Page 54 of A Royal Obligation
Jules readjusted herself to face him. She lifted her eyes to his, and he felt a charge in the air between them. His heart raced and his breaths came heavily.
Barrett tried to focus, but he slowly fell in a trance and all he saw in the world was Jules. She made him forget about his role as a prince and constantly pulled down all his walls so he was just Barrett with her. The man he wanted to be and not the Barrett that had been created over the years from his sense of duty to his family and his kingdom.
He didn’t know who leaned in first. All Barrett knew in this moment was the sensation of Jules’s beautiful, full lips on his. All the feelings he had tried to suppress for her exploded to the forefront of his mind like the finale of a fireworks show. Emotions burst at the seams, cracking through all the walls he had built around his heart to avoid falling in love with her.
The first emotion that materialized was fear.Am I doing this right?Having never kissed someone before had never been an issue for him in the past. But it felt like a very real issue at this moment.
Her lips parted slightly, guiding him on what to do next and erasing all thoughts and fears from his mind. Their lips danced together in perfect rhythm. He increased the pace of the kiss, urgent in his desire to know all of her.
Bringing his hand that had been holding her lower back up to hold the side of her face, he slowed the kiss down, kissing her gently like she was a delicate china set that might break at any moment.
He still had no clue what he was doing, but this had to be the right way to do it because this felt so right, like he was always meant to be right here in this moment with Juliette Smith from the beginning of time. Kissing her made him feel like it was the only thing he wanted to do for the rest of his life and like he was going to die from how hard his heart was pounding all at once. But he would put up with a pounding heart any time to kiss her again.
Anxiety swelled in his stomach as he suddenly became very aware of everything he was feeling. The way her hip pressed into his stomach as she sat sidesaddle in front of him. The way her fingers traced the nape of his neck, causing goosebumps to surface all over his body.
What am I doing? I can’t be kissing her. This isn’t fair to Charlotte. Or Jules. Or my heart.
He abruptly pulled his head back, ending the kiss. His eyes glanced down to her swollen lips and then back up. She quickly averted her eyes, biting down on her lower lip.
“Jules—”
“Barrett—”
They both tried talking at the same time and let out awkward laughs.
“You go first,” she offered.
“Jules, I’m sorry for my actions. I got caught up in the moment.” He mulled over his next words, not wanting to hurt her. “This can’t happen again.” He motioned between them. “Despite the fact that I have feelings for you, it’s not fair to lead you on when we can’t be together.” Barrett’s eyes searched hers, begging her to understand. “I’m so sorry, Jules. I have to marry someone royal, so I could never marry you. I have to choose the throne, my duty to Wistonia—”
“You don’t have to say anything else, Barrett. It’s me who should be apologizing. I was completely out of line.” Even though her words said she was fine, hurt covered her expression. And Barrett felt like the most awful person in the world for being the one to cause that pain.
She looked off into the distant scenery. “Of course we couldn’t end up together. I was just giving you your last dating lesson.”
“My last dating lesson?”
“You know, one of your dating coaching lessons. You rescued me and swooped me up into a kiss. Most women love a grand gesture. Saving a woman from imminent doom definitely counts as that. And that kiss. I’m guessing since you’ve never dated anyone before you haven’t done much kissing. So, we can call all of what just happened your final dating lesson,” she said with an upward inflection, making her statement sound more like a question.
“Deal.” He gave her arm a light squeeze, and they both sighed in relief.
“Well then, Prince Barrett Phillip Louis Alden, you have hereby graduated valedictorian from Jules Smith’s Dating Coaching School. Congratulations on this momentous occasion.”
He smiled at her on the outside. But on the inside, a pang of sadness hit Barrett like a freight train driving full speed. No more dating coaching meant no more quality time with Jules. No more reasons to hold her hand or be close to her. No more reasons to spend any alone time with her at all.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jules
Julestriedtothinkof everything completely repulsive.Moldy cheese. Sweaty socks. Dirty diapers. Hairy backs.
Nope. Nothing worked. Nothing seemed to have the power to stop the blush that flooded her cheeks or her racing heart as she sat in front of Prince Barrett on his horse, riding back to the stables. She bit her lower lip attempting to bite back the tears that threatened to surface after he rejected her. After he told her they could never be together. It wasn’t like this was new information for her, but hearing the words come out of his mouth still felt like a dagger to the heart.
It didn’t help that her back was flush with his front, allowing her to feel all the well-defined muscles of his chest and abs. She had to hold in a sigh as she felt his warm breath against the side of her neck. One of his arms was wrapped around her middle, allowing her to see the veins and muscles up close.Who knew forearms could be so attractive?
The feel of him this close to her was something she would never stop craving. Now that she knew how perfectly they fit together—how perfect his kiss was—she was ruined of ever being able to find someone to measure up to how he made her feel.
She thought living at a palace with her employer would make her feel small and she would blend in behind the scenes. But he made her feel like she could be her full self at all times. Like she deserved to be seen.
Barrett made her feel alive.