by Melody Anne
His eyes dilated and a groan rumbled through his chest before he closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips to hers, easily parting them and allowing his tongue inside. She twisted her own with his as they explored one another. He shifted his body, half lying on top of her, but still giving himself enough room for his hands to wander over her.
Isabella ran her fingers through his hair and tugged at it, unable to get close enough to him. She was so consumed she felt as if she were going to go up in flames at any moment, and still she couldn’t pull back, couldn’t stop. She needed him. She had to relieve the ache that continued growing in intensity.
His fingers slowly circled one breast and then the other while his mouth continued to ravage her mouth with an intensity that took her breath away. She arched her back, silently begging him to ease the ache in her chest, but his fingers circled and circled, not touching the nipples that beaded out, reaching for him.
He released her mouth, and she was able to suck in a breath as her head grew light. Only then did he finally run his fingers over her nipples, and she felt an intense pulse of pleasure-pain in her core that made her hips arch off the bed as she struggled to get closer to him.
“I’m trying desperately to go slow here, but you’re so damn responsive,” Robert growled. Her eyes felt heavy but she opened them halfway and looked at his face as it hovered over hers. Though his eyes were blue, they were dark and intense in that moment, and hunger called to her on the most basal level.
“I need you,” she said, her voice pleading.
Robert tensed as he looked at her and he began taking off her clothes. The feel of his hands against her skin as he peeled away layer after layer of her protective armor only added fuel to the fire burning within her.
When both of them were naked, Isabella’s body trembled with an urgency and need she didn’t try to understand. She allowed herself to simply feel as Robert ran his mouth across her neck, then moved down.
He finally circled her breasts, taking the stiff peak of her nipple into his mouth and sucking on it, making moisture surge in her core. She wiggled her hips as she tried to draw closer, her body taking over as she sought what she didn’t know she wanted.
Robert took his time kissing her, caressing her, bringing her to the brink of explosion before backing off again, making her cry out her frustration. His tongue danced along the folds of her core, and she felt a tear spill from her eye at the intenseness of it all.
Finally, when she felt she couldn’t take a single minute more of this beautiful torture, he climbed up her body, his hot skin connecting with hers, a sheen of sweat making them slide against one another.
“Open your eyes,” Robert said, his voice intense but with a gentleness to it that made her desperate to please him.
Though her lids were heavy, she did as he asked, and she was grateful for it. There was such passion and worship in his gaze she felt as if she was the only woman in the world. It was indescribable what that did to her.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said as he lined up his thickness against her wet heat.
“I want this,” she assured him, opening her legs wider, loving how it felt to have his hips sink against her as the tip of him slipped inside her heat.
“Hold me,” he said through clenched teeth.
He reached beneath her and gripped her butt as he gazed into her eyes. She began to close hers, and he squeezed her butt hard, making them fly back open.
“I want to see your face as I join us together the first time,” he said, his voice barely recognizable. She couldn’t speak, only nodded.
Robert gripped her other butt cheek, and she wrapped her legs around his back. He held her still as he continued looking at her. The moment stretched on for a long while, and then he surged forward with a hard push.
Isabella was captured by the intense pleasure in his gaze as his body trembled on top of hers. There was pain as he broke through her innocence, but as he rested within the safety of her heat, she realized it was a short-lived feeling. He moved his hips in a gentle rocking motion, keeping them locked tightly together as he gently stroked her throbbing flesh.
The pain evaporated as new sensations drifted through her. Heat and pressure built higher than before, and a cry escaped her as she reached a peak she wanted with a desperation that couldn’t be tamed.
“Yes, baby, let yourself go,” Robert growled.
He moved one hand up and squeezed her breast while he captured her mouth and increased the depths of his thrusts. The pleasure grew as Isabella tried to hold on to her sanity. Each thrust remained gentle, but he was now pushing fully in and out of her, his long girth filling her before retreating, doing this over and over. He sped up, and she held his arms, her nails digging in as she anchored herself to him.
Then he pushed deep inside her, faster and faster and suddenly Isabella’s body released. She wrenched her lips from his as her head arched back and a cry of pleasure ripped from her very soul. She shook in his arms as he thrust a few more times before letting out his own call as he shot his hot pleasure deep within her walls.
Time stopped as the two of them clutched each other tightly, both of them shaking. Her body was exhausted as she lay there, the two of them still entwined as one. She wasn’t ready for the feeling to end, not yet, maybe not ever.
She’d just given this man a gift she hadn’t understood was so special. And now she might have become his forever, whether he wanted to keep her or not.
CHAPTER NINE
THE BOAT CARRIED Isabella and Robert to the main island of Rubare Collina. She’d had to make multiple promises to him she wouldn’t shout to the people she’d been kidnapped and held against her will. She’d also promised she wasn’t unhappy with her current situation. She wasn’t being entirely honest with him, but there was now a part of her that he did actually own free and clear.
For a week she’d slept beside him every single night after making love for hours upon hours, sometimes until the sun was creeping through the windows. She’d waited longer than most people to enjoy the pleasures of sex, but now that she’d experienced it, she couldn’t seem to get enough.
It most certainly irritated her that she had feelings for this man who had taken her by force and refused to release her when she’d demanded it. But she’d been with him for nearly two weeks, and in that time she’d learned he was loyal, kind, good to his people, and very attentive to her. It was difficult for her to know what she thought about all of this.
The boat neared the main island and excitement filled Isabella at the sight of children playing on the docks and fisherman coming and going. She could see a cobblestone path that led into the main part of the city she’d been staying in before her rude awakening.
Isabella hadn’t known how she’d feel upon coming back to the city, but now that she was there, she felt good. She also didn’t have any desire to run to the guards and demand Robert set her free. She knew they would ignore that request anyway as he was a prince and she was a nobody. But beyond that, so much had changed since the night he’d taken her. She was afraid she was developing real feelings for the man. That would be very foolish indeed.
“What are you thinking?” Robert asked. There was apprehension in his eyes though he smiled at her and tried to hide it.
“That this is truly a beautiful town in a beautiful country,” Isabella honestly replied. She was also thinking about him, but there was no need to share that.
As they reached the dock and secured the boat, Isabella’s stomach fluttered. She looked at the people who’d stopped what they were doing to watch her and Robert walk up the dock. As someone recognized him, there was an awed gasp from the crowd and Isabella was in shock at the reverence the people showed him as they bowed while he approached.
She stood back as Robert stopped by a group of teenagers and took pictures with them while making them laugh with a few well-placed jokes. He was a natural at making people comfortable in his presence, and the citizens
loved him. This was Rubare Collina, and he was a prince of their sister island, Rubare Virgina, and still these people treated him as if he was their future king.
This was the first time Isabella truly understood she was sleeping with a man who held a lot of power. She was falling for a man who would change her life if she chose to be with him. That thought terrified her enough that she instantly wanted to escape. He was distracted by the people who continued to approach, but, though he seemed to be unaware of what she was doing, she noticed as she moved left or right to get better glimpses of his profile while he visited his followers, his body would shift.
She had no doubt he knew exactly where she was and what she was doing at all times. It was terrifying how much the two of them were connected in such a short amount of time. She didn’t need to hear him enter a room; she’d feel his presence. She’d thought she was the only one to feel that way. She was now thinking she’d very much been mistaken.
Isabella wasn’t sure how long it took for them to leave the docks, but Robert finally approached her, easing his hand into hers, which made her incredibly nervous as cameras snapped while they walked by. She tried pulling free from him as she kept her face aimed at the ground, but a good photographer would not only be able to identify her, but also obtain an image her parents would surely recognize. She hadn’t told them anything of what was happening in her life. She didn’t want to stress them.
“I think this was a mistake,” Isabella told him as she upped her pace and tried to pull her hand free. He didn’t release her and had no difficulty keeping up with her.
“What is?” Robert asked, confusion clear in his tone.
“Coming here with you. So many people are staring . . . and taking pictures,” she said, her anxiety increasing.
“I’m a prince of their neighboring country. Of course they recognize me,” he said as he brushed away her words as if they were nothing.
“I don’t want to be caught in your world,” she told him. He stopped walking, halting her steps as well.
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked. He didn’t look happy.
“I don’t want to be plastered on the cover of newspapers or magazines. I like being a nobody,” she insisted.
“But you are mine. And even if you weren’t you could never be a nobody,” he insisted.
“I’m not yours, Robert,” she insisted. “I’m not a possession to be owned.” This was something very important to her. He would understand it, or she’d cause a scene that would surely splash their images all over the Internet.
“Do I need to teach you a lesson in possession?” Robert asked.
That glint in his eyes told her he was up to no good. She now realized that look meant absolute trouble, and she immediately took a step backward, but it was too late. Before she could flee, Robert pulled her against him and leaned down, devouring her mouth. She resisted for all of two seconds before she was lost in his embrace as she always was.
She didn’t hear the cameras snapping or the “ahs” from the crowd. All she could hear, see, and smell was Robert. Once she was in his arms he became her world and she merely orbited around him.
By the time he released her, Isabella’s cheeks were flushed and her lips were swollen. She certainly looked like a woman who’d just been well-loved. She smiled at him, her feelings clear for all the world to see. And they did. A brave reporter closed in on them and asked Robert to smile. He held her in his arms and looked right into the man’s camera with a big grin as it flashed.
Isabella immediately realized what he’d done. Betrayal and hurt filtered through her, and she quickly tugged away from him, wanting nothing more than to escape. He didn’t let her hand go but instead led her down the street until they entered a sparsely occupied business.
“I told you that’s what I didn’t want,” Isabella snapped as soon as she was sure they weren’t being overheard.
“And I told you I have plans,” Robert replied.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“I have no desire to lose you at this moment,” he told her before tugging her against him again.
“That choice might not be yours to make,” she said, her back straightening as she glared at him.
“I can tell when a woman is satisfied,” he said with a confident grin. “And believe me, you don’t want to go anywhere.”
Before she was able to reply, a man walked up to them and shook Robert’s hand. Isabella soon discovered they were long-time friends, and she didn’t dare correct Robert when she was introduced as his girlfriend. This nightmare kept getting worse the longer they remained on the main island. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of it.
She really wasn’t sure if she wanted to. Maybe she had Stockholm syndrome, or perhaps she was just a foolish woman. Whatever it was, she knew it was nothing but trouble. And if she knew anything about life, she knew trouble was sure to find her.
CHAPTER TEN
A FULL SIX WEEKS had passed since Isabella had been with Robert. After arriving in his home country of Rubare Virgina, most of their time together had been normal and easy and might seem a bit boring to an outside observer. But to her, the time had been magical.
For the past few weeks Robert had been gone more than he was home, serving his country as an ambassador. She found herself lonely far too often for her liking. It was the royal life she’d believed it would be — and that wasn’t a good thing.
Yes, Robert had people to tend to her, and he managed to give her activities to do, but she’d already stayed too long. But now she had a problem she didn’t know how to deal with. She’d been waiting for the perfect moment to share with him, but it seemed it never would come.
He joined her almost every night in her bed, but usually she was already asleep and he’d wake her in the most pleasant of ways and then when she awoke in the morning her bed was cold and he was long gone. She wasn’t sure if he was with other women on the nights he wasn’t with her, or if he was gone for work. She wasn’t sure of anything, because he didn’t feel the need to tell her.
This wasn’t the life she’d always imagined. Yes, at one time in her life she’d dreamed of being a princess, but like most women, she’d grown up. A royal life wasn’t what she wanted. But whether she had chosen it or not, this family would always be a part of her.
Robert would always be a part of her. She’d given him something of hers she could give no one else. And he’d given her a gift as well, but she couldn’t say he wouldn’t give the same to others. Her hand caressed her stomach, and she allowed a few tears to fall.
Isabella was in no way ready to be a mother. She had just graduated from college and had been ready to face the world, find the perfect story, and be an all-star journalist. She’d even thought of writing about Rubare Collina’s ancient tradition of kidnapping a bride. That had all fallen out the window the moment she’d been taken.
Her life had changed, and now she would have a new path in life. She hadn’t planned on keeping her pregnancy a secret, but if she were to tell him while in his country she knew she’d have no rights. It didn’t matter if she was an American. If her baby was born in Rubare Virgina, she would lose her child.
Still, Isabella trusted Robert . . . to a certain extent. Since coming back to Rubare Virgina, he was more distant. There were things happening he was choosing not to share with her, and she didn’t know why, or understand the wall he was putting up between them after being so open to her at first. It hurt; it hurt her a lot. She was lonely, and she didn’t know how to share this with him without incurring his wrath, or even worse, distance from him.
Stepping through his back door, Isabella looked at his beautiful gardens as she took an evening stroll. She didn’t know if Robert would be home that night, and she couldn’t bear to wait in her room for him once again. She’d stayed up late the night before and he’d never come to her. On this day she was tired and hurting.
Moving through the perfectly sculpted path, she
made her way into her favorite area with trees and benches. She’d spent many hours under these trees as she read a book or took a nap. She felt safe here, and even better, she felt free away from the crowds of Rubare Virgina.
Her time in Rubare Collina with Robert had been overwhelming. Her one excursion into the royal city in Rubare Virgina had been terrifying. The people worshiped him in this country, and they wanted to know everything they could about who this woman was on his arm. He didn’t share a lot, which she was grateful for, and her parents had no clue what was going on, which meant it hadn’t reached back to the States yet, but all it would take was one wrong picture and her small world could easily close in on her.
Moving forward, Isabella missed the rock in the middle of the path and tripped. She lost her balance and, unable to catch herself, flew to the ground, hitting it hard. Her knees slammed into the hard dirt, and her hands scraped against the path, leaving scratches. Her tumble ended with her sprawled face-first on the ground, and a cramp hit her stomach that terrified her.
Quickly Isabella shifted to her side and curled in on herself in a protective manner, cradling her still flat stomach. She hadn’t wanted a baby, but now that she knew she was pregnant she wasn’t sure she could handle the pain of a miscarriage. If her clumsiness hurt her child she might never forgive herself.
“Are you okay, Ms. Izzy?” a man asked as he quickly knelt at her side.
Isabella looked up to find one of the guards standing before her, concern on his face as he reached out and felt her head before running his hands against her palms and then her ankles.
“Yes, yes, I’m okay,” she said. Even if she was worried, she couldn’t tell this man she might be losing her baby. But as she had that thought, the cramp went away. She forced herself into a seated position and took in long gulps of air, slowly letting them out.
