Yours Forever: A Holiday Romance

by Bella Winters

  “I’ll give you two hundred and fifty, but that is my final offer,” he said. “And I have to double check that with my attorney.”

  I stood looking at him for a few seconds, not sure whether to jump on it or hold out. Unfortunately, prince or not, I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to budge any further. I walked over to him and stuck out my hand.

  “Deal,” I said sternly, completely blown away that I had actually accepted his offer.

  “Yes,” he said, jumping from the chair and hugging me tightly.

  He let go just as the smell of his skin started to overwhelm me. I watched as he dialed his phone. His demeanor and tone of voice changed from charming to business in two seconds. He was talking to his attorney about the money, and I held my breath until he looked over and gave me thumbs up.

  Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Holy Shit. I could pay off the mess my mother got herself into and still have plenty left over to set myself up really nice when I went back home to Liverpool. I’d love to continue my trip, but it seemed my trip had changed direction. Now, I was facing marriage and a kingdom to rule. Well at least, I’d watch Milos rule.

  I looked up and realized I was sitting alone at the breakfast table with only the light banter of Milos conducting business in the background. I went from having breakfast with a prince to being completely cut out of the conversation, like I was nothing more than a business investment. I was educated, but the kind of legal jargon he was discussing was over my head. I took a deep breath and grabbed a croissant, wondering what came next.

  At least I would have an amazing bed and an entire palace to roam around in. It shouldn’t be too boring, trying on all those fancy clothes and riding horses out into the country. I think I might find that palace life suits me. On the other hand, it may be more Marie Antoinette and less Cinderella. I could find myself tried for treason and beheaded on the steps of the palace. I laughed to myself as I pictured me wearing a giant gown, which of course they didn’t wear anymore, and a powdered wig, which hadn’t been in fashion for hundreds of years.

  Milos walked from the back room, slipping on his shoes and walking swiftly across the suite. His face had completely changed, and I really didn’t recognize this man. He picked up his cell phone and called down to have his car pulled around. He breathed deeply and looked over at me, as if he had forgotten I was here at all.

  “Oh,” he said, shaking his head. “Get dressed. The car will be downstairs in five minutes. The driver will take you to gather your things and then bring you over to the lawyer's office. I’ll meet you there, and we’ll get the contracts signed.”

  “That’s very romantic,” I said, chuckling.

  But his face didn’t change. In fact, I don’t even think he heard me at all.

  I walked into the bedroom and scrounged around until I found my dress, figuring I should probably put my shoes on as to not look so suspicious. I did happen to notice the few people standing outside of the hotel the night before, snapping pictures as we entered, but he rushed me by so fast I didn’t have time to ask. At that moment, it all started to make sense.

  Milos packed his bags and talked to someone on the other end of the line about his proposal. He wasn’t paying attention to me. I left the suite and went downstairs. As I walked into the large marble waiting area, I smiled at the girls behind the desk. They whispered to each other and stared. This was more than a little awkward. As soon as I hit the curb, I jumped into the town car parked out front, and we sped off to the Caspian. The driver was a nice, older gentleman, and he helped me out of the car.

  “I’ll be waiting right here for you,” he said with a kind look in his eye.

  “Thank you,” I replied, patting his hand and walking into the side door that led up to the apartments.

  It was the middle of the day, so most of the girls were out and about, doing what they do, and the rest were down covering the day shift at the club. It was insane how many men staggered into the Caspian in the middle of the day, looking for their next lap dance. Sometimes, I wondered what these guys did with their lives besides pay strippers and put on nice suits. As I walked through the hallway, I paused at Sveta’s door, wondering if I should seek my best friend’s advice. Either way, I couldn’t just leave without saying goodbye. I knocked on the door and peeked inside. She was sitting on her bed listening to music and sketching, something she liked to do in her spare time.

  “Hey, girl,” she said, looking up from her book and pulling her headphones off. “I saw you didn’t come home last night. Mister dark and handsome took you right out of the club.”

  “I know,” I said, letting out a huge breath and plopping down on the edge of the bed. “It has been nuts, and I don’t have a lot of time.”

  “Is he waiting for you?” She looked excited as she pulled the curtain back and looked down at the street. “Fancy town car, you coming to the apartment to get things, a frazzled look on your face. What’s going on?”

  “This guy was not who I thought he was,” I said, trying to explain quickly. “It turns out he is a prince. Like a real prince. He is getting ready to take over as king of this small country, Silesia.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Sveta said, nodding her head. “I’ve been there before. It’s really beautiful.”

  “Here’s the kicker,” I said, taking her hands. “He wants me to marry him and fake our whole relationship for an entire year.”

  “What?!”

  “Yeah, and when it’s done, he’ll pay me two hundred fifty thousand pounds,” I said dramatically.

  “Holy shit,” she said, her mouth gaping. “Well, what the hell are you doing here?”

  “I came to get my stuff,” I said as I looked down at my hands. “I don’t know. It all sounds so wrong. Lying to everyone. Faking a marriage. There’s just something weird about it to me.”

  “You are being insane,” Sveta said, slapping my hand. “Do you know how many girls dream of living in a castle and being a princess? Hell, I still dream about that happening. You have been through so much. You owe this to yourself. Live the dream, girl. Be a motherfucking princess.”

  “You know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe I am overthinking this. So what if I have to pretend to love this guy? He is handsome, sexy, and really great in bed. So it shouldn’t be that hard. And the rest of the time, I get to live like royalty.” I smiled big at Sveta, thankful for her confidence.

  “You get to live as royalty,” Sveta corrected me.

  “Thank you, girl,” I said. I leaned forward and hugged her tightly.

  “Oh, I’m going to miss you,” she whined, squeezing me tight. “You have to write me and send me pictures.”

  “I promise,” I replied, feeling a bit emotional about leaving this life behind.

  I said goodbye one more time, then jogged down to my room and pulled out my backpack and dusted it off. I went through my drawers and stuffed my clothes and shoes into my bag. Then I grabbed the three thousand pounds of lingerie I had hanging in my closet, and tossing it out on the counter in the main area for the girls to pick over. They were waiting for me at the lawyer’s office, and the last thing I wanted to do was get stuck talking to Reg, trying to explain why I was quitting and where I was going.

  I pulled the envelope of cash from my drawer that I had been saving, took a couple thousand pounds out, and shoved it in my pocket. The rest, I sealed up and walked to Sveta’s door, smiling as she sang loudly to herself. I pulled my backpack up on my back and slid the envelope under her door, before walking to the exit and taking one last look around. It was crazy that a drunk mom and a crazy backpacking trip brought me here with these people, and now, a real prince and a crazy marriage was taking me out. I wasn’t sad in the least to be leaving the red lights and loud music behind, but the experience was definitely something I would never forget. I kissed my hand and pressed it against the door before closing it and jogging down the steps.

  When the bright sunlight hit me in the face, I took in a deep breath, knowing I was
about to do something that would change my life for the better. I handed my bag to the driver and looked at the front of the Caspian. Let’s just hope that this new choice would be for the better, with none of the worse.

  Chapter 8: Milos

  “Is she upstairs?”

  “Yes, sir,” the driver said on the other end of the phone. “She is in her apartment gathering her things, and I am down here waiting for her.”

  “Good,” I said. “When you are done, bring her to the lawyer’s office.”

  “Yes, sir,” the driver responded.

  “Oh, and make sure she changes her clothes,” I said, before hanging up the phone, looking around the suite, and hopping into the elevator.

  I had set up an impromptu meeting with the attorneys who were drawing up the paperwork while I was making my way to their office. There were a lot of things to cover, from the amount settled upon and her obligations, to what she couldn’t do while sitting as the princess of Silesia. She would never make it to queen, since her blood was not royal and by the time my mother died, Adriana will be long gone. Either way, I didn’t want to take any chances for confusion. It was important that I handled this meeting completely professionally, showing the attorneys I was serious and showing Adriana that this was a business agreement, not a romantic tryst or a game to be played. As I walked through the lobby, I held up my hand at the flash from a camera. I looked over at the desk and pointed.

  “You,” I shouted. “No media in the building.”

  The girl jumped and ran around the desk, shooting the reporter from the premises. I stood inside, waiting until I saw the car pull up, before jogging out and jumping inside, quickly shutting the door. We were only three blocks from the attorneys’ office, but I didn’t want the press following me. So I took the car instead of walking. When I arrived, I was greeted by the head attorney, who sat me down inside a conference room made of glass walls, boasting a large screen television and huge mahogany table in the center. I looked at the secretary. She smiled at me and poured me a cup of coffee. Her legs were long, but her hips were nowhere near as curvy and sexy as the stripper’s.

  I looked up as someone walked into the lobby, and I saw that it was Adriana. She smiled, dressed in a plain black dress that came below her knees and tall black heels. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the leftover ringlets from the night before cascaded down her back. She actually looked like a professional, and a sexy one at that. I held the door open for her, watching her ass jiggle as she walked past and had a seat at the table. She looked nervous, but I kept my professional demeanor.

  “Miss Jones,” the attorney said as he walked through the doors. “So good to meet you. This won’t take long, and then you two can get on your way.”

  The lawyer sat a huge stack of papers down in front of us, and I watched Adriana take in a deep breath, trying to pay attention to what he was saying. As he went over every section, she would stop him, asking specific questions about terminology and definitions. Though I could see his weariness, I actually found it kind of cute. However, by page forty, her eyes had glazed over, and she had resorted to just sticking her hand out and sloppily plopping her name or initial on the line he pointed to. I didn’t blame her, though. This was boring as hell but vital to protecting her, me, and my kingdom. The signed copy would be sealed in their vault and would be the only copy in existence. When the year was over, and she was paid, the contract would be destroyed, allowing me to keep my secrecy.

  When the last signature had been made, the attorney thanked us, took my check, and we headed outside to the car. We climbed inside, sitting across from each other, and I pulled out my phone to check the time. We were doing well. We would actually make it to the jet with plenty of time to make it back to the palace by dinner time. I looked across at Adriana as she watched the cars passing out the window. She looked nervous and almost lost in her pretty black dress, sitting in a town car and watching her future zoom forward with no control. I knew exactly how that felt. I went to say something, anything to comfort her, but my phone buzzed in my lap, and I picked it up, grimacing at my mother’s name on the screen.

  “Hello, Mother,” I said answering.

  “Milos,” she replied angrily. “Why in God’s name would you think it was a good idea to go jetting off to Prague just a week after your father’s funeral? And to top it off, you were photographed being thrown out of two clubs last night. Did nothing I say to you about your father’s wishes sink in at all?”

  “Calm down, Mother,” I replied. “I am currently in route to the airport, with my fiancée, and we will be arriving within a few hours.”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or wonder if I had finally killed the old lady. She was really smart, and I knew she would have questions about this, but I also knew she really wanted the royal family to stay in one piece. I cleared my throat to break the silence.

  “Well,” she said, sounding pleased but suspicious. “That is definitely the best news I’ve gotten in a while. I will have to start planning a wedding then, I suppose. Do you have any requests?”

  “No, Mother,” I said, chuckling. “I will leave all the planning of this wedding to you.”

  Adriana’s head snapped up as I spoke, a look of discontent on her face. Regardless of what Adriana wanted, my mother was going to insist on a big wedding, and I wasn’t going to disappoint her. If nothing else, it would keep my mother busy and off my back while I was home. When the conversation was over, I hung up, and I realized it had been the first cordial conversation I had with my mother in years. Maybe this marriage thing wasn’t such a bad deal, after all. My mother would be happy, the kingdom would be back in order, and Parliament would stay off my ass.

  We pulled into the hangar bay where the jet was parked, and I sighed with relief. Finally, I was going to be able to relax for a bit, and if I had my way, relieve some of the tension in my pants. When we parked, I got out of the car and walked around to escort Adriana onto the plane. I stood in front of the stairs with my arms wide in the air.

  “This is my favorite place,” I said enthusiastically. “I do all my best thinking here. No one bothers me while on board, and usually, it is taking me somewhere exciting and new. Come. I’ll show you around.”

  Adriana chuckled at my excitement and took my hand as I helped her up the stairs and onto the plane. The stewardess smiled as I passed, reminding me that my hot few hours on the way to Prague with the brunette from Australia should have prompted a staff change. But oh well. It was what it was. I had called ahead to let the captain know of my fiancée’s attendance, and the staff had been lectured on the importance of keeping their thoughts to themselves.

  “So, here is the main cabin,” I said, as we stood and looked over the carpeted expanse of the plane. “We have a bar over here to our left, a couch for lounging just over there, and our main seats here to the right.”

  Adriana smiled, nodded her head, and lifted her eyebrows. She didn’t seem the least bit impressed, which kind of bothered me. I knew she probably hadn’t seen anything like this before, but understanding that everything was happening so fast, I just took a deep breath and showed her to her seat. We stowed our things away and buckled up.

  Adriana gazed out the window while we taxied the runway, and I noticed her white-knuckling the arms of her seat as we took off. I wondered if she had ever flown in a plane before. Wanting to relieve some of her tension, I motioned to the stewardess to bring us some wine.

  “What do you think so far?” I asked, crossing my legs as I looked at her.

  “It’s all a bit overwhelming,” she replied with a forced grin. “But don’t worry. I’ll get used to it.”

  “Come here,” I said. I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for her hand. “Let me show you something.”

  We walked to the back of the plane and through the tall wooden double doors. I leaped forward and landed on the huge, king-sized bed and down comforters. One might think t
hat I kept this bed here for one reason, which was the reason on my mind while I stared down at Adriana’s long, sexy legs. But that was not always the case. I took long flights all over the world, and I liked to have a place to sleep while I traveled.

  “Why don’t I help you relieve some of that tension?” I whispered, biting my lip, and feeling my erection get harder. “Put your wine down and climb on in here with me.”

  She looked around the room quietly, no indication of what she was thinking on her face. Then she walked back to the doorway and looked down at me.

  “No, I think I’ll just enjoy the flight from the cabin,” she said, a cool smile on her lips.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as she walked away. The slit in the back of her dress came dangerously close to her ass. Her stockings were sheer, with a black line running up the back of both of them, and her heels had tiny bows at the top. She looked absolutely incredible, and all I wanted to do was get her out of all that and add her to my mile-high club list. But, seeing as sex was optional in our arrangement, I couldn’t really do anything about her lack of interest.

  I climbed up on the bed, slipped my shoes off, and crawled under the covers. I painfully rubbed my hand down my cock, feeling the burn of rejection. After the night of passion we shared, I thought now it would be in the bag, but this girl was going to make it hard.

  I had gotten the business end of what I wanted, but she was not going to make the other part easy in the least. The carefree part of myself wanted to completely forget about it, knowing there was no lack of pussy in my life, but the other part of me yearned for her wetness, her moans, and the way she looked at me as she orgasmed in the sheets.

  For the next couple of hours, I tossed and turned, trying to take a nap while enduring the endless suffering of a gigantic hard on. I watched out of the door as Adriana sat quietly, her legs crossed, and her hands resting in her lap. She definitely knew how to be regal and contemplative, but she also knew just what to do to drive me crazy. The line between any type of relationship and business had been drawn, and she was not going to let me forget it. The question now was, how do I get her to forget it, and how easy will it be to seduce her back into my bed?