by S. E. Rose
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to him.
He stands and walks around the desk. He pulls me up into his arms and hugs me in a very unroyal-like show of affection.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t live your life. I know it’s not easy being a royal, and I know you have expectations cast upon you that are unbearable at times, but you’re strong and you will do amazing things as a princess. I promise. But please, no more secret agent princess, OK?” he asks. He pulls back and looks down at me. “I don’t think I could survive knowing that you were constantly putting yourself in jeopardy.”
“Yes, Father,” I say, my fingers crossing behind my back as I do so, a silly childhood superstition that I still haven’t let go of as an adult.
I walk to the door and then turn back. “Sten,” I say slowly, looking at him.
“We’re investigating all possibilities,” he answers, his voice takes on a serious tone.
“Is he…there?” I ask.
“He was,” my father states. “His plane took off earlier.”
“To where?” I ask.
“Here,” he says.
My eyes widen. Could it be that Sten is trying to kill his nephew?
“Does Sten know about Logan?” I ask my father.
My father nods. “Yes,” he confirms.
“Does Uncle Eddie know about Sten?” I ask him.
My father nods.
“Please make sure Victor gets your laptop. He’ll need it for evidence,” my father explains. My body goes rigid. I don’t want to give up my laptop. And I don’t know who I can trust.
“Yes, Father,” I say. I step out of the study, knowing full well that I will not be giving Victor my secret laptop, the one hidden in the butler’s pantry. He will get my burner laptop. He’ll see some things, enough to make it look like my secret laptop.
I run up to my room and find my burner laptop. I pull some information from my server and put it on the laptop, and then I walk it to Victor’s office.
“Father says you’d like this,” I say as I knock on the door and open it without asking. Victor is at his desk, his phone pushed between his ear and his shoulder. He nods and motions for me to set it on his desk.
“Password?” he asks me.
I grab a sticky note from his desk and write it down.
He nods and goes back to his phone conversation. I walk back up to my room and look around. I feel lost in the moment, overwhelmed by the events of the day. My worlds have merged in the most unexpected way. I never gave it much thought, how that might happen. If I’m being honest with myself, I never thought it would happen. The fact that I didn’t expect this makes me realize how ignorant I’ve been. I don’t know why this reality wouldn’t have slapped me in the face before today.
I am about to go check on my actual laptop when there’s a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I say. The door opens and Auggie and Chris stand in the doorway.
“That was interesting,” Auggie says as he walks over and sits down next to me.
“Very,” Chris echoes as he sits on my other side. Something about being squished between my two big brothers gives me such comfort. I lean my head on Chris’s shoulder, and he kisses the top of it.
“You alright, Suzy Q?” he asks quietly.
I shrug. “Cat’s out of the box, now, isn’t it?” I answer.
“More like the lion is out of the box,” Auggie says.
“It’s Sten,” I say. “It has to be.”
“We know,” they say in unison. I know they are looking at each other over my head.
“I just…Sten’s always been so kind to us. I-I can’t believe he’d do something like this,” I admit out loud.
“People will go to crazy lengths to get power and to destroy it,” Chris says.
“I know,” I agree.
“Now what?” Auggie asks.
“Now, I do some more research,” I tell them. “I just gave Victor my burner laptop. But I don’t trust him with my real one.”
“Anna,” Chris chides.
I sit up and look up at him, squaring my shoulders as I ready myself for an argument.
“Chris, listen, I need to have access to my data. I need to know what’s going on. I only trust you two, Logan, and Daddy. That’s it, no one else, yet,” I say to them.
“Be careful,” Chris says, and I’m a bit shocked that he’s not fighting this more. He squeezes my leg. “You’re the bravest, smartest princess that I know. If anyone can save the world, it’s you.”
I laugh. “I’m not trying to save the world, just us and Logan,” I say.
“About that,” Chris says, raising an eyebrow and looking past me to Auggie.
“Seriously, Auggie? Is nothing sacred in this family?” I ask, turning my head to glare at him. He has the audacity to look a little sheepish.
I look back to Chris who is giving me his best stern big brother look.
“Are you sure we can trust Logan?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes, we can trust him,” I confirm. But if I’m being really honest with myself, a very small part of me questions this knowledge when Chris asks me.
“OK, then you have my blessing,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “Seriously?” I say.
He laughs. “What? It’s my brotherly duty,” he says.
I groan and slap his chest. “One more word about brotherly duties and I will kick your motherfucking ass,” I say as I stand.
“Wow, clean that mouth out with soap, Princess,” Auggie says. “Let’s go get Tessa’s cookies. I think we could all use some.”
“And something to drink,” Chris mutters as he follows us out of my room.
Chapter 25
We waltz into the kitchen and find Logan already sitting on a stool. We all plop down next to him, taking up the remaining seats. There’s a bottle of vodka in front of him and a shot glass.
He looks over at us and slides the bottle down our way.
“Goes well with the cookies,” he mutters.
“Rough chat with Daddy?” Auggie asks.
“Fuck off, Auggie,” Logan grumbles.
Auggie slaps him on the back. “Welcome to being a royal. I think your hazing is complete. I mean an assassination attempt, a long-lost king father, sleeping with a princess. I’m pretty sure you’ve covered all the bases…and I mean ‘all’ the bases,” he says, smirking at me.
I stand up and punch Auggie in the arm. “You are such a dick!” I say to him.
Tessa walks over and puts her hands on her hips. “That is quite enough, you four! This isn’t a sleazy bar on the wrong side of town. Now, I don’t care if you want to come drown your royal sorry asses in here, but you will not talk to each other or about each other like that in front of me,” she says in her best stern voice. Immediately, all four of us straighten up and there’s a chorus of “yes, ma’am” from our mouths.
“Now, you’ll need some food to go with that alcohol,” she mutters, tapping her cheek. She puts her finger in the air. I can almost see a lightbulb turning on over her head as she spins around and fires up the brick oven.
I look over at Auggie and Chris, and we all grin. Tessa makes killer homemade pizza, and it will go perfectly with the alcohol.
Tessa gets to work on the pizza dough, entertaining us, or maybe distracting us with funny stories about how she learned how to make pizza from some old Italian guy who owned a pizzeria and hired her to serve pizza when she was fifteen. She sets glasses down in front of us and like a real-life bartender she mixes up drinks and hands us each one.
She pushes a vodka tonic at Logan. “You need something other than straight vodka, boy,” she says.
He grins at her and takes the drink. The smell of pizza fills the room as we munch on cookies and sip our drinks. I know each of us desperately wants to forget about everything going on outside of this room.
When Tessa slaps the pizzas on the marble counter in front of us, we all dig in and devour them within minutes.
Liza walks in as we are stuffing our faces. “Go ahead on out, child. I won’t be needing your help tonight. The king has ordered food sent to his suite as has our guest,” she says.
Liza nods, looks at us with curious eyes, and heads back out. We all start laughing. I peel myself from the chair and lie down on the cool tile of the kitchen floor, patting my full stomach.
“That was sooo good,” I moan.
“Anna, get your ass off the floor,” Tessa chides.
“Nope. I’m too comfy,” I say. We all continue chatting as I lie there. Eventually, Auggie comes and lies down next to me.
“You’re right, this is nice,” he says as he rests his head on my belly.
“You children are gonna be the death of me,” Tessa says, shaking her head in disapproval. “I’m out of here unless you all need something else.”
“No, no. We’re good, Tessa,” Chris says to her.
I lie on the floor and stare at the pattern in the ceiling of the kitchen. “I vote that we stay here, permanently,” I announce.
“I concur,” Logan says.
“Agreed,” Chris says.
“Auggie?” I ask. I look down to see my brother is snoozing on me.
“Huh?” he says with his eyes still closed.
“Never mind, motion passes. Go to bed,” I say to him.
“I’m heading up to sleep this off,” Auggie says. I roll my eyes.
“Good idea,” I say as I help push him up. He waves to us and stumbles out of the kitchen. Tessa has dimmed the lights so just the undercabinet ones are on. It’s warm and cozy in the kitchen, the heat from the pizza oven is still giving off warm air and a most delicious smell.
“I should go too,” Chris says.
He stands and holds out a hand to pull me up. I accept, and once he has me steady on my feet, he kisses my cheek.
“Night,” he says.
“Goodnight,” Logan and I answer in unison.
I plop back down on the stool next to Logan. The palace is quiet except for the hum of the giant refrigerator.
“Soooo?” I ask, turning to Logan. “The conversation with your dad didn’t go well, I take it?”
He shrugs and sighs. “It was fine. I…it’s just a lot to process,” he mumbles.
“I bet,” I say to him. “I feel bad that I thought he was trying to kill you.”
“He’s worried. He’s not mad about that. He’s concerned,” Logan says.
“I think we’re all concerned,” I say.
“He has a lot of regrets,” Logan confides.
“I’m sure,” I say as I look at him.
In the dim light of the kitchen, he looks almost boyish. I reach out and touch his cheek.
“I’m sorry, Logan,” I whisper.
“For what?” he asks, looking back at me.
“Everything,” I say softly.
He turns his chair and pushes my legs apart to make room for his. He leans forward until we are a mere few centimeters apart.
“Stop being sorry. Like I said before, you are brave, reckless, but brave, and I’m glad you found me,” he says, brushing a stray hair away from my cheek. He leans in slowly until our lips are but a hair apart.
“I need you,” he whispers and then presses his mouth against mine. I sigh with contentment, and climb over onto his lap, straddling him as he deepens the kiss, his hands cupping the sides of my face and tilting it to allow him more access. I moan as his tongue slides against mine. I start to work on the buttons on his shirt, sliding it down his arms, and letting it fall to the floor.
I run my hands over his chest, feeling his muscles flex as I do so. I trail my fingers down his well-sculpted abdominals until I reach the waistband of his jeans. I can feel his steel-hard erection beneath my palm, and he groans in my mouth and pushes against my hand. I unbutton his jeans and free his cock, which bounces up into my hand. He sighs as I wrap my fingers around him, feeling his hard length.
I stand and shimmy out of my leggings and toss my sweater on the ground. I stand in front of Logan in just my bra and underwear. Logan looks down at my body, running his finger across the swell of my breasts, and then down my side. He grasps my hips and pulls me back against him as he kisses me once again.
I feel his hands teasing me against my panties. I feel the fabric of them getting wetter as my desire grows. He takes his time kissing a path down my jaw and neck before pushing the cups of my bra down so that he can feast on my breasts. And feast he does. He’s like a man starving in a desert as he nips and sucks at me. I push against him, my need growing with each flick of his tongue.
I reach for my panties, becoming impatient. His hands stop me.
“Not yet,” he says breathily. He unhooks my bra and lets it fall to the floor. There’s something naughty and exciting about being naked in the kitchen, where anyone could walk in on us.
He lifts me up onto the counter and pushes me down. The cold marble leaves goose bumps on my skin as he slowly peels my panties down my legs and lets them fall on the floor. His hands knead the muscle above each knee as he slowly pushes my legs apart. He lets his underwear and jeans fall to the floor as he stands before me, gazing at my flesh.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he says as he strokes a hand up my thigh and runs a single finger between the lips of my sex. I shudder under his gentle touch.
I grind against his finger, wanting more of his touch. He slides his finger inside me, and I thrust against it.
“Shit, you’re so wet, Anna,” he murmurs against my neck as he sucks on my skin. His thumb grazes my clit, and I quiver.
I sit up and reach out and wrap my hands around his cock. He pushes against my grip, each of us fucking the other’s hand. He pulls back and looks at me with hooded eyes, filled with such desire I squirm with need.
“Not yet,” he says again as he bends down and parts my sex with his fingers, running his tongue over my folds and then sucking on my clit as he pushes two fingers back inside me. I grip his shoulders and shamelessly grind against his face. I’m so close, and I need to let go.
“Let go,” he murmurs against my sex, as though he’s reading my fucking mind. His fingers bend inside me and rub against some deep spot that sends me plummeting off a cliff of ecstasy. A silent cry on my lips is all I can manage to do as my body shakes violently from my release. He laps at me, tasting everything spilling from my body. When he pulls back, his face is wet, and he leans down and kisses me, letting me taste myself. I’m not sure why but it makes me need him even more. It feels dirty and wrong and yet so right at the same time.
I’m too lost in our kiss to feel him line up with my entrance, it’s only when he plunges inside me on one long thrust that I throw my head back and let out a cry, which he quickly stifles with his hand. Our movements become frenzied and messy as our hands move over each other’s bodies, and we push harder against each other. I want him deeper, and as though sensing it, he pulls my legs up and over his shoulders, his cock reaching new depths inside me.
It’s just enough to make me come even harder than before as he bucks against me in a wild frenzy of need. I grip the countertop to keep from sliding across it from the force of his movements. As I start to come back down from my sensory high, I feel him thrust one last time and spill his seed deep inside me on a long groan.
He collapses on me and nuzzles my neck. I’m thoughtless, weightless, and completely content as I feel his weight on me. As my mind starts to fire back to life, I’m suddenly hyperaware of just how life-altering today has been for Logan. I knew, but the depth of the events hit me harder as we lie there naked and panting. I can’t imagine finding out my whole life was a lie, that my father was a king, that I was royalty. I don’t know any different, but Logan’s world is altered forever. He won’t be able to go back to his old life. A profound sadness comes over me. I’m grieving his past life for him and a tear escapes my eye.
Logan’s up on his elbows as the single drop runs over my cheek and onto
his.
“What’s wrong, Anna? Did I hurt you?” he asks, concern etched on his face.
I shake my head. “You can’t go back,” I whisper, my voice laced with emotion.
“Back to what?” he asks me.
“To your life,” I reply. He stands up, his cock slipping from my body. I sit up so that we are nearly face-to-face. I see the recognition in his eyes at my words.
“I know,” he says softly. “I know.”
“It’s all my fault,” I say. “I should have just contacted the police. I can’t get over it. I can’t stop thinking that this is all my fault. I can’t—”
Logan’s hand covers my mouth, and I abruptly stop speaking.
“Stop. Just stop, Anna. You have to stop blaming yourself. You did nothing wrong. Yes, you were a bit impulsive in how you went about saving me, but your heart was in the right place. Your heart is so big. I see how you care for your father, your brothers, everyone. You don’t even see it. You want everyone to be alright. But what about you? What do you want?” Logan asks.
His words, his questions, have my head spinning.
“I…don’t know,” I admit. “I…it’s different for me. I don’t have choices.” The weight I’ve been keeping away from me now presses down on my shoulders.
Logan’s hand forces my head up, and I look into his eyes.
“You have choices. What do you want?” he asks again.
I sigh. “I…want to be free to do what I want, when I want. But I also want to make a difference. A small part of me wants to be like my mother, make the world a better place. But a bigger part of me remembers how much that cost her, her freedom, her ability to be herself. I don’t want those things. The week on the boat was…so perfect. I could just be me, Anna. Not Princess Susanna. Not Her Royal Highness. Not a public figure, but just me. I haven’t had that in a very, very long time. That’s why I’m so sad for you. You’ve had that your whole life until right now. You have no idea about the pressures of putting duty before self. It’s suffocating at times. It’s unbearable at times. But mostly, it’s an albatross around your neck that won’t ever go away,” I say, looking at him as I bare my soul.
He cups my cheek and runs his thumb across my lips. “It’s also an opportunity. An opportunity to make the world a better place. An opportunity to use a position of power for good. It’s not all bad,” he says. He pauses as though listening to his words and really believing them for the first time. He smiles at me then.
