The Princesses (Princess Series Book 5)

by Alexa Riley

  “Sweetheart, this is King Roman,” I hear our mother say.

  I glance over at her and see she’s got a giant smile on her face. She’s all too happy to pass her daughter off so easily. She doesn’t care if Alena even wants to go. No, not my mother. I stare at her for a moment, and for the first time, I really feel hate for her.

  Lost in my reverie, I miss Roman come flying across the room. He grabs Alena, who was tripping over her own shoes. He pulls her towards him, and I watch my sister melt into him as if she’s done it a thousand times.

  I glance back to my mystery man, who’s now moved closer. He stares right at me. I feel like he can see though my clothes. His gaze roams over me as if he owns me, as if he has personal knowledge of my body. I’m used to men looking at me, but this feels different. I know he wants me, but it’s more than that. He wants to own me. The thought should piss me off. It’s why I’ve never liked this arranged marriage crap. A man showing up and taking me just isn’t going to happen. But why now, with this stranger, am I feeling a tingling all over my body at the thought?

  “Hi,” I hear Al say, and it pulls my eyes reluctantly away from the man.

  Her voice is awkward and doesn’t sound anything like her. I can’t help but snort. I know the sound gets her, because she starts to fight a laugh.

  “Tabby,” she says, her eyes still locked with Roman’s. I’m a little shocked she’s holding his stare. “I think our plan is working.”

  His eyes narrow on her. It takes everything in me not to burst into laughter. I can feel my body shaking, wanting to let the laughter go, but I fight it back.

  “You can’t say that out loud. He can hear you,” I say out of the corner of my mouth, but I know everyone can hear me.

  I sneak a glance at my green-eyed mystery man, wanting to focus my attention on him again, wanting to make sure those eyes are still on me. Damn, maybe I’m starting to feel that ownership crap, too. Yep, eyes still on me, only this time he’s smiling at me. It makes him not look so deadly. Unlike Alena, I can’t hold a stare, so I look away, feeling my face heat at being caught ogling him. I’m never shy, but something about him makes me feel that way.

  “Roman.” My mystery man speaks for the first time. “I think she’s good.” I glance back to Alena, who’s still in King Roman’s arms, feet dangling off the ground. He places her on her feet and takes a step back. I can tell he’s fighting it. He doesn’t want to let her go.

  “Tabby?” Roman says my nickname but doesn’t look at me. He won’t look away from his betrothed.

  “No, I’m Alena.” My sister corrects him like she thinks it’s an honest mistake. Yeah right, this man knows who she is. If I had to guess, from the way he’s acting he knows everything about her.

  “I know who you are, my princess.” He looks over at me, taking his eyes off Alena for the first time since we walked into the room. “Tabitha.” He says my full name this time. Only Alena calls me Tabby. “Can you take my princess to her room to remove these ridiculous shoes before she hurts herself?”

  “Hey, she isn’t my servant,” Al snaps at him, and I watch her square her shoulders in a very un-Alena-like way.

  “I help Alena with stuff all the time.” I jump in. Maybe if he thinks she needs me, I can go with them when they marry. It would be a fight with my parents because they want to marry me off, too, but Roman is very powerful. Alena frowns at my random comment, clearly not getting it. I can tell this man will do anything to have her, so maybe now I can convince him that I need to go with her. That’s what’s really been bothering us this whole time - the thought of no longer having each other. It’s always been Al and me.

  “Then help her remove the layer of what’s painted on her face as well,” Roman adds.

  Alena takes a step back from him, and I think she wants to smack him. She isn’t seeing what I’m seeing. I’m guessing he’s seen pictures of her before and he wants that Al. Not this made-up one we created in hopes of scaring him away. I kind of like that.

  “Alena. Do as you’re told,” our mother half-whispers, half-scolds. Her scolding tone is no different, even in front of a king. I can’t fight my eye roll.

  Roman turns to look at our mother. Her face is scrunched, and I can tell she’s pissed. We’re going to get it later.

  “You don’t give her orders. She will be Queen in one week’s time. She doesn’t take orders.” Roman’s voice is stern and final. He just gave her a command, and it will be followed. He earned a few points in my book right there. He stood up for her and put our mother in her place.

  “Except from you, I guess,” I hear Alena say, looking down at the floor and taking another step back from Roman. Clearly she’s trying to get space from him.

  “All your whispers are too loud. Keep them in your head,” I tell her, a little too loudly myself. Crap, we are terrible at this.

  “Alena,” Roman says, drawing our attention. He doesn’t look mad. In fact, he looks like he’s fighting a smile. Yep, we are definitely terrible at this.

  “Please.” The word, laced with urgency, comes from his lips, and I can tell it’s not a word he uses often.

  Al grabs my hand and pulls me from the room, clearly wanting to escape. I glance back over my shoulder to my mystery man. I don’t know his name, but from the look on his face, I don’t think I will ever escape him.

  2

  Vlad

  By the time the ladies come back downstairs, it’s time for dinner. We each take a seat at the table, and I choose the chair directly across from Tabitha. Her dark hair is in waves down her back, and I clench my fingers into fists with the ache to grip it.

  She doesn’t look like a demure, staid princess. Her lush curves are like something out of a pinup magazine. Her body is made for sinful deeds, and my cock thickens with desire like it never has before.

  She raises an eyebrow at me, and I see a spark in her eyes. There’s a challenge there, but I don’t think she’s prepared to have it answered. Not yet. She has no idea what temping me will do. I’m a man who’s forgotten his own needs, and suddenly they’re alive and demanding.

  I wink at her and bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling. I want to go to the other side of the table and pull her into my lap. I came tonight to help my king meet his bride and offer assistance. As the head of his security, I never put much thought into my own future. I was always thinking of his. But one look at sweet Tabitha and I know what I want. All this time I’ve just been waiting. Before now I’d never seen a woman who made me want more. Until her.

  Dinner is slow, and the table that separates us is an irritation. I watch Roman exchange a few words with the mother and then Alena before he’s out of his chair. I stand, joining him before he even says my name.

  “Vlad.” Roman calls for me.

  I step forward, ready to do my king’s bidding, but also to move closer to Tabitha. I’ll use any excuse to get next to her. She stands and follows as we exit the dining room so that Roman can have a moment alone with his bride.

  If anything, he’s traditional. He won’t take Alena on a walk alone as they aren’t married yet. So they’ll need someone to go with them, although if Roman wants something, he’s going to get it.

  “I will escort Princess Tabitha from a short distance,” I say, taking her hand in mine.

  The feeling of life pulses in my hand as her fingers wrap around mine. There is heat and passion in her veins, and I crave her. I’m desperate to pull her to me and taste it.

  I hear Roman talking to Princess Alena and walk slowly behind. I glance down at the beauty next to me, and suddenly my chest hurts. It’s a thought that didn’t occur to me earlier. Only that I wanted her and I intended to claim her.

  Tabitha is of royal blood, and I’m not. She’s a princess who could very well be destined to marry a king. She could be out of my grasp. For a moment, the thought of her with someone else is overwhelming, and I want to murder every possible candidate. I push the dark thoughts out of my head because there is nothing
I can do about it right now.

  Glancing up, I see Roman nod at me, and I pause my steps. Tabitha comes to a stop beside me as my king takes his bride to the fountain. We are beyond a ring of tulip trees that are in full blossom. The deep purple in the moonlight makes Tabitha look like a goddess sent from heaven.

  “Are you trying to get me alone?” she asks as she steps away from me and walks over to one of the trees.

  The petals of the flowers are all around her, and the vision makes every inch of my body hungry.

  “Sweet Tabby,” I say, walking over to her. “I don’t believe we’ve been property introduced.”

  I push her up against the tree and wrap my arms around her. I press my hardness against her body and feel her soft curves welcoming me.

  “I know who you are.” Her breath hitches as the steel length of my cock moves between her legs.

  “I’m yours,” I say simply and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Then I lean in and put my lips against the shell of it. “And you’re mine.”

  “Awfully full of yourself, aren’t you?” The breathy need in her voice betrays her forced confidence.

  “I feel the tremble of your legs, princess. Care to let me ease that for you?” I run my hands down her full hips and grip her ass. “Perhaps I should take your mouth to see if you give as good as you get.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Her challenge makes me laugh as I move my lips across her cheek.

  “Shit!” I yelp, bending over. A shooting pain races up my leg, and I realize she kicked me. “Are you always so rough with your dessert?”

  “So you’re the sweet one?” she asks as she smiles at me. “I’ll let you kiss me. But I want something in return.”

  “Name it,” I say, straightening up.

  “Is it that easy?” She looks confused, like I’d somehow trick her.

  “Try me, Princess.”

  “When King Roman marries my sister, I want to come with her. I want to live in the palace so that we can stay together.”

  “It is done.”

  “Vlad, I - ”

  I lunge at her and connect my mouth to hers. I expect her to fight me or for her to push me away. But what I don’t expect is her hands to wrap around my neck and for her tongue to slip inside my mouth. I moan around it and then kiss her just as fiercely.

  The fire that ignites between us is enough to set this forest ablaze. I reach down with both hands and grip her lush ass, lifting her off the ground. Her legs come around my waist and lock behind me. I push my hard cock against her and grind, desperately seeking some kind of relief.

  “This kind of behavior is only turning me on, Princess. It’s the kind of thing that will get your pretty little ass spanked.” I kiss her again until she’s gasping for air. “I like feisty. Keep it up and I’ll take you over my knee.”

  “Fuck,” she moans at the dirty talk, and my lips move down her neck to the spot between her breasts.

  I want all of her. It’s consuming me, and I don’t know if I can stop. “Is that what you want? Because I’ll give you anything, Tabitha.”

  My words have never been more true. If she asked me to lay down my life for her, I would do so. From the moment I saw her, she’s claimed my soul, and there’s no going back.

  I summon all the strength I have to release my grip on her ass and set her down on her feet.

  “You have to go back to your sister or I’m going to throw you on the ground and fuck you right here.”

  She looks like she’s been ravished, and it does nothing to ease my ache. But the sly smile she gives me is almost my undoing.

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” she retorts, adjusting her dress.

  I reach out and grab her arm before turning her around and smacking her ass. “Soon, Princess. Soon.”

  I push her ahead of me, needing to keep my distance. I wouldn’t want to do anything to disgrace her family or my king, and right now I’m too close to the edge.

  I see Roman say his goodbyes to Alena, and I wink at Tabitha as I join him at his side. We exit the garden and move around to the front of the estate, where the limo is waiting.

  “You should bring the sister with Alena when she comes to the palace. It’s tradition for her to bring someone,” I say. Better to go ahead and plant that seed now. And seeing the similar state my king is in, I know he’ll agree to just about anything.

  “It’s done,” he agrees, and my hopes soar.

  The ride back to the palace is quiet, and I think of Tabitha the whole time. Normally I’m easy-going and people say I smile a lot. I’m head of security, but I don’t take life too seriously. But suddenly, after one meeting, I’m thinking over my future at the palace and taking a wife. Can I have both?

  3

  Tabitha

  I lie in bed with Alena, our fingers still locked together. I hear her breathing level out and know she’s finally fallen asleep. I roll over and look at my little sister, feeling like everything is going to be okay with her. Her future husband might seem like a jerk, but I saw something else there, too. He wants her and he wants her to want him back. He craves her attention, and I know that he will try to please her to get it. I also know that he will protect her. It was adorable how he worried about her hurting herself in her heels.

  More than that, I know her better than anyone else does, and she’s curious about him. Even if she doesn’t fully know it or understand it. Something about him is drawing her in, too. I saw it when she started to panic at the thought of me trying to catch his eye. I don’t think anyone but her could ever garner his attention. He couldn’t pull himself away from her long enough to know other people were in the room.

  A few times through dinner people would try to talk to him, but it was like he couldn’t hear them. I’m not sure how I noticed, with the way Vlad was teasing me though. Something about his playful yet dominant personality makes me want him more and more. I had to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from smiling multiple times during our meal. He likes to tease me, and I liked when he did it. More than I ever thought possible.

  It was different than I’m accustomed to. A lot of men have asked for my hand in marriage. But it’s not that way with Vlad. He declared that I was his, and that was that.

  Still, I worry. I hope that what Vlad said is true and I can go with them. It all seems too good to be true. The thought of him has me smiling again, and I wonder what it would be like to be his. To really belong to him. That is, if he meant the words he said about being his. It could have been the way he talks to every woman he wants.

  I purse my lips thinking about him saying those things to someone else. I don’t like the way it makes me feel. My mother always said men keep mistresses and have wandering eyes. I don’t think that’s something I could ever stomach. Though when she told me that years ago after a few men started asking for my hand, I’d felt relief at the idea. The thought of whomever I got stuck with leaving me alone and spending his nights in his mistress’s bed comforted me somewhat.

  Though with the way a lot of the men looked at me, I didn’t think I’d be so lucky. I know I’m pretty. In fact, it’s the only thing people ever really talk about. Sometimes I wonder if my love for getting all dolled up is because it’s something I enjoy or it’s something that’s been ingrained in me.

  “Roman.” I hear my sister mumble in her sleep, breaking me from my thoughts. I throw my hand over my mouth to keep from giggling and waking her up. Slipping my other hand from hers I slide out of the bed so as not to wake her. I think maybe she should be alone with whatever dreams she’s having.

  I tiptoe to the door, then shut it slowly behind me, trying not to make any noise. When I turn, I see my mother standing in the hallway waiting for me. She knows that if I’m not in my room I’m with Alena. She has another glass of wine in her hand, and she’s still wearing her evening dress. She hasn’t bothered to change. Her lips are pursed, and I know I’m in for it, but I have to wonder what it is this time. Could it be our behavior tonig
ht? Or the fact that I was in Alena’s room, hanging out later than she allows us to? Probably all of the above.

  “Your father and I got a call tonight.”

  My stomach clenches as fear rises in my throat. Did someone ask for my hand in marriage? The thought wraps around my jugular, and I can’t breathe. She clicks her tongue, which is something she does when she’s irritated.

  “Seems you’ll be going with Alena when she marries.”

  I don’t know how I stay on my feet at her words, but I manage. I keep my emotions in check and stay utterly still as I process her words. I merely nod an acknowledgement because I know whatever I say will only piss her off. She has a temper, and it’s something I’ve always shielded Alena from the best I could.

  She takes a long sip of her wine before her eyes narrow on me once again. “Don’t think because you’re going to stay with your sister that we won’t take offers for your hand. You’ll still meet prospective husbands while you help your sister get settled. Once the King feels Alena will be fine without you, he’ll send you back home. You’re going to do your duty and provide a suitable alliance. Look at all Alena has done for our family. Karim is a marvelous match, one you should have gotten to begin with.”

  The moment of relief slips away and makes room for the frustration I feel at the rotten control my mother has over me.

  “Really, you two are too codependent as it is.”

  She shakes her head, like the fact that Alena and I close is wrong. What’s wrong is the kind of mother she is, but I keep that to myself. It’s better not to piss her off. It only makes life harder, and she knows the best way to get to me is to go after Alena. When that tongue of hers cuts Alena down, it rips into a part of me as well.

  So I smile. Alena will be out of here soon enough, and I don’t think her husband will put up with anything from my mother. Especially where his new bride is concerned. He already showed that tonight. I just have to fake it a little longer. And for Alena, I would fake it forever.