by Ally Summers
I was here doing my duty. I represented the crown.
Meanwhile, Julianna was having a royal meltdown over the photos and that shitty article.
“Look, I’ll try to smooth things over with the locals. I will be the picture-perfect duke for you today. All right, love?”
She sighed. “Once Sutcliffe tells me how he wants me to handle it, I’ll let you know.”
I groaned. “He is a royal bastard. You shouldn’t have to deal with him.”
I thought I heard Julianna giggle. “I’ll let you attend the breakfast. If I do my job well, you won’t have to worry about this when you return to Freychon. Will I see you tonight?”
I wasn’t sure when I’d be back in the capital. My plans depended on finding Bri.
“I’ll call you later. I see the mayor headed in my direction.” I hung up and turned toward the ornate doors.
The mayor of Sangreaux was the first to greet me. “Your Highness. We are honored to have you join us. It is such a privilege to have a member of the royal family amongst us.”
I nodded. “Thank you. My cousin is pleased the bill was passed. We’re anxious to see a return next year on your olive groves. It was a huge success for our country.”
“We are as well. It is has already done so much for the village. There is hope here we haven’t seen in fifty years. I appreciate everything the king did for us.”
I shook his hand. “I’ll be happy to send the message to the king.”
I had plans to see Alaric next week. We’d check in on the meetings. Hopefully we’d play some golf and grab a drink. His security was ten times worse than mine. Finding peace when living at the palace wasn’t easy.
“Thank you so much, Your Highness. We look forward to his next visit.”
I moved along the line, greeting the members of the town council. The breakfast was a formality to welcome the bill to the village. It would still be a number of months before installation would begin for the irrigation system, but so far the reviews were positive.
“Your seat is this way, Your Highness.” One of the council members directed me to a long table.
I realized on the other side of the room, the press was beginning to enter. They were given a table, along with assigned passes. It was easy to identify them. And avoid them.
I looked up just as I reached the head of the table.
And there she was.
10
Sabrina
I didn’t want to sneak out of the room this morning like I had done something wrong, or as if last night hadn’t been the most incredible night of my life. But without a phone, I was running the risk of losing my job if I didn’t check in with the newsroom or at least Jacques.
As soon as I ran into Jacques in the lobby I realized I should have stayed in bed. I should have let Brion keep his arms around me and inhaled his dizzying masculine scent. I was an idiot for ever leaving.
If I had stayed, I never would have found out about the mayor’s breakfast. If I had stayed I never would have been facing the biggest lie I’d ever told. If I had stayed I wouldn’t be seeing confusion in the eyes of a man who had made me come so many times I had fallen hard and fast.
I needed to run across the room and explain to him why I was wearing a press badge. I needed to tell him my full name was Sabrina. I never went by Bri. I had to do something, but as soon as I took a step around the table, one of the royal guards I saw this morning stepped in front of me.
“I need to speak to the duke,” I explained.
He was solid and immovable. “Members of the press will have five minutes to ask questions,” he responded. “You may speak in a public setting regarding this morning’s breakfast with the mayor of Sangreaux.”
“Don’t you remember me?” I whispered. I didn’t want anyone else to hear, especially Jacques. “This morning at the hotel? You must know who I am.”
He stared straight ahead. “Press will have five minutes. No more.”
He turned and headed back for the duke.
I sank into my chair. Faced with bowls of fruit and pastries.
“Aren’t you going to eat something?” Jacques prodded.
But my stomach rolled. I couldn’t catch Brion’s eye again. He refused to look in my direction. He was angry and he had every right to be. I was the enemy.
I could tell from the look in his eyes he was angry. He was disappointed. I had hurt him. Betrayed him.
“Eat, Sabrina,” Jacques shoved a croissant in his mouth.
I shook my head. “I’m not really hungry.”
Another reporter sat on the other side. She began talking about the scoop we had on the duke’s high-speed security evasion. It was the only thing anyone cared about. I had become a celebrity among my peers.
I bit back the tears.
I threw my napkin on the table.
“Where are you going?” Jacques called. “There’s more free food on the way. You don’t want to miss what the duke says.”
I wiped the tears as I ran past the banquet table and down the corridor. I pushed open a door that opened into a courtyard. I didn’t know where I was, only that I had to get out of that room. I was being suffocated by the angry glares. By the reminders of what I had done.
There was a fountain in the center of the walkway. I sat on a bench nearby and watched the water trickle into the basin as the tears fell from my eyelashes.
I was an idiot. There were so many ways last night could have played out. And I went along with all the ones that avoided the truth. I had fallen under his spell, believing that for one night it would be ok to live in a world of lies. Who was I? What was I thinking? I buried my face in my palms, letting the soft sobs shake my shoulders.
“Did you think you could hide out here?”
I jumped when I heard the chill in his voice. I spun around.
“Brion? Oh my God.”
He walked toward me. The gravel crunched under his expensive shoes as he approached.
“I discovered Bri is actually Sabrina Keyes, the reporter who wrote an explosively inaccurate story about me.” He stood in front of my bench.
“You didn’t want my real name.” It was the best and worst comeback I had.
“You lied to me.” It was almost a snarl. I hated the hurt in his eyes.
I rose from my seat. The water splashed behind him.
“You said it was a game. You didn’t want my real name.”
His eyes narrowed. “You knew damn well who I was from the moment we met in the bar.” I heard the anger in his voice. The betrayal was palpable.
“I did,” I admitted. “It wasn’t an accident I was in the bar. I was there to try to meet you. I wanted to talk to you.” I winced, knowing everything I said sounded stupid and like a terrible excuse. “Not like that. Not like we did.” I was screwing it up more. “I mean to interview you. I wanted to interview you. Nothing more. Honestly and openly. I was hoping you would grant me an interview.”
He pressed his lips together. Lips that only hours ago I had kissed until mine were raw. How did we go from being tangled in my sheets to this courtyard?
“Brion, please understand I had no intention of anything other than being completely professional. My press badge was in my bag the entire time.”
“What kind of profession is it you’re in, again?” he mocked. “I didn’t know I had taken a spy to bed.”
My eyes flared at the condescending tone.
I realized his security had walked inside the private courtyard. He waved the agents away. They scurried to just inside the door. I didn’t think they would leave him completely alone with me.
“I’m not a spy. I’m a reporter.”
“You don’t know what kind of trouble you’ve caused me.” His words were clipped.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know you must think I used you. It looks terrible. But I swear the story went out before we met. I’m not the one who wrote the story. It looks like I wrote the story but my editor decided to use my byline ins
tead of my trying to explain it was the photographer who wrote it. I swear. I’m not a paparazzi member. I’m an actual journalist. I write in-depth features and news. Not royal dribble.” Shit. I covered my mouth. “That’s not what I meant. Stories about you and your family aren’t dribble. Some are, but—” I had to stop.
I lowered my eyes. There was no way to dig myself out of this hole.
“I-I didn’t write it. Please believe me.”
His finger hooked under my chin, drawing it upward.
“Sabrina.” He exhaled a heavy breath.
I waited, hoping I had said something that he believed. Something that made him realize I wasn’t the kind of woman he had mistaken me for.
“Something happened between us last night. Something we should discuss.”
I blinked back the remaining tears. He wiped the pad of his thumb against my cheek, brushing them into my skin.
“I don’t understand.”
“Sit,” he ordered. “I think you need to know my secret.”
11
Brion
The timing was wrong, but I never thought about how the timing was supposed to work when you found your mate. I never thought I’d get to this point in life. I wasn’t the kind of bear who looked for his mate. I sure as hell didn’t expect to find her in a hotel bar in Sangreaux. And on top of that, I didn’t expect her to be a reporter. Everything about this was upside down, but there wasn’t anything my bear could do about it. She was the one. She was the one I wanted and needed for the rest of my life. Telling her wasn’t going to be easy.
I looked over my shoulder at the agents. At least I could count on them to keep the public out of the courtyard.
“What kind of secret could you possibly have?” Sabrina searched my eyes for answers.
“The kind that will change your life forever,” I answered.
She frowned. “I want to be done with the games. We’ve already hurt each other way too soon.”
“It’s not a game. What I’m about to tell you is not only a royal family secret, it’s my secret. The darkest most precious information about me.”
She rubbed her arms. “That sounds scary.”
“Depends on how you look at it,” I agreed. I wrapped my hand around her shoulder. “I need to tell you. I have to tell you.”
She nodded. “I promise anything you say to me from here on out is between us. I’d never write about you or publish anything.”
I chuckled. “No one would believe this. I’m not worried about you writing about it. It would be dismissed in a heartbeat. I’m worried about losing you.” It was hard to say the words, but they needed to be spoken. She had to realize the severity of what I was about to tell her.
“What could it possibly be?”
I brushed the long strands of auburn hair from her shoulder. I leaned toward her ear, letting a low growl rumble between us.
She gasped.
“What in the hell was that?”
“My bear.” I spoke quietly.
“Your what?”
“Bear,” I stated again. “Your bear, cher.”
She blinked, trying to create space between us. I was afraid if I let her have enough room she’d wiggle free and run. I couldn’t let that happen.
“I-I don’t know what kind of party trick that is, but it’s very good.”
“It’s not a trick.” I didn’t want to growl any louder, or the agents would hear. “It’s my bear. It’s me. Who I really am.” I stared at her, trying to press the words into her. Trying to make her understand the man I was on the inside.
“You can’t possibly expect me to believe you.”
“It’s the only explanation for what happened between us last night. It’s the only thing that makes sense about us.”
“Us?” she whispered.
I nodded, threading my fingers through hers. “I started to make you mine last night. Only mine.”
She shivered. “It was a one-night stand. You said so. You said we were going to play a game for one night.”
“That’s what I thought too. But you awakened something inside me. Something my bear wanted. Something he craves more than anything now.”
“What’s that?”
“I want you, Sabrina.”
“Me?”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
She shook her head. “No. I believe that part. I don’t believe the bear part.” She pressed her lips together and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s not funny,” she snapped.
“I’m sorry, cher. It’s not.” I traced the corners of her mouth. “I should have realized you were going to be my mate the instant you landed at my feet. I saw your eyes, and I knew something was different. I was too stubborn to let myself believe it could be real.”
“You’re not joking about this, are you?”
“No, I’m not. It doesn’t get any more serious than when a bear finds his mate. The woman he wants to have his cubs.”
I brushed my lips across hers. They were so irresistible and soft. I crushed her mouth with mine and kissed her roughly, wanting her to feel my passion. Wanting her to know I had found her and wouldn’t let her go.
Sabrina shoved my chest. “Cubs?”
I nibbled at her lower lip. “Lots of cubs.”
“Why am I not more freaked out?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Because, you know it’s real. You know what happened between us was something magical. And because, you want me to take you back to that room and claim the fuck out of you.”
She blushed. “You know all of that?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“I have to cover the breakfast meeting,” she explained. “And Jacques is waiting for me inside.”
“He’s going to have to wait a lot longer.” I stood, scooping her against my chest. Sabrina squealed.
“Shh,” I hushed her. “Or you’re going to be on the front page of the paper.”
The agents surrounded us immediately. “Sir?”
“Take Miss Keys back to my suite.” I handed her off to one of the bodyguards. “I’m going to say my good-byes to the mayor and I’ll join her in a few minutes. Half of you can stay here with me while the other half goes with her.”
She looked at me over her shoulder while they shuffled her through the back of the courtyard.
“Brion, this is crazy.”
I put my finger to my lips. “See you soon, cher.”
12
Sabrina
I paced the suite while I waited for the Duke of Marquis to return to the hotel. There was an agent posted outside of the door.
My insides melted. Brion was gorgeous and sexy. Funny and smart. He was a billionaire duke. And all this time he had been hiding a secret—he was a bear shifter. It was something so dark and mysterious I didn’t know how to process it. I didn’t know how I had landed here. Why I was here. But none of that mattered. I wanted him. I wanted us.
There was a story to explore. A man to discover. And I wasn’t backing down from the challenge. I didn’t know him long or well, but I knew he meant every word he said. And I couldn’t wait for those words to come true. He wanted to make me his. Completely his.
My body was already on fire waiting for him. I didn’t know how much longer I could pace like this inside his suite.
I wasn’t sure what time it was when the door finally opened.
I threw my arms around his neck and jumped onto him, wrapping my legs around him as he held me.
I kissed him with salty kisses as the tears blended between us. I was flooded with emotion. The anticipation had overwhelmed me.
“I guess you did miss me,” he teased.
I nodded. “So much.”
He walked me to the master bedroom. The doors locked behind us as he lowered me to the bed.
I watched in awe as his pants slid to the floor. I wiggled out of my skirt and threw my blouse on the floor. He growled, watching me undress. I didn’t know my body could react the way it did to a
single sound. But I realized now it was his mating call to me. He was drawing me to him with a promise.
“I got here as fast as I could,” he explained, dragging my panties down my legs. He threw them on the dresser.
I nodded. “It wasn’t fast enough,” I teased.
He pushed a finger inside my pussy and I hissed, bucking off the bed.
“Not fast enough?”
“Oh shit,” I whimpered as he began to pump it in and out of me. I tried to roll away, but he held me down, reveling in the way he could make me wet so quickly.
“This is the day I make you mine,” he groaned. “The day you’re my mate.”
“Tell me,” I whispered. “I’ll do anything to be yours.”
“You’re killing me, Sabrina. You’re so perfect. So beautiful and sexy.”
He crawled on the bed. His huge frame towered over me. Over six feet of sculpted muscle and perfection was ready to claim me. My legs opened wide.
He grinned. “So perfect.”
“I want it. I want you.” I breathed heavily, feeling my chest rise and fall with rapid breaths. My nipples were hard and pointed toward the ceiling.
Brion kissed me before he withdrew, showing me the most incredible sight—his fangs extended like long glistening daggers. Shit. A shot of panic raced through my veins.
He pushed his cock inside me and we started a frenzied rhythm. He slammed into me, thrusting with exquisite force until we were both on the brink of our climax.
He eyed my breasts and I knew the fangs had a purpose. I arched toward him, offering my soft tits.
“Fuck, baby.” He licked his lips and began lapping at my nipples.
I pulled him closer and tighter and then I felt the white-hot pain as he slashed against my skin. I cried out, but soon the pain turned to pure pleasure as he began to drink from my spilled blood. I looked down and realized it wasn’t blood at all. He was lapping honey.
I watched in bewilderment and ecstasy as he performed the same ritual on my other nipple. As soon as he fangs sliced against him, I felt a zing of electricity in my core. I clutched at his massive cock. He sucked harder and I screamed, knowing my orgasm had peaked.
