by Casey, Ember
“You won’t regret it,” I tell her, pulling away. “In fact, I think you’ll be screaming your appreciation by the end of the night.”
Sophia
As soon as he steps away, my good sense seems to return immediately.
Maybe he senses my hesitation as he takes a step toward me. “I promise, my sister will leave us alone. She knows me.”
That’s what I’m afraid of… Actually, I’m not sure what I’m afraid of. Victoria’s words seem to be ringing in my ears, though. This is going to end in disaster. As much as I’d love to have a little fling with Pax, part of me knows it’s a terrible idea.
And being seen in public with him is probably the worst idea of all.
He takes another step toward me, so close I can smell him.
And as soon as I do, all sense of reason seems to fly out the window. What the hell is this? The moment this man shares my breathing space, I can’t seem to form a coherent thought. All I can think about is having him inside me.
And good God, I do want him inside me. Now, at the restaurant, tonight… I can’t say I’ve ever really wanted a man to fuck me, but that is all I can seem to think about at the moment.
His fingers dance down the collar of my blouse again, finding the opening he left by popping off my buttons. He doesn’t say a word, just slides his hand inside my shirt again, finding my breast.
He dips his head to my ear as his fingers slide inside my bra. “Don’t make me beg,” he whispers.
I draw a sharp breath as he pinches my nipple again. My knees almost buckle beneath me as he twists it ever so slightly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He releases me, taking a step away again.
I gulp as I straighten my clothing once more. “I…I probably shouldn’t go out like this.” I probably shouldn’t go out at all, but I can’t seem to remember why.
“You’re gorgeous.” His eyes rest on the opening in my blouse that reveals far too much cleavage. “Perfect, in fact.”
I glance down at myself, not really sure what I’m looking for. It isn’t as though I can go back to the hotel to change—Victoria is likely there, waiting to kill me.
All I can do is nod at him.
He grins. “You won’t regret it. And who knows? If you play your cards right, you’ll probably end up with your picture in one of the tabloids.” He chuckles as he slides his arm around my waist, guiding me down the hall. “It could be your big break.”
“Big…break.” He’s touching me again, and my brain cells seem to have switched off.
“Did you come here to be an actress?” He smiles over at me. “Or was it to be a model?”
My brow furrows. Perhaps it’s an American thing, but I don’t understand the question.
“It wasn’t to go to school, was it?”
“No.”
“So which was it? Acting or modeling? It wasn’t singing, was it?”
I look over at him, still confused. “I came here to work with Victoria.”
He laughs. “No, I mean originally.” He shakes his head. “God, you’re adorable. Where did you say you’re from again?”
“I didn’t.” I know I’m repeating myself, but I also know that not being recognized by him is almost nice. Being treated like a normal person is something I haven’t had enough of in my life.
He chuckles again. “I sort of love that you’re being coy about it. And I’m going to guess actress, right? You’re not tall enough to be a model.”
I’m not sure if that’s meant to be an insult or not—I still don’t understand why he’s asking at all. “People really don’t just come here for the weather? It’s the middle of winter, and it’s warm enough to swim.”
“No one comes here for the weather. There are lots of places in California to go if all you want is good weather. Nah, people only come here to get famous. Or they come here if they’re already famous.” He cocks his head. “I’d never want to live here if I didn’t have to. The studio’s here, and when we’re recording or about to go on tour, there isn’t much choice.”
“Ah. So if you had the choice, where would you live?”
He shrugs. “Somewhere in the mountains, probably. Somewhere far, far away from other people.” He pulls me a little closer to him. “Somewhere where I could spend a day alone making music. Doing nothing but what I wanted.”
I can’t help but smile at the thought of being the something he’d want to do.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I’ve never been a bad girl. I’ve never wanted to rebel against my family. My father drives me insane with his demands sometimes, but I’ve never felt the need to openly defy him. And I know what I’m doing now will anger him in a way only my brother Leopold knows about. If I’m caught on film with this guy—if I’m photographed in public with him—it will embarrass my family. I don’t know a lot about Pax, but I know he has a terrible reputation as a man who uses women. I haven’t spent a ton of time reading the tabloid articles about him, but I’ve read enough of the tell-all stories of his one-night stands to know that I’m about to become one.
As we reach the lobby of the studio, I pull away. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
“My sister’s great. She’ll love you.” He sucks in a breath, almost as though he regrets his words. “I mean—”
“Pat!” A young woman rushes up to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek.
He hugs her back. “I told you not to call me that. Not in public. It’s Pax now.”
“Is this public?” She laughs, pecking him again on the cheek. “Mom said to tell you that if you miss Christmas again, she’s going to come hunt you down.”
He’s staring at me as he gives the woman a short, fake laugh and gently pushes her aside. He loops his arm through mine and the three of us walk out onto the sidewalk outside. He motions with his head toward me. “Molly, this is my friend Sophia. I hope it’s okay that she joins us for dinner.”
Things begin to move in slow motion. The woman turns to me, and her jaw drops. “Oh. My. God.”
My heart feels like it’s stopped in my chest as Molly’s eyes widen with recognition.
“Oh. My. God,” she says again.
“You two know each other?” Pax looks between the two of us. “What the hell is going on?”
She looks back at her brother, her eyes as big as saucers. She lifts her finger in my direction, pointing at me. “You…you’re dating her?” She’s almost squealing. “You’re…you’re dating her?”
And that’s when I hear the familiar clicking. It’s still light enough outside that the flashbulbs aren’t popping along with the cameras, but the clicking… The damned clicking.
And then the yelling starts. “Pax! Princess Sophia! Over here!”
Pax turns to me slowly. “Did they just say…?” He shakes his head like he can’t believe it himself. “Did they say Princess Sophia?”
Pax
This must be Molly’s idea of a joke. My little sister never was very good at them.
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew her?” Molly says, reaching across me to extend her hand to Sophia. “Nice to meet you, Your Highness. Oh, wait—am I supposed to bow? Or curtsy?” She does something halfway between the two and comes up laughing.
Meanwhile, the damned swarm of photographers is still snapping away.
“What the hell is going on?” I demand of my sister.
Molly shrugs. “How the heck am I supposed to know? You’re the one running around with Princess Sophia.”
I twist around, looking over at Sophia. “You’re a princess?” Then I shake my head—I know what’s going on. I’m not an idiot. To the crowd of photographers, I say, “I’m on a prank show, aren’t I? Good one, guys. You got me for a full minute and a half.”
Sophia tugs on my arm. “It’s not a prank, Pax.”
“Huh?” I frown down at her. “Not you, too. Come on, Sophia. The gig is up. Let’s just get to the car.”
&nb
sp; I lead her toward my Maserati, and Molly keeps pace at my other side. I can still hear the photographers snapping away behind us, but they won’t trespass on the studio’s private parking lot—the last time one of them tried that, they got taken to court and cleaned out.
“You really don’t recognize her?” Molly says, clearly amused by all of this. “She’s probably more famous than you are!”
I shoot another glance at Sophia. I did recognize her, but not well enough to place her.
“Do I look like the sort of guy who keeps track of random princesses?” I say.
“Her entire family’s been on every tabloid cover for the last month,” Molly says.
“Again, do I look like the sort of guy who reads tabloids? I can’t stand that trash.”
“Even if you don’t, it’s still impossible to ignore seeing them at the checkout counter,” my sister says. “Or what about the news? Geez, everyone’s been talking about the royal weddings—”
“You’re married?” I stop dead in my tracks and turn to face Sophia. It was one thing when I thought she had a sugar daddy. It’s another to find out she’s married. Married royalty. Fuck, that’s not going to end well for me.
“No, you idiot,” Molly says, laughing. “Two of her brothers got married this past month. Prince Leopold married Eleanor Parker, and Prince Andrew married Victoria Simpson. Oh my God, you’re even stupider than I thought.”
Sophia is staring up at me with a look of amused defiance, almost daring me to make another wild accusation against her. I run my hand through my hair, trying to make sense of all of this.
“So are you or are you not actually a princess?” I ask her.
The corners of her mouth deepen. “I am.”
“Of what fucking country?”
“Montovia. It’s in Europe.”
“I know where Montovia is. I just don’t obsessively monitor your family.” I shoot a glare at my sister, who’s doubled over from laughing so hard.
At least we’ve solved the mystery of rich little Sophia, I think, staring into the gleaming blue eyes of the woman in front of me.
“And just to make sure I’m perfectly clear on the matter,” I continue, “you’re not married?”
She shakes her head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Well, that’s a fucking relief. I drag my fingers through my hair again, still trying to process everything my sister and Sophia have just revealed to me.
“I still don’t get it,” I say finally. “If you’re a fucking princess, then why the hell are you working as the assistant to a tabloid reporter?”
She shrugs again, flashing that dimple on her cheek. “For the adventure. And because my brother didn’t want Victoria coming here on her own—”
“Wait, Victoria was here, too?” Molly squeals. “Oh my God, is she still here? I loved her official wedding portrait! She looked so beautiful in that tiara…”
I rub the side of my face. “Are you telling me your boss is royalty, too? Why the hell are princesses suddenly popping up everywhere? This has to be a prank.”
“It’s not a prank,” Sophia says, and now she’s laughing along with my sister. “Victoria was working for Celebrity Spark long before she met Andrew. She liked the work. And honestly, I think she needed a little break from all the princess stuff. She’s not used to it like I am. And it’s kind of exciting getting to interview a rock star, even when you’re royalty.”
Despite her explanation, I still feel like the butt of a big joke.
“When exactly were you going to tell me all of this?” I demand. After I fucked your brains out a couple of times? Somewhere between your third and fourth orgasms?
Her eyes shine. “You’re kind of cute when you’re mad, you know that?”
I…don’t even know what to make of this woman anymore.
“Does it change anything, me being a princess?” she asks me.
Of course it fucking does, and she knows it. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she just tell me up front who the hell she is?
“As fun as this is, can we finish this conversation at the restaurant?” Molly says, leaning in between us. “I’m starving. And you promised me this place has the best mac and cheese you’ve ever tasted.”
“Oh, I love mac and cheese,” Sophia says perkily.
Fuck me, they’ve teamed up against me. Tugging my keys out of my pocket, I stalk over to the car door. “Fine. We can keep discussing this at the restaurant.”
I slide into the car, and Molly climbs into the backseat, leaving Sophia up front with me.
I should have known this woman would be trouble, I think to myself as I turn the key. I should have just let her walk away when I had the chance. Now I’m taking her to dinner with a member of my family—after I swore I’d never get tricked into taking a woman out on an actual date. What the hell has happened to me?
I glance at Sophia out of the corner of my eye. She’s watching me, and when she looks at me, she raises her eyebrow suggestively.
Immediately I’m hard again. Fuck, why do I even bother protesting? All thought of ditching her at the restaurant and escaping while I can are immediately out the window. I still want her as much as I did when I first met her, and I’m not going to be satisfied until I’ve fucked her. The princess thing complicates things a bit…but if I’m being honest with myself, it’s also hot as hell. Not many people can claim they’ve fucked a princess. And this takes the rebellious rich girl thing to the extreme.
Yes, all of this may have been a surprise, but I’m willing to work with that. In fact, I think this night just might turn out to be unforgettable.
Sophia
As funny as it was to see Pax’s expression when he realized who I was, as I get into the car, I’m suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with this entire situation.
Molly is chattering away in the backseat, but I’m barely listening to her. I suppose she’s the sort of person I might be friends with if the situation was different, but with the way Pax keeps glaring over at me, I’m not sure how I feel about this at all now.
She leans forward, propping her elbows between the headrests. “You two make a really cute couple. You know the press is going to eat this up, right?”
Pax visibly squirms, but he says nothing.
I resist the urge to sigh. The idea of having a fling—and only a fling—must be off the table now.
“Who was the last guy you dated, Sophia? It was that actor, right? Brad…oh what’s his last name?”
“That was a long time ago.” I wave my hand toward the window. “Forever ago, really. And it meant nothing.”
“You do that a lot?” There’s an edge in Pax’s voice that I didn’t expect. “Date famous guys who mean nothing?”
I’m not sure why I’m now in the middle of an inquisition, but I suppose I am in the man’s car, and I can’t exactly get up and leave.
I look over at him, giving him my sweetest smile. “Hardly. It’s more like they date me.”
He blinks a few times as he shakes his head.
“I suppose they like the publicity.”
As he stares out the windshield, it’s almost like a light bulb illuminates over his head. He glances over at me with a wry grin. “And you let them?”
I shrug. “I’ve never been treated poorly. I’ve had quite a lot of fun with most of them.”
“I’ll bet.” He rubs at his jaw for a moment, the grin on his lips slowly spreading. “You’d have a lot of fun with me. A lot of fun.”
“Ew, gross.” Molly throws herself back into her seat. “I do not want to hear about your sex life, Pat…Pax. Whatever the hell it is I’m supposed to call you.”
“Pat?” I smile over at him. “So Pax is short for…Patrick?”
He grimaces, shaking his head. “Not having this conversation.” He glances over at me for a moment. “Not with you.”
“Ah. I’m not worthy of knowing any personal details, is that it?” I may have been uncomfortable a moment ago, but this is too much fun not
to have a go at him. “I suppose when the press ask me about my brief encounter with you, I’ll have to tell them that the most personal thing I know about Pax Donovan is that his real name is actually Patrick.”
“It’s been legally changed. And believe me, after tonight, you’re going to know plenty more personal details.” He shrugs. “And if you want to tell those leeches about my giant cock, go right ahead—”
“You’re disgusting,” his sister interrupts with a laugh. “What happened to you, Pat? You get your picture on the cover of a few junky magazines, and now you’re obsessed with the size of your dick? God, you’d think you’d turned into any other douchebag guy.” She leans up against the front seat again. “Why can’t you just tell people about how you used to volunteer at the animal shelter? Or how you used to—”
“One more word from you and you can walk back to your dorm.” He almost growls the words. “I swear to God, Molly.”
She laughs and leans back onto her seat again. “He’s not a bad guy. He just doesn’t want anyone else to know it.”
“I have a fucking reputation.” He glances over at me. “You probably know all about that.”
“I suppose I do.”
He looks at his sister through the rearview mirror. “What do you know about her?” He cocks his head in my direction. “From the tabloids?”
She tilts herself forward again. “I know she loves to shop. They take pictures of her all the time at the stores in Paris.”
I’m not sure why my stomach lurches a little—her words almost make me feel a bit ashamed. “I suppose I have been known to go shopping from time to time.”
“Clearly.” Pax scowls. “What else?”
“Hm. She’s dated a few actors. That’s really all I know.”
“She’s a party girl then.” He turns to me. “Is that the persona you like to project to the media? That you’re a party girl?”
I shake my head, but I don’t get a word in before Molly speaks again. “She’s not a party girl, exactly. Not like that chick you were with last year.”
