Fallen Princess

by Chantal Fernando

  I open the door to a handsome man holding a bouquet of black roses and a smile.

  “You look stunning,” he says, eyes roaming over my dress and back up again. He looks pretty good himself, in a black shirt, jeans, and boots. I’ve never seen him so dressed up, and it’s kind of sexy, but I think I’ll always prefer him in his police uniform.

  “Thank you,” I reply, smelling the flowers as he steps inside. “These are beautiful, Felix.”

  He gets extra points for making them my favorite color. I’ve seen these flowers online, they are the ones that can apparently live for a year. I don’t know how they do it, but they’re absolutely amazing, and I won’t have to throw them out in a few days.

  “I’ve always wanted some of these,” I admit to him, smiling down at them. “Black like my soul.”

  “Or so you’d like people to think,” he replies as I place the flowers on the decorative table near my front door.

  I grab my bag and take his hand with my other hand. “You making theories about me, Felix?”

  “No, just getting to know you,” he murmurs, holding the door open for me. “Shall we?”

  I nod, locking the door and walking with him to his car, a silver Cadillac. He opens the door for me, forever the gentleman, and waits until I’m seated to close the door and move to the driver’s side.

  “So, where are we going?” I ask him once he’s settled in. “You still haven’t told me.”

  “That’s because it’s a surprise,” he tells me, and not for the first time. “Haven’t you had a man surprise you before?”

  I tilt my head to the side, thinking. “No, I don’t think I have. I mean, unless a surprise boner counts.”

  Felix flashes me an unimpressed look. I think about what I said and realize how it might sound if you didn’t know I was a virgin, which for some reason makes me amused at his annoyance.

  “Felix.”

  “Yes,” he replies, looking straight ahead.

  “Why are you grumpy? Are you jealous about someone else’s boner coming near me?” I ask him, unable to stop myself from laughing. “You’re seriously hilarious.”

  “This is our first date, and I’d rather not talk about any penises going near you.” He pauses, and then adds, “Unless it’s mine, of course.”

  “I guess this would be the right moment to tell you that I’m a virgin,” I blurt out, smirking when he brings his surprised blue eyes to me. “There’s my surprise for the night for you.”

  No one believes it when they hear it, and I don’t know why. It wasn’t like I was saving myself for marriage or anything like that; I’ve just been waiting for the right guy. So many girls I knew from school regretted who they gave their virginity to, and I never wanted to do that, so I’ve just been waiting until I was sure. I don’t know how it happened, but time just kept passing, and I just never met anyone I wanted to sleep with.

  “But you must have to fight men off you on the daily, you’re so beautiful,” he replies, confusion written all over his face.

  “Lucky I’m a badass fighter then, huh?” I tease, shifting on the seat. “It’s not like men haven’t tried. But I’m not sleeping with someone for the hell of it. I need to feel comfortable, and trust that person . . .”

  And I rarely trust anyone.

  My mom has always instilled in me high self-confidence, and I don’t know if that has something to do with this, or maybe just the fact that I’m seriously fussy, but I’m glad I waited.

  Especially now that I’ve met the man sitting next to me.

  “I don’t know why I’m so shocked, but I am,” he murmurs, reaching over and squeezing my thigh.

  “This is when you open up about your sexual experience,” I prompt, arching a brow and looking at him expectantly. Whatever he says won’t change anything, but this is all part of getting to know each other. Nothing is off-limits or too personal, or at least that’s how I feel it should be when you’re with the right partner.

  “Well, I’m not a virgin,” he starts with, studying me, maybe to see if that bothers me or not. “But I’m kind of wishing that I was right now.”

  I don’t want him to feel that way at all.

  “I’d never assume you were a virgin, not at your age and not with those dimples. I’m not going to judge you, whether you’ve slept with five or thirty,” I say with a shrug.

  I really hope it’s not that many though.

  “I’ve slept with about ten women,” he continues. “I’ve had a few one-night stands. The rest were girlfriends.”

  “That’s less than I thought it was going to be,” I admit, looking down at my black fingernails. “What with you being a football player and all that.”

  “This is not how I pictured the start of our date going,” he says in a dry tone, making me laugh. He quickly glances at me before looking back at the road. “But you know what, I want to know everything about you. The good and the bad. I’m glad we had this conversation. Especially because now if you make a penis reference, I won’t have any reason to get jealous.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “Oh, so you admit you were jealous! And hey, I’ve still seen one and touched one.”

  Look at me, bragging about my lack of experience. Not something I ever thought I’d be doing.

  “So have I,” he laughs, not bothered in the least. In fact, he looks happy, a wide smile on his lips. Does he like the idea that if we had sex, he would be my first? I mean, he’d have to take the lead, not that I can see him minding that. Felix has something about him that screams dominance, yet he doesn’t always show that side of him, which I also appreciate.

  I wouldn’t take kindly to a man telling me what to do, but at the same time I like that he can take control of any situation if he needs to.

  “Okay, I need you to put this on,” he tells me, handing me one of those sleeping masks that covers your eyes. This one has a pug on it.

  “What? Why? Where are you taking me?” I ask, lifting it up and sliding it on. “And whose mask is this?”

  “I bought it for the occasion—cute isn’t it?” he says, sounding a little too cheerful. “I don’t want you to see where we’re going until we’re there.”

  Well, at least I know that he’s a dog person.

  “Okay,” I whisper, dragging out the word, excitement filling me. The fact that he’s put so much thought and effort into tonight means more than anything, and I know that I’m going to love whatever he comes up with. “I’m pretty fucking excited right now.”

  “Good,” he rumbles, touching my thigh again, sending shivers all over my body.

  Fuck.

  It’s all there.

  The mental and emotional connection, the physical attraction.

  He’s the trifecta.

  And it’s both exhilarating and terrifying.

  Felix helps me out of the car and leads me to wherever we’re meant to be going. The sleeping mask isn’t the best, but I’m still not able to see where the hell we are, so it definitely did the trick, pug and all.

  “I’m going to carry you up these stairs,” he warns me, lifting me up bride-style while I hold on to his strong shoulders. When we reach the top he doesn’t bother to put me down, just keeps carrying me to our secret destination.

  “Almost there.”

  “You aren’t even panting,” I point out.

  “You’re not heavy,” he tells me, kissing my cheek. “I could carry you all day, but fortunately I won’t have to because we’re here.”

  He puts me down and slides off the mask, but before I can look around and see where we are, he’s kissing me, and my eyes are closed once more, lost in him, in his taste and scent. I’m dazed when he pulls away, but I look behind him and grin when I see where he has brought me.

  “If I knew this was where we were going, I sure as hell wouldn’t have worn this dress,” I say, glancing down at my heels and frowning.

  “I have it all sorted,” he assures me, moving to the corner of the room and picking up a black bag.
“And you’ll need the dress for the second half of the date.”

  I shake my head in amazement. I love rock climbing, always have, but it’s been so long since I’ve done it.

  “I love this,” I tell him. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

  “I was hoping you would,” he murmurs, opening the bag and pulling out some sweatpants and a shirt for me, along with some sneakers. “A friend of mine owns this place, and when I told him about you he said he’d help me set this up.”

  “Is that why no one else is here?” I ask him, doing a full-circle spin.

  We have the whole place to ourselves.

  “Except for a few of the employees, you know, so either of us don’t fall off and die.” He chuckles, removing his shirt to reveal a white singlet, muscles bulging.

  “Yeah probably for the best, in case one of us gets a little . . . distracted,” I mutter, licking my lips suggestively. “Where can I put these on?” I ask him, glancing around. “Wouldn’t want to put on a show for the staff.”

  He shows me where the bathroom is. “Come on, I’ll come with you. I have to change my pants and shoes anyway.”

  “How did you know my shoe size?” I ask him, eyeing the brand-new Nike trainers.

  “I looked at the shoes you wear to work.” He shrugs, like it was a no-brainer. “And I noticed you liked Nikes because of your gym shoes, so instead of asking you to bring yours and giving you a hint that we might be doing something physical, I just went out and bought you new shit instead.”

  If he keeps this up, we definitely will be getting physical.

  “Great detective work. You didn’t have to buy me anything though,” I comment as we walk into the changing room together.

  “I know,” he replies, as I boldly let my little black dress drop to the floor, so I’m standing there in nothing but black silk and heels.

  “Wow,” he whispers, slowly taking me in from head to toe.

  I flash him a cheeky smile and bend down to remove my shoes, and then I slide on the track pants. They fit like a glove. Just as I straighten, Felix comes up to me and grabs me by the hips, pulling me forward against him.

  “I’m feeling like a really lucky man right now,” he says against my lips, kissing me softly, a gentle tease promising of much more to come. He cups the side of my neck, stroking my skin with his thumb, driving me crazy. If he doesn’t step away from me right now, I don’t know how much rock climbing we’re going to be getting in.

  “You’re not the only lucky one,” I manage to reply, picking up the top and sliding it on over my bra. I don’t feel any less sexy in the casual clothes, especially when we both know what I have on underneath.

  Tension filling the room, we manage to get ready and head back outside to do some climbing.

  I wouldn’t mind climbing him right now.

  Clover, concentrate.

  Time to show off my rock climbing skills.

  After he beats me to the top, twice, much to my dismay, we get re-dressed and head out for dinner. Felix chose a Vietnamese-French fusion restaurant, all because I once mentioned that I love Asian food. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone pay so much attention to my every word, listening to every detail and making notes about it. Considering everything I’m hiding, I guess that can also be a bad thing. I push that thought away, not wanting anything to ruin the second part of the evening he’s got planned. He pulls out all the chivalrous stops, opening doors, pulling out chairs, and even making sure he walks on the side of the pathway closest to the road. He’s obviously been raised to be a gentleman, and I wasn’t sure his kind even existed anymore in our generation.

  “I love this place already,” I say, glancing over the menu. “Have you eaten here before?”

  He shakes his head. “I haven’t, but the reviews were really good. It wasn’t easy to get a reservation either.”

  I glance around at all the full tables. “I would imagine. What are you going to order?”

  He scans the menu in his hands. “I’m eyeing the shared plate.”

  “The shared plate looks good,” I agree, reading all the different things to try on it. “A little taste of everything on the menu. Or did you want to eat it all by yourself?”

  His lip twitches. “I was going to, but for you, I’d be willing to make a sacrifice.”

  I tuck my hair back behind my ear and shake my head in amusement. “Maybe we should get that and something else.”

  “Sounds perfect. That rock climbing made me hungry.”

  Watching him climb, material stretched thin, made me hungry too.

  We settle on the shared plate, some crab noodles, and wine.

  “I love that you can do both,” he suddenly says, watching me with hooded eyes from across the table.

  “Do both what?” I ask him, confused.

  “Be badass and casual sexy, then you turn into this, all class in your dress, heels, and makeup. You’re the best of all worlds,” he says, lifting his glass to his lips and taking a sip.

  “Well, aren’t you all complimentary today.” I grin. “I’m not used to losing though, so don’t make it a habit.”

  “You won’t win all the time, Clo.” He smirks, leaning back in his seat and studying me. “That would be too boring for you. You need someone to keep it interesting and keep pushing you. Someone who can handle you.”

  “And do you think that person is you?” I ask boldly, lifting my chin.

  All I get in reply is matching dimples.

  This has been the best date already, and I haven’t even tried the food yet.

  Ten out of ten would recommend.

  “Cara’s still out,” I announce, glancing down at my watch the next day. “How long is this catch-up with her . . . work acquaintance going to take?”

  “You can’t even say out loud that she has other friends, can you?” Rhett says with a smirk.

  “I prefer not to think about it,” I agree with a grin. “A little jealousy is healthy in any relationship. Just a little though. Too much and it’s time to bail.”

  “You have issues,” he says, flicking his blond hair off his forehead.

  “It looks like we all have issues right now,” I grumble, rubbing my temples, a sudden migraine forming. “Some more than others.”

  Rhett’s blue eyes shine with amusement. “When are you going to tell everyone? Maybe I should take a vacation around that time so I don’t have to deal with any of the drama.”

  “Very funny,” I reply, just as there’s a knock on my door.

  Rhett and I share a look.

  I shrug as Rhett gets up to answer the door.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Rhett asks in a curt voice as he opens the door. “Clo, why is there some pretty boy at your door?”

  “I’m Felix. Who are you?” Felix fires back, sounding both confused and pissed off.

  Ahh, shit.

  Felix probably thinks I have some random guy over and is probably judging me hard right now.

  Lovely.

  At least Rhett isn’t wearing his cut, or I’d have even more explaining to do. I move next to Rhett and force a smile. “Felix is my partner. Felix, this is Rhett. One of my best friends,” I explain.

  “And what is your partner doing at your place on your day off?” Rhett asks, scowling.

  Great, he’s in full protection mode.

  Here we go.

  The two of them eye each other.

  They’re both tall, but Felix is just a little taller than Rhett. Rhett makes up for it in his width, though.

  “Cut it out,” I tell Rhett, slyly nudging him and hoping that he takes the hint.

  He doesn’t.

  “Going to take a lot more than this to scare me off,” Felix replies, looking Rhett straight in the eye. “I was going to see if you wanted to go out for dinner and drinks, Clo, but if you’re busy we can do it another time.”

  “Another time would be perfect,” I tell Felix with a small smile. “Rhett drove a long way to see me, so I’m going
to hang with him tonight. Thanks for the invitation though.”

  I step closer to him and press a kiss to his cheek.

  He smiles down at me with his eyes, then presses another, bolder kiss against my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  Rhett moves forward and closes the door and turns to face me. “Please tell me this is a fuckin’ joke?”

  “What?” I ask him, lifting my chin. “I’m allowed to have cop friends. What did you expect would happen? I’d be a cop but not associate with any of them?”

  “I was hoping,” he grumbles, following me into the kitchen and raiding my fridge. “A man can dream, right? Telling your parents about being a cop is one thing, but telling them you’re also dating a cop? I don’t know how that’s going to go down.”

  “Uncle Ranger is with a cop,” I point out, referring to one of my dad’s club brothers.

  “Uncle Ranger left the MC,” he reminds me.

  Oh, right.

  He’s an ex–Wind Dragons’ member, and I can’t be sure but I think he left because his wife is a cop.

  Not looking good for me.

  “He’s still family though,” I say, pulling out a chair and sitting down with a sigh. “Why can’t I have the best of both worlds? My mom manages it. It’s not impossible.”

  “Is this how it feels when you talk to me about Cara? When the truth is so obviously there? You are dating a cop; this isn’t a small issue, Clo. Fuck, it is frustrating,” he says, a moment of realization hitting him. He sits down opposite me with a bottle of water in his hand.

  “Yes!” I reply instantly. “Except in your case, this has been going on for years and years, so imagine how frustrating it’s been for me. Worst case of denial I’ve ever seen.”

  “Okay, we’re still talking about you though,” the bastard says, with a smirk playing on his lips. “And the pretty-boy cop.”

  “He’s not a pretty boy,” I deny, narrowing my eyes on him. “And I’ll date whoever I want, Rhett, don’t you try that caveman shit on me. Save it for Cara.”