Risking the Crown

by Violet Paige

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Hi.” She smiled.

  “Any chance you’re as hungry as I am?” I asked.

  She moved to sit up, letting the sheet fall from her chest. I licked my lips at the sight of her tits.

  “Oh. I’ll call the chef.” She placed her feet on the floor.

  “No.” I reached for the phone next to the bed. “I’ll do it.”

  “But that’s my j—” She stopped and looked at me.

  “I have the rest of tonight to convince you, you don’t want this job anymore.” I waggled my eyebrows. “I will order our dinner.”

  She moved her hand away from the phone. “All right.”

  I grinned. “Caesar salad, right?”

  She looked surprised. “Yes.”

  “And I need a steak.” I called downstairs and placed our order. The chef in my apartments was only in residence when I requested him ahead of time. “Twenty minutes,” I reported.

  “Should I hide? What should I do?” she asked.

  I laughed loudly. “Why would you hide?”

  “I’m the royal manager. I can’t let someone from the kitchen staff see me here.” The look of panic on her face was adorable. I sat next to her and smoothed the hair from her face.

  “You are always here. I don’t think anyone will pay attention.” I tipped her chin toward me, drawing her in for a kiss. Her plump lips were the most kissable I’d ever tasted. I dipped my tongue into her mouth, savoring the sweetness. “But they might notice if you don’t put some clothes on.”

  “Oh God. Clothes.” She broke away. “They’re in the closet.”

  I chuckled. “For the woman who always has everything together, you are nervous about breaking the rules.”

  She spun around, wrapping the sheet with her. “That’s because we have broken all the rules. There are no more rules to break.” She opened the closet door.

  The last thing I wanted was for her to put on that stuffy pencil skirt and blouse. It didn’t show off how sexy her body was. I laid on the bed, ignoring the need for covers. She walked out of the closet dressed and stared at my cock.

  “I guess I’ll go meet the server.”

  “No.” I jumped to the floor. “I called you princess for a reason tonight.”

  I saw her blush. I’d never said it before. But it was fitting. She deserved the best. And I wanted her to feel beautiful and fucking desired when I was buried inside her. She was my princess.

  “So take that ridiculous outfit off. And I will be back with dinner.”

  I grabbed a pair of running shorts and walked to the foyer.

  The bell rang and I pulled the door open. The kitchen was operating quickly tonight. I didn’t expect our dinner for another five minutes.

  But when I opened the door, it was the last person I wanted to see.

  Sutcliffe.

  16

  Kenley

  The door closed and I bit my lip as I shed the uniform I wore every day to work. I stepped out of the skirt and made a pile with my bra and panties on top. I fluffed the pillows and remade the bed before sliding between the sheets.

  There was something sensual about waiting for Nic naked in his bed. I didn’t think it was food I was actually hungry for. It was him. I needed his skin sliding against mine. The sound of his breath in my ear. The predator look in his eyes that made me knees weak.

  I didn’t really care about my salad or if I ever ate. I wanted this man. I wanted the night he promised me. Because somewhere in the back of my head, I knew it was the only night like this we would have.

  I wasn’t stupid. I knew every royal law and code that existed. What he was proposing was strictly forbidden, and I wasn’t about to throw away a life of training and devotion so he could ruin his title.

  But for tonight, I wasn’t going to wallow. I was going to enjoy.

  I was going to savor my dessert.

  I heard Dominic’s voice through the door. I sat forward, listening to his conversation with the server and then the utter horror spilled through me. That wasn’t a server. That was Sutcliffe in the residence. Holy shit.

  I didn’t know whether to duck under the covers or run to the closet. If for some reason he walked into the prince’s bedroom, he’d see my employee uniform. He would know there was a manager sleeping with Dominic.

  It wasn’t like I was the only option. There was Ayla. And then of course the new girl Colette who had started on Prince Liam’s staff. Was I praying that Dominic’s man whore reputation would lead Sutcliffe away from suspecting me?

  Whatever I did, I had to hide the clothes. I was careful not to make any noise as I tiptoed to the bathroom with the garments. I looked up and saw my reflection. I was naked, sneaking in the prince’s suite with evidence of our indiscretion. What in the hell had happened today?

  I jumped when Dominic appeared behind me.

  “There you are.” He curled his hands around my waist, shoving the clothes to the floor.

  “That was Sutcliffe.”

  He nodded. “It was. He’s gone.” His hands traveled over my hipbones and between my legs.

  “What was that about?” I stared at Dominic in the mirror. He kissed my neck.

  “Something about the ambassador. Can’t locate my manager.”

  I froze. “What? He’s looking for me?”

  Dominic’s hands roamed my body. I watched in amazement as he navigated my curves like an expert. “Shh…I took care of Sutcliffe.”

  “He’s my boss, Nic.” But the strength in my voice turned to a whimper when he pried my slit apart and began to massage my swollen pussy.

  “I’m your boss, princess.”

  I closed my eyes. I didn’t know what to think. What to feel. I wasn’t going to win a war when my heart and head were battling each other.

  “I serve at the pleasure of the royal household,” I whispered. “Sutcliffe can transfer me tomorrow. You know that.”

  His eyes flared. “No he can’t. You’re not going anywhere.”

  I looked down as his hands wrapped around my wrists. He led me to the counter, placing my palms on the marble surface. My gaze drifted upward in the mirror. He towered behind me. God, he was so strong and broad. His shoulders were like massive boulders. His arms ripped from daily workouts. And yet there was something graceful when he moved. It had to be the swimmer in him. He dripped with sex appeal.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off him when he pushed his cock to my entrance. I wiggled back into him, wanting more. Wanting it all at once. I was already hot and wet. Soaking for this man I didn’t think I could live without.

  The heel of his hand made a path down my spine until he reached my ass. “You are so beautiful, Kenley.” His eyes flickered.

  My lips parted as he sank into me. “Ohh.”

  He grinned. “And sexy.” He slammed into me and my breasts bounced at the impact.

  I pushed into the counter, wanting more resistance, sending my hips upward, hiking my ass higher in the air.

  “Fuck,” he growled.

  My eyes wanted to close. I wanted to get lost in this. I wanted to catapult through sensations, but his eyes were locked on mine. I watched him take me over and over. My skin was flushed. My hair was tumbling in waves around me, and I’d never felt more beautiful or wanted.

  It was what I always thought it would be like with him. What complete adoration would feel like. He thrust inside me, groaning with pleasure.

  “Oh Nic,” I whimpered. My knees were shaking. I didn’t know how much longer I could stand on my feet. My orgasm was barely at bay. He brought it to the surface with another thrust.

  I shook as he pumped in and out of me. “Oh. Oh. Oh,” I cried before the deluge of heated pulses consumed my body.

  “Oh, baby. So fucking sexy.” He soared inside me and I knew he was cresting at the top of his climax.

  He gripped my hips with urgent need as his cock thumped inside my walls with his release.

  “Oh shit, Kenley.” He breathed raspy breaths.r />
  I gasped for air. “I know.”

  He brought me into his arms, twirling me toward him. His mouth covered mine in a passionate kiss.

  “I’m sure there’s food out there by now.” He grinned.

  “Oh God? Did the server hear us?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t give a shit.”

  I knew he stopped short of saying they had heard him with other women before. He kissed me on the temple. “I like how you sound when you’re fucking.” He grinned.

  I blushed. “Thank you?”

  “We need food and showers. Maybe more games after that?”

  I giggled, following him back to the bedroom. “You want to play trivia again?”

  He stopped in mid-stride.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry for yesterday.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I was an ass to you.” He tossed a T-shirt to me. “I wanted to tell you about the letter last night. And things were different. I couldn’t tell you.”

  “Different? How so?” I pulled the shirt over my head. I liked wearing his clothes.

  “I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And it was distracting. And that stunt you pulled in my closet not wearing anything.”

  “You walked in on me.”

  “Not completely by accident.” He winked. “And not disappointed.”

  I pinched my lips together. “Nothing like being the prince’s sex toy.”

  He laughed. “That’s the last thing you are to me. You’ve been my advisor. My sounding board. My very wise council. And when I let you, my friend.” His eyes softened. “And yesterday, I think that started to come in focus like it never had.”

  I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. It was different. No matter how I fought it, or tried to ignore it, my feelings for him and doubled.

  He wrapped his hands around my waist. “And once I couldn’t take my eyes off you, I couldn’t look at you the same way. That genie was out of the bottle, baby.”

  “Really?” I searched his eyes.

  “Really. I will never see you as Kenley DuBois, royal manager.”

  “How do you see me?” I whispered.

  “As my princess.” His lips crushed mine and I melted into his arms.

  17

  Dominic

  The chef had prepared the steak as I had requested. That was part of being royal. I got everything I wanted. Right now. I wanted Kenley.

  She sat across from me at the dining room table, wearing my T-shirt. I didn’t think she could be any cuter.

  “I know I said I wanted tonight to be about us, but I need to check my messages. Montclair promised me the first update before midnight.”

  “There could be information about Sophia and the baby? Check. You have to check,” she urged.

  I walked to the dresser where I left my phone and returned, scrolling through messages.

  There was one from Johannes.

  “I have something.”

  “What is it? What does it say?” Kenley placed her goblet of water on the table. She leaned forward.

  “It says she’s in the States.”

  “America? Which state?”

  I sat in the chair. “Well. This is strange. Isn’t my sister-in-law from South Carolina?” I asked.

  “Yes, the queen is from the coast there. She was here studying at the Conservatory.”

  I rubbed my jaw. There wasn’t much to go on. But Johannes Montclair had a location at least. He worked fast. I had hired his best security agent for a reason. I needed someone with discretion and expertise.

  “Well, that’s where they are. Sophia and the baby are in South Carolina.”

  Kenley looked at me. “You want to go, don’t you?”

  I sighed. I didn’t know what to do, only that I had to see my daughter. She wasn’t two yet. There was still time to get to know her. Sophia had stolen her first eighteen months from me. I couldn’t let her steal anymore.

  “Yes.”

  “An international royal trip would need to be coordinated.” I knew she was thinking through what this kind of travel would require. Her brows narrowed. “And we would need a viable reason. Also, we would have to keep Sophia away from the media.”

  I nodded. “I agree with everything you’ve said.”

  “I can start right now. I can look at your calendar and block off a few weeks.”

  “No.” My voice was firm. I rose from the table and walked around to Kenley. “That’s not the role I want you to play anymore.”

  She closed her eyes. “I am your royal manager. This is what I’m trained to do. No one can handle this situation better than I can. This is what I do. This is how I help you.”

  “No.”

  She continued in complete defiance. “You also have to have the king’s approval. Maybe this is a time we could benefit from having the queen as an ally. Maybe she’d like to go home? We could work a full royal Galona-U.S. publicity tour. We could travel to several states and include the queen’s home state as the starting point. It’s been years since the Sauvages have planned anything.”

  “Kenley,” I warned.

  She looked at me, full of questions. “I think it makes sense. The queen can travel with a full royal caravan. What don’t you like about it?”

  “She’s not going.”

  “Why not? It’s perfect.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t ask the queen to do that.”

  “But if she knew the circumstances. If you told them it’s to bring the princess home. The king isn’t going to deny his own niece.”

  “Kenley, Molly is pregnant.”

  She gasped. “What?”

  “They told me at dinner last night. No one knows.”

  “Sutcliffe?”

  I shook my head. “He doesn’t have a clue. They don’t want him to ruin their excitement with royal decrees.”

  The recognition shifted. “This means you’re no longer next in line to the throne.”

  “True. But I was never going to be king. I don’t want it.”

  “But why not? You’d be an amazing king.”

  I huffed. “I’m two days out of rehab. Only you would think I would make an amazing king. I have a child that’s been hidden from me because I wasn’t a fit parent.”

  “That’s not true. Sophia gave up on you. She hid your daughter because of her fear of the press. Not because of you.”

  “I live in a damn fishbowl. She couldn’t be with me without the constant pressure this life requires.”

  I couldn’t believe we were discussing my ex. It was strangely uncomfortable. I had always been able to tell Kenley everything, and now bringing up someone who hurt me, who broke my heart, didn’t seem right. The last thing I wanted to do was defend Sophia’s choices.

  I knew what my life did to her. The day she left was the day the drinking became something it never had before. Nightcaps became full bottles. Cocktail parties meant staying until the bar was closed. And managing me, meant watching me destroy myself. I looked at Kenley. She had endured so much.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “No. Don’t apologize to me.” I lifted her chin. “Never apologize.”

  My chest hammered with how much I wanted her. I still had the rest of tonight to prove to her she could leave her commitment behind her.

  I had a better offer. One that put her in the middle of everything royal.

  18

  Kenley

  My head spun. I wasn’t sure if it was from the sex, the realization Dominic was a father, or because he was taking us so seriously.

  He was on the phone with Johannes Montclair. They had been talking for at least twenty minutes. I didn’t like the arrangement they had. Montclair was from one of Galona’s oldest families, as old as the Sauvages even. He was an earl, but ran a number of underground operations I didn’t approve of. Although, I didn’t like it when anyone in the royal household crossed the lines of the law. It made me nervous. It usually meant
there was a mess for me to clean up.

  It would be a complete nightmare if anyone discovered Dominic was searching for Sophia. I watched him pace around the rooms, asking questions brusquely.

  But there was someone out there who knew about Sophia and the baby. Someone who had written to Dominic. I wondered if he was focused on the right thing. He was too close to the situation to see there were other obstacles at play.

  As far as we knew, Sophia had no idea he knew about the baby. That could be an advantage. Dominic didn’t want me to sort through every single angle, but it was the only thing I knew to do. When there was a royal crisis, I was the one who dealt with the fall out. I knew how to craft perfectly worded press releases. I knew how to spin a story. I knew how to deflect the public’s interests. I could shift the focus to something completely abstract. And it was seamless. It always worked. I had always pulled off the impossible. If he ever needed me to tap into that side of my talent, it was now.

  He hung up and walked back to the couch where I sat.

  “Johannes had a few more details,” he announced.

  “Oh? What did he say?” I had to stay calm. Grilling him right now wouldn’t make the information come faster.

  “Sophia moved to France after she left Freychon. She saw a doctor there for a few months before she moved to the States. It seems there were issues with the pregnancy.”

  I sat closer to the edge of the cushion.

  “But she’s ok?” I asked.

  “He dug through the medical records and she seems to be fine now.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I just can’t believe she would have done it all on her own. He said it was serious for a while. She could have died. She could have lost the baby. Did she hate me that much to keep it from me?”

  I saw the pain in his eyes.

  “She wasn’t thinking, Nic. She probably went into survival mode.” I couldn’t believe I was trying to make excuses for Sophia. I had never liked her. I liked her less now.

  “But I had resources. I could have made sure she had the best doctors in the world.” His eyes darted back and forth. “She’d rather die than have my help.” He pressed his palms into his knees. “And it could have cost me my daughter.”