by Bella Grant
“Perhaps we should speak of this in private?” Carmen spoke from beside her brother.
“No, no. The cabinet will hear all of this,” the king declared. “Prince Antonio, please explain yourself.”
“What is there to explain?” Isabella stomped her foot again. “He was angry with me, pulled my bathing suit down, and hit my backside!” Antonio enjoyed the fire in her eyes almost as much as he had enjoyed watching her bottom bounce beneath his hand while he had spanked her.
“Bella, tell the whole of it.” Raphael stood and stepped up beside him. Antonio suspected her brother wouldn’t be holding the situation against him. He looked downright amused.
“What’s there to tell? I dropped—“
“Isabella, I would ask that you tell the full truth. You brought up the matter, so I hope you’ll at least do me the courtesy of being honest.” Antonio noted the stiffness of her spine as he spoke and wondered how her skin would feel beneath his finger if he were to trail it down her back at that moment. Was she sweating, was she smooth as silk, or was she chilled from the anxiety of not getting her way this time?
“Fine. I wanted to go to my favorite restaurant, and he refused to take me. He wouldn’t let me drive the boat and kept insisting I eat the sandwiches the kitchen packed for us. When he wouldn’t do as I politely asked, I tossed the lunch overboard.”
Raphael lowered his head while King Renaldo looked to Antonio for confirmation. “Yes, sir, she’s telling all of it. After she took my lunch and threw it into the ocean, I did pull her over my lap and spank her.” He left out the part of his fingers exploring her. No need to put his head in the noose.
“So you see, father, he’s not suitable.” She put her hands on her hips and put on a victorious smile, as though he’d just made her point for her.
“Well, then.” The king looked to the advisors in the room. Their mouths were slightly agape, except one. The oldest one, who had known Isabella the longest, looked on with a smug smile. “Since the prince has already taken some liberties with your body, I would say the wedding must take place as soon as possible.”
“No! You aren’t listening.” Isabella threw her hands in the air.
“Bella, leave it be.” Raphael tried to calm her, but she was too angry to be consoled.
“He will beat me to death. You will see!” She waved a finger at her father and stormed out of the room, not giving her fiancé a second glance.
“Prince Antonio. I will say this but one time. Should any harm come to my daughter under your hand, I will not think twice about breaking this treaty between our countries.”
Antonio held too much respect for the good king to take exception to his comment. He knew, if he had a daughter, he would react the same way. “I promise you, King Renaldo. No harm will ever come to her by my hand, or anyone else’s, so long as I can prevent it. She has a bit of a temper, however—”
“How you handle your wife is not my business, but should you hurt her, there will be dire consequences.” The king waved his hand through the air and turned to Carmen. “My dear princess. I know you are betrothed to my son. However, we cannot have two weddings within the same family. I have spoken with your father, and he agrees. Your betrothal to my son has been called off.”
Carmen bowed her head with as much regal grace as he’d ever seen his sister portray, but what the others in the room did not see was the wave of relief wash over her body. The tension eased, and the smile she’d been forcing for the past several minutes was genuine.
His sister wouldn’t have to worry about marrying Raphael anymore, and Antonio wouldn’t have to go searching for a bride as his father had instructed him to do upon his return home.
The situation was a win-win, as the Americans say.
VICTORIA
King Renaldo had returned several days early and called her to his offices for a meeting. She hurried down the hallway, getting lost for the second time before finally finding the right doors.
The guards outside opened the doors for her enter. When she did, she found Raphael and the king sitting across from each other in a casual discussion. The king noticed her entrance first and rose from his chair.
“No, please… No need to stand on my account.” She hugged her planner tighter to her chest. “I can come back another time if now is not convenient.”
“Not at all. Please, come have a seat.” King Renaldo offered her the chair beside Raphael. She noticed the lighthearted smile Raphael gave her. The tension that usually lurked behind his stare seemed to have vanished. She took the seat, resting her planner on her thighs and folding her hands on top of it.
“My dear, I have some unfortunate news.”
“Well, not really unfortunate, but not expected to be sure,” Raphael qualified. He leaned back in his chair after a glance of impatience from his father.
“The wedding between my son and the princess has been called off. Politics, you see.” He slapped his knee, as though having released that information had relieved him of some great burden. “Therefore, your services will no longer be required—”
“For the wedding anyway,” Raphael interjected.
“Uh… Yes, for the wedding. Antonio and Isabella will be married as quickly as possible in his country.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped slightly. “I see. Well, I’m sorry, Prince Raphael, for this turn of events.”
“I’m sure it’s for the best.” He waved a hand through the air. A hopeful tingle ignited in her core as he continued to watch her reaction to the news. If he was free from his obligation, perhaps her fantasies wouldn’t be just nighttime dreams.
“I had planned on returning to New York the day after tomorrow. I suppose I can try to up my ticket.”
“No need. Stay until then. No more work, just enjoy the island. You will, of course, stay here as our guest, and all of your expenses will be paid.” She watched his mouth move as he spoke and wondered what it would be like to have it pressed against hers.
“Ah, another damn advisory meeting. I’ll see you at dinner.” The king rose from his seat and left them alone, staring at each other.
“I really am sorry about the cancellation.”
“To be truthful, I am relieved.” His smile touched his eyes. “Carmen is a wonderful woman and will make a prince a perfectly royal wife, but for me, I need more than that.”
Victoria remembered how distraught Carmen had been the night before at the idea of marrying Raphael. She suspected she felt just as much relief over the cancellation as he did.
“I shouldn’t have been listening the other afternoon when you were speaking to her about your marriage, but it seemed to me that perhaps you are right. She did not seem to agree with you on a few areas.” Like doing all of the things Victoria fantasized about him doing with her every night when she had her hands buried inside her panties, fingering herself to fulfillment.
“There are a few areas she and I differed on opinion, yes.” He moved his leg and scooted closer to the edge of the chair so their knees nearly touched.
“On the bright side, you can now find a wife that is more suited to your…needs.” Her cheeks were on fire when she realized what she’d said and what it implied. His laugh didn’t soothe her. “I-I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”
“No, it was completely accurate.” He put a hand up between them. “Your honesty is very refreshing. Most people sugarcoat everything around me, try to walk the thin line between truth and appropriateness.”
“I didn’t mean to be inappropriate.” She didn’t appreciate his smiling at her with such candor. “You brought up the subject.”
His smile dropped just enough to send a light shiver over her skin. “No, I believe you brought up the subject of your eavesdropping.”
She swallowed. Had she? Dammit, she couldn’t think with him so close and looking at her with such intensity.
The silence stretched between them for several long moments. “Is your sister happy with the arrangement? I got the impressi
on she didn’t much care for the prince.” Again, she stepped over a line. She needed to pack up and leave before she found herself locked up in the dungeon. Did castles still have dungeons?
“My sister has made her own bed, and now she will lie in it. Prince Antonio is a good fit for her, even if she doesn’t quite understand that yet. She needs a firm hand, one my father never provided. He will make her happy… eventually.” His smile had faded and worry showed in his expression. She wondered briefly if he worried for his sister or for Prince Antonio.
“A firm hand? As though she is some sort of barn animal?”
Irritation flashed in his eyes for a moment before his calm exterior replaced it. “My sister has a temper that has never been curbed. By a firm hand, I mean a man who will not tolerate her spoiled behaviors and will guide her to find the best in herself.”
Victoria swallowed hard, finding his explanation not only acceptable but downright arousing. If her feminist, man-hating mother could hear her thoughts, she’d have her committed.
“Please forgive me. I am a bit more traditional than most American men, I think.” He picked a piece of lint off his trousers.
“No, I don’t think you are,” she said softly. One thing was certain: she needed to get away from him and back to New York as quickly as possible. The man said all the right things. “I think there are more men like you than you know, but they just haven’t found the right women.” Why was she still talking? Her heart rate increased with each sentence, and her breath became harder to grasp as he continued to stare at her so intently.
The longer he watched her, the more she began to fidget in her seat. She felt the tension rise between them, filling the room and nearly choking her. Could he possibly look at her and see her as more than just an employee? Could he see her as maybe his?
A blaring ring sounded from her back pocket and she jumped. Pulling her phone out, she mumbled an apology and declined the call. Bernardo. He’d called her twice that morning already to set up a dinner date. She had informed him that she needed to finish up some work and would call him back.
“How well do you know Bernardo?” he asked, having watched her as she slid her fingers over the screen of her phone.
“Barely. We’ve had dinner and drinks only. Why?” She tilted her head. Did she detect a tinge of jealousy in his question?
“He’s not a good man.” He rested his hands on his knee. “I would prefer it if you didn’t see him again.”
“Oh? You didn’t mention that before, and as your father has already stated, my services are no longer needed here. I’m no longer your employee.” She couldn’t explain her need to push him, especially when he seemed to enjoy her company, but there it was just the same. The same challenge she seemed to put to every man she found herself attracted to. So far, they’d all failed, backing down from her aggressive personality and leaving her unsatisfied.
He scooted further up in his chair, pressing his hands to his knees and leaning toward her. With a firm grip, he caught her chin in his hand and brought her eyes to his own. “You are no longer my employee, that is true. However, you are my guest, and as such, I expect you to behave in an appropriate manner. Being seen with Bernardo in public would not be appropriate. He is being investigated by our law enforcement—the equivalent to your FBI.”
She heard his words but between the fire of his touch and the loud beating of her heart, they didn’t register in her brain. “He wants to go to dinner,” she whispered.
“Tell him you are unavailable, that you no longer wish to see him.” He moved closer.
“I’m not sure you have the right to tell me who I can date.” The words were barely audible.
He acted as though he hadn’t heard them. “Tell him you won’t be seeing him again,” he repeated and moved close enough that she felt his hot breath brush across her lips. His hand still held her chin, and he pulled it down, parting her lips as he brought his mouth down on hers.
A soft kiss, at first, quickly melted into a hard, demanding act. His hand slipped from her chin to behind her head, caressing her neck with his fingertips as his tongue dove past her lips and mingled with her own. The muskiness of his aftershave reminded her of a warm summer breeze. She didn’t think she’d ever be cold again if every one of his kisses felt like this.
When he broke the kiss, he didn’t break the connection between them. His fingers lingered on her neck while his nose brushed against her cheek. “Nothing like I expected,” he whispered and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “So much better than I thought possible.”
“Prince—” Two fingers pushed against her lips.
“My name is Raphael. No more prince this or that from you.” He released her neck slowly and sat back in his chair. She tucked her hair behind her ears, smoothing her hands across her slacks, trying to compose herself. The prince had just kissed her—not any old kiss, the sort of kiss that steals your breath even in memory—and she wasn’t sure how to behave. “Victoria.” His voice brought her back to the moment.
“My friends call me Vicki,” she told him.
“I prefer Victoria.”
“Oh.” She nodded. Oh? She really needed to get her mind back in working order. She was an adult and was acting like some love-sick middle-schooler.
“Victoria, you’ll need to answer Bernardo. He will take your silence as an insult, and I won’t have you placing yourself in danger. Be firm that you are not willing to see him. If he contacts you again after that, let me know, and I will be sure he gets the message.”
“He knows I’m leaving for New York soon. I’m sure he’ll leave me alone.” She picked up her phone and tapped out a quick message to him.
“You still plan on leaving?” His eyes widened.
“Well, yes. My business won’t run itself, and I can’t get new clients from here. We’ve already lost a few accounts in the time I’ve been away. I need to get back to work.” Although it was the truth, she wasn’t sure how easily she could leave him behind. Not after he’d shattered her foundation with that kiss.
“Can you not stay another week?”
Taking a deep breath, she gathered her wits. She needed to be practical, sensible. Staying and playing romance with a prince wouldn’t get her anywhere but to fewer clients and a broken heart. There was no future with him. She needed to get back to her life, back to where her future remained.
“As much as I would love to stay in paradise, I really do need to get back to work.” She stood, picking up the notebook that had slid off her lap, and headed for the door. He didn’t try to stop her. He didn’t call out to her or ask her to stay.
She didn’t stop moving until she was safely in her suite. Only then did she allow herself to slide down to the floor and take gulps of air. A fantasy. That’s all he could offer her, she needed to remember that. So why did it feel as though she’d just torn out her own beating heart and left it in his lap?
RAPHAEL
She would either be angry at him, or happy to see him, or maybe too surprised to react. He wasn’t sure, but he would find out in only a few minutes.
Victoria had flown away from his estate and his country two weeks before, and not a moment passed that she didn’t influence his thoughts. Saying goodbye to Carmen the afternoon their betrothal had been broken hadn’t left him with an ounce of sorrow. He’d been thrilled and even more elated when he saw how relieved she looked at her departure.
He couldn’t say his sister had a very pleasant disposition when his father had taken her to meet with her fiancé to prepare for her own wedding. Nor did she have much of a smile on her face when she took her vows. The ceremony had taken place quickly, as Antonio had to do some traveling and didn’t want to leave her behind.
Now that his royal duties were taken care of in that department, he would see to his own desires. Victoria. He couldn’t allow her to hide herself in New York, not after they’d shared such an impassioned kiss. He’d been with plenty of women, and every one of them kissed perfectly, yet no
ne of them held a candle to the warmth and passion that spread through him when his lips met hers.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Stanley, an old friend in the city, asked him from the comfort of his car.
“Of course I want to do this. Have I ever done anything I didn’t want to do?”
“You were about to marry that girl just a few weeks ago,” Stanley pointed out while he readjusted his cuff links.
The car pulled to a stop in front of Victoria’s apartment building. She hadn’t been very difficult to track down, despite avoiding his calls and messages.
“Not at all the same thing.” Raphael glared at him. “Take the car. I’ll grab a cab after I’m done here.”
“A cab?” Stanley’s eyes widened. “You’re a fucking prince. You won’t take a cab! The car will come back for you after this delightful driver drops me off at Raven’s Nest.”
“You’re going to the club tonight? You look dressed more for a business dinner.”
“Things have changed a bit since you were last in town.”
“I was here only a month ago.” Raphael laughed.
Stanley reached over and pushed the door open for Raphael. “If everything goes as planned, bring her to the club. Then you’ll see what’s changed.”
“I don’t think she’s a Raven’s Nest sort of girl.”
“Of course she is. If you’re this interested in her, it’s not because she makes a mean cup of tea. It’s because you want to see her on her knees beside you.”
Raphael growled. “How did we ever become such good friends? You have the tact of a goat.”
Stanley laughed. “I believe it was when your father wanted to open trade negotiations with my mother’s coffee business… Or was it her fabric company? I don’t remember, but I do remember there being a lot of yelling from your father. Scared the hell out of me. You told me not to worry—he just talks like that, you said.”
“Yes, yes. I remember now. Well, still, you are a pig.”
“Go, your woman awaits you.” Stanley gave him a friendly shove. “Don’t you need your little entourage?”
