Catharine & Edward by Marianne Knightly Page A

the necklace now lay.
    “Edward,” she whispered as he walked around to face her. “I thought you said we shouldn’t.”
    “I was wrong.” He gripped her arms and pulled her against his body. Even in heels, he still towered over her.
    She moaned even before his lips crushed over hers. His tongue licked the lipstick on her lips, and she opened, allowing his tongue to slip inside.
    God, he tasted good.
    She’d kissed her fair share of men, yet none of them had been like this. None of them filled her with so much heat and passion from a simple, devastating kiss.
    One of his hands slipped behind her neck and fisted her hair. His other hand moved down over the shimmering ivory silk to her bottom and gripped almost painfully.
    God, he felt good.
    They broke apart, gasping against each other’s parted lips. Edward loosened his grip from her hair, and shifted to caress her cheek. “God damn it.”
    She stiffened. “What?”
    “I can’t stop wanting you.”
    Her heart surged and a new warmth spread through her, filling her in a way nothing had before. “Really?”
    “Fuck, yeah. I tried. God help me, I tried.”
    “What changed?”
    “It finally hit me this afternoon. I spent hours interrogating the intruder. Hours talking to him about his plan and why he did what he did. I was focused. I had my head in the game. I barely thought of you the first hour or so.”
    Cat wasn’t sure she liked that, and frowned. “I guess it’s good you can stay focused.”
    His hand gave her ass a squeeze. “You’re missing the point. Things changed in the last hour or so, and it became clear to me. The man kept going on and on about how he didn’t know who was involved, that he was blackmailed into breaking in, which is somewhat true. Then he made a throwaway comment that he only cared for the royals – only cared for you – as a potential meal ticket. If he got a photo of you in a compromising situation, he could set himself up for years. And then I thought of you, of protecting you and caring for you, and I couldn’t stop.”
    Oh. Cat liked that.
    “He made some crass comment about you, and I almost punched his face. I thought about what could have happened to you today, and that you could have been harmed twice, and I wanted to punch him anyway because he was convenient.”
    “But I wasn’t harmed. You kept me safe; you always do.” She searched his eyes and couldn’t find it, so she asked. “What did the intruder say about me?”
    “It’s not important.”
    “Edward.”
    He brushed his lips against hers. “It’s better if you don’t know.”
    “I can handle it.”
    He gave her a long look. “I know you can handle it. I’d just rather not repeat it.”
    Cat could probably figure out what the intruder had said about her. She’d been called various nicknames before, and she usually ignored them. Being a princess didn’t stop others from being mean; it simply meant they were more strategic about when and where they said these things to her.
    A princess was always forced to develop a thick skin.
    She nodded, leaving the comment alone to focus on the more important question. “So what does your change of heart mean for us?”
    Edward sighed and brought her fully into the warmth and safety of his arms. Her face was tucked against his neck and one of his hands smoothed down her hair and over her back. “What do you want? You’re the princess. You’ve got a brighter future without me in it.”
    Her arms wrapped around him and she gave him a squeeze. “That’s not true.”
    “We have to be realistic. If we went public, I couldn’t be your agent anymore. I should resign or transfer.”
    “No, don’t,” she said immediately. “Please.”
    “You want me to stay? Why?”
    She tilted her chin her up and looked into his dark, entrancing eyes. She swallowed. “I like you, Edward,” she said softly. “I feel safe when you’re near. I feel other things, too.”
    His knuckles grazed her cheek. “And what would