Her brothers and sisters, they’re arriving tomorrow on an SAS flight from LA. If Maggie’s picture goes in the paper, people will know who she is. They’ll hound her and them. Some fucking welcome. Some fucking trip.”

My father puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “That’s why you have to call it off, my son. Do it for her. She doesn’t deserve to be put through the media storm that’s to come and her siblings don’t either. To think otherwise is to be selfish Viktor, and I didn’t raise you to be selfish.”

You barely raised me at all, I think bitterly. But he has a point. A horrible point.

“What do I do?” I ask him. “About the paper. About all that.”

“There isn’t much you can do.”

“Can’t you threaten to stop them?”

“We can only do that if they are defaming her, or us of course, and if intrusive photos are taken, photos that breach privacy laws. Until then, though, we have no power.”

“You are the king!” I practically yell.

He gives me a dry smirk. “Yes. I am the king. And we’ve been fighting the free press for a long time. You should be grateful we aren’t in England. We have it good compared to them.”

“When I’m king, I’m changing all the laws.”

He lets out a sharp laugh. “Oh my boy. When you are king, I won’t have to worry about any of this anymore.” He sighs noisily. “Let’s head back now, shall we? The cook has a wonderful mushroom soup on the stove.”

We ski back and I have the soup. My father has to go off to attend to some business as usual so it’s just me in the big kitchen and all the while I’m trying to think how to break the news to Maggie and how we can deal with the inevitable. We very well knew that this would eventually happen, that the secret world we built between us would be exposed to the public. I am a prince which means that I serve the country and the people and that sometimes that comes at the cost of relationships, of peace, of privacy.

Sometimes, as in with Alex, it comes at the cost of lives.

The other night though, when Maggie asked me what my parents had talked to me about, I lied and said it was nothing to worry about. I didn’t tell her their concerns, nor what they said. For all she knows, they like her. In fact, every time she brings up her pronunciation of Chopin (which I thought was adorable) or the fact that she offered her hand to my parents first, I tell her that it only endeared her to them.

That was a lie, of course.

And now I think I have to lie again.

By the time Nick takes me back to the palace I take one look up at the building and see all the lights on, making the place look so warm against the snow, I know what I have to do. It glows because Maggie is happy. She’s my warm glowing candle in the cold dark night.

I decide to keep my father’s information to myself.

“How was skiing?” she says to me as soon as I walk in the door, Bodi trailing behind her. She stands on her tip toes to place a kiss on my cheek, her own cheeks rosy.

“It was nice,” I tell her, handing Bodi my coat. “Cold, but nice. You look all warm. The place looks so inviting and liveable with all the lights on.”

“I’ve had so much fun getting everyone’s room’s ready,” she says, her eyes shining. “I’ve been buying so many souvenirs lately that I finally have a place to put them. Everyone gets a Viktor moose, except for Pike of course. He just gets a bottle of aquavit.”

“I picked out a good one for beginners,” Bodi says, looking rather proud that he’s been a part of this.

Looking at Maggie’s smile, the joy that’s coming out of her, I realize I can’t do anything to dampen it.

“Well, show me what you’ve done,” I tell her, offering her my arm. She leads me upstairs.

* * *

***

* * *

The next morning I get up an hour before Maggie usually does and slip quietly out of bed. I make my way downstairs to the kitchen and pull out of my phone as I sip a cup of coffee.