Spiked Roses: The Complete Top Shelf Series

by Alta Hensley

  We remained silent for several moments as we both gathered our breaths. I placed small kisses on her shoulder, wondering how long until she would be ready for round two. I was already growing hungry for her again. I wondered if my appetite would ever be satiated with Cheri in my life.

  “I should probably get going,” she said as she tried to slide from underneath the weight of my body. “I know how news travels, and I would hate for my mother to find out I’m in New Orleans by someone else besides me. She still thinks I’m a hobo in Mexico.”

  “Your mother is in Greece right now,” I informed as I rolled over to my side, still gripping her hips to prevent her from escaping. “There’s a gallery opening by another bored countess friend of hers. She should be there for a couple of days. But I’m sure she will dive into wedding planning the minute she returns.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” she asked, looking up at me with her big blue eyes. “You really want to get married.”

  I smiled, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. Her disheveled hair gave her such an adorable appearance that a part of my heart melted for her. It was a welcome feeling to have something other than my dick controlling all the emotions of the night.

  “That was the plan,” I said softly. “Is that really so bad?” I asked the question, but I knew the answer. She may be playing resistant, and she was definitely a flight risk, but I knew deep down there were feelings there. She wouldn’t have left Costa Rica and been in my bed unless she was open to the idea of following through with our ordained arrangement. She was programmed, just as I was, to fulfill her royal duty. You could escape many things in life, but escaping your destiny… one that had been planned out for you practically since birth, was not one of them.

  “Settling down? Is that what you want? I can’t see you settling for anything. You don’t come across as someone who is all right with boring married life,” she said.

  “Trust me, Cheri,” I began, not wanting to reveal all my dark secrets quite yet. “Nothing about what we are about to do will be boring.”

  “All the grooming. The training on how to be a proper princess.” She sighed deeply. “Makes me want to poke my eyeballs out just thinking of it. I’m not the uptight, strait-laced woman needed for this role.”

  “Again… trust me,” I said as I gave her a kiss to her forehead. “The training I will expect from my proper princess will be far from uptight and strait-laced.”

  “What do you mean by that?” she asked, tilting her face so she could look into my eyes. “I feel like you are keeping something from me.”

  I smiled, enjoying the sparkle in her eyes and the pout of her lips. With the smell of sex still in the air, all I could do was squeeze her tight so I wouldn’t reveal everything right away.

  “Baby steps. We can’t dive in all at once. We are just at the reuniting stage of this story. Let’s take a moment to enjoy it.”

  “And where? Where are we supposed to have this luxurious wedding?” she continued, not wanting to take my suggestion. Obviously her mind was operating at a million miles a minute, not that I blamed her.

  “In New Orleans,” I said without pause. “At The Audubon Manor where we spent so many of our vacations. We loved it there.”

  “Why not France or London? Or doesn’t your father want it to be—”

  “My father has no say in what I do or where I get married,” I interrupted a little too harshly. “I have no intentions of leaving New Orleans. They can come to us.”

  “This all seems unreal,” she said softly.

  “Everything about our lives is unreal, Cheri. You know this. Nothing has changed.”

  Cheri yawned and snuggled into my body. “I’m really tired,” she said against my chest. I tightened my arm around her tiny frame and pulled her in closer. “I just need to sleep. I can’t take this all in right now.”

  Kissing the top of her head, feeling a bit disappointed that I couldn’t ravish her body again before sleeping, I said, “Yes, sleep, love.” Positioning my body to also get some sleep, I smiled when I could already hear the deep breathing of her peaceful slumber.

  Chapter Five

  Cheri

  I was pretty sure I looked like a hooker sneaking out of the room with my heels in hand. It was in the middle of the night, but Spiked Roses was still in full swing. Without having Roman by my side, I completely felt out of place in this men’s membership only club and couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.

  “Well lookee here,” a thick southern accented voice called from behind me. “I heard a little blonde banshee stormed in here confronting his royal majesty like she owned the joint. I figured it was you, but I needed to see it with my own eyes.”

  I spun on my heels and rushed to my old friend, Tennessee Charles, to give him a hug. I would recognize his twang anywhere. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I’m the house mum,” he said as he straightened his tie that accentuated his purple velvet smoking jacket. “I keep this place in line.”

  “You’re a madam?” I asked with a laugh. “How in the world did you get yourself hooked up with a place like this?”

  “No judgy from you, sugar pop,” he said with a smile and a look of pride in his eyes. “This is a great gig. This is a high class joint run by even higher class people.”

  “If you say so,” I countered, still wanting to get the hell out of there, especially before Roman woke up and found me missing. “Just not my scene.”

  “Well it’s not Mexico.”

  “Costa Rica.”

  Tennessee took a step back and examined me from my bare feet to the top of my head. “Latin food and booze did you good, girl. You look all spicy, and from what I can see, our good prince had a hot taste.”

  My face caught on fire. Nothing worse than the walk of shame, especially being caught by an old friend you hadn’t seen in years.

  The color of my face must have been bright red because Tennessee said, “No reason to be shy. He’s your fiancé and all.”

  “Not yet,” I corrected.

  “But soon.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Why is this just assumed by all?”

  He shrugged. “Because it’s your destiny. It’s always been your destiny.”

  “Yeah, well what if I don’t want it?”

  “Sugar pop, you have a life most would dream of. Or you will. Hell, if I could marry his majesty and wear a tiara, I would. Stop your bitching.”

  “You’ve always said that to me,” I said with a smile. “And I’ve always told you that you don’t understand.”

  “What’s not to understand? You get to be a princess. You get to marry a hot piece of royal meat, and you get to live the dream. I don’t see a down side.”

  “Royal life. It’s dry and boring. Suffocating.”

  Tennessee let out a loud guffaw. “Oh you have been gone for awhile. There is nothing boring about Prince Roman. Nothing at all.”

  I looked around. “Because of this place? Am I supposed to want to marry him simply because he owns a club? That is supposed to fuel my bohemian soul?”

  “Not just this place,” he said. “Though Spiked Roses does add flavor to the man.” He paused and studied my eyes for a few seconds. “You’ll see. You’ve been gone a long time, sugar pop. A lot has happened. That boy you played with as a child is now a man. A man who is in line to be a king. That royal path you think is so boring… it’s not. It truly is not.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not touching that, sugar pop. I know how to keep my tight little ass nice and safe.”

  I chuckled. “What? Since I’ve been gone, Prince Roman became someone to be afraid of? Come on. Safe from what?”

  “Not my circus, girl. You ask Prince Charming about his dark shadows. Not my story to tell.”

  I rolled my eyes at Tennessee’s dramatics but decided to move on. “So how did you end up here? When I left for Costa Rica, you had found yourself a sugar daddy and we
re flying around the world.”

  “Oh that was a few sugar daddies ago.” He stiffened his spine and lifted his chin. “And I decided it was high time I became some other person’s sugar daddy. It was my turn to earn my own money. And keeping the ladies here in line pays good. Pays better than pretending I found wrinkly balls sexy.”

  I laughed as I instantly remembered how much I loved this eccentric, and brutally honest man. There were parts about my past that I definitely missed.

  “Have you seen my mother lately?” I asked.

  He nodded. “I saw her at a cocktail party about a month ago. She’s the same. The perfect, elegant butterfly who knows how to work a room. That woman is at every classy engagement in town. I wish to be her when I grow up—diamond bracelets and all.”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking down at my feet. I wondered if anyone knew that it was Roman fronting her the money to be the socialite she was known as.

  A loud crash of glasses shattering behind the bar caught Tennessee’s attention. “Well, duty calls. But, sugar pop, if you even dare start planning that wedding without me, I will never forgive you for it.”

  I smiled warmly. “You can do it all. You can even be the bride.”

  He leaned in and kissed me on each cheek. “I would make a mighty fine blushing bride if I do say so myself.”

  Roman

  My dick was hard, and I hadn’t even opened my eyes yet. Last night was only a small sampling of what I knew was to come, and that I would have Cheri like this—naked, begging, desperate for my touch for the rest of our lives. I would make damn sure of it. I knew she didn’t want the royal life married to me out of obligation, and there was a part of me that hated myself for forcing her to be part of a life she couldn’t stand and had escaped from. But I could not lose her again. She was my everything, and after last night, I knew without a doubt we would be together forever.

  As I opened my eyes, I could see the sunlight peeking through the drawn curtains announcing it was time to start the day. I already knew Silas had a lot in store for us today to begin this pomp and circumstance.

  But first, I needed to have Cheri wrapped around my cock.

  Rolling over to sample the sweet taste of her essence again, I was stunned to find her side of the bed empty. Was I really surprised? This was Cheri. She ran. I knew this.

  “Fuck!” I said out loud, not that anyone could hear me.

  I hopped out of bed and walked over to where I had shed my pants the night before and quickly pulled them over my hips. Operating without coffee, I tried to assess the situation. Where could she have gone? Why would she have left again without saying goodbye? Were the feelings going on between us only one-sided? Could I have been reading her all wrong?

  The knock on the door had me releasing the breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. Maybe Cheri had left to find some coffee for us. Bless the woman.

  I walked over to the door and opened to Silas… not Cheri.

  “Fuck,” I mumbled as I walked back into the room with Silas close behind.

  “I’ve been greeted many ways, sir, but that one is certainly a new one for me.”

  I bent down, reached for my shirt, and pulled it over my head. “You weren’t who I was hoping to see on the other side of the door.

  Silas glanced over my shoulder at the messy, yet empty bed and raised his eyebrows. “Where is Cheri?”

  “Not here.” I sat on the edge of the bed and began putting on my shoes. I needed to get out of the room and try to track her down.

  “Sir, we have a very busy schedule today. I have tipped off the paparazzi of where you will be at noon. You are to be sipping cocktails at Café Blue while cuddling and kissing Cheri!” Silas bent down, picked up my jacket off the floor, and attempted to shake out the wrinkles. “Today is when the rumors are to begin. And then there is tonight. They will be expecting you both.”

  I looked up at the old advisor and glared. “I know, Silas. Don’t you think I know this?”

  I’d fucking come on too strong and scared her away. Fuck.

  “Do you not know where she is?” Worry replaced the annoyance on his face.

  “I have no idea, but I’m hoping I can visit our old spots we loved to go to when we were young, and she’ll be at one of them.”

  “Sir, allow me to call security and—”

  “I got this,” I interrupted. “The last thing Cheri needs right now is to be hounded by men in suits. She’s already a flight risk, but do make damn sure she hasn’t booked a flight out of here.” I looked over my shoulder. “Did you follow through with the other plans?”

  “Yes, sir. Everything is taken care of.”

  “Good.”

  I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed toward the door, knowing that the change in plans was damn near causing Silas to stroke out. He hated when things didn’t go as planned. Hell… so did I.

  I couldn’t get out of Spiked Roses fast enough. I needed to find Cheri before her mind got the best of her. I knew she was scared. And I knew a big part of that was me. I was playing as if I was the biggest bad boy drinking my bourbon. The poor girl probably thought I was the biggest dick. And I was one. Cheri deserved better than me telling her I didn’t really care about marriage but rather just fucking. Hell, the woman deserved caviar, champagne, a ten-carat diamond ring and none of the alpha bullshit I threw at her.

  Why the fuck was it so hard with this woman? I felt off my game around her. I never had this problem with women, but with Cheri, I felt as if I had to be more, someone better.

  Despite what I’d told Silas, I did have an idea where she would go. A couple, in fact. But my first spot was going to be the New Orleans Yacht Club. That had been the place of our first kiss, and always a favorite spot of ours. Cheri loved the yachts. She used to say that she pictured herself in one and sailing around the world reading books as the setting sun dipped behind the large expanse of open water. My Cheri had always been a romantic dreamer. Though even in our youth, she’d dreamed of escape, and all the extravagant boats were like an answer to her dreams.

  Chapter Six

  Cheri

  Lake Pontchartrain possessed a level of blue today that I hadn’t remembered seeing as a child. It truly was a magnificent sight. I maybe hadn’t seen every ocean or lake, but the life I had lived growing up had afforded me the luxuries of travel around the world, and New Orleans was one of my most favorite places. Which when thinking back about my upbringing, and the words of Tennessee, I realized I really did live a life many would only dream of. So why did I feel the strong need to escape? Why, the moment I recovered from the most amazing sex of my life, did I instantly plan my getaway? Was it Roman?

  No.

  It was Prince Roman. I didn’t want to be with a prince, and I most certainly didn’t want to marry one. I didn’t want to be a fucking princess. I just wanted to sit in some café writing poetry. I wanted no one to know my name, yet still have the money to sip espresso in cafés in Prague and other bohemian destinations.

  I snorted as I crossed my arms against my chest. I sounded like an entitled, spoiled brat. I had the opportunities in life that many would love to have. I was lucky… and yet, for some reason I didn’t feel lucky. Why?

  With just a quick look around at all the yachts docked at the harbor, I knew it was very likely that I knew many of the owners of these boats. I knew people who made more money while they drank their morning coffee than I ever would winning some poetry prize, and for some reason, I had always felt their wealth was something to despise. Why was having money a bad thing? Why did I put those rich people in a box labeled bad persons? Were these people—though extremely wealthy—any worse than the barista at the coffee shop serving the coffee? Some were awful people. But I knew poor people just as awful. Why did I judge all the people of my past so harshly? There really was no reason.

  “I knew you’d be here,” I heard as footsteps approached the pier I was standing on. I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Roman.
/>   “It’s always been one of my favorite places,” I said, staring at the seagulls flocking over the surface of the gentle waves. The fishy aroma of the lake filled my nostrils, the humid air wafted against my face, and I did feel a sense of home.

  “Why did you leave?” he asked, always getting straight to the point. He walked up to where I leaned against the railing and did the same.

  “I needed to get out of there.”

  “Obviously. But why?”

  That was a question I couldn’t exactly answer. “I don’t know. I just needed to.”

  “You owe me a better explanation than that.”

  “Why? Because we fucked last night?” I asked.

  “No,” he snapped before he took a deep breath to calm down. “Because this is you and me we are talking about. Last night was fun, and I plan to do that to you over and over again, but there is more than just a night of fucking between us and you know this.”

  Not wanting to fight, and knowing Roman was right, I nodded. “Yes, you are owed a better answer. I just wish I knew what it was. I have no idea why I am so resistant to this life.”

  “Is it me?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Actually, you are the only thing about this entire situation that seems right. But even you aren’t strong enough to make me not want to run. Something inside of me is screaming for me to flee right now.”

  Roman didn’t say anything for several minutes. The awkward silence had me racking my brain for something more to say. I didn’t want to hurt him. Far from it. But I feared I had.

  “Roman… I’m sorry—”

  “Do you remember our first kiss here?” he asked, cutting me off.

  “Yes.” It was a moment I would never be able to forget. I don’t think any woman forgets her first kiss, but mine had truly been magical. We’d both been so timid and uncertain, but the minute our lips had connected, I’d known it was right. Everything had been so, so right.