Royally Tamed

by Diana Ames

  “Then, say what you mean, Anton, because I don’t have time or patience to listen to bullshit!” she shouted. “Tell me what you really think of me!”

  “I think you’re fucking amazing!” he yelled back. “You had a garbage start in life and managed to make something out of yourself. I know you’ve been abused, possibly raped, and you’ve allowed yourself to shut down because you’re afraid of getting hurt!”

  He took a deep breath before continuing, looking away from her for fear he would break down before he got it all out.

  “But through all the heartache and suffering, you came out the other side, strong and confident and ready to take on the world. You piss me off, and you turn me on.” He sighed. “You make me feel like I’ve never felt before.”

  ***

  Alondra stood there with her mouth agape. She didn’t know what to say. No smart-ass comebacks sprang to her lips. She had no witty sarcasm to turn the tide of the conversation. This man, this spoiled prince, had her pegged.

  If she were being honest with herself, she would have to admit that it scared her senseless to know someone had seen through her tough exterior. She would also have to admit that it excited her, too. One small corner of her soul, a part that she kept hidden, yearned for someone she could be real with. She wanted someone who would accept her for all her flaws and fallacies, comfort her when she was afraid, and hold her when she felt lonely.

  “Alondra,” Anton said softly when she didn’t reply, “are you okay?” He took a few steps toward her, and when she didn’t back away, he closed the gap completely. He raised her chin with one strong finger and stared deeply into her eyes.

  “Anton,” she said in a breathy whisper, “what are you doing to me?”

  “It is you who has done something to me,” he replied. “I have never felt this…this desire before. I want to hold you and kiss you and make your body sing under mine,” he told her, his face inching slowly toward hers. “But I want more than that. I have this urge to protect you and cherish you and hide you from all the bad things in this world even if that means hiding you from myself.”

  Their lips met in a soft caress, stealing their breaths and making their hearts pound in unison. His arms moved to encircle her, but he didn’t press her into him. She did that all on her own, swaying until her breasts came to rest on his muscled hard chest. Suddenly, the gentle kiss wasn’t enough. She raised her arms and linked her hands in his thick dark hair. Fusing her mouth to his, she parted her lips in invitation, and he accepted, sweeping her mouth with his tongue. It was only a moment before he pulled back with a groan.

  “Alondra,” he said as she kissed at his chin and jaw. “Alondra, stop a moment,” he commanded.

  Stunned by his hard tone, she pulled back with hurt in her eyes. His expression softened, but he didn’t resume their kisses.

  “I have to know if this is what you truly want,” he said to her. “Do you trust me enough to allow me to make love to you?”

  Alondra looked up into his eyes. She knew she should say no and run while she could. She opened her mouth to do just that, but instead of saying no, she said, “Yes.”

  CHAPTER 25

  With disgust, Gillian looked at the man panting beside her on the floor. He’d made her body feel good for a minute, but he was scum compared to Anton. At least Anton could admit to his dark desires but not this man. No, Stephen had just used her and then dismissed her. She was a royal princess, and she was not going to be treated like a filthy whore.

  Rising to her feet, she quickly glanced around the room. She’d been in here enough to know what was in the room and where everything was. Looking at Stephen, she smiled when she saw him relaxed with his eyes closed. The fool had forgotten what she was capable of.

  Stepping around his body, Gillian picked up the silver letter opener from the desk. The blade was roughly six inches long, and Gillian knew if she hit the right spot, Stephen would be dead before he could scream.

  She turned around quickly and kneeled down beside him. His eyes flew open, but before he could make a sound, she plunged the letter opener through his heart. Getting through his breastbone was more difficult than she’d thought it would be, so she had to stab him several times to make sure he was really dead. Standing, she dropped the bloody letter opener on his shredded chest.

  “Now, the session is over, Dr. Steve,” she said.

  She quickly went into his private washroom and scrubbed the blood from her hands, face, and chest. Dressing in her jumpsuit, she searched Stephen’s pockets for his keys. Gillian knew freedom was within her grasp. Her last obstacle would be the guard outside the door. Going to the door and opening it just a crack, she saw the man had not left his post.

  “Excuse me, guard,” Gillian said in a sweet voice.

  “Inmate Portsmith, ready to return to your cell?” he asked, standing up straight.

  “Not quite yet,” she said coyly. “Dr. Steve and I are making so much progress today that he wants to extend my session,” she lied. “He asked me to let you know that you could go on your lunch break now, and I will be done when you get back.”

  “Why can he not tell me himself?” the guard asked skeptically.

  Gillian let out a girlish giggle and gave the guard a flirty wink. “He’s a little indisposed at the moment.” She opened the door enough so that the guard could see her exposed cleavage under the jumpsuit.

  “Regardless,” he said a little disgusted, “I have to get the order directly from Dr. Steve. I can’t leave my post unattended without a direct order.”

  “Cut a girl some slack,” Gillian said softly. “You could take up your post in here with us. Being locked away for a long time, I’ve been awfully lonely,” she said before licking her lips.

  The guard took a step back, repulsed by her display. “Tell him to radio me as soon as you’re finished,” he said. Then, he turned on his heel and went down the corridor.

  Gillian went back inside the office and straight to the security monitors. She watched the guard until he disappeared into a stairwell, and then she headed for the door. She was on her way to freedom, her children, and the man she loved.

  ***

  Anton swept Alondra into his arms and carried her to his bed. He laid her down gently and quickly followed with his own body.

  “If I frighten you or go too fast, all you have to do is tell me to stop,” he told her seriously. “The last thing I want is to break your trust or hurt you in any way.”

  “You won’t,” she said in a confident whisper. She had been raped—he’d gotten that right—but she wasn’t afraid of sex. She’d been through the therapy and dealt with the trauma. She’d even had a few sexual relationships. She’d never been promiscuous by any stretch of the imagination, but she wasn’t exactly a traumatized victim.

  He pulled the large shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor, leaving her naked below him. He sucked in a breath as he gazed at her body. Her breasts weren’t large, but they weren’t small either. He cupped one in his palm, and it was like she was made for him. He stroked her nipple with his thumb and smiled when he heard her gasp at the sensation.

  She reached for his shirt, and he helped by leaning up. She pulled the fabric up, rubbing it against his chest as she went. When it was finally off, she attacked the fly of his pants next.

  “There’s no rush,” he said huskily.

  “Off,” she snapped and undid the button.

  He stood up and grinned at her before slowly pulling down his zipper. She watched him with a greedy look on her face. He turned away from her before sliding the rough denim down over his ass as if he were performing a strip tease. Alondra sat up and smacked one bare cheek.

  “Aggressive little thing, aren’t we?” Anton said with a chuckle. “Where did that come from?”

  “I couldn’t resist,” she said with a bounce of her eyebrows.

  Kicking the jeans the rest of the way off, he stood, hovering over her. “Lie back and spread your legs,” he told
her.

  Alondra followed his instructions without hesitation and moved to lie in the center of the bed.

  “I can’t resist doing this either,” he whispered before plunging his tongue into her pussy.

  Alondra gasped and arched off the bed. The sensations were intense and powerful and made her want to scream. She grabbed two handfuls of his hair and pushed his mouth further into her as she ground her hips against his face.

  Anton knew the moment she came, and he flicked his tongue faster against her sensitive flesh. She couldn’t hold back the screams any longer as pleasure and pain combined into an earth-shattering orgasm.

  Anton rose to his knees between her spread legs. “Roll over,” he told her huskily. “Prop yourself up with the pillows.”

  She moaned in protest but did as he’d commanded. When she was in position, he moved in behind her, and with one swift thrust, he buried his cock balls deep inside her.

  “You’ll feel more this way,” he whispered as he reached around to finger her nipples.

  He began to thrust hard into her, thrilling at the feeling of her pushing back against him. It was perfect. She was perfect. They were perfect together. When he felt her walls tighten around him, he couldn’t hold back any longer, and they came together.

  Collapsing beside her, he grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her lips to his.

  “That was simply amazing,” he told her.

  CHAPTER 26

  They lay close together, hands roaming and teasing, as they learned the curves and contours of each other’s bodies. Basking in the afterglow of lovemaking was a new experience for both of them, but there was no awkwardness. There was no anticipation of more sex in their touches. It was just a gentle grounding after an earth-shattering experience.

  “Talk to me,” Alondra said softly, her fingertips lightly tracing his lips.

  “What would you like me to say?” he asked with a small smile.

  Anton was blown away by what he’d just done. He’d had sex before. He’d been with numerous women. Just last year, he’d shared a woman with Damian. But Anton hadn’t known how fulfilling making love could be until he’d felt Alondra orgasm beneath him. The spasms that had rocked her body had shaken him all the way to his ice-cold heart.

  “Tell me something no one knows about you,” she answered. “I feel so close to you right now…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Something no one knows about me?” he said thoughtfully. “How about this?” He lightly kissed her lips. “I never let anyone touch me during sex, or even not during sex.”

  “But I’m touching you,” she said, pulling back to quizzically look at him.

  “I know,” he said, “and I don’t want you to stop.”

  “Why?” she whispered, putting her hands on his well-defined chest muscles.

  “Because it feels good,” he told her facetiously. At her frown, he turned serious. “It always made me feel dirty to have others touch me. With you”—he sighed—“I don’t know. It’s just different. It feels right.”

  Alondra stiffened at his phrasing. She knew what it meant to feel dirty because of another person’s touch. She’d felt that way for years of her life. Only intense therapy had helped her to overcome her feelings of worthlessness and shame. Even with the therapy, she had never fully enjoyed sex until a few moments ago in this very bed.

  “Alondra?” Anton said.

  “Sorry,” she murmured. “I was just taken by surprise for a second. I know the statistics, but I never expected—”

  “What statistics?” Anton asked.

  “Boys are just as often victims of sexual predators as girls are,” Alondra said. “I know this, but I never expected a royal prince to—”

  “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute,” Anton said, sitting up. “You think I was molested? How the hell did you get that from what I just said? I told you”—his jaw clenched around the words—“I was not sexually abused.”

  “Honestly, I’m not trying to pry,” Alondra said, sitting up as well. “I understand. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to feel dirty and used and unclean. I went through the overworked, underpaid, and underfunded foster care system of New York City. Knowing that kind of thing could happen to a royal prince raised in the lap of luxury just took me by surprise.” Alondra sighed. “I guess my therapist really did know what she was talking about when she said it wasn’t a crime that knows an income boundary.”

  “Alondra, I wasn’t molested,” he incredulously told her. “Sure, my mother was fucked-up, and she did some incredibly horrific things when I was a kid, but that wasn’t one of them.”

  “Anton,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes, “you don’t have to deny anything to me. I’ve been where you’ve been. I’ve denied it. I’ve felt the guilt and the shame, and I had to deal with it alone. You’re not alone here. You don’t have to deny it or feel guilt or shame for something you had no control over.”

  She reached a hand out to touch his face, but he jerked away from her.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snapped, getting up from the bed. He stood in front of her, naked and glistening with a sheen of sweat from their earlier activities. “My mother was a slut. There’s no doubt about that,” he told her. “I watched her have sex enough times, even before I understood what it was. She did some fucked-up things to me.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “I’ll even give her credit for the dirty feelings and the rage that had built up in me until I had to do horrible things to those who couldn’t fight back. I will live with all of that for the rest of my life,” he said brokenly. After a moment, he spoke again with strength in his voice, “But I never had sex with my mother! I didn’t allow her to do that to me!”

  “Anton,” she said softly.

  His body language was screaming anger, pain, and denial, and she knew she needed to tread very lightly.

  “Being forced to watch your mother have sex is sexual abuse,” she whispered.

  “I didn’t let her do that to me,” he said, his eyes glazed over. “She wanted to—not just to me but to Damian as well. I couldn’t let her do it,” he whispered.

  Alondra knew Anton was trapped in his own memories and not with her right now. If she were forced, she would admit she was a little frightened. All she was going on were her own experiences and the few years she’d spent in therapy trying to deal with them. She wanted to help him, but she wasn’t equipped to do so.

  “Gilly helped,” he said, his eyes still glazed.

  Alondra wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or some imaginary judge hiding in the shadows of the bedroom.

  “I had to stop her. She wanted us both. I couldn’t let her hurt Damian. It was easy. She didn’t even feel pain. She just went to sleep and never woke up.”

  Alondra’s gasp snapped Anton out of his trance. His eyes widened as he realized that he’d just confessed to murdering his mother to the reporter trying to bring him down. Even though they were both still naked and she was still in his bed, he wasn’t seeing her as his lover.

  “Forget everything I just said,” he snapped. “There’s no proof of anything, and you’ll never find any.” He turned and grabbed his jeans. As he slid them over his bare buttocks, he turned back to her with a hard look. “In fact, you can forget everything that happened in here in the last hour or so.”

  “What?” she whispered, her face going white.

  “You were a good lay,” he said, “but not virginal enough for my taste.” He flicked his eyes over her and buried the pain deep in his chest. “A piece of advice—next time you fuck someone who has already told you he prefers virgins, don’t be so aggressive. It gives away your experience.” With the last cheap shot fired, he left the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

  ***

  Gilly tried flicking through channels on the security monitors to get as many views as possible before she headed toward freedom. Try as she might, she couldn’t remember exactly how many gates an
d doors she had come through when she was brought here. She knew she had limited time, so she hurriedly scanned the screens for the best possible route.

  Frustrated with how little she learned, Gilly snatched a two-way radio out of a cradle and headed for the door. At least she would be aware when they found Stephen’s body and realized she was missing.

  Just in case someone was out of the camera shot when she’d looked, Gilly poked her head out the door and glanced around. The hall was empty. Hoping to buy herself a few extra minutes, she locked the office door behind her. At the end of the hall, she had three choices. She knew which corridor would take her back to the maximum-security cells, but she wasn’t sure where the other two led. She assumed the one the guard had taken down the stairwell led to a lunch room or break area, so she took the third option and went down a corridor that she hoped led to the minimum-security wing.

  She’d heard about the minimum-security sector. It housed the least violent or most rehabilitated inmates. Each dorm had only one guard, and the inmates were given free run of the attached gardens. That was where she wanted to end up. She was counting on an exterior door in those gardens that could get her past most of the security. Gilly didn’t have a problem with killing anyone who got in her way, but with her size disadvantage she had to use her wits to do it. She knew if she encountered a group of guards, she would have no chance.

  Every time the radio at her side squawked, she would jump and listen closely, keeping her fingers crossed that the voices on the radio weren’t calling in Stephen’s murder. So far, her luck was holding out.

  The hallway ended in a T, and Gilly knew one path would lead her to freedom and the other back to her lonely, dismal cell. Listening for noise, she stood quietly for a few minutes. Hearing nothing to make her decision any easier, she did a mental coin toss and went to the right.

  Traveling down the corridor, Gilly stuck like glue to the walls. There wasn’t anywhere to hide should someone come along, and she felt better making herself as small as possible. She hated her orange jumpsuit and how it stood out against the stark white walls. She would feel like she was back at the medical department of the castle if the place wasn’t so filthy, but everywhere she touched had a grimy, greasy feel to it, and she had to fight to keep from cringing.