Stranded

by Chance Carter

  I wasn’t expecting this, particularly not tonight.

  “Do you think here is the best place to discuss this?” I asked. “If we went home, we could talk about it over a glass of wine.”

  “I don’t think you should leave the party. This is your night.” She reached for my hand and squeezed. “You’ve worked your ass off to get here. After I say what I need to say, we should take the time to enjoy it.”

  She had a point.

  “Okay,” I said. “Say it then.”

  Jo pulled her hand back and licked her lips nervously. “What you said to me the other night really stuck with me. I’ve been...god I’ve been a mess lately. I keep telling myself that I’m the perfect age to be a mess and get away with it, but that’s not working anymore.” Her lips formed a scowl. “I’m miserable. I fucked things up with Tristan and I’m miserable. Before the garden party, I was working out what I wanted to do. I swear I was. Granted, progress was a little slow because all I wanted to think about was Tristan, but I was figuring it out. Then after I screwed things up...”

  “You fell apart,” I filled in.

  Jo nodded, eyes filling with tears. “I love him, Tam-Tam.”

  It was like a bullet to the chest. In that moment, I saw my reflection staring back at me, and it didn’t matter that I’d hidden all the crying and all the pain. I couldn’t run from my reflection anymore.

  “I know,” I said softly, holding her shoulder. “I know.”

  I knew that she loved him. I also knew the pain of losing the man she loved. The grief. But one bright spark in this entire shit heap was that Jo still had a chance of making things work.

  “You need to tell him,” I said. “Go find him, right now while you look like a million bucks.”

  She chuckled, swiping away tears. “But what about you? I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

  “It’s my party, remember?” I said with a shrug. “I’ll be fine. What’s more important is you making things right with the man you love.”

  She nodded and pulled me into a tight hug. “I’m sorry for everything, Tamara. I don’t know what I did to deserve a sister like you.”

  “Everything.” I patted her back. “Now go.”

  She released me and, with a final squeeze of her hand, disappeared into the crowd at the end of the hall. I leaned against the wall for a minute, composing myself. I wished I could be the one running after my man. I wished my situation was less complicated. Or at I at least wished I didn’t love him from the bottom of my tortured soul.

  I took a final breath and headed back into the fray, making a drink my first order of business. I waited at the bar, chatting politely with the people I knew. Someone tapped on my shoulder from behind.

  I turned, butterflies flapping madly in my stomach.

  The butterflies died instantly.

  “Where’s your prince tonight?” Michael asked, mouth tugged into a sleazy smile.

  “None of your business.”

  I turned back around, intent on ignoring him for the rest of the evening. After tonight, I wouldn’t have to see him until we started work on next season. Sure, the end of the summer meant leaving Alex, but it also meant not having to see Michael every day. A small blessing but a blessing nonetheless.

  Michael tapped my shoulder again. I ignored him.

  He leaned in to my ear. “Did he finally decide that you just weren’t princess material?” he whispered. “You should have known from the start that a man like that would never stoop to your level for long.”

  I took a deep breath. I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat from his proximity and the meat of his words.

  And I turned around and slapped him across the face.

  The people around us gasped and fell silent, a waiting audience. And they were about to get one hell of a show.

  “You have done nothing but antagonize and belittle me since our break up, for no reason other than the fact that you can’t stand the thought of me moving on!” I cried. “I’m done with it, Michael. I’m done with your abuse. I’m done with your judgement. Quite frankly, you creep me out. If you ever think about saying one unscripted word to me again, I will personally ensure that every gossip magazine and rumor mill in this country and at home knows what a vile, self-absorbed little man you are, and I will make sure nobody ever looks at you again without seeing the sleazy asshole you pretend not to be.”

  Michael’s face paled. His lips sputtered open and closed but no retort came. I’d struck him dumb.

  From somewhere to my right, somebody started to clap. A slow clap at first, but soon more and more people picked it up. I looked around as a dozen or so people in the vicinity clapped and cheered for me, most of them women.

  I smiled, but the emotions charging through me meant it wouldn’t last. I needed some air.

  I pushed past Michael, abandoning the thought of the bar, and headed straight for the hotel lobby. An elevator was waiting in the lobby and I pushed the top button, marked “Rooftop Terrace”.

  The ride was slow. The banal jazz music helped calm me a little, even though my hands were still shaking by the time it let me out in a small corridor. I opened the door at the end of it and welcomed the blast of cool air on my face.

  I should have felt triumphant.

  I’d slayed my dragon, hadn’t I? After a public humiliation like that, Michael would be a complete idiot to ever try anything with me again. And while ‘complete idiot’ was a title he more than just deserved, his sterling reputation was important to him. Too important to risk it.

  I let out a deep breath and walked over to the railing, staring down at the pulsing city streets.

  The door behind me creaked open and I frowned, calling, “Go away!”

  I figured it was either Michael come to grovel or somebody else trying to make me feel better. Neither of which I wanted.

  The door didn’t open again though, and the footsteps across the cement warned me that my solitude was about to be interrupted. I rolled my eyes and spun around.

  Alexander smiled bashfully. “Hey.”

  I swallowed hard and tried not to lose my balance and go tumbling over the side of the building. That was the last thing I needed right now.

  “Hey,” I replied.

  He walked up to me and my body twitched into fight or flight. He wasn’t a predator, but he was about as dangerous as it got when it came to my wellbeing. It was hard enough trying to scrape out my memories of him and move on with my life without him popping up to make more.

  “Alex, we talked—“

  “Hold on a second,” he interrupted, stopping in front of me. “I know what you’re going to say, and trust me I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.”

  I pursed my lips but gave a short nod for him to continue.

  Alex’s green eyes flicked down my body, and his mouth twitched to the side. “That’s a great dress.”

  “Alex,” I warned.

  “Sorry.” He grinned and the world got a little brighter. “I couldn’t help myself.”

  “Get to it.”

  “Right.” He cleared his throat. “You said that I never worried about you leaving, that it meant I didn’t care as much as you, and in one way you were right.” He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “I cared, Tamara. I care. I never seemed worried about you leaving because I think I always knew I wouldn’t let you go. Couldn’t let you go.” He took a breath and reached for my hand, and his grip was warm and strong. “I love you, Tamara.”

  My breath caught in my throat. “Alex...”

  “No, no. Just let me talk, okay?”

  I gave a reluctant nod, heart thundering in my throat.

  He continued. “I love you. I love everything about you, and when I think about the rest of my life, I can’t imagine a day without you in it.” He dropped my hand and then fell to one knee.

  My knees turned rubbery and every molecule in my body began to shake. He couldn’t...

  Alex reached into his jacket pocke
t and pulled out a velvet box. “Tamara Callahan, will you marry me?”

  The ring was beautiful—a thick cut square with a halo of sparkling emeralds.

  He was beautiful.

  I wanted to say yes.

  “No.”

  But I couldn’t.

  Alex frowned and rose to his feet. “Do you mind if I ask why?”

  “Alex, we’ve only known each other a few months. The media will go ballistic. I don’t know your family well, but I suspect they won’t be too pleased either. It’s just not a good idea.”

  Alex wound his arms around my waist and pulled me close, and I didn’t stop him because it felt so good to melt into his arms once more.

  “I don’t care what the media says. Or what my family thinks.” He nuzzled into the side of my neck. “Tamara, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. I would rather ride out the media storm of the century with you than live a quiet, pious life without you. All I’m asking is for you to choose me too.”

  It seemed like such an easy thing to do. He made it sound so easy.

  Then, I realized—it was easy.

  I wanted Alex too. I loved him too. And like him, I was willing to risk everything for us to be together, because the thought of being separated felt a little bit like internal bleeding.

  “Yes,” I whispered into his cheek.

  Chapter 28

  Alexander

  I shot upright, holding Tamara’s face with one hand. “What did you say?”

  “Yes.” She smiled, then giggled. “Yes!”

  “Yes!” I screamed, not caring who heard me. I picked her up in my arms and we swung in a circle, laughing together like children. I set her back on her feet and grabbed the ring, slipping it onto her outstretched finger. It fit perfectly.

  Then I pulled her in and kissed her like the world was on fire.

  “I love you,” I murmured between kisses. “Fuck, I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Her voice was hoarse, breaths heavy. “Now let’s get off this roof. I’ve got a room downstairs.”

  Heat lanced down my spine and I growled in my throat. My cock twitched to life, and I wondered if we’d even get as far as the room. Tamara grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her, swinging open the door and practically racing down the hall. She jammed her finger into the call button. My ring sparkled on her hand.

  The doors slid open and the second she pressed the button for her floor, I slammed my fiancée against the wall and claimed her mouth. She moaned into my lips. I deepened the kiss, spearing my tongue into her mouth to stroke hers. My hands traveled the plains of her body with fingers that had been burning to touch her since I last let her go. Her hips, her ass, her delicate curved waist, all felt like heaven to me. I was home.

  The doors opened and we tumbled out, laughing as we made our way down the hallway.

  When had I ever been this happy? This violently, perfectly happy? Tamara made me feel things I didn’t even know it was possible to feel after the loss of my mom. She made me feel things I didn’t even know it was possible to feel period. She was my savior.

  And now she was mine forever.

  We crashed through Tamara’s door and into the empty hotel room without coming up for air. We found the bed by touch alone, and I lowered her onto it like she was a precious jewel.

  The taste of her mouth, her skin, was so familiar to me and yet so foreign all the same. How had I nearly forgotten the way her lips felt like silk on my neck? How had I let the memory of her eyelashes brushing my cheeks slip my mind? I committed each sensation to memory like I might never experience it again. Her hand on my back, pulling my shirt from my trousers. Her lips feathering down my neck, making my pulse jump.

  Hot desire flooded my balls and I jammed my knee between her legs, hiking up her already short dress until I rubbed against the cotton of her panties. Tamara hissed.

  “Alexander...”

  “Yes, Kitty Kat?” I pulled my shirt off and let it fall to the floor.

  She looked up at me with hooded eyes. Pleading eyes. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.” I hovered over her, taking in the curve of her chin and the bottomless darkness in her eyes. Her lips burned cherry red against her caramel skin, tempting and sweet. I leaned in to taste them.

  Tamara’s fingers explored the muscles of my chest. Her nails scraped down my abs, stopping just above my belt buckle, then she cupped me through my pants. I grew harder against her palm, pulsing with need.

  “I want to suck you,” she said, and electricity zapped my groin.

  I rolled onto my back and Tamara straddled me. She lifted her dress over her head and flung it across the room, revealing a plain black bra and panties that made my mouth water. Her tits looked sensational, barely contained in their cups. She smiled saucily and undid the clasps of her bra, setting them free.

  I sat up, sucking one nipple into my mouth, cupping her other breast in my hand and squeezing. Tamara leaned back and moaned.

  I moved to the other breast and hiked her further up my body, grinding her pussy against my bulge. I was shaking with desire. Blind with lust. I grazed my teeth over her nipple and made her jump, then soothed my bite with a kiss.

  Tamara surprised me, shoving me back against the bed with two hands on my chest. She was breathing heavy, lips parted enticingly.

  “I told you I want your dick in my mouth, your royal highness,” she said. “Now sit back and let me suck your cock.”

  “Fuck.” I nearly came just from her dirty talk. “Can’t argue with that.”

  She smirked and unzipped my pants, guiding them and my boxers down my legs and off. She grabbed my swollen cock and it looked gigantic in her tiny hands.

  I held my breath as Tamara shimmied down, settling between my thighs with her mouth poised above the tip. I swallowed.

  She started slow, teasing me by kissing the tip, licking the precum but going no further. Then she took one long lick up the side and I groaned.

  “Kitty Kat...” I don’t know whether it was a plea or a warning. I was powerless to her touch and would’ve done every goddamn thing she said. I just needed her mouth on me.

  Tamara chuckled and licked again, this time on the other side. She zigzagged her tongue artfully and then sucked the tip between her lips. My hands bunched in the sheets.

  Without warning, Tamara swallowed me down to the root.

  “Fuck!” I cried out. Her mouth was hot, wet, heavenly. She bobbed up and down my shaft, massaging my balls in one hand and gripping my shaft hard with the other. Stars exploded behind my eyelids.

  I looked down at her and bit my lip as she stared up at me innocently, like it was a lollypop in her mouth and not a hard dick. I swore again and my head fell back against the pillows.

  Tamara doubled her assault, swirling her tongue around the head each time she came up, then sucking right back down. My knees quaked. I gripped the back of her head by the hair and guided her a little deeper, a little faster. She moaned at my touch and it vibrated down my shaft.

  “I’m gonna come,” I moaned. “Fuck, Kitty Kat. Yes.”

  She moaned again and kept sucking. Tension pooled in my groin, tighter and tighter, until finally...

  I came hard, filling her mouth. Tamara kept sucking, milking my cock for cum and swallowing it. Everything went black, and I soon realized I was squeezing my eyes shut so hard I was making myself see fireworks. My eyelids fluttered open and my heart jumped when I looked down to see Tamara licking the sides of my shaft, like she needed to get every last drop.

  She smiled at me. “That was fun.”

  “Get up here.” I hauled her up my chest and kissed her hard. “Give me five minutes and I’m going show you just how fun that was.”

  Tamara giggled. “I can’t wait.”

  I bundled her against my chest, enjoying the smell of her hair. “Who do you think we should tell first?”

  Tamara stiffened. “About the wedding thing?”

  I laughed. “Yes
, about the wedding thing.”

  “I don’t know.” She looked up at me. “Maybe your family?”

  My family would have the most to say, and it would be easier in the long run to get them out of the way first. They would likely disapprove, but let them. I didn’t care. I meant what I said when I proposed—no matter what happened, I wanted to be with Tamara forever. They could disinherit me for all the good that would do.

  “That’s a good idea,” I said. “And after we tell your family, we’ll need to make an official statement. I’ll have Edward assist me.”

  “An official statement,” she repeated quietly. “Like a press conference? Am I going to get grilled about this?”

  “Shh,” I whispered, stroking her back. “Relax, my love. Everything’s going to be fine.” I kissed her forehead. “We have each other.”

  “We do,” she agreed. “I just need to remember that.”

  I smiled. I could already see what the papers would say about me marrying the Princess of Nowhere star.

  It looked like after all my complaining, I would marry a princess after all.

  Chapter 29

  Tamara

  “Stop fidgeting,” I muttered.

  Joanne’s hands fell to her sides but she started chewing her lip instead. The PA announced a final boarding call for a flight to Tokyo, and Jo eyed the ticket desk like she was considering making a run for it.

  “Mom and Dad love you,” I said. “They understand that you had a rough time. Besides—“ I flipped my hair from my shoulder with a dramatic flair. “Their other daughter is marrying a prince. I doubt they’ll even remember who you are.”

  Jo let out a bark of laughter and bumped my side. “What would I do without you and your selfless devotion?”

  “Heaven knows.” I nudged her back, then caught sight of a familiar shock of red hair bobbing above the crowd slipping through the arrival gate. “Dad!”

  I waved my hand and he waved back, smiling wide. Mom jumped up beside him to see over the tops of the other heads. They forced their way through to us and I flung my arms around my mom first, inhaling her familiar scent. Cinnamon and honey. No matter what she was doing, whether she was cooking curry or disembarking from a transcontinental flight, she always smelled like cinnamon and honey.