Royal Disaster: The Complete Series

by Casey, Ember

Andrew grabs my arm and pulls me out of Pax’s embrace. My brother is the one holding me up as we rush down the hallway to follow the team caring for our father.

  My relationship with my father has always been a complicated one. I was never the sort of princess he wanted me to be, and I fought him on all the things he wanted for me—things that seem so silly now. But he always acquiesced. He was always willing to bargain with me, anyway—if I took ballet lessons, I could climb trees afterward with Nicholas. If I practiced my flute, I could go with my brothers to fish in the stream behind the palace. I know my mother had much to do with my being allowed to do the things I wanted, but my father must have agreed. I was never a daddy’s girl—not the way he might have liked, anyway—but it always seemed my father was a little easier on me than he was on my brothers.

  We arrive at the medical quarters, and I realize Pax must have been following behind us as he stands beside me, pulling my hand into his.

  He looks down at me for a moment. “If there’s anything I can do—”

  “You’ve done quite enough,” Andrew interrupts as he yanks me away from my husband. “Our family needs to be together now. And I’ll kindly ask you to leave this country at once.”

  Pax

  When I was imagining the outcome of my meeting with the king, I’d prepared myself for many things—for being arrested and thrown in some creepy old dungeon, for being deported, for being sneered at and insulted. I even allowed myself, for a brief moment, to imagine that everything would turn out okay, that the king would end up being a cool guy who was excited to see his daughter married off to an American celebrity. That he’d find my cocky, smartass comments funny. Maybe, in that alternate timeline, we’d all have laughed about that first meeting someday.

  I did not prepare myself for a situation where Sophia’s father ended up having a heart attack. Instead of feeling like a cocky smartass, I just feel like an asshole.

  And it’s clear, from the way Sophia’s brother is glaring at me, that he thinks I’m an asshole, too. I don’t even blame the guy. And I don’t blame him for wanting me out of the country, either.

  But before I can say anything, Sophia speaks.

  “He’s not going anywhere. This isn’t his fault.”

  Her brother shakes his head. “If it weren’t for this man—”

  “It’s not his fault. It’s mine.” Sophia’s expression is stubborn, but I think I see the faint shimmer of tears in her eyes, too.

  If her brother feels any sympathy for her, he doesn’t show it. “This is no longer a game, Sophia. You’ve had your fun, and look what’s happened. That man needs to be on the next plane out of here.”

  “There’s no need to talk about me like I’m not here,” I say. “And you’re acting like we wanted this to happen.”

  He finally turns his gaze onto me. “Wanted or not, you had to know how you would be received here. This is still your fault.”

  “We came here out of respect for this family. To share our news with you. You want to know how my mom reacted when we told her? She was happy for us. She invited us in for a meal. That’s how families are supposed to react to news like this.”

  “You must understand how this situation is different,” he says. “If I have to ask you to leave again, I’ll call the Royal Guard.”

  “If he goes, I do, too,” Sophia says. Her hand tightens on mine. “We’re obviously not welcome here.”

  “The only one not welcome here is this man,” Andrew replies. “It’s time for you to take some responsibility, Sophia.”

  “Believe me, I have.” Her voice is hard. She tugs on my hand, pulling me away from her brother. “Come on, Pax. Let’s go.”

  I don’t know a lot about how things work in royal families, but I know that in most families, it’s not a good idea to walk away from situations like this. One glance back at Andrew, though, and I know there’s no way this guy is going to try and resolve anything with us right now.

  So I follow Sophia, keeping my hand in hers. She leads me through the corridors of the palace and then outside.

  “Where are we going?” I ask her.

  “To the airport. To get on the first flight back to the U.S. You have a show to get to, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but we have some time. Are you sure we should leave?”

  She pulls her hand out of mine. “I don’t think we’re welcome in the palace anymore.”

  “No—that’s just me. Your brother made that perfectly clear.” We stop at the edge of a long, winding driveway that seems to lead down into the city below. “Look, Sophia, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

  She turns and looks at me. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I’m pretty sure it is. I can see why I’m not exactly the sort of guy a princess should marry.”

  She shakes her head. “It’s my fault. I knew what was expected of me, and I did what I wanted anyway. I knew this would go badly. I just tried to convince myself it wouldn’t go this badly.”

  The tears are back in her eyes again, and I take her face in my hands, ready to brush away any that fall down her cheeks.

  “Sophia,” I say gently, “go back to them. Check on your father. Make things right with your brother.”

  She shakes her head again. “They’re just going to keep lecturing me and trying to convince me to end this.”

  I glance at the palace. I can’t believe I’m about to say what I’m going to say.

  “Maybe you should,” I say softly. “Maybe we should. End this.”

  Her eyes widen. “What?”

  “I didn’t realize things would be this bad, either,” I say. “I never really expected me and your dad to be best friends, but I didn’t realize it would end up like this.” I brush her cheek with my thumb. “This isn’t what I want for you, Sophia. I don’t want to come between you and your family. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t set foot in your own home.”

  “Did you not mean it, then? What you said back in my father’s office?”

  “Mean what?”

  “You told him you loved me. That’s the first time you’ve said it sober.” She blinks, catching a couple of tears in her lashes. “Do you love me or not?”

  I’ve had trouble saying it in the past, but for some reason, the words come easily now.

  “Yes, I love you,” I tell her. “I love you so much, Sophia. And that’s why this matters so much to me.”

  “Do you not want me to come back with you?”

  “I…” Fuck, it’s hard to think with her looking at me like that. “Of course I want you to come back with me. But not if you have to give up everything else that’s important to you.” I lean down and press my forehead against hers. “I mean it, Sophia. But the choice is yours.”

  Sophia

  How am I supposed to choose between my family and the man standing in front of me? It seems like an impossible choice to make. But if I let myself think about it too long, I might not be able to make a decision at all.

  “We’ll go.” Tears fill my eyes as I say the words, and I look over Pax’s shoulder at the city behind him. Even though my gut tells me leaving with Pax is the right decision to make, it doesn’t help the pain in my heart at the thought of never seeing my country again.

  “Sophia…” He lifts his hands to my cheeks, placing a kiss on my lips. “I don’t think—”

  “Sophia!” A voice behind me interrupts him. “Sophia, wait!”

  I pull from his embrace to turn to look behind me. Victoria is running down the steps, rushing toward us.

  She’s out of breath when she finally reaches the landing where we’re standing. “Don’t…” She shakes her head, placing a hand on her chest as she tries to catch her breath. “Don’t go. I’ll talk to Andrew.”

  “It’s too late for that.” I pull Pax’s hand into mine, lifting my chin as I steel myself. “My family has made it quite clear how they feel.”

  “You’ll never forgive yourself if you leave now, Sophia.” She glances ov
er at Pax before returning her gaze to mine. “Believe me. They’re…we’re in a crisis. Again.” She frowns. “Just…don’t do something in haste.”

  “She’s right.” Pax looks down at me. “You should stay. Be with your family—”

  “You need to stay, too.” Victoria gives him a steely glare. “Think about how it will look if you leave your new wife in her time of need.”

  He speaks through his clenched jaw. “The tour—”

  “Can wait.” She lifts a brow. “Think about it. How will it look to your fans? You leave your new wife when her father is on death’s doorstep.”

  “Father is on death’s doorstep?” I can barely squeak out the words. “Did the physician say that?”

  “No.” Victoria closes her eyes, shaking her head. “I mean, I don’t know what’s going on. None of us do.” She looks back over at Pax. “But if you leave, it’s not going to look good. And there’s no way for me to spin that. Think about it. No one is going to think you choosing your band over your wife is a good thing.”

  Pax winces as though he’s been slapped. “You’re right.” He nods. “You’re right.”

  “And that’s why you’ll stay? To protect your precious reputation?” I’m not sure where my anger is coming from, but it seems to be burning through my chest. “If that’s the case—”

  “It’s not…” He shakes his head, turning to look over at Victoria for a moment before turning his gaze back to mine. “I can’t win this one. Just…just trust me. Can you do that? I told you I love you. And I do. More than I ever thought I could love someone. Can we just leave it at that?”

  Tears fill my eyes again, but I blink them back as I nod. I’m not sure I could say anything at the moment, anyway.

  “I’ll take care of things with Andrew. As best as I can, anyway.” Victoria lets out a sigh. “There’s not much any of us can do at the moment, though.” She pulls my hand into hers. “No one is questioning your devotion to your family, Sophia.”

  “Really? You’re certain of that?” I shake my head. “Because it seems as though everyone is questioning my devotion to my family.”

  She tilts her head. “Well, I’m not. Your mother isn’t.” She motions behind her toward the palace. “Go to your suite and rest. I’ll talk to Andrew.”

  Part of me knows there’s nothing she can say to my brother to change his mind about me, but another part of me knows she’s probably my best hope. If anyone could break through Andrew’s stubbornness, it would be Victoria.

  “Fine. We’ll go to my suite and wait. But I want to be notified the moment anything happens with Father.”

  “Of course, Sophia.” She squeezes my hand before she lets it go. “I’ll do everything I can.” She turns and rushes back into the palace.

  Pax stands silently next to me for a long moment. “I’ll call Mick. We can cancel the next few stops—”

  “You said we had a little while before we have to leave.” I look up at him. “And we have even longer if we take one of my family’s planes back. Leopold will let me use his, if no one else will.”

  “Okay.” He gives me a weak smile. “We’ll wait, then. Maybe everything will be fine. Maybe—”

  “You don’t have to do that.” I frown at him before I begin leading him back into the palace. “Let’s just wait for word from the physician.”

  He presses his lips together, nodding silently.

  We walk back into the palace, and I lead him through the corridors toward my suite.

  “You’ll have to tell me who all these people are someday.” He motions at one of the portraits lining the walls.

  “That woman was my fourth great-grandmother, Queen Elena.” My brow furrows. “My family’s history really isn’t that interesting.”

  “Are you kidding?” He motions at the paintings. “You actually know your family’s history. I know one set of my great-grandparents came over to America as immigrants. And that’s about it.”

  I suppose I’ve never really thought about the history of my family being anything but something boring I had to memorize as a child. But perhaps he’s right.

  We arrive at my suite, and I lead Pax inside.

  He shakes his head as he looks around. “This is…not what I imagined. At all.”

  I look around my sitting room, trying to decipher what it is he might have imagined. “Is there something wrong with my suite?”

  “No.” He grins. “Not at all. I guess I just thought…I thought it would be different.”

  “Different?” I look around again. “My suite is very similar to the others in the palace. The living quarters are a little bigger than the guest suites—”

  “No, I just thought it would be…pink.”

  “Pink?”

  “Yeah…you know. Pink. Frilly.” He grins again. “Just…more princessy.”

  “What is…princessy?” I can’t help but smile up at him. “You think because I’m a princess, I must have silly decorations around?”

  “Well…”

  I pull his hand into mine. “I’ll admit that when I was younger, I did have a few pink things. Perhaps more than a few. And…” I glance toward my bedroom. I know it isn’t the right time to be thinking about such things, but the thought of being intimate with my husband certainly takes my mind off other concerns. “There might be a few other frilly things for you to find. If you were so inclined.”

  “Oh.” He smiles down at me, giving me a wink. “I think I could definitely be convinced.”

  Pax

  It’s getting easier and easier to read Sophia’s expressions. Every day I spend with her, I feel like I come to know her a little better—and while in the past, with other girls, that was usually the thing that made me realize I was getting too close and decide to run the other way, with Sophia, it just makes me want her even more.

  And the look on her face right now tells me she wants me, too.

  I step closer, sliding my arms around her waist and pulling her against my body. It doesn’t take much—just the pressure of her hips against mine—to bring me fully to attention, and I can tell by the way her lashes flutter that she feels exactly how much I want her. Her arms come up around my neck, pulling my face down to hers.

  Kissing her is still more exciting than I ever could have imagined. A fresh surge of blood rushes toward my groin at the first touch of our lips, and my need for her overwhelms everything else. I thought I was starting to gain some control over myself, that I was actually learning to keep my head around her, but I was wrong. Right now, I want one thing and one thing only.

  I back her toward the bedroom. She doesn’t have to be nudged more than once. Her fingers grip the collar of my shirt as she stumbles backwards, tugging me out of the living room. My hands roam up over her back, keeping her pressed against me, unwilling to let her body move away from mine even for a second. My mouth devours hers, my tongue dragging across her lips before slipping into her mouth.

  Somehow, we make it to the bed. The moment I feel the back of her legs hit the mattress, I pull at her shirt, tugging it up over her head. Her bra goes next, and as it falls to the ground I take one of her breasts in each of my hands. Her nipples harden and press against my skin, and I circle them with my palms, making her groan.

  I grab her skirt and pull it down over her hips. Part of me just wants to flip it up over her waist and save myself the trouble, but for some reason, I want her completely naked right now. As her skirt falls down around her ankles, I grab her panties and shove those down, too. Then I push her down on the bed. She falls back on the mattress, her dark hair spreading out around her head like a halo.

  For a moment I just stand there, staring down at her and admiring her body. Her skin glows in the faint light, and my hands ache to slide over her smooth, soft skin. Her exquisite curves stand out against the plush, dark fabric of the comforter on the bed. Every line of her is perfect.

  Her eyes sparkle, shining up at me. After a moment, she props herself up on her elbows.

&nb
sp; “This would be more fun if both of us were naked,” she says.

  A grin spreads across my lips. “Want to help with that?”

  She smiles and sits up the rest of the way, reaching for me. I let her take the lead, standing there as she undresses me piece by piece. She pulls my shirt over my head, then moves to my pants. In minutes, I’m as naked as she is, and fully prepared to take advantage of it.

  “Hold on,” I say, reaching down and finding the pocket of my pants. I pull out my wallet and the condom I have stashed there.

  “Always prepared,” she says.

  “I try.”

  I push her back down on the bed, and she falls back with a laugh. But her laughter dies off as I lean over her. Her eyes become heavy-lidded, dark with need, and her fingers grip my shoulders as she pulls me on top of her.

  Sophia has always had quite the sexual appetite, but there’s something different about her desire now. I notice it, but I don’t question it too closely. Instead, I obey the silent urges of her hands. Her legs wrap around me, pulling me closer, and I don’t hold back. I bury myself in her, and I’m rewarded with a sharp, hungry gasp.

  Her mouth finds mine, hungrily nipping at my lips, and I begin to move. Considering how much we’ve wanted each other from the moment we set eyes on each other, we haven’t spent nearly enough time in bed, satisfying this need. I plan to make up for lost time.

  She clings to me as I thrust deep into her, and my mouth attacks hers. We nip, suck, bite, devour, all while the lower halves of our bodies rock against each other, seeking relief from the craving that’s possessed us both. Her nails dig into my shoulders, spurring me onward, as her tongue delves deep into my mouth.

  All at once, her body begins to contract, and she groans into my mouth as her climax hits. That sends me over the edge, and I thrust deep into her as I come, filling the condom.

  I roll off of her, groaning in satisfaction as my back hits the bed.

  Her fingers brush against my arm, and it takes me a moment to realize she’s searching for my hand. I twist my wrist, catching her fingers and lacing them through mine.