Pretend Princess With Benefits: A Royal Fake Marriage Romance

by Lara Swann

  He says the last with a wandering hand down my thigh, and I have to clench my legs together at the immediate response from my pussy.

  I kiss him back, but then I shake my head. “That’s not a very good plan for the exams.”

  “I don’t care about the exams.” His body is shifting closer to mine, and his voice goes deeper the way it does when he starts getting aroused again, but he isn’t making any sense and I can’t get past it.

  “C’mon, you don’t mean that. You can’t just be here for the college parties and casual sex.” I insist.

  “Why not?” He responds.

  “Because…” I stumble, not sure whether he’s actually serious. “Well, I’m sorry about the way I said it this morning, but…it is fucking expensive. And this is a pretty intensive course. If you just want to party, why didn’t you pick an easy major? At least that way, you’d come out with some sort of degree.”

  “Maybe I didn’t have a choice.” His voice is lower again, but not in his usual aroused way, and something along my spine tingles.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “God, you’re persistent, aren’t you?” He sighs.

  “Yes.” I say with a smile, trying to lighten the mood again. I’m pretty sure he’s getting annoyed, but I can’t help myself.

  I’ve always been this way - my father used to tap me on the nose after a familiar barrage of questions, smile and say that one day my persistence could cure cancer. After that, I’ve never managed to convince myself it’s a bad thing - even if Caleb’s expression now is telling me it might be.

  He’s quiet for a long moment, and then looks up at me again - but there’s more distance there than before as he shrugs. “You love this science stuff, Alana, and that’s great. But I’m only here because my father insisted, okay? I’m crap at it, and I’m perfectly happy acknowledging that.”

  I feel a sudden burst of sympathy for him, and then guilt at rubbing my own father’s support in his face this morning. Maybe that’s why he acted so strange.

  “Okay.” I nod. “I’m sorry.”

  He gives me a small smile and leans in to kiss me again. “Don’t be. I don’t mind - just the way it is.”

  I frown at that. “It doesn’t have to be, you know. What would you rather do instead?”

  This time the sigh is more aggravated and he rolls his eyes at me, pulling back.

  “I don’t know, Alana. Maybe I’ll think about that when I flunk out of here, hmm?” He gives me an ironic smile and shifts back against the headrest, hooking one ankle over the other and grabbing his phone. “Look, I’ve got a few things to sort out. Why don’t you get on with your studying, and we’ll meet later, okay?”

  Well, that’s a dismissal if ever I’ve heard one. I want to argue - only he’s kind of right about me studying, and we already argued once today and really…he doesn’t owe me anything. I was just trying to help. And understand just a little more about him.

  “Okay.” I get up too, wishing he hadn’t closed off from me like that. But somehow knowing that if I leave it and meet him later, as he suggested, he’ll be back to sexy-and-hot-and-playful again.

  That makes it better - except for the massive wall inside him that I can’t see past.

  Chapter Twelve

  Caleb

  I come to a stop and narrow my eyes as Tom leads Lily to the couple of deck chairs in front of us, facing the large screen up ahead. They’re decked out in pretty fairy lights, with a thick rug beneath.

  “Hmm…I feel outdone.” I complain.

  “What, because he made some effort and you made none?” Alana teases beside me, her hand in mine.

  “Yes. Doesn’t seem fair to me.” I shake my head as she laughs.

  “Lily was kind of right about him - he seems a sweet guy.” She comments.

  “And I’m not?” I raise an eyebrow.

  “Not in the slightest.” Even in the twilight of the evening, I can see the grin on her face, and my cock starts to stiffen immediately.

  “Good thing sweet is the last thing I want to be then.” I mutter, then I step toward our chairs and casually knock one over.

  “Hey - what—” Alana starts.

  “There - now I’ve made special arrangements for us, too.” I scoop her into my arms and sit down in the one remaining deck chair, settling her on my lap and wrapping my arms around her sweet, soft body.

  She laughs again, her voice light and happy in the night air. “I’m not sure this counts—”

  “You were just saying you’re cold. This way I get to keep you warm all night.” I murmur in her ear, and I’m sure I don’t imagine the way she shudders and then squirms back against me.

  “Okay then.” Her voice has turned breathy, and the bulge of my jeans settles in between her ass as I keep her pressed close to me.

  Yeah, this is the perfect way to be watching this.

  The film - Terminator I think she said it was - starts playing and I feel her slowly relax into me.

  “Where’s Mel?” I whisper.

  I’m surprised I care, but I’d thought I’d see her here tonight - and somehow I’ve started feeling almost protective of Alana’s little band of friends. Probably some side effect of spending so much time with them - while constantly alert for Alana - the last few weeks.

  “She said she had other plans for tonight.” Alana whispers back, and I feel her shrug against me. “She still won’t tell me what they are.”

  The tinge of curiosity in her voice has a wry smile tugging at my lips. This girl does not stop with the questions.

  I should be avoiding it at all costs, but I’m almost starting to find it sweet. The determined look she gets on her face, that glint in her eyes…it just makes her hotter.

  Even if the questions are fucking dangerous. I know I’m struggling to think of semi-plausible answers that don’t make me feel like crap for lying to her, and eventually, she’s going to work out that my story doesn’t make any sense. If she doesn’t already know it.

  All I can hope is that I disappear before that happens. She’ll be pissed, sure, but it’s better that way. And it needs to happen soon - before I start thinking too hard about those questions.

  What do you want to do? Who are you? What are you doing? Why?

  Fuck. Guys like me don’t think about shit like that, and it’s not healthy to start. I just do as I’m told. Follow orders. Live as I was brought up to do - and at least I’m living. I get my fair share of respect, power, money…what more could I want?

  “You okay?” Alana twists around to look at me.

  “Huh?” I blink down at her.

  “You got all tense.” She says.

  “Ohh…yeah, I’m fine. All good, baby.” I squeeze her close and cuddle up again, forcing my mind back to the show and Alana in my arms.

  Maybe pulling her onto me like this was a bad idea…except it wasn’t. I fucking love her body against mine. I just need to pay attention and enjoy it.

  I look back towards the film, watching Sarah and Kyle in the diner while my hands play over Alana’s body, enjoying the way she shifts into me, biting her lip and glancing around us. It makes me smile, and I lean down and start kissing the side of her neck and face as all hell breaks loose on screen.

  This time, the gunshots don’t bother me - the tinny sound coming through the speakers sounding nothing like they should in real life - and besides, Alana feels close enough to keep safe. Just about perfect.

  “Come with me if you want to live.”

  The catch phrase somehow takes me by surprise, and I glance up towards the screen again with a weird feeling. I always thought it unlikely that Sarah would trust a complete stranger just like that, but…

  “Would you do that?” I murmur into Alana’s ear.

  “What?” She whispers back.

  “Go with a complete stranger if he claimed it would save your life. Would you believe him?” I can’t help my curiosity.

  And I can’t help thinking that’s exactly what
I might be expecting of her at some point soon.

  Would she trust me enough to save her life? Or would she fight me every step of the way?

  A chill runs down my spine and I fight back the shudder. I’m not meant to be thinking about these things.

  “I don’t know.” She finally says. “I might be just as afraid of him - I always thought he must appear insane to her. But maybe…”

  I bite my tongue to keep from pressing further. From telling her she could trust me, with something like that.

  How can I expect her to trust me, when she doesn’t have a clue who I am?

  “Why?” She asks after a moment, clearly oblivious to the darker direction of my thoughts.

  I want to tell her my initial thought - that it always seemed a weird reaction to me. But I don’t. In case one day I need her to react exactly that way. Instead, I try to make light of it.

  “Maybe I’m working on my pick-up lines.” I tease, and she laughs lightly, the sound muffled as we try not to disturb anyone around us, but still beautiful.

  That eases me for a moment, but suddenly I’m not in the mood to sit here and watch chases and assassination attempts and crazy robots.

  I let my hand wander up to Alana’s pert breasts, starting to palm and stroke there as she freezes against me.

  “Caleb!” She hisses.

  “Mmm?” I continue regardless, my cock stiffening again as I feel the weight of her in my hand. God, her breasts are so beautiful. I want one in my mouth already.

  “You can’t…not here. There are—someone might see!” Her eyes are wide and she’s glancing around us.

  “It’s dark, hun - and what do you think all the other couples here are getting up to?” I say, amused. Then I lean down to whisper in her ear. “Besides, not so different from being in the back of a lecture hall, fooling around…and you seemed to like that idea.”

  “Caleb!” She exclaims as quietly as she can, and I can feel the heat reaching her cheeks.

  Fuck, but I love playing with this woman. I stroke a hand down her arm.

  “Or, if you’d rather, we could just slip out. You weren’t so interested in this film anyway, were you?” I suggest.

  “It’s barely started!” I can hear the trace of amusement in her voice. “We can’t leave already.”

  “Tom and Lily already have.” I point out, nodding towards where the pretty lights are now surrounding empty seats.

  “What?!” I feel her start against me. “When did that happen?!”

  “About ten minutes ago.” I murmur, appreciating my over-the-top attention to everything around me for a nice reason for once. “You know, there’s a small copse of woods just below here - it’s a beautiful way to see the stars.”

  “How do you know that?” She looks at me incredulously.

  “Maybe I did prepare for tonight after all…in my own way.” I grin at her, and her face flushes again.

  There’s a long pause, and my hands resume their wandering unhindered before she finally takes a deep breath.

  “Okay then.” She swallows as she says it, and I can hardly believe she’s actually agreed.

  Who would’ve thought Sullivan’s innocent daughter could be convinced to disappear into the trees for sex?

  Fuck. No. Not Sullivan’s daughter. Alana. Don’t you dare start thinking of that.

  “You’re beautiful, girl.” I mutter, unable to help myself. “So fucking perfect.”

  It’s a stupid comment, but moments like this just make everything swell within me, and I can’t contain it. I tilt her head and kiss her - long and deep - before wrapping my arms around her and standing in one smooth motion.

  I take us off to the side and out of the way, then wrap a hand around her waist and walk us down and away from the open-air cinema.

  “I can walk myself, you know.” Alana is breathless and excited beside me, and it stirs my blood too.

  “I know. But it’s dark, and I don’t want losing your footing and falling.” I say.

  “Before you get to fuck me, you mean?” She comments.

  “Well, at all. But especially before I get to fuck you.” I squeeze her closer, inhaling the scent of her hair and increasing the pace just a little.

  I can’t wait to have this woman under me. Again. It seems to be the only thing that lets me forget everything else.

  It’s a short walk down to the trees I’d mentioned, and when we step into their cover, the noise and lights behind fade and it’s just us, the stars and the flickering shadows around us. Alana gives a breathy laugh, glancing around us.

  “It’s pretty dark in here, huh? Feels like we’re the only people around.” She says in a hushed voice.

  I shoot her a grin, “Let’s hope we’re the only ones around.”

  Even in the dark I can feel her flush, excitement and nerves obvious. Strangely enough, being here is having the opposite effect on me. Sure, I’m hot for her, and turned on like fuck to be out here - but as we get away from lights and noise and people, I’m starting to relax.

  That might be where I usually thrive - places I can be anonymous, disappear and use all of that to my advantage, but I’m realizing for the first time that having someone to protect is flipping that on its head. It’ll be impossible for anyone to sneak up on us out here, giving me some perfect time alone with Alana.

  After a few minutes of walking, we finally get to the place I’m heading for - and the trees break apart for a small clearing, the branches overhead sparse enough that light rays of moonlight reach the ground. I tilt my head at her and smile as that reveals a couple of blankets with brass lanterns framing the setting - better than fairy lights any day - and a couple of petals scattered around.

  I can’t take all the credit for that - I passed a few nicely manicured gardens on the way in here and couldn’t resist, but still, I thought it was a nice gesture. Since when I’ve started making nice gestures, I have no idea, but I seem to be all-in on playing out this little college romance fantasy now.

  Alana stops still beside me, glancing between the nice setting and me with an honest look of disbelief and confusion. I can’t exactly blame her for that, but it’s starting to make me uncomfortable. This was probably a bad idea.

  Then her hand comes up to her mouth and she laughs, a beautiful silvery sound, before shaking her head. “Wow, Caleb…maybe Lily was right.”

  That breaks my brief moment of tension, and I cock my head at her. “Right about what?”

  “That time you offered to take me for a run - she said we’d probably end up somewhere super romantic and nice.” She says lightly, taking my arm and leading me over to the blankets.

  I vaguely remember the conversation we had at dinner, and feel a little stab of guilt - that really had just been because I wanted to go for a run. Fuck it, I still do. Getting back up to proper fitness is going to kill me after this stint.

  “Yeah, well, I think I was mostly interested in the run there, babe.” I admit.

  “Hah! I knew it! Thank god I said no.” She exclaims, flopping down on the blankets. “Hey, ow!”

  I laugh as she rubs her ass, “It is still hard ground under there, hun.”

  “Maybe this isn’t as nice as I thought it was…” She wrinkles her nose, and I lie down beside her before she can object further, bringing her down with me and tangling our bodies together, side-by-side.

  “I’ll distract you then, hmm?” I murmur, running my hand through her hair and kissing her until she sighs and relaxes into me.

  The kiss expands from there, and my leg moves between her thighs, making her gasp as I nip at her lips and meet her tongue with my own. Her arms wrap around me and I’m lost in the perfect scent and feel of her body against mine.

  “Fuck, Alana…” I mutter, unable to help myself. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  I feel the shiver under me, and bring her even closer even though I know she isn’t cold.

  “God, Caleb.” She looks up, and then around at the trees again, “Are we reall
y doing this? Here?”

  I smile, my hand gliding down her body and slipping under her top as I lean forward.

  “Ohh, I think you like it.” My mouth kisses along her chin, up the delicate bones of her face until it’s pressed against her ear, my breath warm. “Knowing there are people only a few minutes’ walk away. That anyone could be passing outside this little copse of woods. Knowing you’ll have to muffle your cries, that we’ll have to be quiet…”

  My hand slips under her jeans and into her panties to let me slide a couple of fingers into her pussy.

  “Fuck, you’re soaking wet.” I murmur.

  I knew she was into it, but still…feeling it is beautiful.

  She squirms against me as I grin down at her, a sensual light in her eyes as I take my hand away and slowly suck my fingers into my mouth. She moans lightly as she watches me, her pussy wriggling against my thigh and driving me crazy.

  “You taste fucking incredible, girl.” My voice has gone husky and deep, and I know I’m not going to be able to keep this slow, seductive pace up for long. “Do you think you can be quiet for me?”

  I shift over her, pressing her down underneath me and pushing her jeans and panties down, and it’s like all the air leaves her body as she opens up to accept me, spreading her legs wide and biting her lip.

  “I…I don’t know.” Alana’s face is flushed and her breathing is already coming quickly - eyes darting around, and then losing herself in me.

  My mouth curves up into a smile as I slip the button on my pants and let my aching cock rise into place at her entrance.

  “I’ll help you with that, then.” I murmur, then slip a couple of fingers into her, stretching and playing lightly, feeling her juices slide over my hand.

  Her breath catches in her throat and she bucks against me - already desperate, already wanting it.

  “Caleb…” It’s a broken, unsure, and heated word. And I can’t get enough of it.

  I finally withdraw my fingers and then move them up to her face, leaning down to kiss her.

  “Here, these will muffle the sound.” I give her a slow smile, and watch as her eyes fasten eagerly on them, sucking my fingers into her mouth and swallowing around them. I watch the way her throat works hungrily, my mind flashing back to picturing her mouth on my cock, the passionate way her eyes close in bliss, just like…fuck, yes, just like now.