“That sounds good.”

  “We’ll also make sure we draw up wills to assign custody to Erik and Casey if anything happens to both of us.” I paused. “Unless you’d rather they went to your family?”

  She shook her head. “They’re safest with Erik and Casey.” She hugged Hayden to her chest, tears filling her eyes again.

  “Nothing’s going to happen to us,” I whispered. “This is just a precaution. Most parents have a plan, just in case. And we have a lot of money at stake, so we need to make sure the boys get it if something does happen.”

  “Okay.” She sat on the couch next to me, the baby still in her arms. “It’s weird, you know?”

  “What is?”

  “All of it.”

  “What? Babies and marriage and all that?”

  “Yeah, kinda.” She met my eyes. “I never pictured it for myself. I never thought I’d get married, much less have kids. I wasn’t against it, I simply never thought it would happen.”

  “Then you met me and I changed your whole life.” I laced the fingers of one hand with hers.

  “It’s good, though,” she said. “It’s just a little scary right now.”

  “For me too,” I admitted. “I gave up on my happily ever after years ago. Even after I met you, I didn’t think I could do it.”

  “But here we are.”

  Our eyes met.

  “And I’ve never been happier.” I reached out with my free hand to cup the side of her face. “Are you happy, Lennox? Daily stress aside, do I make you happy?”

  Tears pricked her eyes once again and my chest tightened as I waited for her answer.

  She leaned over and pressed her lips to mine. “So happy. We’ve had a lot of changes in a relatively short time, but I wouldn’t trade you—and the life we’ve built—for anything. Don’t mistake my struggle to adjust to all this newness for not loving you. That’s never changed. And it never will.”

  “Thank god.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “Losing you would be…” My voice trailed off. “There are no words for what that would be like.”

  “Doesn’t matter because it’s never going to happen.”

  “I love you, Mrs. Gustaffson.”

  “I love you more, Prince Neanderthal.”

  I rumbled out a laugh. “Damn nickname is starting to grow on me.”

  She smiled. “Good thing. Cause you’re stuck with it.”

  We sat there for a little while, close together, each holding one of our sons. There was something magical about these first days with our babies, and I hoped she understood that all that other stuff didn’t matter. I was the same man she’d fallen in love with and I was never going to make her do something—or keep her from doing something—she didn’t want to do. We’d undoubtedly have some growing pains, but now that we’d talked, I hoped she remembered why we were doing this in the first place.

  We had so much love and respect for each other, and we’d both been so alone for so long. Now we had each other and a family of our own and it was fucking amazing.

  “Harrison and Hayden want to know what you want for your birthday,” she said after a moment.

  “Not a God damn thing,” I replied softly. “I have everything I could ever want and then some.”

  “Me too.”

  Hayden started to fuss, and she lifted him onto her shoulder, gently patting his back.

  “I never thought I’d say this, but seeing my woman with a baby in her arms is the sexiest fucking thing ever.”

  “I seem to recall you having very different fantasies once upon a time,” she said, laughing.

  “I’ve thought of some new ones in that department too,” I said. “But we have the rest of our lives for those kinds of fantasies. For now, you and these babies are the only fantasy I need.”

  “Thank you for loving me,” she said. “And for this life you’ve given me.”

  “Ah, baby, I’m the one who should be thanking you.” I took one of her hands and gently kissed the back.

  “You’re welcome.” She leaned over and kissed me again.

  Thank you for reading Royally Protected. I hope you enjoyed dipping back into the world of Sandor, Lennox and the Royal Protectors. Next up is Natalia and Cooper. Turn the page for a sneak peek!

  COOPER, ROYAL PROTECTORS BOOK 4 (UNEDITED, SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

  Prologue

  Natalia

  Sleep had eluded me for seven long months. Since the night I’d gotten the phone call that Logan was dead.

  Logan.

  I’d thought what we’d had was going somewhere.

  Then he was gone, and I’d been sent to Iraq as part of a military exchange program with the United States Marines.

  Now it was over and I was going home.

  Except I didn’t want to.

  Six months in the middle east had changed me in ways I couldn’t quite explain. On one hand, I wasn’t as excited about my career choice anymore. On the other, it made the importance of what I did that much more poignant. Being in a war zone had given me a darker perspective on life, and coupled with Logan’s death, it left me confused and out of sorts.

  There hadn’t been a lot of danger since I’d been here, but I’d seen so much poverty, illness and civil unrest. I understood now why my boss, Prince Sandor Gustaffson, had said a deployment was mandatory. That I needed to experience more than what I could get at the palace or in my country’s military.

  Giving up on sleep, I pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, slid my feet into sandals, and padded outside. It was comfortable in the middle of the night, cool even, unlike the afternoons which got up into the high eighties. It was spring, but it would still be chilly in Limaj. The nights were cold and the days comfortable, though we might still get snow a few more times. Probably not in the capital where I lived, but up in the northern part of the country there would be at least one more winter storm.

  My transport would be leaving at oh-six-hundred hours to take me to Germany. From there, I’d catch a commercial flight to Limaj and I’d be home for the first time in six months. Soon after, I’d be promoted to a full Royal Protector and it would be the beginning of a whole new era of my life.

  Too bad I was completely underwhelmed.

  “Looking for one last overnight duty shift?” A familiar voice spoke behind me and I turned, smiling.

  “Hey, Cooper.” Captain Ryan Cooper had been my commanding officer the last six months and we’d become good friends. He was smart, capable, and hotter than the Iraqi desert. I’d done my best not to think about him like that, but every time he looked at me with those blue eyes of his, I’d gotten a little weak in the knees. Luckily, we’d been far too busy to worry about it, so I’d let a few fantasies about him become my naughty guilty pleasure.

  “Can’t sleep?”

  I shook my head. “I slept for a few hours but my eyes popped open and now I’m wide awake. I’ll sleep on the flight from Germany to Limaj.”

  “What’s wrong, Nat?” He leaned against the wall next to me and met my gaze. “You’ve been quiet the last few days and I’m sure it’s not because you’re sad to leave Iraq. Don’t you want to go home?”

  “I’m not ready,” I whispered, staring up at the night sky. “I don’t know how to walk back into the palace and remember everything about my life before he died.”

  “It’s been seven months,” he said quietly. “It’s time to face all that and make your peace with it.”

  “Trying to get rid of me?” I quipped, giving him a teasing smile even though I knew he wasn’t doing any such thing.

  His eyes darkened as he slowly shook his head. “No. Not even a little. Having you here has been a bright spot in a really shitty deployment.”

  I looked away again, sliding down the side of the building so I could sit. “It hasn’t been shitty for me.”

  “You can’t run away from what happened forever,” he said, sinking down beside me. “Losing the man you loved⁠—”

  “That’s just it,” I interrupted. “That’s the real problem. I don’t know if I loved him. We’d only been romantically involved about a month. It was new and fun and passionate, but we were going slow because we worked together. Having him die like that, during a mundane duty assignment, was jarring. Not that I’m afraid to go back to work, but I’m afraid to get close to any of them now. Hell, I don’t know if I can get close to anyone anymore.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you’ve gotten close to at least one person,” he said, looking over at me.

  Our eyes locked and something sizzled in the air between us. Damn, he was gorgeous. But every time I thought about how good-looking he was, how nice, how strong and capable, I remembered Logan and guilt would whiplash through me. Except I was leaving in a few hours. And if I didn’t say or do something, I might never see Ryan Cooper again.

  “We’re never going to see each other again, are we?”

  Wow.

  Had that come out of left field or what?

  “Never is a long time, Nat.”

  I’d never wanted anyone to kiss me so much as I wanted Ryan Cooper to, and I unconsciously licked my lips. “I’m, uh, technically not under your command anymore, am I?” I asked quietly. “I mean, my deployment here ended at 11:59 p.m. Right?”

  He smiled, his lip quirking up slightly. “Technically, I guess that’s right.”

  “So you wouldn’t court martial me for kissing you?”

  His eyes darkened again and the look in them told me he wanted me too. It had been a long time since anyone had touched me and this was neither the time nor the place, but it was also my last chance with Cooper.

  “Natalia…are you sure…” I cut him off by leaning forward and gently pressing my lips to his. I’d thought about doing this dozens of times over the last few months, but it would have been totally inappropriate. In fact, it probably still was but I wasn’t going to back off now that I’d started.

  His mouth opened and he slowly coaxed my tongue out with his. I moved closer and he slid an arm around my neck. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, his lips a gentle whisper against mine, despite our tongues dueling like they were in a race for first place. It was sweeter than that, though, because it wasn’t a contest and I truly never wanted it to end.

  He slowly pulled away, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I could come see you,” he said softly. “I’m going back to the States next month and I’ll have time off, so I could come to Limaj first. What do you think?”

  “You want to visit me in… Limaj?”

  “Well, how else am I going to see you again? I mean, I’d be happy flying you to the U.S. to come to me, but you’re probably not getting time off right away, are you?”

  “We don’t get time off,” I said with a chuckle. “There aren’t enough of us to begin with, so we work all the time.”

  “But they sent you here for six months.”

  “I had to or my training would be incomplete. Someone else from the Royal Protectors will be embedded here soon. I don’t know who it is, but Sandor has two people he’s had in training.”

  “I won’t be here,” he said. “I’ll be in Hawaii.”

  “That’s literally the other side of the world.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I was thinking earlier that I’m never going to see you again, and I guess I’m not. You can come to Limaj on holiday, but after that, we’re going to be far away from each other. Probably best not to start anything.”

  “That’s very true.”

  We looked at each other with rueful smiles.

  “It was a really nice kiss, though.”

  “It was.”

  “I don’t suppose… you would do it again?”

  “Natalia…” He reached out and ran his fingers along my cheek. “I’m afraid if I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

  “I know, but...” I leaned forward. “It feels so good.”

  “Someone could see.”

  “We can go into the supply locker.”

  “No condom,” he murmured as our lips met, since he knew I wasn’t talking about just kissing.

  “We can do other stuff,” I whispered against his mouth.

  “Fuck.” He groaned, getting to his feet and grabbing my hand.

  We hurried into the makeshift storage locker and he pushed me inside. The minute we were alone our mouths fused together and we were all over each other. Our lips and tongues swirled together, hands groping the other’s body. He was rock-hard all over. His abs were flat and his arms like steel. He wasn’t huge, but he was probably eight inches taller than I was and my body fit against his perfectly. His hands skimmed my backside, eventually lifting me in the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he backed me against the wall.

  Despite his rough movements, his touch was gentle, filled with passion. His mouth was magical, kissing me like a man who’d been without for far too long. Kind of like me. I hadn’t been with anyone since the night before Logan died, which had been seven months now, and that was a long time. I desperately needed to feel that kind of passion, to feel sexy again, to feel alive.

  Fingers slid beneath my T-shirt and sports bra, his hand cupping my breast.

  “I knew they’d be perfect,” he whispered against my mouth.

  “Not too small?”

  “Anything more than a mouthful is a waste,” he chuckled, dipping his head to take one taut nipple into his mouth. He bit down and then circled it with his tongue, instinctively sensing exactly how much I needed. How did he know me so well already?

  “Off,” he said on a groan, tugging both my top and bra over my head.

  For a man who’d been without sex for a while, he was surprisingly patient in his approach. He didn’t rush, didn’t get sloppy like many men in my past had—he was all finesse. His mouth was enchanting, drawing shudders from me as he moved from one breast to the other. When his tongue went back to circling my nipple, I almost lost it right there.

  “Cooper…” I groaned. “I need you.”

  “I know, baby. Me too. But if this is all we can do, then I need to do it right.”

  Fuucckkk.

  I hadn’t used that word too much before coming to Iraq, but six months with a group of rowdy marines had made it part of my dialogue. Apparently, my internal dialogue as well.

  His mouth was level with my chest and he continued to tease and stroke my breasts until I could barely breathe. I wanted him inside of me so bad I couldn’t stand it and I dug my fingers into his scalp.

  “Cooper. Fuck me. Please.”

  “We can’t,” he groaned, looking up at me.

  “I’m protected,” I whispered.

  Our eyes locked and froze. For a moment there was nothing but us, that connection between us. And I trusted him. I didn’t know why, but I did. It was like looking into the eyes of destiny and I couldn’t deny what we both needed.

  “Natalia…”

  I lowered my head to kiss him, taking his lips as gently but passionately as he’d taken my breasts.

  “Yes.” I whispered the next two words. “Do it.”

  He used one hand to yank down his shorts, his erection springing free. And it was glorious. Thick and hard and standing at attention. For me.

  Before I could truly appreciate the magnificence before me, he gripped my chin with two fingers, forcing my eyes up to his. “You’re positive you want to do it like this? A thousand percent?”

  “Yes!”

  He thrust up so hard and deep my eyes rolled back in my head. His mouth sought mine and then there was nothing but us. It was carnal and rough, but deliciously sensual, the tenderness of his kisses nowhere near the ferocity of what he was doing with his cock.

  “Cooper…” I couldn’t get enough, digging my fingers into his shoulders.

  “Ryan,” he growled, thrusting in again. “When I’m inside of you, it’s Ryan.”

  “Ryan.” I loved the way it sounded on my tongue and I kissed him some more, anxious to get and feel all of him.

  “Come for me, baby,” he said against my mouth. “I’m so fucking close but I need you to go first.”

  “Harder,” I panted.

  The next couple of thrusts were so intense I knew it would be all over in another few seconds. Pleasure raced through my lower region and exploded out, so I let myself go, his name a scream on my lips as we got off together.

  For a long time, we didn’t move. He was still hard, still buried to the hilt, our bodies pressed together. I couldn’t explain what I was feeling right now because it was sex, but it was something else too. We’d gotten to know each other really well the last six months, but I’d thought my fantasies were just sexual. Now that we’d done the physical part, I realized there was more.

  Not that I’d ever tell him.

  I was vulnerable after losing Logan, and Ryan wasn’t just a friend, but possibly the hottest, most interesting man I’d ever met.

  “God, I needed that,” I whispered, still trying to catch my breath.

  “You and me both.” He was stroking my shoulder and upper arm.

  “Thank you,” I said. “For giving me something I didn’t know I needed.”

  “I should be thanking you.” His eyes found mine in the darkness. “That was pretty fucking amazing.”

  “Agreed.”

  “You’re beautiful, Natalia.”

  “Will you keep in touch, Ryan?”

  “I will. Promise.”

  More Cooper and Natalia is coming!

  Turn the page for links to all my books and upcoming release dates!

  ROYAL PROTECTORS TIMELINE/READING ORDER

  New to the Royal Protectors world? Here’s all you need to know!

  You first meet the Royal Protectors and Prince Sandor in the The Royal Trilogy. Nowhere Left to Fall, Nowhere Left to Run, and Nowhere Left to Head. It’s the series that leads to this one. You can read it for background on King Erik and Queen Casey, but it’s not necessary. The Royal Protectors is the spinoff.

 

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