Suddenly Royal (40 page)

“
You’re lucky I’m a good cook.” He moved past me and went to work. I looked over at Cathy, who was nodding her head.

“
Sit! Talk.” She patted one of the chairs at the island. “What happened?”

“
Um.” This wasn’t really a talk I wanted to have with Alex’s sister, especially not when he was listening in. “I just realized I was being dense.”

“
And what was your big clue?”

“
Chadwick poked me.”

Cathy threw her head back and laughed. “I’ll have to remember that in case you decide to overthink things in the future.”

“
I need to tell him thank you.” Alex winked at me over his shoulder. His hands were busy turning our sloppy mess into something familiar.

“
I thought you left last weekend for Paris.” Cathy grabbed some of the cheese from a bowl on the island and popped it in her mouth.

“
I did. I left the next morning.” Alex laughed while I blushed.

“
Then you definitely owe Chadwick a thank-you.” She shook her head. “And I’m leaving after dinner.”

“
But I invited you to stay the weekend!” I frowned.

“
I have to go back in the morning anyway. And there’s no way I’m staying here while you two act like horny teenagers.” She winked at me. “I’ll stay at D’Lynsal tonight.”

“
I can behave myself.” I frowned.

“
I can’t.” Alex didn’t look up from what he was working on.

“
Yech.” Cathy grimaced. “Really, it’s fine. You can make it up to me and come out with me in the city. I’m tired of it being a boys’ club.”

“
Cathy, I hate clubs and bars.” I shook my head. “I’ll do anything else.”

“
Please?” She looked up at me with her big eyes and I almost caved.

“
Hey! Stop that! No anime eyes.”

Alex chuckled. “I thought Tabitha was still in town.”

My stomach clenched at the name of his ex and I had to stomp on the jealousy. Who cared if she was at the palace? Alex was here in my kitchen.

“
It’s not the same. She’s all over her new boyfriend.”

“
What about Kyle?” I narrowed my eyes. He was the person she normally went with to the clubs.

“
That’s who I’m talking about.” Cathy frowned.

I reached over and grabbed her hand. No wonder she wanted someone to come out with her. It was obvious that even though she had thought she was being careful, she’d still ended up hurt.

“
I just don’t want to stop doing things because it’s uncomfortable.” She sighed. “Besides, you’ll have Alex to keep the guys away.”

“
Samantha and I are keeping this quiet for now.” I could see Alex’s shoulders tense.

“
Why?” Cathy narrowed her eyes at me.

“
I just don’t want the attention.” I shrugged. “Or the pressure.”

“
We’re just taking our time.” Alex slipped the pizza into the oven before turning around.

“
Oh.” Cathy’s mouth pulled to the side and I could see she thought it was a bad idea. “It won’t stay quiet forever.”

“
We know.” Alex shot me a look.

After dinner I called Becca and asked her to drive Cathy to Alex’s home. Even though she’d only had one glass of wine, I didn’t like the idea of her making the trip. I took my time cleaning the kitchen because I didn’t want to leave a mess for Margie, but it took a lot of willpower. I wanted nothing more than to drag Alex up to my bedroom. I figured if I took care of it now I wouldn’t have to worry about getting to it in the morning.

I was wiping the island off when Alex moved behind me. He placed a hand on either side of me on the counter and nuzzled my neck, sending shivers over my body. When he pushed against me so I could feel how hard he was, my breathing picked up. He tugged my rubber band loose, letting my hair fall around my shoulders.

I leaned on the counter for traction so I could rub against him and was rewarded with a growl of pleasure. He pressed against me so I was almost bent over completely, his body bracketing mine. Pulling my hair to the side, he ran his lips over my neck and up to my ear.

“
Are you expecting anyone else tonight?” His teeth tugged at my lobe.

“
No.” The word came out on a groan as he ground against me.

“
Good.” He slid his hand between me and the counter to undo my jeans. “Because I don’t think we’re going to make it upstairs.”

His hand slipped into my pants and I moaned with desire. Pressed between him and the counter, I had nothing to do but enjoy the attention. My breaths were coming in pants and my knees were starting to feel weak. I moved my hips so that I was rubbing against him and he groaned deep in his throat.

“
I really like those jeans.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to my neck. His free hand gripped my hip as he moved in a slow rhythm.

When he pulled away from me, I made a sound of disappointment. Thankfully he was just giving himself a little room and yanked my jeans down to my ankles. I gasped and started to turn, but he kept a hand on my back so I couldn’t see what he was doing. When I heard the zipper of his pants, my breathing picked up and I wasn’t sure if it was in nervousness or anticipation.

He moved his hands over my ass in appreciation, squeezing gently. I’d never been taken like this and I didn’t know what to expect. When he reached around to massage me again, I groaned loudly. I was putty in his hands, weak with wanting.

“
Is this okay?” He pressed against me so that I could feel the heat of his erection.

I nodded my head, unable to find my voice. His fingers continued to rub me until I was slick with need. He pushed at my opening and my breath caught. I froze and had to take a deep breath.

“
Samantha?” I could hear the strain in his words.

“
I’m okay.” My voice sounded raspy so I swallowed and tried again. “I want you.”

He pressed against me again, but this time didn’t stop. Slowly he slid inch by inch inside me until I could feel his balls pressed against my swollen mound. He groaned something in Lilarian and I took a deep breath. It was different, but good. From this angle he filled me completely.

When he pulled back out, I gasped and then whimpered with his reentry. Soon my hips were rocking with him and I was moaning against the counter, my hot breath leaving little clouds of condensation on the cold stone.

“
Alex.” I groaned his name loudly as his thrusts sped up.

“
I missed you.” He slammed into me and I could feel the orgasm building to its peak. His thrusts came faster and faster until words were impossible. With one final push, he jerked inside of me and pleasure exploded over my body. My legs shook weakly and my breath came out in heavy pants.

“
Missed you, too.”

A Prince on the Streets, a Freak in the Sheets?

—
The Gossip Crown

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Alex’s gentle snoring. I opened my eyes to see him still sound asleep. I didn’t want to wake him because I knew he was exhausted after his week in Paris. I couldn’t believe he had worked so hard just so he could come back early.

I studied the planes of his face as he slept, committing them to memory. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of looking at him. What had surprised me over the last month had been how much I loved just being with him. I hadn’t thought it would be possible to feel so comfortable with Alex, but I was quickly finding that I didn’t know how I had lived so long without him. My phone beeped on the nightstand and I carefully dislodged his arm so I could turn to see who was calling.

When I realized it was my dad I rolled off the bed and tiptoed out of the room.

“
Hello?”

“
Hi, Sam.” He sounded tired and I tried to figure out what time it was back home, but my mind was too foggy to do the math. I knew it was way too early for a phone call.

“
What’s wrong, Dad?” I went to the library and grabbed one of the blankets off the small sofa.

“
The doctor wants me to push back my trip.”

“
Why?” I chewed on my nail, waiting for the bad news. There was no way it could be anything else.

“
There was no change in the scan and they’ve put me on a different medicine.” He sounded so tired it made my heart clench.

“
Then we need to get you over here even sooner.”

“
I want to wait. The medicine makes me feel pretty bad.” He sighed. “They said it would take a little while for me to get used to it.”

“
Dad, why can’t they try something else?” I shook my head angrily. “That’s crazy! They need to change it.” He didn’t say anything for a while and I listened to his labored breathing. “Dad?”

“
This is the best thing for me right now. Even Dr. Bielefeld thinks so.”

“
You’ve spoken to Dr. Bielefeld?” That made me feel better. “Is he working with your doctors in the States?”

“
Yes. They contacted him when they got the scans back. I’ve spoken to him several times now.” His voice was so strained.

“
What are you doing up so early? You sound terrible.”

“
Gee, thanks, honey.” He chuckled and for just a moment sounded like his normal self.

“
I’m serious. Why are calling me so early?”

“
I wanted to catch you before your day started. I know how busy you are and didn’t want to interrupt anything later.”

“
What does the medicine do? I mean, what’s making you feel so bad?”

“
Just makes me sick to my stomach.” He sighed. “And I have a hard time sleeping.”

“
I’ll come home.” I rubbed at my cheek. “Chadwick can get me a flight tonight or tomorrow.”

“
Absolutely not,” he snapped. I froze, surprised, because he wasn’t one to raise his voice. “I’m coming there, remember?” His voice softened. “I just need to let the medicine get into my system good.”

“
I want to be there. I wouldn’t have left if I’d known.”

“
I know.” His tone made my eyebrows pull together. “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to upset you, but I knew you’d want to know.”

“
Why didn’t Patricia tell me? I talked to her yesterday.”

“
I wanted to tell you.” He heaved a sigh. “I knew you would be upset.”

“
Damn right, I’m upset.”

“
Don’t be. It’s just part of the deal. Hey, do you have any pictures of Patricia’s room? She was asking me about it yesterday.”

“
I can take some. I think she’ll like it.” I stood up and paced the length of the library. “Nice change of subject there. I’m still worried.”

“
Don’t be.” I heard him moving and realized that he must be in his bed. “I’m going to try to sleep. I’ll call you soon.”

“
I miss you.” I took a deep breath.

“
Miss you too, baby.”

I hung up the phone and stared out the library window for a minute. Having Dad so far away broke my heart. Especially with everything else going on. Taking a deep breath, I decided I’d call Dr. Bielefeld on Monday morning to see if we had any options for getting here sooner. And if there weren’t, I’d blow everything else off to get home.

Using the blanket as a wrap, I tiptoed back down the hall to my room. Alex hadn’t moved, so I climbed back into bed and curled around him. His mouth pulled up into a smile and he wrapped an arm around my waist.