by Kat Mizera
“It’s stunning. I don’t know that I’d ever go out if this was my home.”
“Well, it’s not quite this nice during the day, and certainly not as alluring when it’s below freezing outside.”
“Still.” I leaned back against him, letting the warmth of his body penetrate my skin. It was hot out, but Axel was hotter, his touch setting my skin on fire. I couldn’t think when we were together like this, my body already on alert, anxious for the pleasure I knew he would bring. I craved his touch, though I’d only experienced it twice, and I couldn’t wait for more.
“Have you ever gone skinny-dipping?” he asked, fingers skimming my breasts over the outside of my dress.
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“You have to ask?”
“Baby, I’ll always ask, always put your pleasure before mine.”
“Shouldn’t it be mutual?” I asked, turning to face him and lacing my fingers together behind his neck.
“Just being with you is my pleasure,” he said in a gruff voice. He slanted his head over mine and kissed me. I melted against him, my mouth molding to his, letting him guide me wherever he wanted me to go. It was so damn hot, so sensual, I couldn’t wait for him to take me, to make me feel like he had the other two times we’d been together. Whatever it was that combusted whenever we were together, it grew exponentially each time he touched me.
His hands were under my dress, palming my ass, pulling me against him, his erection pressed against my leg. He was still kissing me, even as he slid the dress up, only letting up long enough to pull it over my head and drop it to the floor.
“I don’t ever want you to wear a bra when we’re alone,” he whispered, drawing me against him again.
“I don’t want to wear anything when we’re alone,” I whispered back, my eyes boring into his.
He quietly groaned in response. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
“Yes.” I smiled up into his handsome face. “I think I do.” I reached for the buttons on his dress shirt, undoing them one at a time, until that gorgeous torso of his was bare. I pushed the shirt off his shoulders, running my hands down his biceps. His body was sculpted, muscular perfection, and memories of what it was like to grind on his lap made my breath hitch in anticipation.
“You wet for me, baby?”
“So wet,” I breathed as his lips found mine again. I was in nothing but my thong and sandals, and I fumbled with his belt, yanking it open and then moving on to his slacks.
“I was thinking we’d try reverse cowgirl tonight,” he said, stepping out of his pants. “That way, you can see the view of the city while I’m inside of you.”
“Reverse…” My voice faded. I had no idea what that was. I read a fair amount, and had even watched a little porn, but I wasn’t familiar with this term.
“I’ll show you,” he said, backing us onto a lounge chair. He pulled me onto his lap and started to kiss me again. His fingers dug into my hair, pulling just enough to make me moan, the small sting of pain dueling with the pleasure of his mouth on mine. I’d kissed a handful of men over the years, but no one kissed like Axel. He was as tender as he was passionate, making love to me with his lips, his tongue, even his teeth.
He played my body like a musical instrument, making me hum with passionate music that radiated from the inside out. It was a little overwhelming, how good it was when we were together. I didn’t understand it, and part of me was terrified of getting hurt, but there was no way for me to walk away from this. From him. He was the man I’d always dreamed of, though I certainly hadn’t envisioned an American bodyguard.
His fingers trailed along my skin, over my hips, my thighs, and between my legs. No matter how intense our passion got, the tenderness remained. He slid two fingers inside of me and I spread my legs further apart, giving him full access. Physically, it was a sexual move, but emotionally, it was indicative of everything I was feeling. We didn’t have to say the words for me to understand I was his. Whether he knew or accepted that, that we were somehow bound together, I had no way of knowing, but it didn’t matter what he did, only what we felt together.
He adjusted me on his lap, facing away from him, and slid into me with almost surgical precision. Maybe it was the angle, or the fact that it was my first time doing this without nervousness or even the tiny hint of pain, but the sensation of having him inside of me again was even better than before. My breath left me in a rush, and I squeezed his forearms with my fingers. He guided me slowly, gently, giving me time to get used to the rhythm he was setting. In, stop, out. Repeat. My hips moved of their own volition, taking him deeper and guiding the pressure on my clit until I was desperate for release.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he growled, gripping my hips, fingers digging into my skin almost painfully. He was deep inside of me, thick and hard and taking me somewhere far away. The lights of the city blurred into one big mishmash of color, and as my orgasm shot out of me, Axel’s cry of pleasure joined mine. We moved in sync, lost in a moment that belonged to just us.
He held me tightly, lips skimming my shoulder as I finally came back to the present. I’d been somewhere else while he made love to me, and the aftermath was always a little disappointing, because there was a part of me that was afraid he didn’t feel what I felt, that he would send me away and I’d be without this magic.
I dropped my head back onto his shoulder and he rested one hand on my side. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, gently rubbing one hip. “That may bruise tomorrow.”
“It’s fine,” I said softly. “It was wonderful. What did you call this position again? Reverse…?”
“Cowgirl.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re straddling me like a horse, but in reverse, since you’re facing out.”
“Cowgirl?”
“A cowboy typically straddles a horse, but since you’re a girl…”
“I see.” I giggled. “I thought I knew English pretty well, but I don’t think sex positions are anything I’ve studied.”
“Well, I plan to teach you all of them.” He continued stroking my hip, my outer thigh, the indentation of my waist. His touch was gentle but firm enough not to tickle me and I rested against him.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” he asked.
“I’m going to talk with my parents,” I told him. “And then I’m going to talk with Shannon about working with her at the school.”
“Is that something that’ll make you happy?”
“If I can work with computers, I’ll be happy.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”
“I know.” I put one of my hands over his. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“I work out in the morning, daily security briefing, surveillance and reconnaissance all afternoon, and then evening duties vary. Sometimes on, sometimes off, sometimes I get a call to rescue a woman hiding in a closet.”
“Don’t you ever have days off?”
“Not usually, and definitely not now that Sandor and Lennox are on their honeymoon.”
“But you love what you do, yes?”
“Yeah. I love being a Royal Protector. I’m surrounded by stellar human beings and Erik, well, I don’t know many men I respect as much as Erik.”
“It’s so odd to me,” I said softly. “Hearing you refer to the king by his first name.”
“That’s protocol around here,” he said. “Unless we’re on official business in public or we have heads of state as guests, we use first names only. It’s what the family wants and makes it a lot easier to work eighty hours a week.”
“I see what you mean.”
“You used to work a lot of hours too,” he said.
“Seven days a week,” I agreed.
“You must feel like a lady of leisure now.”
“When I’m naked with a sexy bodyguard, overlooking the city on a palace rooftop, yes. I definitely feel like a lady of leisure.”
“You thin
k I’m sexy, huh?” He kissed me, slow and sensual, tangling his tongue with mine until I forgot that we’d just made love.
“You ready for some skinny-dipping?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
“And we’re about to add pool sex to the list.”
“How do you…” My voice faded. “In the water?”
He laughed and scooped me up in his arms.
I got to bed late, after Axel finally dropped me off at my door, and slept well but not for long. I was too excited and was up early, showering and pulling on capris and a pretty blouse. I’d bought a few things for the trip to Athens, and it felt good to wear nice clothes. Of course, breakfast with my parents this morning was probably going to be difficult. My mother would be less than pleased that I had an opportunity to work with computers, since she thought it was a waste of time, so I had to find a way to convince both her and my father.
I’d just slipped on a pair of sandals when someone knocked on my door and I was surprised to see Jonas standing there.
“Good morning,” he said. “You feel like going to work?”
“Absolutely, though I’m supposed to meet my parents before breakfast.”
“That’s handled. Elen is going to meet them and explain that we’ve recruited you for some data entry work.” He paused. “It’s best if you don’t tell them anything we talk about until we decide the specifics of what we’re planning to do going forward.”
“How can I tell them anything?” I protested, grabbing my purse. “I don’t know anything.”
He smiled.
“I don’t suppose I could get a cup of coffee?” I asked as we walked.
“Oh, you haven’t had anything at all? Sure. I’ll bring something to you once you’ve met Joe.”
“Who?”
“Joe Westfield. He runs palace security and everything to do with cybersecurity. He’ll need to talk to you before we can move forward with any plans to bring you into the fold.”
“Okay.” I was a little nervous to meet the head of security, but I’d met most of the royal family at this point, so some of the fear of the unknown had begun to abate.
“Here you go.” Jonas opened a door to an office and introduced me to a handsome middle-aged man. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Strong with a little sugar,” I told him.
“Be right back.” Jonas disappeared and I sat in a chair across the desk from Joe.
“I’ve been hearing a lot about you,” Joe said, glancing at a file on his desk.
“You have?” I asked in surprise.
“Well, first you called Xander in the middle of the night and though we’d already dispatched Axel to help, we needed to know who you were to ascertain whether or not it was a trap. Then the boys from the Brat were making nuisances of themselves, so we had to send in Sandor and eventually King Erik. As events continued to escalate, we had to keep digging to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
“But you missed Kostya’s connection to them.” I pointed out.
“Actually, that’s only partially true. We knew there was someone working with them, we just hadn’t yet had time to find out it was Kostya.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m as sure as I can be that you’re not a traitor or involved with any rebellion against the king, but you’re involved with one of my men, and I’ve been told you have a thing for computers, so it’s time to discuss the future.”
I met his gaze with a slight frown. “Sounds like you know more about me than I do. What more can I tell you?”
“What your interest is.”
“I need a job, but I really hate cooking and cleaning. If I found something computer-related, it would make me a lot happier than waiting tables and doing inventory. I’ve never gone to university, so all my computer knowledge is self-taught, but—”
“Jonas said you’re extremely knowledgeable for someone that’s self-taught, and Shannon likes you. If you’re serious about working for us, in what we’ll call a probationary capacity, I can make this happen.”
“I’d like it very much,” I said. “But my parents…”
He nodded. “Yes, I understand they might not be happy.” He smiled. “Sometimes parents want to protect their children so much they forget to let them live. Leave it to Elen. She’s handling this.”
Jonas came in and handed me a cup of coffee. “What’s the good word, boss?” he asked Joe.
“It appears you have an apprentice.”
18
Axel
I didn’t see Solange all day and found it hard to concentrate. All I knew was that she’d met with Joe, and Jonas was planning to test her knowledge about all things computers. I was both nervous and excited for her. I wanted her to do well, but we operated at the highest levels possible here, and there was no way Solange had taught herself computers to that degree. That didn’t mean she couldn’t learn, but Jonas had two college degrees and military training, so I wasn’t sure what the end game was. I intended to find out, though.
I went looking for Joe late in the afternoon and rapped my knuckles against the doorjamb. He looked up and motioned me in.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Wanted to ask about Solange.” I perched on the edge of his desk. “I’m a little confused about what’s going on.”
“When we checked her out, we tapped into her online searches and aside from occasionally downloading music and movies, most of what she looked up was computer stuff. Coding and even some small-time hacking. It occurred to me she might be an excellent addition to the staff. Not as a Protector, of course, but at the school. Jonas doesn’t have time to oversee the network there and we need someone we trust in charge because there will be a lot of personal information about all the kids, not just the royal family.”
“You think she has the skills to take over?”
“Probably not, but if she’s a quick study, Jonas will get her there.”
“And there was no one else we could hire for this job?”
“I’m sure there is, but we hadn’t found anyone yet, and she sort of fell into our lap.” He eyed me. “It almost sounds like you don’t want her here.”
“No, that’s not it.” I shook my head and smiled. “I think it would be great to have her around, but we don’t usually hire novices.”
“Natalia was a novice.” He gave me a private smile, one that told me he wasn’t going to tell me any more than he thought I needed to know. “And now look at her.”
“She was military. Solange barely finished high school, has zero military training, and taught herself what she knows about computers. I worry about throwing her into the fold. What we do is…dangerous. She has no idea about this life.”
“She’s going to be working at the school, so while there’s secondary danger by her proximity to the children of rich, important people, she could run into that kind of danger just by being with you.”
Fuck.
“Don’t do that,” Joe said, watching me.
“Don’t do what?”
“That look on your face, the one that says you’re worried about her being with you. You know she’s safest when she’s with you, right? Keeping her here, teaching her how to protect herself, that’s how you keep her safe.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” I got to my feet. “Do you know when she and Jonas will be back?”
“Jonas texted and said they’ll be back about six.” He paused. “Also, Kostya just got out of the hospital and should be here in the next few minutes. Natalia’s picking him up and will set him up in one of the guest suites.”
I nodded and got to my feet.
It was five thirty now, so I had a little time before Solange got here, and I needed to talk with Kostya.
“The kid needs some direction,” Joe called after me. “But an ass-whooping isn’t going to accomplish anything.”
I chuckled but didn’t turn back.
I checked with Jesper Vanta, who was Erik’s chief of staf
f, to find out where Kostya was. He knew everything that went on, at any given time, and he told me which would be Kostya’s suite. When I got there, Natalia had just dropped him off and Nadia and Samuel were there, helping to get him settled.
“Axel, hello.” Nadia smiled at me.
“Hello.” I called to Natalia before she left, “Hey, Nat. Now that you’re cleared for hand-to-hand, Sandor wants me to start working with you. You want to start tomorrow?”
She grinned. “Absolutely.”
“See you in the gym at six?”
“I’ll be there.” She waved and left the room. I shut the door behind her and turned to Kostya and his parents.
“Time for a little family meeting,” I said, leaning against the wall.
“I beg your pardon?” Nadia frowned at me.
“Kostya has something to talk to you about. Don’t you, son?”
Kostya gave me a dirty look.
“Here’s the deal,” I said quietly. “The king wants to do everything possible to help you after what happened at the café, but Kostya has to think about what he wants going forward. Getting in bed with people like the Brat, well, that’s not going to cut it here in Hiskale.”
“What is he talking about, Kostya?” Nadia turned to her son suspiciously.
“Nothing, Mama.” Kostya scowled at me. “You should be asking him about his intentions with Solange.”
I smiled. “My relationship with Solange is none of your business, kid. I’m just here to warn you that if you bring bad people around the inn, your parents are going to lose everything. Again. And there won’t be anyone coming to the rescue this time.”
I nodded at the Kovacs. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
I felt like an asshole but before leaving for his honeymoon, Sandor had told me to do whatever I needed to do to get Kostya under control. We’d known he’d been involved but not the details, so the time was here for me to handle it. He’d been in rough shape in the hospital, but he was on the mend and I wasn’t going to give him time to get in touch with any of his old friends or contacts. Solange had taken the laptop since they shared it as a family and Joe was watching all of his texts and phone calls.
