by Bella Grant
She walked into the living room as he paced by the windows. “Hey… if Lilly is still downstairs, she’s going to cause trouble. Can you send your guy down there to get her to leave?” Victoria hoped she sounded casual and that her voice wasn’t trembling as much as her insides were. If Lilly was still down there, sending one of his goons might be a really bad idea.
“I sent my guy down there. Don’t worry about it.” He waved a hand at her. “Do you have your shit together?”
She looked at the wrinkles below his eyes as he faced her, the paleness of his skin and the worry covering his face. How had she found him attractive?
“Just about done.” She nibbled her lip. If the guard outside was gone already, this might be her only chance. “Can you help me with the bag?”
He let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. “I said only a few things.” He mumbled in his language as he marched past her. She ran for the door. He saw her movement, of course, and ran after her, grabbing her just as her hand touched the handle.
He yanked her back and tossed her to the ground. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” His menacing look didn’t compare to the ugly growl of his voice.
She staggered to her feet and took a step back toward the kitchen. “Nowhere.” She shrugged, but lunged for him, hoping to get her hand on his gun. He blocked her easily and tossed her to the side.
Pulling out his gun, he pointed it at her. “Is this what you wanted?” Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke. Victoria ran for the kitchen, hearing him behind her. She needed to get something, anything, to hurt him with. “You stupid bitch,” he snarled.
She found what she needed—the largest knife in the drawer, her butcher knife. Holding it with the point aimed at him, she walked backwards away from him, looking for an opening.
Her heart pounded in her ears, and she couldn’t quite catch her breath. He stalked her, the gun pointed, his other hand ready to snatch her if she tried to run past him.
She edged along the wall, getting closer to the door to the living room. A few more steps, and she could get past him and dart to the front door. His eyes never left her, and his feet moved him closer to her. If he reached out and took the knife, she’d have nothing. She had no time and couldn’t think of another way.
Victoria burst from her position in the kitchen, running for the door. He reached out and snagged her shirt. Slicking her arm back at him, the knife ran over his arm. He let out a loud bellow of pain and released her. Taking off again, she willed her feet to move faster and get to the front door.
He was on her in a second. His arm wrapped around her neck, pulling her back toward him. She clenched the knife hard and rolled back into him, trying to shield her body from him. As they hit the ground, she felt the tip of her blade penetrate skin and further into his body.
He screamed, a high-pitched, panicked scream, and released her. She rolled away, leaving the knife behind. She moved to her knees to assess his position. Lying in front of the door, he gripped his side where the kitchen knife pierced his body. She covered her mouth, not sure what to do. Blood poured from the wound, and he moaned as he blocked her exit.
The gun had slipped from his hand and was no longer within his reach. Just as she was about to get up and run outside, her door burst open and Raphael and two other men rushed in. Raphael looked around the apartment. Rage filled his eyes and his expression. His gaze swung from Bernardo, gripping his side and crying, to where Victoria huddled on the floor.
She’d never been so happy to see someone in her life. Even with his dark eyes and firm jaw, she felt nothing but relief wash over her. His men went straight for the threat in the room, one gathering up the gun and the other huddling over the crying Bernardo. He no longer looked so tough and menacing with tears running down his face and the knife protruding from his body
“He has other men.” Victoria gasped for air.
Raphael helped her stand and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to his body. “We know. They’ve been dealt with.” He focused his attention completely on her though her own focus shifted to Bernardo. The two men lifted him.
“They are going to hurt him more. The police—oh my God! I stabbed him!” She nearly screeched the last of her words.
“Victoria.” He cupped her chin and waited until her eyes settled on his. No panic, no worry… Calm brown eyes looked back at her. “My men have it handled. There is nothing to do. Bernardo will be dealt with by my government. Your American police won’t have anything to do with this mess.”
“But—”
He placed a finger over her lips to still her. “My men are here. The ones that aren’t here in the room are in the hallway securing the exit. Lilly is safe and sound in my car downstairs with Joseph. There is nothing to worry about. Now, we need to get you out of here. Are you injured… Did he touch you?” He peeled her away from him and looked her up and down.
“No, he didn’t touch me.” Her hands were still shaking when she reached for him. She needed his arms around her, needed the security of his embrace.
“Your Highness, you should leave immediately.” One of the guards approached them with a hand outreached toward the door, indicating he meant right at that moment.
“Let’s go.” He scooped Victoria into his arms and carried her out of the apartment before she could object. “Not a word from you,” he whispered into her ear as they approached the elevators.
“Yes, my prince.” She sighed and rested her head against his chest. She wouldn’t argue.
RAPHAEL
The woman would be the death of him. From worry alone, he would die of a heart attack. Forget old age. If he was lucky enough to reach his fortieth birthday, he would be so surprised.
After they entered his hotel suite, he tucked her into bed and ordered her not to move. He wanted her to rest while he talked with his security team and worked everything out. Seeing Victoria in that apartment, huddled against the wall away from the bleeding Bernardo, had stopped his heart. She could have been killed! Bernardo could have easily shot her when she picked up that knife. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, though. He couldn’t think of it right then or he’d lose his temper.
Stanley had shown up unexpectedly with Cindy shortly after. Cindy sat in the corner of the room, talking with Lilly. “That girl makes friends with everyone.” Stanley shook his head as he watched the two women.
“When this is all over with, I will tease you relentlessly for giving up your bachelorhood so easily.” Raphael pointed a finger at him.
“I know you’ve explained all of this to me, but I still can’t believe all of these things took place because of one greedy little girl.” Stanley ignored the comment. Cindy obviously had quickly become an important part of his life, which made Raphael happy. What would make him happiest was if Victoria would finally agree to come home with him and be his wife.
“Well, she may have started the ruin of Victoria’s name, but it was Bernardo and his hatred for me that did the rest. I’ll be glad once we are back home and he’s rotting away in a cell.”
Bernardo’s wound hadn’t been life threatening. She missed all vital organs, but he had lost plenty of blood. He was tucked away in a private hospital room. Once he was cleared by the physicians for travel, he would be hauled back to his country.
“Cindy talked with her cousin, even though she said she’d wait.” Raphael picked up the irritation in his friend’s tone. “I’m not sure how much it helped, given all of the other people Bernardo paid or threatened to put their lies all over her internet pages and review sites.”
“I don’t want her to stay here. I want her to come home with me.” Raphael raked his hand through his hair. “If I could just get her to understand that she won’t be buried beneath the title and the responsibilities, she might relent sooner. She won’t be losing herself if she becomes my wife. I won’t bury her in rules and protocols. The kingdom won’t take more from her than she can offer.”
“If she go
es home with you, how does she keep her business? She’s worked so hard to build her company, and now that it’s gone, if she becomes your wife… What does she do?”
“We’ll figure that out.” Raphael looked at Cindy and Lilly, an idea blossoming. “I am so stupid sometimes!” He laughed out loud.
“I won’t argue with that point.”
“Raphael?” Victoria called him from her doorway. Looking around the room at all of the people, her cheeks flushed. She didn’t look as though she’d slept, but at least she had stayed tucked away long enough that he had managed to get his own emotions under control.
Raphael left Stanley behind to go to Victoria. He pushed her gently back into her room and kicked the door shut. Wrapping her in his arms, he began to kiss her, a long deep kiss that left them both breathless when he pulled away. “You were supposed to sleep.” There was no heat in his words.
“I couldn’t. I could hear all the chatter and kept thinking about Bernardo. That knife—” He felt her shudder over the image.
“Try not to think about that. He’s fine. After a few days of rest, he’ll be sent back to my country.” He pushed the loose strands of hair away from her face, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his fingers, reminding himself that she was okay. Bernardo hadn’t hurt her. He’d gotten to her in time.
“I’ve never hurt anyone like that before.”
“I’m glad, but I’m also glad you did this time. I should have come sooner. I had a feeling you came home, but I didn’t want to push you too hard.”
“I was thinking about us, about my company, about your country… About everything. I needed to be alone for that.”
“And what did you conclude?” he asked, knowing it wasn’t the right time and not giving a damn.
“I heard someone out there talking about Jessie. Has something happened to her?” she asked, pulling away and settling on the edge of the bed.
Raphael rubbed the back of his neck and began to explain everything they had found out about Jessie and what she had done.
“This Javier, what will he do with her?”
“Javier has wanted to take a wife for some time now. I suspect, once he has finished training her, he will take her for a wife.”
Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about? Training her? Married?”
“Javier comes from a primal tribe of my country. There are very few of them left, but the ones that are still around have very strong beliefs when it comes to their marriages. If Jessie accepts his proposal, she will undergo a very strict training period with him before they are married. Only after she has completed the training will he will marry her. Unless she fails him during the training; then she will be sent away in shame.”
“If she doesn’t accept his offer?” Her throat constricted as she swallowed hard. No matter that Jessie had started the downfall of her company, she didn’t want harm to come to her.
Raphael could see the idea of any harm coming to the young girl upset Victoria. “Then she’ll lose any hope of ever working in event planning again. All her finances will be frozen until it can be determined what she gained by spreading her lies. And the civil suit your company files against her will most likely bankrupt her entirely.”
Victoria rose from the bed and paced the room, her bare feet scraping against the carpet. “I can’t sue her, Raphael. I just can’t. She’s twenty-two years old, practically a baby. What she did was horrible, and yes, cost me my reputation and my company, but not all of that was her doing.”
“No, but she began the lies that gave Bernardo the ammunition he needed to get to you.”
“He was ruining my company so I’d be forced to accept your offer, then he would use me as a pawn. Or he would save my company for me like he suggested. Either way, he took over what she started.” Victoria leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. “I can’t subject her to whatever Javier considers ‘training’ a wife.”
Raphael decided against telling her all of the details. If she knew what Jessie would undergo, she would never agree to stay out of it. “Victoria, I don’t want you to worry about Jessie. I promise you, nothing bad will happen to her. I understand your concern. She’s young and acted foolishly. But those actions caused a lot of hurt, and you could have been killed because of what she started.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Let Javier make his proposal, and let her decide. If your company has to file the civil suit, you will have absolute discretion over the settlement.” He had known Javier since they were children. If he wanted Jessie, he would have Jessie.
“How is any of this legal?”
He laughed. “It’s not even on the American radar. We’ve not involved them in any of our dealings.” He moved to her and touched her face. “I don’t want to talk about Jessie anymore. I want to tell you what my plan is. What I’ve decided to do so that you will be my wife and will also be your own independent business owner.”
She looked at him with skepticism. “What’s your brilliant plan? You look awfully pleased with yourself.”
“Oh. I am.” He nodded. “You will keep your business, and you will run it out of my country estate. I don’t want to live close to the city anymore. My father can have that big old house and the cabinet to himself. When it’s time for me to take over his throne, we’ll have to move, but until then, we will stay in the country. I’ll continue to do my fundraising and charitable events, but instead of spending as much time as I do planning them, I’ll use your company for all of the events. You will be contracted as my event planner.”
“Your event planner?” She scoffed at the idea. “You do fine on your own. I don’t want a pity job.”
“And I don’t want a wife who married me because she felt she had no other options.” He looked down his nose at her, giving her what he hoped was a stern look.
“If you will do the event planning, I can focus more on the fundraising and start working on my new project. I want to build a larger university, away from the city, for the families that live in the country and need their children to help work on the farms for as long as possible. Those children rarely get an education past what you would call elementary age. This way, they would get to go to school and still work for their families. Right now, we only have small schools set up. If they want higher learning, they need to leave their villages and come to the cities.”
She eyed him cautiously and began to walk the carpet again. Her fingers tapped her chin as she moved around the room, giving him the impression she needed to think. He’d never waited with such agony over a woman’s decision.
“I’ll need Lilly.” She pointed a finger at him.
“Of course, whatever you need.”
“I want my own income that I can spend as I see fit, save as I see fit, or give away as I see fit.” She continued to walk.
“Victoria, you’ll be a princess. Money isn’t a concern at all—okay, okay.” He put his hands in the air when she stopped to give him a look that warned him not to argue. She’d pay for the demand in her eyes later, but at the moment, he needed her cooperation. “You’ll have your own accounts.”
“What about the spankings? I didn’t particularly like the one you gave me the other night.” She paused in her step but didn’t quite bring her eyes to meet his.
“Then I would suggest you not earn another one like it. Otherwise, I promise that every time I have you naked and over my knee, you will be crying out with pleasure.” His dick reacted to her way of thinking, and his palm itched for attention.
She stared at him for a moment and nodded. “Fair enough.” He had to laugh over the negotiation process of his marriage proposal. “Then I’ll marry you.”
“Well now, maybe I have a few conditions of my own.” He walked up to her and pinned her hands behind her back. “When I come to bed at night, you’ll be naked and waiting. You will accept that your body belongs to me and I will strum it whenever I want to. You will allow me to pamper you whenever the mood strikes me. And you
will never stop being the stubborn, independent woman I fell in love with.”
“Will I be able to use your body whenever the mood strikes me?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
He let out a boom of a laugh. “Of course, my love, whenever you want.”
“Okay then.”
Leaving her hands pinned behind her, he leaned down and captured her mouth in a kiss. One she accepted with an open heart. She was his. Really, truly his.
EPILOGUE
The wedding had been an exhausting affair. Victoria had never smiled as much as she had during the weeklong festivities and celebrations. Raphael had let her plan most of the events, though he did make her delegate a lot of the work to Lilly and their new staff.
Convincing Lilly to move with her to the island hadn’t taken long at all. Victoria had barely finished her explanation before Lilly had agreed and begun looking for boxes to pack her things in. “Live in a paradise with complete job security and be besties with the royal family? Hell yeah!”
King Renaldo had welcomed her with open arms, glad his son finally decided to marry and start providing heirs to the kingdom. Although Victoria did catch them in heated discussions on more than one occasion, Raphael assured her his relationship with his father was improving. He held less resentment toward the king, and the king reluctantly respected Raphael’s decision to move to his country estate.
“You must be tired.” Raphael entered his suite of rooms at the main estate. “That last meeting with the council wore me out.” He undid his tie and tossed it over the back of a chair as his fingers began to work the buttons on his shirt open.
“I managed to get away from your sister long enough to get some rest this afternoon. She’s very different than I remember her.” Victoria noticed the change in Isabella the moment she and her husband entered the room. The spoiled little brat seemed more controlled, more elegant. Though Victoria had been swept into so many preparations and other traditional celebrations, she barely had a chance to find out what had occurred since the last time she saw her.
