Royally Mine: 22 All-New Bad Boy Romance Novellas

by Susan Stoker

  Pacing back in forth in the bedroom, Dryce ripped his cell phone out of pocket. Still pacing, he called Tom.

  “Hey, Dryce, what’s up, man? You dipped out of here way too fast. You missed the real party, man,” Tom said over the phone. “I’m about to get deep in these girls.”

  “Hey, I just wanted to call and tell you congrats one more time,” Dryce replied. He had a strange tone about him.

  “Really? That’s not really like you. What’s really going on?” Tom asked.

  “I don’t know, man. I… I think I’m in love.” Dryce was almost embarrassed to admit it. He’d never had these feelings before. And especially not for someone he had barely spoken to.

  “Whaaat? You? With who?” Tom asked loudly into the phone.

  “She’s… man, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Dryce fiercely whispered.

  Dryce paced by the door and leaned over, trying to hear what they were talking about in the other room.

  “Tom, man. I’m telling you, this has got to be love.” Dryce continued to walk around.

  “What do you mean?” Tom asked.

  Dryce looked up and saw that the balcony door was open. With a skipping step, he walked out on the balcony to the edge and leaned over. Trying to catch a glimpse of Yally. In the bottom corner of the window to the grand room of the suite, he could see her. She was standing with her back toward him while she spoke to Austin and Erik.

  “Tom, I’m telling you, man. This is the girl. Everything from her bangs to her toenails are perfect,” Dryce said, still leaning over the railing of balcony.

  “I mean, c’mon, man… you’ve been with some pretty hot girls before.” Tom chuckled.

  “Not like this, dude. Yeah, I’ve been with a girl who had the ass, and that was about it. The ones with nice tits, and nothing else. But this girl. I just can’t explain it. Her hair flows, her shoulders, yes, of course, her breasts. Her waist, arms, hips. Dude… even her calves are sexy as hell. She’s like… like a Franken-chick. Her voice makes my brain melt.”

  “Okay, so she’s put together. She’s perfect like your Supra,” Tom jokingly said.

  “Tom, I would give that car up for this girl,” Dryce replied quickly, without even skipping a beat.

  “Oh… oh damn. Bro, you really are in love.” Tom now understood the seriousness. “Okay, Dryce. Listen to me. I’m about to tell you something, and I swear to god, you better take this shit to the grave with you. IF YOU EVER repeat this I’ll deny it. But…” Over the phone Dryce could hear the door close behind Tom. As he walked down the hallway of the manor, he continued, “I was in love once as well. About a year ago. But, for some reason, and I didn’t know it at the time, I do now. But I didn’t ever go up and talk to her. I let her slip away from me. Never even got her name.”

  “Nothing?” Dryce asked while still staring at Yally.

  “Nothing, bro… I’m telling you. Go talk to her. If she says no, at least you’ll know that you tried, and you’re not going to be in the same boat as I am right now,” Tom said almost like he was barking an order.

  “Like right now?” Dryce asked.

  “Is she there right now?”

  “Yeah, she in the other room talking to Mr. Ngo and Tank,” Dryce replied.

  “Then what the fuck are you doing talking to me? Go, fucker…” Tom hung up on him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Yally and Austin watched as Dryce went to the bedroom. Yally couldn’t help the fact that she was clearly checking him out from behind. He was built. Athletic. Perfect. Mmm, the things I would do to that boy. There’s no way I could ever have a chance with him though. He’s a prince and he could have any woman he desired, she thought as Erik closed the bedroom door behind him.

  “You said you had some information?” Austin asked.

  Ending her daydream, Yally snapped back to reality. “Umm, yeah. So, that guy I took out tonight. Whatever it was in that syringe wasn’t lethal. It was just supposed to knock Dryce out long enough to get him out of there. The guy’s fine now. Well, he’s still being held and will be transported to your embassy in the morning for processing. He’s going to be spending some time in your country’s prison system. And, from what I understand, your country doesn’t have due process like the U.S. So… I would assume an attempted abduction on the Prince wouldn’t go over so well for him.”

  “Wait, how do you know all this already?” Austin shook his head once and squinted his eyes, confused.

  “Oh, sorry, I already interrogated him,” Yally responded.

  “How? Even I need clearance before doing that,” Austin said, amazed.

  Yally nodded her head like she knew something they didn’t and ignored the question. “So, anyway. There’s more information for you two.” She looked at both Erik and Austin.

  Erik shared a look with Austin. Damn she’s good, Erik wanted to say out loud.

  Yally continued, “As far as that faction trying to kidnap Prince Dryce, you’re not going to need to worry about them anymore. Obviously, I can’t make any promises on future attempts from another group. But, as far as this threat, it’s done.”

  “How? Why? How do you know all of this?” Austin was still confused, and was trying to get a straightforward answer.

  “Mr. Ngo, try to stay with me here.” Yally started to explain, “I went to the station and interviewed the guy from tonight. You know, the one I took out.”

  Austin nodded, following along.

  “Okay, I explained to him who I was, and after a little bit of me having to prove to him that I am, who I am—just a few broken fingers later, he understood. I was able to get his contacts and got to the head man in charge. I… I more or less convinced them to back off,” Yally said.

  “Okay, just one more question. How did you do all this and make it here before us?” Erik asked.

  “Three guys work slower than one woman.” Yally grinned. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “So, what now?” Austin spoke up. “I would love it if you stayed on full-time with us.”

  “Yeah, about that. I… don’t think I can do that,” Yally said, looking down at the floor.

  “Your salary would be very generous, I can assure you,” Austin added.

  “It’s not about money.” Yally started walking towards the main door to the suite.

  At the same time, Dryce was standing at the bedroom door. The door was slightly cracked, and he was half listening in on their conversation. The other half, he was psyching himself up, building up the nerve to go out there and talk to Yally.

  While still making her way to the door, Yally continued, “I think it would be a conflict of interest for me to remain on staff.” Yally grabbed the door handle, before twisting to open the door before she blurted out, “I think… I think I love him.”

  Both Austin and Erik were taken aback. Their eyes grew wide in shock. Dumbfounded, the both of them just stood there in awe as Yally walked out and slammed the door behind her.

  Hearing what Yally had just said instantly gave Dryce the courage he was seeking. Those words coming from her shot a spark through his ears into his brain. Igniting a jolt of electricity in every single muscle group of his body, like a spark plug shooting the spark of horsepower into an engine block.

  Dryce ran past Erik to the front door. Slinging the door open, he yelled out, “Wait.”

  Yally was standing at the elevator doors waiting and turned to him.

  Dryce walked up to her briskly, with purpose. “Just wait,” he said again. In one fluid motion, he tilted his head and leaned down a bit. Locking his lips to hers, he kissed her. In his body, his muscles grew tense, flexing his strength. Yally’s body relaxed and melted into him as her eyes closed. She loosened up and let her guard down as she moaned into him. Dryce reached around her waist, attempting to pull her in tighter.

  Her eyes opened, and she looked at him with his eyes closed and then pushed him back. Grabbing his suit jacket and shirt in her fists, she spun him around and sla
mmed him into the elevator door.

  “Oh God, please don’t hit me,” Dryce said, putting his hands up.

  Reading his face, she could see the sincerity in his eyes. She knew right then he felt the same way about her as she did about him. Leaning into him she kissed him again before pulling back. “Does that give you your answer?”

  “You wanna go somewhere?” Dryce whispered in between kisses.

  The elevator doors opened and she furiously rushed him into the glass enclosed box, slamming his back against the elevator wall. “Yes,” she said.

  Austin and Erik stood at the suite doors watching them. As Yally tossed Dryce inside the elevator, Erik started forward. Austin quickly reached out, grabbing his arm. “Stop,” Austin said softly.

  “Sorry, sir. Force of habit,” Erik said. “You think they’re going to be okay?”

  The elevator doors closed and Dryce was out of sight.

  “Think about it. If Yally did all that she did for money… can you imagine what she’s going to do for him out of love?” Austin said, pulling Erik back into the suite and closing the door. “Let’s have a drink. For the first time in twenty-three years… let’s relax tonight.”

  “But… don’t you think I should at least follow them? Just to be sure?” Erik glanced back at the doors. Almost wishing that the doors would open and they would both come back.

  “Something tells me I don’t think that’s necessary… Tank,” Austin said, pouring two glasses of scotch. “Here. Let’s do… what do the kids call it? Chill?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  As the elevator descended, Yally paused them from their make-out session. Breathless, Dryce looked at her. “Is everything okay? Did I do something?” he asked timidly.

  “No.” She straightened his tie around his neck and flattened out his jacket. “You’re still a Prince and we’re going down into public.”

  She coughed slightly to clear her throat. “Where did you want to go?” she asked.

  “Hmm.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Somewhere quiet, somewhere with just you and I.”

  Yally turned around and stood next to Dryce. Using the reflection in the elevator doors, she flattened down her dress and adjusted herself. “You do realize we’re in freakin’ Dubai, right? This is like the most populated city on the planet. Where do you think we’re going to go that’s private?”

  Dryce looked up at her through the reflection like a light bulb had just gone off in his head. “I know. I’ve got the perfect place.” He loosened his tie just a bit from when she fixed it like a hangman’s noose. “It’s down at the far end of the beach.”

  “What beach?” Yally asked.

  “There’s a place called Palm Island. I know a way to get there,” Dryce said. “But…”

  “But? What?”

  “I don’t want to take the limo. And, I’m not exactly sure where my car is,” Dryce said. “It tends to draw attention to me.”

  “Oh, is that it? That’s fine, we can take my car,” Yally said with a smile as she redirected the elevator to the garage level.

  ***

  Getting into the car, Dryce looked around the inside of it. “What kind of car is this?”

  Yally hopped in the driver’s seat, then hiked her dress up just past her knees. “This is what they call an SUV, you sheltered, fucker,” she said, pulling her gun out from in between her thighs, sandwiching it between the seat and center console.

  Dryce grinned. No one had ever spoken to him like that. “I’m not sheltered. I know what an SUV is… I was talking what kind?” She was such a smart-ass. And he loved it.

  “I don’t know. It’s a fast enough one. And it’s powerful enough for me to do what I need to do,” she said, cranking the engine on and pulling out of the garage.

  Driving down the highway toward the beach, Dryce couldn’t help but to stare at her. Her legs were just simply magnificent. He took note of her hands. They were beautiful. Soft, clean, gentle looking with a fresh manicure. Yet in the back of his mind, he knew that, with those hands, she could easily kill anything that moved. Knowing what she was capable of scared the piss out of him, and also excited him beyond belief. Even through the distance between them from the size of her car, he caught a whiff her hair. The seductive smell aroused him even more. Looking back at her legs, his eyes followed them upward. Her thighs directed his eyes to the curves of her ass. His pulse increased.

  “I… umm, Yally? I would like to ask you something,” Dryce said with a sense of nervousness.

  “Ro… my name is Ro.” She glanced over at him. “Yally is my last name.”

  “Ro.” It was the most striking name he’d ever heard. “I love it.”

  She smiled and began to blush, as she turned her attention back on the road.

  Taking a deep breath, he tried to build his courage back up. “Okay, here it goes.”

  “Here what goes?” Ro asked.

  “Really? Did I really say that out loud?” Dryce asked, embarrassed.

  Smiling even harder, an actual chuckle slipped out of her. “Yes, you did.”

  Dryce tried to shake it off and he smiled back at her. “Okay so, how is this going to work? I mean… between us?”

  “What do you mean?” Ro asked softly.

  “Well… without sounding like a complete dork, I’m actually really into you. All this… this is all new to me,” Dryce admitted.

  “You mean to tell me you’ve never had a girlfriend before?” Ro chuckled.

  “I mean… I’ve been with girls before,” Dryce said.

  “Yeah, about that.” Ro pulled off the exit leading to the beach and pulled over on the exit ramp. “That shit’s going to stop. Right now. If you’re serious and you want something with me. Then all that playboy shit’s done.”

  “No no… yeah yeah… I do, I really do,” Dryce said.

  “I guess that’s actually a question for the both of us. Huh?” Ro started driving. “How is this going to work? What am I going to do now?”

  “What is it that you actually do?” Dryce asked.

  “I guess you can call it executive protection,” Ro answered immediately. “But, then there was you.” She pulled into a parking spot at the edge of the beach. “I just had to go ahead and answer Mr. Ngo’s damn email. Then I met you.”

  Turning the car off, they both got out. Ro walked around the car and grabbed Dryce by the hand. Walking down towards the beach, Ro scanned the area. There were no cars around, no people, nothing. The waves were calm and smooth. Halfway down on the sand to the water line, a gentle gust of wind blew Ro’s hair back, exposing her neck. Unable to resist any longer, Dryce, still holding her hand, tried to spin her into him and kiss her neck up and down, hoping his mouth would make its way down to her chest.

  Feeling the tug on her arm, Ro pulled back. She gripped his arm, spun around and hip-tossed Dryce flat on his back. The thud as his back landed on the sand briefly knocked the wind out of him.

  “Damn,” Dryce spit out.

  “Oh shut up,” Ro said as she startled him. “If you want to actually be with me, you’re going to have man the fuck up.”

  Bending over, she kissed him. Dryce felt like a virgin. Ro was completely different than any woman he’d ever been with before. His hands started to move with a mind of their own. He caressed and inched his hands up her legs under her dress. Her hair draped over his head and face. Again, the smell of her seeped in his nostrils as he breathed in. It was intoxicating. He felt like a thirteen-year-old boy going through puberty. Like he could explode at any moment. Dryce started to get harder and harder as his hands got closer and closer to her ass. His dick throbbed when he finally cupped her cheeks. He squeezed, pressing her mouth tighter against his lips. Locking tongues, they both moaned.

  Ro’s hands meandered over his body. Feeling him throb and twitch excited her even more. She laid flat down on top of him. Her breasts pressed against his chest. Dryce’s hands on her ass shot sparks up her spine.

  Dryce pushed her body
higher as he sat up in the sand. He parted his legs and bent his knees, forcing her hips deeper into his. His left hand made its way underneath the lacy leg hole of her panties. Gripping her bare ass, his dick twitched. He reached up with his other hand, grabbing ahold of her waistline. He started to slowly pull her panties down.

  Ro’s left hand reached back stopping him. “Umm… hell no, mister. I don’t care how royal you think you are. We’re in the middle of a beach, and you’re not getting any sand on my clit.”

  “Ugh, you’re such a cock tease,” Dryce joked.

  A snickering grin came across her face. “A cock tease, huh? Now you’re learning.” Ro stood up and extended her arm to help him up. “C’mon, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat something.”

  “I know what I want to eat right now,” Dryce said, attempting to continue what they started.

  “Ha, yeah, no… I was in Iraq about two years ago and I think I’m still digging sand out of places on my body,” Ro jokingly said.

  “Wait, what were you doing in Iraq?” Dryce asked.

  “Umm. Sight seeing,” Ro said over her shoulder as she started back for the car.

  Chapter Fourteen

  After inhaling their midnight fast food run while barely able to keep their hands off each other, Ro decided it was time. She raced back to the hotel. Walking through the lobby, they both maintained professionalism.

  As they reached the doors to the suite, Dryce quietly cracked open the door and peeked in. Austin and Erik were passed out asleep on the couches, empty scotch glasses resting in their hands.

  Dryce took Ro by the hand and pulled her to his bedroom.

  “You really suck at this sneaking around shit. You know that?” Ro laughed.

  “I never felt the need to be sneaky before,” Dryce said, chuckling back.

  He closed the bedroom door behind them. Dryce started to turn around, but Ro crashed his body hard against the door.

  “I want you,” she whispered in his ear.