by S. E. Rose
“Anna, seriously? Do you really need to go out in this?” Chris asks.
“Yes,” she says defiantly, jutting out her chin. I do my best to keep my grin in check.
Chris rolls his eyes. “I can’t sit around here. I’m going to see if Jack needs any help,” he says. He turns to Mia. “Why don’t you wait in our room?”
“Sure,” she says. I practically bite my tongue as they look longingly at each other. If they aren’t having sex yet, they might physically combust from it.
Chris disappears down the hall where Jack went. Cain and Hendrick follow him. Pete turns to us.
“Anna, maybe you should stay put for now?” he suggests, glancing out the window where the rain is pelting the glass.
Anna looks outside just as another lightning bolt illuminates the dark sky.
“I suppose it can wait till later. It does look pretty bad out there,” she says with a frown.
I squeeze her arm. “It’s fine. Worst case we can go get your computer tomorrow,” I say to her just as the lights flicker back on.
“Fine,” she agrees. Pete gives me a look of gratitude.
“Let’s head up. I’m exhausted. I could use a nap,” I say to Anna.
We make our way up to our room.
Anna flops down on the bed. “I don’t even think I have the energy to shower,” she says as she pulls the scrubs off and tosses them on the ground. She lies on the bed naked, and I have to look away because a naked Anna is just too damned tempting.
I hear her pull the covers up as I remove my scrubs, climbing into bed naked beside her. She turns off the side table lamp and curls up against me. She feels amazing in my arms, our skin touching.
“I think I’m instituting a new rule,” I say to her as she lays her head on my chest and starts to trace small circles on it.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“No clothes at bedtime ever again,” I say, using my best authoritative voice.
She laughs. “Oh, OK,” she says, her voice laced with sarcasm.
I poke her. “I’m serious,” I say to her. She turns in my arms and looks up at me.
“What if it’s cold?” she asks.
I grin at her. “I think I can find a way to keep you warm,” I respond as I run a hand down her side. I can feel the chill bumps break out across her skin.
She shakes her head slightly. “We can’t have sex every time I’m cold,” she says.
“Why not?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes again. “Men,” she huffs and snuggles back against me. I grin even though she can’t see it. I love teasing her. I take a breath and her scent fills my nostrils. Damn it, I love breathing her in, tasting her, touching her, talking to her. I love her. The realization of how far down the rabbit hole I am hits me in my gut. I must tense because Anna looks back up at me.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing. Just tired,” I say because I’m too chicken shit to tell her I love her.
“If you say so,” she says with a yawn.
We lie in silence, listening to the rain pelt the windows and roof until we both fall asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The storm doesn’t let up until dinnertime.
“I’ll take you over to the cottage after dinner,” Jack says to Anna when we meander downstairs in search of food after spending most of the day in bed. I grin to myself because Anna woke me in the best possible way.
“Get that shit-eating, post-coitus smirk off your face,” Auggie says, throwing a chip at me.
I laugh. “Damn, that’s harsh,” I say, placing a hand over my heart.
Auggie tosses me a beer from the fridge.
“Fancy a game of billiards later?” he asks me.
“Sure,” I say as I pull out items from the fridge to make sandwiches. Everyone heads downstairs at some point over the next hour as people eat and graze off the snacks set out by Jack. He’s a good host but disappears often to go to his study where I can hear him making phone calls.
“You want to go get your computer?” Jack asks Anna as Auggie racks up the balls on the billiard table.
“Sure,” Anna replies, turning to me.
“You want me to come with you?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Stay here and play with Augs. I’m just going to get the computer and check on my query, and then I’ll come back here,” she says.
“Alright,” I say as I kiss her.
“Get a room,” Auggie quips. I smile against Anna’s lips as does she.
Anna and Jack head out, and Auggie lets me break. He stands to the side looking at me.
“You love her, don’t you?” he asks.
The cue slips in my hand and I miss the ball. I look up at him.
He’s smirking. “Well, I guess that’s a real ‘yes’ then, isn’t it?” he says.
I lean back and take a breath. “Is it that obvious?” I ask.
“Uh, yeah,” he says.
“Shit,” I reply.
“You haven’t told her yet, have you?” he prods.
I shake my head.
“You know she loves you too, right?” he questions.
“How do you know?” I inquire.
“I might be a prick, but I’m not stupid, and I’m certainly not blind,” he responds as he hits a ball into the corner pocket.
I let out another breath. “I’m in fucking deep,” I admit, running a hand through my hair.
“Don’t fuck it up, or I’ll have you killed,” Auggie says with a grin but then quickly realizes what he’s said.
“Oh, shit. I mean…I…fuck, I didn’t mean it like that,” he tries to explain. I laugh.
“Auggie, if you wanted to kill me, I’m pretty sure you would have figured out a way to do it while we were on a boat in the middle of nowhere,” I say with a laugh.
He shrugs. “Yeah, still…” He trails off. “How are you…you know, handling things?” he asks, his voice taking on a serious tone that is very unlike him.
“I’m sorting shit out the best I can, I guess. It’s a lot to take in all at once,” I reply.
“Fuck yeah, it is. If you ever need to talk or anything…I mean, I know what it’s like and all…being a prince that is.” He stammers through as much of a heartfelt speech as I think Auggie is capable of.
“I appreciate that,” I say to him.
“Chris is a good one to talk to. He’s flipping brilliant, but he’s also sort of that wise-beyond-his-years type of guy,” Auggie suggests.
“Good to know,” I say as I call the winning ball in the corner pocket.
The door to the back flies open and very pissed-off Anna storms inside.
“I just don’t understand. Why would the storm have knocked out the power to the Wi-Fi, Jack? I thought you said there was a backup generator,” she grumbles.
“Anna, I’m sorry. You can re-run the search tomorrow. The lightning must have struck close to the cottage and fried the Wi-Fi,” Jack says. Anna doesn’t bother looking in at us as she storms past Jack and upstairs. Jack turns to us and sighs, running a hand through his hair.
Auggie smirks. “Wow, way to piss of the princess,” he says.
“Auggie, don’t take this the wrong way, but piss off,” Jack snarls. “Your sister about blew a gasket when she realized the search she’d been running for the past twenty-four hours had been sabotaged by Mother Nature.”
“Oh, shit. Yep, that’s one way to piss her off. Don’t fuck with any computer things,” Auggie says. “You want to play another game?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “I better go check on her,” I say to him.
“Hey, it’s your life. Good luck,” he calls out after me as I head upstairs.
I head toward our room and stop when I reach the door. I can hear Anna slamming things around inside. I pause for a moment unsure of how to proceed. I suddenly realize that I’m not sure if Anna is the type of person who needs a minute to cool down or needs to be comforted. As I stand, hesit
ating, the door flies open and a wild-eyed Anna looks up at me.
“Are you going to come in here or just stand there contemplating god knows what?” she cries out as she paces the room.
I can see various things tossed around the room as I enter.
“I…uh…you seem…upset,” I stammer.
“Well, of course, I’m fucking upset. I wanted us to have that intel tonight,” she grumbles.
“What exactly were you searching for?” I ask her.
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’ll have to restart it tomorrow once the Wi-Fi reboots,” she moans.
I shut the door and look at her. On pure instinct, I walk over to her and grab her by the face. Her eyes go wide as I bring my mouth down on hers.
I can feel the protest on her lips for a split second before she caves to my advances. In the next second, she’s crawling up my body and wrapping her legs around me. And just like that, I’ve figured out how to calm down my princess.
I grab her ass firmly in my hand as she grinds herself against me. I trail my mouth down her jaw and neck, sucking at her skin. She moans, and I can feel how much she needs this. She breaks our kissing to pull her t-shirt over her head and remove her bra. I lay her down on the bed and pull down her leggings to reveal that she’s gone commando. I grin up at her, and she shrugs. I whip off my clothes in record time because I want to fuck the frustration out of her.
I crawl up her body, kissing a path over her skin as I go. She trembles under my touch. I feel all my blood rushing to my dick. The things this woman does to me. She has no idea either. And I think that turns me on even more.
I feel her hand wrap around my cock, and I groan.
“Slow down,” I say between gritted teeth.
“No, I need you to fuck me, now,” she whimpers as she strokes my cock up and down her wetness. As the head of my cock finds her entrance, I lose all self-control as I plunge inside on a hard thrust that has us both groaning.
“Yes!” she calls out as I thrust again. She wraps her legs around my waist again, angling her body to give me deeper access. And like I was just granted an all-access pass to the greatest theme park on earth, I accept it. I close my eyes and feel her wet warmth around me, and I slam harder and harder into her heat.
Our bodies find a rhythm, and I’m completely lost in her. I never want to leave. I lean down and kiss her like she’s water and I’m in a desert. We devour each other as our bodies create the most amazing friction. I can feel her losing control first. Her muscles tremble around me.
“Yes, come for me, Anna,” I urge her on as she squeezes her eyes shut and grabs ahold of my biceps. Her whole body freezes as she calls out my name. Her muscles squeeze my cock, and I can no longer hold on as I follow her over the cliff of ecstasy.
I pump once more into her before rolling us over, so that she’s lying on top of me. She drops to my chest as we both breathe heavily.
“That was…” she manages in between breaths.
“Fucking awesome, as always,” I finish her thought as I kiss her nose.
She giggles and her muscles involuntarily clench around me once more, and I groan.
“Careful, Princess, unless you want round two, right now,” I say to her.
“As tempting as that is, I think I need—” She’s cut off by a knock at the door. I groan, figuring it’s Auggie asking us to come back down to play billiards.
“Anna? Logan?” Jack calls out.
“Shit,” I mutter as I crawl off Anna. I toss on my clothes. “One minute!” I add. I look over and Anna has her leggings and t-shirt back on and is standing next to me.
“Come in,” I say, something keeps me from going to the door.
Jack cracks the door open. “Your aunt has taken a turn for the worse, I’m afraid. We are being summoned back to the palace,” Jack says with a sigh.
“What?!” Anna says. “What do you mean ‘a turn for the worse’?”
“Her vitals aren’t staying where they should. It doesn’t look good. Your father wants you all home,” he says. I wince because their father doesn’t know where they are.
“So, our plan is ruined then,” she says with a huff and sits down on the bed.
“Well, our plan has changed. You will all still be together. We will need to very carefully orchestrate the next few days. I have no intel that anyone has been here, although it’s only been a little over forty-eight hours, so…anyhow, we’ll need to adapt. I will fly out ahead of you tonight. Your father has contacted your security. He’s going to be calling each of you to let you know. Act like this is news. Ask questions. I’ll tell him I want to stay close because we have some concerns about anti-monarchists attempting something with Lara’s condition worsening,” he says.
“Fine. When do we leave?” she asks.
“You are technically flying tonight to London, where you’ll meet your brothers and fly on to Norddale tomorrow morning. Pete is dealing with things now. We’ll get you all down to London tonight and out first thing in the morning,” Jack says.
“But…” Anna trails off and looks longingly at her computer. “Never mind. It can wait,” she says as her phone buzzes. She reaches over and picks it up, giving us a nod that tells us it’s her father.
I follow Jack out of the room to give her some privacy.
“Jack? I’m not leaving her. Will my father be there?” I ask him.
“Yes. He came back as soon as he heard about Lara. They are good friends as well,” Jack explains, making me realize just how little I know about my father.
Jack starts to walk down the hall but turns to me. “Give him a chance, Logan. Your father is a good man,” he says before he walks down the stairs, leaving me standing by myself, immersed in my own thoughts.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As we land in Norddale, I realize that I’m getting entirely too used to flying on private jets. Our security team quickly ushers us through a private area in customs, and we are whisked away in SUVs. I place my passport back in my bag as I sit next to Anna. I feel something in the pocket and pull out my mother’s locket.
“I thought you shouldn’t keep it in a box,” Anna says quietly from next to me. I place it in my pant’s pocket because I’m not sure what I should do with it. Less than thirty minutes later, we pull up to the royal palace.
My eyes nearly bug out of my head. I had no idea of its grandeur until this moment. The summer palace had seemed so large, so ornate, but this…this is a whole other level of opulence.
“This…is your home?” I ask, turning toward Anna. She looks out the window and nods.
“You grew up here?” I reiterate.
She places a hand on mine. “It’s just a building,” she reassures me. It dawns on me, as we drive through the gates where citizens have laid out flowers for Lara, that my father probably lives in a ginormous castle too. I don’t know why that never dawned on me before today.
We exit the cars in a private courtyard area. An older woman greets us at the door.
“Oh, Anna! I was so worried!” she cries as she sweeps Anna into a giant bear hug. Anna hugs her back and pats her shoulder.
“I’m fine, Helga. Really,” she says as she pulls back.
“Helga, this is Logan,” she introduces me. I won’t lie, I’m a little hurt she doesn’t say that I’m her boyfriend, but I try to hide that with a smile.
“Pleasure to meet you,” I say as I extend my hand which is promptly swatted away. I, too, am pulled into a giant bear hug.
“If you’re Anna’s friend, and she brought you here, then you are family,” she says. Her warmth and hospitality seem unusual juxtaposed against the lavishness of the castle.
“Your room is ready for you,” she says to Anna. Anna nods and takes my hand, leading me into the castle or palace or whatever you want to call the monstrosity of a building we are entering.
I lose track of where we go as Anna drags me up a flight of stairs and down various corridors.
“Should we have left a tr
ail of breadcrumbs?” I ask her as we ascend a second staircase.
She laughs. “You’ll figure it out quickly. I promise,” she says just as she pushes open one side of a set of giant double doors. We enter a sitting area. I realize we are in an apartment essentially.
“This is mine,” she says, spinning around with her hands in the air.
“Y-you have an entire apartment in here?” I ask her as she leads me around several rooms. There’s a wet bar of sorts in the corner, a bathroom, a room for clothes, her bedroom, a small office, a second bedroom off the main sitting room complete with en suite, and a balcony.
“Yes,” she says with a laugh.
A woman walks in and jumps back, a bit startled.
“Hello, Julia,” Anna says to the woman whose mouth is hanging open.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t know you had company,” she says.
“It’s fine. Really. This is Logan,” she says. “He’ll be staying with us.”
“Oh?” she says confused. “I thought the guest suite was for…” She trails off.
“Please prep my guest room,” Anna instructs.
“Yes, ma’am,” she says as she quickly exits, leaving us alone.
“She’s a skittish one,” I say.
“Yes, she is, I suppose,” Anna says. Her phone pings and she looks down.
“We’ve been summoned,” she says.
“We?” I ask.
“We,” she reiterates.
I follow her back through the maze of the palace. She leads me into an office where a woman sits. “Harriett, he’s expecting us,” she says to the woman at the desk.
“Yes, please go on in,” she says.
We walk through massively ornate wooden doors into a huge office space. King Michael sits at a desk that I can tell is antique and probably used by every king of this country for the past several hundred years. He stands and walks around the desk, taking Anna into an embrace. I can see the dark circles under his eyes.
