“I – would want to – die – too,” she whispered.
“My darling, my sweet.”
The Prince put his arms round her and held her close against him and she put her head against his shoulder.
For a moment they just stood there.
Then, as if the words were forced from him, he declared,
“I love you, oh God, how I love you!”
He turned her face up to his and looked down on her as if he would imprint her beauty on his mind forever.
Then he pulled her closer and his lips were on hers.
It was a very gentle kiss, the kiss of a man to whom a woman is sacred and whom he approached with reverence. But, as he felt the soft sweet surrender of Paulina’s mouth, his lips grew more insistent and more demanding.
To Paulina it was everything she had dreamed of and longed for.
Every moment since she had come to
