by Nikki Chase
He traps my gaze as he eats me out. While his lips and tongue tease my clit, he grabs my thighs with both hands, immobilizing all my limbs. He sees every little twitch of my eyebrow, every little jerk of my arm against his belt around my wrists.
My lips are parted, sighing and moaning my desire, telling him just how much I want him. As if my soaking wet pussy isn’t already doing a good job at that.
When I come, my fingers grab the headboard, while my legs splay open to give the prince better access. And there, on my bed in the inn, I shudder and shake against the prince’s mouth, his rough stubble grazing on my thighs.
I try to pull away when the sensations start to feel too much, but the strong hands around my thighs won’t let me. I look pleadingly into the prince’s eyes.
I’d beg him to stop, but I can’t say anything. I’m biting my lower lip so I don’t make any noise that’s too loud. If I open my mouth, I’d scream for sure.
My head rolls back. I arch my back as I lose control of my body, my muscles spasming from an overload of pleasure.
Finally, when my whole skin has been covered by a thin film of sweat, the prince takes his lips off my pussy. I can still feel it throbbing, the muscles contracting and expanding from the prolonged orgasm.
Before I have a chance to recover, the prince lies down behind me and pulls me back against his hard chest. Something hot and hard pushes at my opening. In my surprise, a moan escapes my lips as the prince slides into me smoothly, aided by my abundant wetness.
“Come for me,” he whispers in my ear as his arms wrap around me. His hands grab my tits and play with my clit.
Maybe it’s because I’m still sensitive from having come so much already. Maybe I’ve been trained well to obey the prince’s commands. Or maybe it’s the knowledge that the prince harbors some inconvenient feelings for me, too.
I don’t know what it is, but I come harder than I ever have before.
“You may tell me with your words that you don’t want to stay with me, but your body is more honest than that.” The prince wraps his hand around my neck as he continues to pump into me. He fucks me mercilessly. Punctuating every word with a hard slam into me, he growls, “You. Are. Mine.”
The primal, animalistic way he claims my body turns me into a heap of orgasms. My muscles tighten around his thick, hard cock, massaging him until finally, he comes with a groan and a bite on the back of my neck.
He really is a beast in bed. He has pumped my womb full of his seed, and he has marked my body as his own.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe I already belong to him. I’m just not ready to admit it to myself.
But ready or not, James is here, and he’s not letting me go.
“I’ll see you again here tomorrow night,” he says with his arms wrapped possessively around my body as I come down from my climax. “And that’s an order.”
Rosemary
“Oh my god, it’s so beautiful.” I drag air into my lungs and let out a big sigh. The view is literally breathtaking from up here.
James’ arms wrap around me. The warmth of his body feel comforting as the air gets thinner and cooler. “Not as beautiful as you.”
“That’s really cheesy,” I laugh, but my heart swells at his words.
I’ve heard similar comments from other guys, like Graham, but somehow it’s different when I hear it in James’ voice. I’m happy that’s how he sees me.
As the sun peeks over the mountain ranges in the horizon, the prince draws a deep breath and simply says, “Look at that.”
“Yeah. I’m glad we caught the sunrise.”
“So you agree now that I had a good, valid reason for you to stay over?” James asks as he tightens his hold around me and kisses me on the cheek.
“Maybe,” I admit.
Prince James asks me to stay over at Ardglass Palace every time I go there for dinner. To be perfectly honest, even though I act like he’s a pest for bugging me about it, I enjoy sleeping by his side all night. And I often accept the invitation—or obey the order—even if there’s no hot air balloon ride to get up for in the early morning.
The problem is, staying over messes with my work schedule at The Alcove too much, although Wanda doesn’t mind it. She doesn’t ask too many questions, even though she must know there’s something between the prince and me.
It has been six months since the pictures of us at The Dungeon were published.
Since then, we’ve been keeping a low profile.
We’ve mostly met up at The Alcove. Sometimes Prince James stays over in my room, but usually he’s gone before morning. We can’t risk him getting spotted by someone and us ending up on the gossip tabloids again.
In the past couple of months, the news about us have started to die down, so I’ve been able to start visiting the palace again.
There’s a bigger risk of getting caught at the door that has been discovered, though, so I’ve had to use the secret tunnel every time.
For a while, people were really curious about that door. It took an order from the capital to stop people from blowing it open with dynamite or something.
That royal order has saved the secrecy of the palace, but it has also confirmed that the government has something to hide. People’s speculations have only been getting wilder and wilder.
The craziest theory I’ve heard thus far is the one about a secret labor camp. The mysterious door apparently leads to prison where the government’s dissidents are forced to do dangerous work in some sort of a modern Gulag.
There’s another theory that’s almost equally wild. They say that the door hides a secret facility where the government stores classified information about extraterrestrials and even communicates with actual aliens.
As if James can read my mind, he says, “See? There are no emaciated political prisoners or aliens down there.”
I’m enchanted by my first look at Ardglass Palace from above, but I have to laugh. “I’m not one of the people who believes those stories. Maybe you should show this to the rest of the kingdom as proof.”
“What, take a whole kingdom on a hot air balloon ride? You think there’s enough room for all those people in this wicker basket? You’re cute, but you’re not very smart, are you?” he teases me.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m spending so much time alone with an infamous abuser.”
“Well played.” The prince chuckles.
Below us are natural rock structures. Through holes in the rock, I can see certain rooms in the palace.
The prince had already told me that Ardglass Palace is built into natural caves in the rock, but I didn’t expect it to look this beautiful. (To be fair, I didn’t know what to expect as this is the first and only secret palace I’ve seen.)
“See that green patch over there?” the prince asks, pointing ahead with his index finger.
“Yeah.”
“That’s the garden.”
“Oh, so that’s how it gets so much sun,” I say as I look at the big hole in the rock below us. “How is it that nobody has ever spotted the palace from above?”
“The airspace in this area is restricted. That’s why people haven’t taken to the skies as soon as the rumors about the palace got out. Without the no-flying ban, those TV stations would’ve definitely filmed everything from their helicopters.”
“And that restriction is also one of the reasons why conspiracy theorists feel justified, right?”
“Yeah.”
“See? I’m not just a pretty face,” I say, twisting around to flash James a big grin.
“Of course you’re not,” he says.
“Do you think maybe it’s time to let people know about the palace?” Quickly, I add, “I mean, I’m not telling you what to do. But I’m fascinated by the history and the architecture of Ardglass Palace. I think it’s a shame that people can never know about it.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that as well,” he says.
“I mean, obviously it would be better for people to app
reciate the palace for its historical significance than for them to suspect it as part of the government’s evil scheme.”
“Yeah,” he chuckles, “but that’s not the main reason why I want to reveal it to the public.”
“It’s not?”
“My reasons are more selfish than that.”
“Like what?”
“Like…” Prince James lets his sentence hang in the air. He grabs my shoulders and turns me around. His blue eyes appear brilliant under the first rays of the morning sun.
He runs his fingers through his hair and says, “Rosemary, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. It’s been a long while since I was happy. I think the last time was when my mother was still alive, ten years ago… but I digress.”
James takes a deep breath. He seems nervous. His fingers on my shoulder are squeezing me a little too hard, and he’s speaking a little too fast.
What has gotten him this worked up?
“What I really want to say is… I love you,” he says finally.
A smile blooms on my face.
That’s it? That’s why he’s so anxious?
That’s… kind of adorable.
“I love you, too,” I say.
“You do?” he asks as a hopeful smile appears on his handsome face.
I nod. Did he really think I’d respond with anything other than a declaration of my love for him?
The prince grabs my face with both hands and kisses me passionately.
I’ve known how James feels about me for a while. He always wants to spend time with me, he goes to great lengths to meet me despite the risks, and he’s always so sweet and passionate when we’re together.
Let me put it this way. He’s always either working or spending time with me.
So yes, this is not a surprise.
I just thought that maybe he’s not used to expressing his feelings openly, with his father being so distant and his mother having been gone for so long.
Many times, I’ve wanted to tell him how I feel about him, but I didn’t want to make things awkward for him. And I guess, even if I believe in equality, I still want the man to be the one to profess his love. Is that hypocritical?
Ah, who cares?
The man I love, loves me back. And he has arranged a hot air balloon ride just to say it right.
Nothing in the world can bother me right now.
When James pulls away, I put my hand on his face and get on my tippy toes to get him to kiss me again, but he only gives me a light peck.
“I love you, and kissing you has got to be one of my favorite things to do, but I need to tell you a few things about what it means if we’re going to make this relationship official.”
“Okay…”
The uncertainty of not knowing what he wants to discuss makes my heart race, but I know I don’t have anything to worry about.
Despite all the opportunities he’s had to exploit my trust, the prince has always shown himself to be capable and willing to look after me. I know he’s got my back.
“This is the reason why I’ve been rethinking the secrecy of the palace,” James says as the breeze flirts with his hair. “I told you I’ve been really happy, and the only thing that can make me happier is if I don’t have to sneak around to see you. I want to take you places, but we can’t even be seen together in The Dungeon again, regardless of whether we wear masks.”
“It’s also been getting harder and harder for me to field the questions from my family,” I say. “My sisters have been going through my stuff at home and even visiting The Alcove just to check on me. And my father sometimes asks questions I can’t answer. He’s never too pushy about it, but I feel bad about hiding something from him, something that’s really important to me.”
“So we agree that things can be better.” James levels his gaze at me and asks, “But do you know what it means if we’re going to tell the public about our relationship?”
“Yeah,” I say. “We’re going to confirm all the stories that have leaked. We’ll have to admit that it’s us in those pictures from The Dungeon.”
“Yeah. And we’ll have to explain the secret door. I’ve been thinking about just telling the truth about Ardglass Palace. I’ve spoken with a few of my father’s advisors, and they agree that there’s no big reason to keep it a secret anymore, especially now when the people have found the secret door and they’ve come up with all these crazy theories to explain it. The advisors agree that it might be better for us to be transparent about our relationship.”
“I didn’t know you’ve told people about us. I haven’t told anyone.”
“Well, there are rules about what a crown prince need to do to prepare for something like this,” he says.
“There are specific procedures for revealing a secret palace? How often does this happen?”
James laughs. His hand dips into the pocket of his suit jacket and he drops down to one knee.
What is he…? Did he drop something?
Or is this…?
It can’t be…
The prince pulls out a small box lined with blue velvet, making it apparent why he’s invited me on this hot air balloon ride.
When he opens the box, I see a ring lodged inside, with a big stone the deep blue color of Prince James’ eyes. The oval sapphire in the center is surrounded by a few smaller diamonds. The light hits the ring just right, making it glitter as it basks in the warm rays of the sun.
“Rosemary Wilson, will you marry me?” the prince asks, gazing at me with tenderness and anxiety in his eyes.
My mouth hangs open.
Of course I know that if things were to go smoothly with the prince, we’d eventually get married. But I didn’t think it was going to happen this quickly. I thought there was still a lot of time before I had to start worrying about things like… becoming the queen someday.
I have so many questions… Like, will the royal family accept me? What will the people say? What do I tell my father and my sisters? Will we have to admit our kinks to the whole kingdom?
But despite all those thoughts swirling in my mind, all that comes out of my mouth is… “Yes.”
“Yes?” Prince James asks as his worried frown is replaced by a joyful smile.
“Yes! Of course!” I exclaim, pulling him up into a big hug.
“I love you.” The prince glances down as he slides the ring onto my finger, then he fixes his intense gaze on me. “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world, and I promise I’ll make you happy.”
“I love you.” I smile as I look up into his dazzling blue eyes, the eyes that I’ll gaze into every day for the rest of my life.
Rosemary
The lights from the cameras are almost blinding.
I expected this, of course. But judging by how fast my heart is beating, I can’t say that I’m 100% prepared for it.
Since I accepted Prince James’ proposal on the hot air balloon ride, everything has been moving at lightning speed. It has only been a week, but the news has already begun to spread and now we’re sitting in front of rows of journalists, giving an official statement.
I know now why he took his time telling me about his feelings—because once we decide to make things official, everyone and their grandmother is interested in us.
“I can’t even begin to express how happy I am that Rosemary has accepted my proposal, and how excited I am for our future,” James says into about twenty microphones propped up on the table.
That’s the last sentence of the written statement that has been prepared by the palace’s press secretary, and now it’s time for the press to ask questions.
My fiancé, the crown prince, looks as handsome and powerful as he always has. There’s not a crease in his designer suit today, and I’ve also dressed up for this announcement.
A stylist and the press secretary came to us with a few dresses to choose from this morning. James picked the yellow one for me, because he said it reminded him of the first time he’d seen me at The Dungeon. It wa
s really sweet of him to remember.
Despite his outer calm, the prince holds my hand a little tighter than usual. It’s the only indication that he’s nervous about the questions they’ll soon ask him.
We’ve gone through all the important ones, but we need to make sure that we send the right message if we ever expect to get accepted by the people. We have a big scandal and a few bald-faced lies working against us.
“Your Royal Highness,” a hand shoots up as soon as the Q-and-A session begins, “A few months ago, you appeared on national TV and you denied knowing Rosemary Wilson. Did you know her at the time?”
“Like I said in my statement, there are some things that will need to be clarified, and that’s one of them,” the prince says as his thumb rubs my hand under the table. “I remember that interview. I did know Rosemary at the time, and it broke my heart to have to deny knowing her, but I had to do it. It was a matter of national security.”
He glances at me and adds, “Besides, all the media attention was very stressful to Rosemary, and I thought I could shelter her from public scrutiny.
“I apologize to the kingdom for making a false statement. My intention was to protect the woman I love.”
Most of the room goes wild with activity as cameras click and reporters shout out questions, their voices overlapping to form an indistinguishable din. A handful of female reporters seem to be stunned into silence, their lips parting and their eyes flashing with desire—sorry ladies, this man’s taken.
The press secretary holds up his hands to get everyone to quiet down. He points to a random reporter and allows him to ask a question.
“Were you the couple in those pictures from the club?”
“Yes,” the prince says, sending the whole room into another frenzy.
“What do you say to the allegations that you abuse women?” asks the next reporter.
“I say everything I’ve ever done with women has been safe and consensual,” the prince says.
I knew something like this was going to come up, but it still pains me to see James getting hounded like this, over some fictional abuse that has never even happened.
