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But that first ti she h no less thrilling because of that And the pleasure was exquisitely sharpened by abstinence Yet it felt as if he was using the sex as so out his na to hiainst her damp skin

‘I’ve…I’ve missed you,’ she said eventually

Lazily, he turned onto his side, his finger tracing an undulating line froered and teased the rosy little tip until she gave athe hand now splay luxuriantly over the silken globe of her botto in that soft, sensual touch ‘You are…sensational,’ he breathed

‘Am—am I?’

‘I’d forgotten quite how much,’ he declared unsteadily

Wordlessly, theyup at the ceiling as her heartbeats gradually began to slow—not wanting to disturb a moment of the perfect haran to fade she felt a strange foreboding creep in to replace it They were close, yes—but only physically close The sense of oneness she had longed for had so far failed toit to happen so soon? Or was she foolish in hoping that it ht happen at all?

All night long, I am yours, he had said

And for the rest of the time, what then?

Chapter Ten

THE next weeks were spent i a princess—and Cathy was endlessly grateful for the adaptability she’d learnt while working at the hotel Sea and receptionist duties, she had been able to turn her hand to just about anything—and these were skills which proved invaluable in her new life

And didn’t throwing herself into her new role help her paper over the cracks in her e?

Busying herself with tasks befitting a brand-new royal helped Cathy forget that her worst fears were being realised, day by day And that the ice-cold heart of her new husband could not be thawed, no matter how much tenderness or passion she showed hiuard down—but the ardent lover he beca The an laying out his clothes and he becaer once more

It was as if she had no real part in his daily life—when he treated her with the undeht show one of his aides She was never allowed to show affection, nor to disturb him—and if she wanted to speak to him, she had toherself that she had been chosen as his wife primarily because she would accept such conditions, she resolved to say nothing And, like generations of wos in her relationship by reaching outside it for fulfilment

Her days were spent organising her new office and deciding on what staff she would need to help her There were posts for a private secretary, assistant secretaries and ladies-in-waiting as well as a hairdresser and a language coach Although English and Greek were taught in all the schools, Cathy had started to study Italian, which was thea non-academic child herself at school, suddenly she could see the point in learning, if it actually had some kind of purpose

And Xaviero’s aides were proposing a grand joint tour of the island to introduce her to the people—even though the dark cloud of Casi coma meant that they were reluctant to pin down a date But by then Cathy had started to visit the King on a regular basis and found that increased exposure to the inert figure on the white bedthan it had done at first

She found herself actually looking forward to the visits—at least they ot to know all the nurses, who—once they’d stopped viewing her with a certain suspicion—soon started to war, all status and privilege seemed completely irrelevant

Each day Cathy would sit with the King, while a bodyguard stood keeping his own vigil behind the bullet-proofed glass which had been specially installed She found herself telling hi attempts to learn Italian and about how much all the staff at the palace talked about hiland and how she hoped her tenants were looking after it properly