Kian: Prince of Sorenia (Dirty Princes)

by Imani King

“Holy shit,” I say. “A commoner. And an American. Mother and Father will be so pleased.”

  He shakes his head and looks away. “It’s nothing; it can never be.”

  “What the hell is the point of being a royal if you can’t do what the hell you want?” And what I want—well it walked out of the door. I start going through the things she told me about her vacation. It wasn’t much. But maybe between the two of us, we could find them again.

  “Because we’re the royal family of a small country surrounded by much bigger ones that would love to swallow us whole. The only thing that keeps us safe is tradition and a clear line of succession. If I were to throw any doubts into the next heir, if the lineage were not traceable back to Noah, then the entire country could be at risk.”

  “Now you’re being pedantic,” I say.

  “I'm a realist, comes with being the oldest.” He smiles, but it seems halfhearted to me.

  “Fuck that noise, talk to me, Aidan.”

  “It’s nothing,” he says. “She was interesting. Funny. Vibrant. Energetic. I’ll get over it.”

  I nod but I’m sure he can see my surprise. I’ve never seen him like this, irking at the weight of his responsibilities. Somehow it lends credence to my own thoughts.

  “I get it,” I say.

  “Do you?” he asks. “My playboy brother gets what it’s like to want to be interested in the wrong woman?”

  “Yeah,” I say. “What if I was thinking the same? What if I’d like to drop the bad boy image, like I said”

  “You, dear brother, can do whatever you like. As I said, none of the responsibility is yours.” He looks over at me and smirks. “It’s not like you’re in any danger of running off and getting married. Not like I am. Not like Mother and Father want me to do.”

  I sigh. Aidan has always been like this. Stubborn. Judgmental. I know the real him—the one who is fun and hilarious and smart as a whip. But the whole crown prince thing brings out his less appealing side. The side that doesn’t realize I also have emotions—not ones I like to show. But they are there, nonetheless. And Abby stirred them up like no woman has done in ages.

  “I like her,” I say.

  “Who?”

  “The girl, Abby, the one I met last night,” I say. “I think I want to see her again.”

  “So do it,” Aidan says. He obviously doesn’t take any of this seriously. The only relevant problems belong to him. Just like always.

  “It’s not that easy, and you know it.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know if she wants to see me again,” I say, my voice sounding defeated.

  “Are you serious?” he asks. He looks over at me this time, like he’s hearing me for the first time this morning.

  “Yeah, I am. She’s intelligent, interesting. Far more than just beautiful. She’s that, too.”

  “You didn’t break our cover, did you?”

  “No, I didn’t out us as the royal family,” I snap. “What does it matter? I don’t think anyone here would care.”

  “You know the rules. If we get found out, then we have to travel as royals, not as vacationers. It would screw up everything. Not that I haven’t been tempted to tell someone before.” He gives me a slightly sheepish look and then averts his eyes.

  “Fine,” I sigh. “God, this gets old!”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “So, about this Eva girl. Is she something special, too?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “It’s nothing. I’m engaged, remember? Or betrothed. Whatever you want to call it.” He picks up his phone and scrolls through it, though I can tell he’s not really looking at anything.

  “She seems feisty. That’s all I could tell from seeing you two together. Did you hook up?”

  He leans his head back and closes his eyes. I wait for him to answer. He will eventually. This is just part of the game we play.

  “Yes, we did. She knows I can’t—” he pauses. “It doesn’t matter. She’s a bloody American. Can you imagine Mother and Father? ‘Oh, by the way, I brought home this girl, she’s from America.’”

  I laugh so hard that tears form in my eyes. I don’t mention that I’ve been imagining it all morning, and I’ve been thoroughly amused each time.

  “Mother would turn purple!” I exclaim, still laughing.

  Aidan snorts but doesn’t join in my amusement. His eyes are still glued to his phone.

  “Yes she would,” he says, his voice soft. “If either of us pulled this shit. Even you, Kian.”

  “I thought you two had a fight last night anyway? Abby said she saw something happen.”

  “We did,” he says. “Before I went to her room.”

  “About what?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he stands up and stretches. “Let’s get out of here. I’m stiff and sore. How about a run on the beach?”

  “Why not?” I reply. Secretly, I hope we run into the two girls when we’re out there.

  We dress and then walk to the beach. Security hangs back doing their best to blend in. We start at the far end of the beach and jog along the edge of the surf weaving to the side as it comes in to avoid getting our feet wet. Women gawk as we run. That’s nothing new. In fact, it’d be strange if they weren’t. I’m so used to it I ignore them. As we jog I see a honey-skinned woman that I can barely make out past the glare of the sun. Slowing, I squint behind my sunglasses. My heart is beating faster than the exercise would account for. Is it her?

  “What is it?” Aidan asks.

  Shaking my head, we continue jogging. I can’t take my eyes off the form that might be her. As we get closer, the glare in my eyes finally moves enough that I can see and it’s not her. Disappointment follows the rush of excitement. The hell did she do to break me? This is definitely not me. Aidan is staring as we run still waiting for an answer.

  “Nothing,” I say, picking up my pace to avoid him asking more questions.

  “Doesn’t look like nothing.”

  Instead of answering I pour on the speed. Digging my heels into the sand feels good. Each step pushing off the soft ground until solid purchase is found then springing into motion. Landing on my heel, my foot rolling forward to spring again off the ball of my foot. Pumping my arms with each forward motion to increase my momentum. My entire body is in motion, working together. I love the feel of running like this; it’s powerful and freeing. All my focus is on the next step, the next motion, there is no room for thought beyond the next move. No breathe for conversation.

  Aidan catches up to me, glances over, grins, then it’s on. There’s no need to speak the challenge. It’s in his eyes. He bounds forward, and now I’m struggling to keep up with him. He’s fast, always has been a bit faster than I am, but I’ve got more endurance. He’ll beat me in the sprint, but I’ll win the race. Today though--today is the day I beat him.

  I pour myself into it. Pushing as hard as I can, my blood pumps faster. The muscles respond, and I’m bounding through along the beach. Aidan is just ahead of me. All my focus is on passing him by. The people on the beach become blurs; he’s all I see as I run. The waves roll in, covering my feet but I don’t waste the steps to dodge. He’s just a few steps ahead. I’m closing in on him, closer, almost there.

  Someone is in front of me. I hit them full force while in mid-step, my front foot is in the air my back foot leaves the ground, and I’m flying through the air. I land on the sand and roll with the impact to avoid serious damage. When I come to a stop, I’m on my knees looking out towards the ocean. I leap to my feet, make a motion to my bodyguards that I’m fine and to stop their approach. Then I storm towards the person who got in my way.

  “What the hell is wrong with you!” I shout.

  Another woman runs up to the one I ran into and is helping her to her feet. Dim awareness comes through my rage at losing to Aidan who’s just now turning to come back. I recognize the girl helping the other one up. It can’t be…

  “Can’t you watch where you’re going!” the fr
iend yells.

  Eva. Aidan’s girl. She’s helping Abby back to her feet. Damn she looks good. She’s wearing a bikini that shows off all her assets. And of course, she’s soaking wet now that I knocked her into the ocean.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “You should be. What the hell? Do you think you own the beach or something?”

  I glance at the friend yelling at me, but most of my attention is on Abby.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, offering her my hand.

  When she looks up at me, I almost lose my breath. She's so beautiful, the loveliness shining through her.

  This is bad, Kian. Very, very bad.

  You’re the prince who can get away with anything. But falling for a girl like this…it’s not good news.

  I shake off the thought, and she takes my hand to stand up.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “So, details!” Eva pesters me again.

  The sand is warm as we step out onto it and walk down towards the surf. It feels nice squishing up between my toes. My sandals dangle from a finger so that I can enjoy it.

  “It was nice,” I say.

  “Nice? How nice? How big? How long? Was he a thirty-second wonder? Did he give as good as he got? Come on girl, details!”

  My cheeks burn hot, but the bright sun hides my embarrassment.

  “It was… good. Really good.”

  “Good? Are you seriously going to make me work this hard to get the details? Come on girlfriend, spill!”

  Shaking my head, I know she’s not going to let me off the hook. “Okay well, it’s, I don’t know. He was nice, nicer than I expected actually.”

  “Nice is good,” she says, smirking. “Better than Aidan, then.”

  “What happened there?” I laugh. Eva always has a way of attracting the exact wrong guy for her.

  “Oh no, none of that. We went home together, but my story’s not as interesting,” she says, waving a finger at me. “You aren’t sidetracking me that easy.”

  “Can’t blame me for trying, right?”

  “No but still, give, details!”

  “I liked him,” I admit as much to myself as to her. “It would be nice to get to know him, you know, better.”

  “Serious?”

  “Yeah, I think so, there’s something about him that was interesting. I’d like to know more, but whatever. That’d be against the rules, right? One-night stand, no strings, no commitments.”

  “But you’re interested in him?” she asks.

  “Yeah, maybe, I don’t know. He asked me to go out on his yacht with him. His yacht. Can you imagine?”

  “Wow, impressive,” Eva says, kicking her toes against the sand.

  “Anyway, it is what it is, no strings, that’s the rules.”

  “You can’t let some stupid rules we made up on the trip out here get in the way of something that might be real.”

  “How can there be something ‘real’? We hooked up and even then we didn’t actually have sex, we just did oral. It wasn’t a big deal… I don’t think.”

  “Oh, details! Yay!” she squeals. “He went down on you? Was he good? God, I love good oral, but most guys are so terrible at it!”

  The embarrassment rushes back in, and I’m sure that it’s showing on my face. I shake my head trying to find a way out of the conversation. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Are you kidding me? No!” Eva laughs. “I love embarrassed Abby. She’s so cute!”

  “Thanks,” I grouse.

  “Well? More details? Please?”

  “What about his friend that you were dancing with?” I ask. “Come on; I spilled now it’s your turn.”

  Eva rolls her eyes. We walk into the edge of the surf letting the cool water wash over our feet then turn and walk along the beach.

  “Arrogant, stuffy, extremely sexy, good in bed,” she says, shrugging. “Nothing will come of me and Aidan. He’s… well, he’s complicated. And like I said, stuffy. He’s got… things going on.”

  “Nothing is going on with Kian, either. It was a one-night stand. No strings, no follow ups. I’m not breaking any rules.”

  “Bah, rules were made to be broken.” She waves a hand.

  Are they? Really? We walk in silence while I think about that very point. Roger broke my heart, and I can’t say I’m over it by any stretch of the imagination. We were together for so long and then he cheats on me. Why didn’t I see it coming? How could I have been so blind? I trusted him. One hundred percent put all my faith and love into one man who didn’t do the same back.

  Kian is nothing like Roger, and I don’t mean that he’s a better lover, though he is. God knows Roger would never have gone down like that. No, he’s a bad boy. It’s obvious in his swagger, everything about him screams it. I’m a nerdy intellectual who wants to be a professor. What would I do with a guy like him? I couldn’t trust him. That much is obvious, isn’t it? Kian is a guy who measures his day by how many conquests he’s made.

  No, no strings are best. I’m sure of it. Yet… I do want to know him better. There’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on. God, am I falling for the bad boy syndrome? Damn it I’m not a heroine in some bad plot. I’m not falling for the ‘he’s bad but he’s hurting inside’ trope. No, I’m not doing it, I know I’m not. Am I?

  “I don’t know,” I say at last.

  “Of course you don’t,” Eva says. “You’re cautious and thinking it all out entirely too much. You want to get to know him, then do it. What’s the worst that can happen? He’s a jerk and you walk away. That’s it, really. I’m not saying throw your heart into it I’m just saying you should be open to the experience. That’s all.”

  “Maybe—”

  The world turns upside down, and I’m looking at my own feet above me as I fly into the air. I land in the shallow water with a splash and salt water goes up my nose. I’m dunked under and flailing to get back to my feet. My head is spinning as I try to sort out up from down and find my way out of the water. Breaking the surface, I splutter, gasping for precious air.

  “Can’t you watch where you’re going!” Eva is screaming.

  I’m blinking to clear my eyes of water but everything is still blurry. Hands are on me, I think they’re Eva’s, but I’m not sure. Wiping my eyes, my vision finally clears. My stomach sinks. Unreal. This can’t be happening. What have I done to deserve this? It’s him. My one-night stand.

  “I’m sorry—” he’s saying, his eyes locked on me.

  “You should be, the hell? Do you think you own the beach or something?” Eva is screaming, her arms waving.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, holding his hand out to me.

  A lump forms in my throat, my mouth is dry, I can’t answer him. I can’t force words out. I manage to nod, wanting nothing more than to find a place to hide. How can this be happening? How, on this massive beach, can I be the one he runs into?

  His hand hangs between us. Eva is still yelling, but her words are coming from a distance now, barely heard or understood. I’m lost in his eyes. My hand moves, I see it, but I don’t feel connected to it. Things around me are happening, and I’m here, but I’m not part of them. He smiles and God help me, a furious need sweeps through my center. My core tightens, and I want him.

  His hand grips my arm then he has both of his hands on my arms. Distantly, I feel his touch and the way my skin lights on fire. Sensations run through my limbs to my core igniting the heat of desire. He pulls me to my feet, holding onto me until I’m steady then his hands are still on me, just a moment longer. His fingers linger as his hands move away. My skin cries out—and I realize I don’t want to lose contact. Everything speeds up to normal as I slam back into my head.

  “What the hell happened?” Another voice breaks through the sound of the rolling ocean. It’s Kian’s brother, Aidan.

  Eva jumps and turns, then rolls her eyes and looks away. He runs up to Kian and looks between him and me very pointedly ignoring Eva.

  “It’s my fault
,” Kian says. “I ran into Abby. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  “Dumb ass,” Aidan says. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I reply.

  “No thanks to the oaf there,” Eva throws in.

  “I’m sorry,” Kian says again.

  “It’s fine,” I reply.

  How could it be anything else? My god he’s so… perfect. He’s wearing shorts and a t-shirt that looks more like it's been painted on to him than clothing. It conforms to every superbly crafted muscle of his chest leaving nothing to the imagination. Sweat soaks his shirt giving off a musky, manly smell that only entices me further. Every fiber of my body wants him. I want to throw myself into his arms and let him ravish me in any way he can imagine, knowing how good it will feel. Shaking my head, I try to clear it of crazy thoughts.

  “Are you sure?” Kian asks, and I would swear there’s genuine concern in his voice.

  Real, honest to God concern about my well-being. Maybe I’m not just his next conquest. Damn it Abby--don’t you fall for this man. Don’t you dare!

  “She’s fine,” Eva throws in for me.

  Kian looks at his brother and something passes between them without words. Aidan shrugs and looks away to stare at the ocean while shaking his head.

  “Look, let me make it up to you, come with us on our yacht today. We’ll have lunch, sail around; it’ll be fun,” Kian says, taking my hands in his.

  The sun sparkles in his emerald eyes. My heart jumps into my throat forming a lump, my pulse is pounding, and my knees are weak. I can’t say no again. I just can’t. Something has brought us together three times now. Is it something bigger than the two of us? Am I being ridiculous? It’s irrational and completely out of character, but I did come here to have fun. Eva said to hell with the silly rules, why not take a chance? What’s the worst that could happen?

  “Okay,” I say. “Eva?”

  “I don’t know,” she says.

  Tearing my eyes off of Kian is hard, harder than it has any right to be, but there’s something in Eva’s voice that demands my attention. She’s my best friend and no matter how smitten I am with Kian, I can’t ignore her.