Once the meal was over, Marabeth and her mother left the table, leaving the men to remain at the table to smoke their cigars and drink brandy. It was an old tradition but one that was maintained when the king felt it was important.
“So, are you seeing anyone important, Sam?” the king asked.
Sam was slightly shocked at the question which he’d answered several weeks ago but he but answered it honestly again. “No, your majesty. I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.”
“Good, good. What do you think of Marabeth?”
Sam gripped the brandy glass and wished he could avoid this conversation. “She is very beautiful,” he said carefully.
King Stephan noticed the increased grip on the younger man’s glass and thought it was a good sign. “I appreciate your concern over her safety as well. How did she react to your increased security?”
“Not well,” Sam said, grimacing inwardly at the memory of Marabeth’s reaction.
“Didn’t think she would. I tried to warn you.”
“It was necessary,” Sam said. “All the data says….”
The king waived the explanation away. “No, no. I agree with you completely. I’m just glad you had to tell her and not me,” he chuckled. “The data indicates an increased kidnapping threat and I’m not willing to take any chances with my children,” he said.
“It wasn’t as bad as we’d anticipated.”
“Really?” Max laughed. “Why do you think she was in the gym for an hour?” he laughed. “That was her second workout of the day.”
“I have my suspicions,” Sam said blandly but he already knew the reason. Sam kept tabs on her even when she was inside the palace telling himself it was only because of the increased threat. He wouldn’t admit, even to himself, that he just wanted to know where she was and what she was doing.
“But you already knew that didn’t you?” the king said, stating that as fact instead of phrasing it as a question. “You know more about Marabeth’s comings and goings than I do, I’m betting,” he said shrewdly.
“I doubt that,” Sam said.
“Regardless, I think there’s only one thing left to discuss,” Stephan said.
“What’s that, your majesty?”
“What are you going to do about this situation between you and Marabeth?” he asked, laughing at the way the younger man was reacting. King Stephan was delighted to finally have the matrimonial decision made for his daughter.
“Do?” Sam repeated, not sure what the king meant by his question. “I’ll continue to have Manny monitor the security of the palace occupants and will review the security briefings, daily.”
Max shook his head. “I don’t think my father is talking about Marabeth’s security.”
“I don’t understand,” Sam said but he already knew where this conversation was going.
“Sure you do,” Stephan said and took a sip of brandy. “You’re an intelligent man. Explain your plan of action. And tell me how you want me to phrase it.”
Sam looked sharply into the king’s eyes. After considering all the possibilities, he sighed and nodded. “Fine. But I’ll tell her.”
King Stephan nodded. “My wife and I would like to see the date set for approximately two months in the future. Will that give you enough time?”
“More than enough. I’ll have the deed done tonight, sire,” he said. All three men stood up and King Stephan smiled broadly. “I want you to know that a few grandchildren are an order,” he said, eyeing Sam carefully.
Now that the issue was decided, Sam felt good. Better than he had in over a month, in fact. Sam smiled broadly, liking the idea more and more. “I’ll consider it my highest priority,” he said and bowed graciously.
King Stephan winked at Sam then patted him on the back. “Good. Let’s join the ladies. I imagine that my wife has been getting an earful about you for the past twenty minutes.”
Sam laughed openly now, feeling like he now owned the world. “I’m pretty sure you’re right.”
The three men entered the smaller salon. Sam’s eyes instantly sought out the one person he was interested in. Once he found her looking out the window, he felt a surge of possessiveness.
She was his, he thought. All five feet, seven inches of her luscious, amazing body. And he protected what was his. He sat down on the sofa and rolled the brandy glass in his hands, warming the potent liquid.
King Stephan yawned and turned to his wife. “My dear, I’m extremely tired tonight. Would you mind if I excused myself?” King Stephan asked.
Natasha understood his silent message and responded with relief. “Of course not dear. In fact, I’ll go with you.”
“I’m off for the night,” Max said and within moments, Marabeth and Sam were alone in the salon. Marabeth just stared at the door where her parents and brother had left.
How could her mother have abandoned her with the one man she’d just been complaining about?
Marabeth looked over at the man in question and watched as one eyebrow went up in question. “Are you going to beg fatigue after your stressful day in the transparent excuse of being afraid of me?” he asked.
Since Marabeth had been about to do just that, she snapped her mouth closed and glared at him.
Sam chuckled and motioned for her to sit down across from him. “Why don’t we talk?” he said.
“Why? So you can put more restrictions on my movement?” she asked sarcastically?
“I might,” he said and challenged her to ignore his request.
“How does one get to be so arrogant?” she asked, walking over to stand in front of him, her hands on her hips in frustration. “I mean, please teach me your technique because it might come in handy when I meet an insufferable brute of a man who just irritates me by his presence,” she snapped.
Sam pulled her down so she was sitting next to him. “We need to talk,” he said and turned his body so he was looking at her.
“Oh!’ she said, surprised by how quickly she had been pulled down. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, struggling to get up and move away from the heat of his body. But the soft cushions of the sofa and his large, male body prevented her from moving.
“I didn’t like looking up at you. This is better,” he said and took her hand in his.