Luke leaned his head back against the smooth rock. A gentle breeze glided close to the surface, caressing the fine angles of his face and lightly ruffling his already tousled dirty blonde hair. A soft sigh escaped his slightly parted lips. He could enumerate proof that Tobias was more than just doing his job, more than just being a friend to Rhiane, or he could enumerate the differences in the royal guard’s behavior that Lia and Octavia observed, but the princess elect would not be as close to seeing the truth than she was an hour ago. Nothing Luke said seemed believable or credible enough for Rhiane and her prejudices. 

“Not without ulterior motive.” He should know, because it was how his brain was wired. Besides, he could feel it in his bones, how those dark gray eyes stared at his fiancee with longing masked as professional alertness. His possession was being threatened. Just like he did his best to protect her from the Resistance, he stubbornly refused to give her up and let Tobias win.

But she continued in an almost flat tone how a certain diamond ring didn’t matter to their engagement. Luke nodded. His eyes were fixed on the army of stars blinking down at them. It was impossible to see such a sight in the capital where the lights always shone bright and the mysterious great beyond was not a thing that mattered in their lives. He listened to her voice like a faraway whisper. What would she do if she found out that he personally bought Sophia a ring the same day he ‘lost’ the princess elect’s engagement ring? Because Rhiane was correct when she said that Luke could be thoughtful. An asshole too.

The sound of soft splashes of water and her declaration of her intention to leave alerted the crown prince. He was torn between feeling insulted and annoyed at her for being so dense. The weeks that they had known each other should have taught her that the arrogant prince would not lift a finger to do anybody any favor if it was not important to him. He was raised to be an ambitious ruler and a shrewd businessman, and to believe that his time was more precious than her and her family’s lives put together. That he chose to use his time to seek her out on a night when he should be making decisions for the future of New Rome was testimony of… 

Of what?

His eyes were almost black as he stared at her while she reached for the discarded robe. “Nolan is in there,” Luke blurted out before he could think it through. ‘Nolan might be in there,’ was the more appropriate statement. Thank the shadows falling on his features, it hid a slight blush that colored his cheeks because of the lie and the unwarranted urgency at which he spat the words out. “I did not come here to argue as well. I was just --” He was just stating facts, was what he wanted to say. If he did, he would only sound as if he was baiting her into another argument with him. The words were swallowed bitterly. “Can we not be Luke and Rhiane – the prince and the farmer – tonight?”

He was tired, she was tired. Being each other’s enemy was as tiring as being at odds with the generally accepted logic that the two of them were not meant to feel for each other. He had Sophia Keller as much as he had a reputation to uphold. She, even in designer clothes and her beautiful face, did not fit into the world he was born in. The engagement was nothing but a temporary political arrangement. Soon, it would expire. One way or the other, his family and his family’s allies would see to it that the queen ruling beside Luke was one of their own – not a commoner and definitely not a nameless farmer. 
That night, though, they were alone inside a space where neither the dynasty nor the rebellion existed. Luke stared at the woman who, without warning, crept into his fickle heart to claim a part of it. It may be just a fleeting infatuation or admiration of her feminine charms, but one thing was sure – that after a glimpse of the woman hiding behind the insignificance of her name, he wanted more.

“Such a lovely evening.” Luke pushed himself from his perch, then stepped deeper into the pool until the water was up to his chest. He crossed the distance to where crouched as she reached for the robe until he too was crouching behind her, not really touching except for his hand that reached for her arm. He shared his warmth to help fight against the cold autumn night. Gently, he urged her cool skin back into the enveloping warmth of the pool. “If I were Kronos, I would stop time and stay right here as long as we can. Don’t go.” His voice was low, as if afraid somebody would hear. “My name is Alex.” A slow smile stretched his lips as he turned her around and led her deeper into the pool. “I don’t know your name, but I bet my mother’s crown that it’s as beautiful as you are.” A short pause, then he chuckled lightly realizing his mistake. “Sorry, sorry.” He lifted his hands up in mock surrender, then added, “I’m not supposed to have a mother who wears a crown. Let’s do it again.” And he repeated the pick-up line except for the part about his mother, hoping against all hopes that it would lighten the mood.

Neither apologized to the other, and it was not likely that anybody would yield anytime soon. But he wanted to spend time with her and make her laugh the way Tobias did, make her forget about the fatigue weighing down her shoulders. He did not plan on allowing her to stay too long submerged in warm water, but a few more minutes shouldn’t hurt… Right?