Her Best Kept Royal Secret by Lynne Graham

EPILOGUE

Six years later

‘THEY’REALLDOWN?’ Angel murmured quietly from the doorway. ‘Even Castor?’

Gaby grinned at him from the side of the cot where their youngest child slumbered. Even at ten months old, Castor was very different from his older, more tolerant brother. Castor had a shocking temper when life didn’t go his way and he only slept when it suited him. He didn’t like strange faces, unfamiliar places or different food. Keeping their baby boy content entailed effort.

‘Fresh air works magic,’ she said, and the King and Queen of Themos, both dressed down for their stay at the lake house in the mountains, walked to the door of the bedroom next door, where four-year-old Eliana slumbered, her shock of copper hair as bright as her mother’s, her lively blue eyes shut, fast asleep after a day racing through the woods in her big brother’s wake.

Alexios was dead to the world, sprawled out across his bed as though he had been felled there. Gaby lifted the tablet that had fallen from his hand and set it aside. He was her firstborn and she couldn’t credit now that he had ever been a baby because he was so big and likely to be even taller than his father when he reached maturity. He looked like his father, but he had the temperament of neither parent. He was intelligent and thoughtful, an energetic boy but slow to anger and very patient.

‘He really enjoyed you taking him fishing this morning,’ Gaby told him as she closed the door.

‘No more about the kids,’ Angel growled, nipping at the skin between nape and shoulder and sending a thrilling pulse of desire thrumming through her. ‘Saif and Tati will be here soon with their crew and they’ll be jet-lagged and they won’t settle for hours.’

‘Stop complaining,’ she scolded. ‘You love seeing your brother and his brood.’

‘It’s our wedding anniversary. Remind me why we wanted to entertain other people?’ Angel urged, guiding her into their bedroom with single-minded intent.

‘Because Saif and Tati are the only company we have that we can totally relax with,’ she reminded him softly, because it was true. They could say whatever they liked in company with family, for there was no fear of saying anything that might offend or be controversial or appear in the press, and that was probably one of the reasons that the two couples had become such close friends. It didn’t hurt that they were all young and had children in the same age group either. In addition, Gaby had become very fond of Saif’s down-to-earth wife, Tati.

‘You’re right. I’m being selfish because when I finally get you all to myself, I don’t want to share you with anybody, even...Theos mou...my own kids.’ He groaned as he pressed kisses across her bare shoulders, tugging her shirred sundress down to expose her unbound breasts, cupping that soft weight with another sound of masculine appreciation. ‘This is my favourite dress—’

‘Because it comes off quickly. Sometimes you are very basic,’ Gaby teased, even as she arched her spine and pushed her taut nipples into his hands, quivering as that touch of abrasion sent a hot dart speeding into her pelvis.

‘And you don’t like it?’ Angel growled, grazing his teeth across her sensitised skin as he backed her down on the bed, shimmying off her remaining garments with sure hands.

‘You know I love it...’ Gaby looked up at him, her heart in her eyes, an ache stirring at her core as he stood over her, swiftly shedding his clothes, revealing that long, lean, muscular bronzed body that she never tired of appreciating.

‘As I love you, Vasilessa mou,’ he husked, coming down over her, taut and ready for action.

My Queen.Literally and figuratively, that was how Angel treated her. She revelled in the sense of security he gave her every time he looked at her. She had the family she had always wanted, and the wonder was that he had wanted the exact same thing. She saw the tenderness, the appreciation, the unquestioning loyalty that he gave her. And the nights with him were out of the world as well, she reflected, her neck arching with her spine as he sank into her with hot, driving impatience and the excitement took her by storm.

Afterwards, listening to Angel in the shower when she felt too lazy to as much as shift a toe, she thought about how lucky she was.

Angel was a terrific father, always involved with the children, encouraging as much as he disciplined, understanding when the kids got it wrong, as children so frequently did. He had also been a wonderful supportive guide while she learned how to deal with being a royal consort. Her language skills had proved very useful, and she had been warmly conscious of Angel’s pride in her ability. Tati’s advice had proved good as well, although the Emir of Alharia lived in a much more formal manner than his younger brother did. Angel had dismantled much of the pomp and ceremony at the palace and embraced a more contemporary style, but Saif didn’t have the same freedom because his country was more conservative.

Her friends Liz and Laurie were regular visitors with their families. The previous month they had invited them all to Paris to spend the weekend with them in Angel’s fabulous town house there. Saif and Tati had joined them as well and the weekend had turned into a terrific party.

But as a rule, Gaby and Angel found their relaxation as a family unit by spending weekends alone at the house in the mountains. Free of the formality of the palace and the many staff, they got to be themselves and it kept the children grounded because nobody waited on them at the lake house. That was a much better preparation for the real world than the palace was and taught them some independence. And to her chagrin, when Viola was away on a break, Gaby had discovered that Angel was a much better cook than she was. But then, one of the joys of being married to Angel, she thought fondly, was the number of surprises he could still give her.

‘Almost forgot,’ Angel remarked as he walked back through the bedroom, showered and fully clad with that leaping energy he never lost. ‘For our wedding anniversary...’

‘You already bought me that necklace!’ Gaby exclaimed, sitting up in bed.

‘This is a ring...’ Angel informed her somewhat smugly, lifting her hand to thread a diamond eternity ring on beside her wedding ring. ‘For ever and ever, you are mine and I am yours...it’s engraved on the inside.’

Minutes later, she realised what time it was and fled into the shower to get dressed because Saif and Tati were due to arrive. They were both downstairs as the helicopter came in to land at the front of the house.

‘You finally cracked the mould,’ she told Angel tenderly. ‘That engraving is truly romantic...’