To an outsider, it might have appeared strange that Dad and Uncle Jasper interacted at all. The trouble began when Jasper began making power grabs a few decades ago, offering to assist my father by taking over certain royal agencies. As it became apparent that Jasper’s only goal was to funnel money to himself and his cronies, Dad did everything he could to stop Jasper. Unfortunately, Jasper and his wealthy supporters launched a propaganda campaign aimed at the citizens of Ocauria.
As a result of this propaganda, many people here assumed that the reason they were poor was because they had a terrible, foolish, lazy king. They saw my father as the villain and my uncle as the noble savior who, with a little more power, could improve the state of the nation.
This was part of the reason that my brothers and I were in danger. Although we were generally well-liked by the populace due to our youth, worldliness, and — let’s face it — our good looks, we were all targets. I was safe in New York, since I didn’t pose a threat to Jasper while living on the other side of the world. Now that I back home, however, I knew that he would stop at nothing to keep me from becoming king.
In spite of Jasper’s ill intentions, Dad refused to cut him out of his life. Instead, he attempted to dialogue with him and keep the lines of communication open. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” was the rationale that applied here. I feared that my dad was willing to compromise far too much, though. Jasper was not a rational being.
The second we entered the room, Dad jumped out of his chair. “Carter! Gwen! So good to see both of you!”
“Well, well, well…” Jasper slowly stood. A sly smile crept across his face. He was a short man with a dark mustache and beard and piercing green eyes. “It’s been a long time, Carter. And yet I feel like I just saw you on TV going to a hotel room with a strange woman…” He then noticed Gwen and trailed off, putting the pieces together.
“He’s going to marry that strange woman!” Dad interjected. “And, er…she’s not a strange woman at all. In fact, she’s an upstanding young lady of noble blood. Jasper, this is Duke Henry’s cousin. Carter met her in New York.”
My hand was on Gwen’s back, and I felt her body trembling slightly. I could sense her fear. She probably worried that Jasper would see right through our paper thin lie.
“It’s so nice to meet you, sir,” she said to Jasper, bowing her head slightly. “It’s such an honor.”
Apparently, Gwen was getting better at these royal introductions.
“Duke Henry’s cousin, eh?” Jasper said, approaching us slowly. “A pretty little thing, isn’t she? But…I don’t recall any of Henry’s cousins living in New York. Why, pray tell, did you end up there?”
Gwen sputtered, “To be honest, I — I have no idea why my parents sent me there! Perhaps for a better life. I was so young. So, so young. Practically a baby!”
“Tone it down,” I hissed in her ear. Then, to my uncle, I said brightly, “Gwen hasn’t been feeling like herself. I think she’s a little feverish.”
Jasper turned to me. “I hope you’re taking good care of her, Carter. So, tell me…are you just here for a quick visit, or do you plan to stay for good?”
I stared my uncle down. I was a good eight inches taller than him, so it wasn’t too difficult to feel physically intimidating in this situation. “I’ll stay here as long as my father wants me to. He told me I was needed to serve my country, and that’s what I intend to do.”
A strange look filled Jasper’s dark eyes. “Funny. It seemed like you weren’t too concerned with serving your country during the entire decade you spent gallivanting around the globe, living off funds from the royal coffers, doing absolutely nothing worthwhile with your existence.”
I clenched my fist. Gwen noticed, dropping her purse and wrapping her small hands around mine in a feeble attempt to stop me from getting too angry. It wouldn’t have looked good if I punched Jasper in the face. But something about his words made me feel sick to my stomach. Perhaps it was because he had just described my life in a way I’d never viewed it before. He made me sound like a parasite living off my family’s money. I began to wonder if that’s all I really was.
“Carter is a good man,” Gwen said defensively. “I wouldn’t be marrying him if I didn’t believe it.”
Good old Gwen, stepping in to protect my sorry ass when I needed her the most. And to think, I had assumed that I would be the one who had to protect her.
“I can see that your American lifestyle has made you quite bold,” Jasper said to her. “Are you prepared for a life within the confines of the palace? As the wife of a prince, your future is going to be very…limited.”
Gwen pursed her lips. “I…I don’t think Carter and I have set an exact date for our wedding. It’s going to be a while. So, uh, I guess I have some time to think about that!”
That seemed to arouse Jasper’s suspicions. He glared at Gwen as if he hoped that doing so long enough would make her crack and reveal the truth. I knew she was tougher than that. And Jasper had no real proof that we were lying, anyway.
“So, Gwen, I hope you’re looking forward to the ball!” Dad said out of nowhere.
“Yes! I’m delighted,” she said eagerly, obviously happy to change the subject. “My first royal ball. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the occasion?”
“Carter’s triumphant return to Ocauria!” Dad said, beaming. “And your engagement, of course. We’ll make an announcement to the entire kingdom. It will be televised, of course.”
Of course. Why the hell not? I glanced at Gwen, who seemed surprisingly unruffled by the idea. At this point, though, I figured that nothing would surprise her anymore.
“Gwen and I will let you two get back to your meeting,” I said. “Bye, Dad! Good to see you, Uncle J.”
Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “I thought I told you to never, ever call me that.”
“Whoops! My bad!”
Gwen and I hurried out of the room. The second we were alone, we started laughing.
“He’s like some kind of cartoon villain!” she exclaimed. “I kept thinking he was about to start twirling his mustache.”
“Yeah, it’s funny until you realize how evil he is. Did you notice how he kept trying to catch us in a lie? It’s as if he knew something was off about our relationship.”
Gwen sighed. “The sooner I leave, the better. Listen, Carter, I may stick around to pretend that we’re engaged, but I can’t stay forever. You and your family need to sit down and figure out what you’re going to do. And I need to figure out the rest of my life. Oh, fuck…”
The sadness with which she uttered those words took me by surprise. I thought about asking her what was wrong, but I didn’t want to pry.
“Come on,” I said, taking her hand. “Let’s go get something to eat, and then I’ll give you a real tour of the palace.”
A big smile lit up her pretty face. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
15
Gwen
“I should have known that Prince Carter’s official palace tour would end in his royal bedroom.”
And my, what a bedroom it was. Carter’s princely suite put my guest suite to shame. As he showed me around, I realized that he had six whole giant rooms to himself. His living quarters were several times bigger than the average NYC apartment.
“Last but not least, here’s my office,” he said, gesturing towards a spacious room with huge windows that overlooked the palace grounds. “It was nice of the servants to keep it clean while I was gone. I half-expected this place to be buried in dust, like Dad’s library.”
We stepped inside and I ran my fingers along the length of the huge oak desk, then headed over to the window to peer out at the outside world.
“No one’s going to come in here to clean now, right?” I asked. “It seems impossible to get real privacy around this place.”
In response to that statement, Carter shut the door to the office and locked it. “There. We’re all alone. If the door’s locked,
they know not to enter.”
I turned to face the window, staring out at the greenery and the distant gates. Even further in the distance, I saw misty green mountains. Then I felt Carter’s arms around me, his breath warm on my neck.
“What about the lingerie?” he asked, a question that came seemingly out of nowhere. “Did you like it as much as you like the dress?”
I bit my lip. “I’m wearing it right now. Do you want to see it?”
Carter hesitated. He stepped away, and I wondered where he was going. Then I saw that he was drawing the curtains over the windows. “Let’s not create another scandal.”
“Good thinking, Carter. Now go sit down,” I said authoritatively, pointing to his leather desk chair.
His eyes lit up and he obeyed me, sitting down on the chair and spinning to face me. I unzipped my dress and shimmied out of it with a slinky little dance, then slowly walked towards him in nothing but my sexy underwear and heels.
“Shit, Gwen…you’re so sexy,” he said softly.
My hips swaying gently, I moved a little closer to him, flicking my hair behind my back and climbing onto his lap so that I was straddling him. I could tell I was making him hard already.
“You know,” I said, grinding against him and twirling a strand of his dark hair between my fingers, “I think we might be comfier in your bed. What do you think?” It may have sounded sexy to do it in his office, but then I remembered how huge and plush his bed was. Now that would be a luxurious place to make love.
Carter didn’t respond, possibly because he was so caught up in the moment. I’d just teased him and turned me on, and now he didn’t know what to say. I inched myself closer to him as he reverently ran his fingers along my abdomen, over the hills of my breasts, and behind my back. He began to fumble with my bra strap.
I leaned in close to kiss him with an open mouth, but then I pulled back suddenly. “Whoa there boy, let’s press pause and go to the bedroom.”
“Mm. Fine,” he said reluctantly. Carter was used to being in charge. I could tell that my playful dominance was throwing him for a loop.
We made our way back through the maze of chambers and, once in the bedroom, he ensured that the entrance to the main hall was locked.
“I like when you’re on top,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling me back onto his lap. He gazed at my body reverently as I hooked my fingers under the waist of his pants. “I don’t get to see you in lingerie often enough, do I?”
“Can we get these off?” I murmured, toying with the zipper.
“Let me see all of you first,” he said. We began to kiss intensely. In spite of all the craziness going on right now, at the core of our interactions was this intense physical attraction we shared. It occurred to me that in reality, I barely knew this man, and vice versa. And yet every inch of his body felt so familiar. His touches, his kisses, the scent of his cologne…the scent of his sweat…they were all permanently etched in my mind. One smoldering glance from Carter was all it took to reignite their powerful effects on my body.
He moved his mouth over mine softly, his tongue tracing a soft line across my teeth. It was an odd but pleasurable sensation that gave me a slight shiver. In return, I gently bit his lower lip, then did it again, just a bit harder. He countered my playful aggression by gripping my hips tightly and pushing his tongue deep inside my mouth, kissing me so hard that I could barely breathe. As he asserted his dominance over me in this way, he once again reached for my bra strap. This time, I relented, letting him unhook the bra and slip the garment off of my body.
“Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen?” he asked, gazing up at my face before flicking his tongue over my right nipple. It became erect immediately. Carter caressed each of my breasts, then gently licked the left nipple.
I squirmed slightly, and he held my body tightly.
“Did I tell you to move?” he asked, kissing my breasts again and gently sucking on them. The sensation was almost too much for me to bear.
“That feels good…really good,” I breathed, running my fingers through his hair. “Fuck. Don’t stop…”
“I’m glad. I like making you feel good, Gwen. Now kiss me.”
He lifted his head and I lowered mine to meet his lips again. Carter pulled me in for a deep, passionate kiss, and I felt his fingers slip inside my black panties, probing, searching for my depths.
“Take these off,” he commanded.
I obeyed his order immediately. Carter ripped off his clothes in record time, and I stared hungrily at his hard cock. Dropping to my knees, I held it in my hands, stroking it gently. “I loved sucking your cock…watching you get off…” I murmured, kissing his thick shaft.
His hand was on the back of my head, guiding me towards his cock. “A little more of that, please. If you’re a good girl, I’ll fuck you extra hard.”
I loved the way he made me feel like my only role was to satisfy him. Only Carter could convince me that in this moment, I was nothing but his plaything. Everything else in the world melted away when he used that sexy, commanding tone of voice.
“You promise?” My lips parted and I filled my mouth with his rock hard cock. I went as deep as I could, looking up to make eye contact with him as I began to pleasure him, savoring the taste of every inch as I went as deep as I could.
He groaned softly. Carter watched me pleasure him for a few minutes, occasionally urging me to go faster, or deeper, but otherwise leaning back and enjoying the experience. The whole time, I was getting wetter and wetter. I began to touch myself as I sucked his cock.
I pulled his member out of my mouth. “Carter, I need you to fuck me. Now.”
“Oh?” He pulled away from me slightly, stroking his shaft quickly. “Dirty girl. You go get on the bed.”
I watched him reach down onto the floor to grab a condom out of his pants pocket and quickly put it on. Meanwhile, I was sprawled on his bed, practically drowning in his silken sheets, rubbing my clit to make myself nice and wet for him.
He towered over me, and I waited for him to tell me what to do. He seemed to enjoy watching me play with myself.
“I want you to get on all fours, baby.”
“Hmm?”
“Do what I say. I’m a prince, remember? You’re just a slutty American girl. I brought you here to please me, didn’t I?”
“Oh?” I playfully repositioned myself so that I was on my hands and knees, my bare ass up in the air. “Am I doing a good job?”
“We’ll see about that,” he said, yanking me towards the edge of the high bed and grabbing my body by the hips. He spread my cheeks apart and I felt the tip of his cock rubbing against my wetness. “Are you ready for me, babe?”
“Yes,” I said softly. His hardness pressed gently against my soft warmth, and as I faced the wall, I heard his labored breathing as he prepared to take me from behind.
Inch by inch, Carter’s manhood filled me up. I held my breath, bracing myself as he plunged deep inside me. Each thrust was slow, firm, and determined.
“Faster,” I urged, turning my head around so I could get a glimpse of his sexy naked body behind me. His muscles practically gleamed in the light.
“I’m not going too deep, am I?” he asked, pushing into me again with a powerful thrust.
“No…it’s perfect,” I murmured, repositioning myself to spread my legs further apart. I wanted him to be able to go as deep as he needed to. I loved the idea of the powerful prince using my body like a plaything, asserting his control over me by fucking me as hard as he could.
I felt his fingertips digging into my lower back, gripping my flesh tightly, hungrily, as he filled me up with his cock over and over, his thrusts intensifying.
He pulled out one last time before saying gruffly, “Get on your back now…”
I quickly changed position, lying on my back with my legs bent slightly, holding my breath as I watched him lower his body over mine, enveloping me in his heat.
His breath caressed my skin as he pumped in and out of me. I began to play myself to heighten my pleasure. “Kiss me,” I said, my voice coming out as a weak whisper.
As his lips met mine, his thrusts began to intensify and become more steady and rhythmic. I lifted my hand to brush my fingers through his dark hair, then gripped his broad back, holding onto his body tightly as he fucked me. Fuck. I was gonna leave scratch marks again, wasn’t I?
“Tell me you’re mine, Gwen,” he whispered tightly into my ear, his breathy words making me quiver.
“I’m all yours, Carter,” I sighed, my voice ragged. I could barely breathe with his body hovering so close over me and his cock deep inside me.
We didn’t say anything else for a while, each of us savoring the sensations of one another’s bodies. Soon, I found myself getting closer to climax. I began to play with my clit again, knowing that Carter was about to send me over the edge.
I was taken aback when he groaned, “I’m almost there. Where are you?”
“Close,” I said, a moan escaping my lips.
“Tell me when,” he said, slowing his pace slightly. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. “I’ll wait for you…”
I closed my eyes, concentrating on my pleasure. It was building to a crescendo, the heat of desire filling my entire body as Carter brought me closer and closer to cumming…
“Mm…I’m so close…”
He began to pump faster, harder. “Me, too…”
Within moments, I heard myself begin to moan, my entire body trembling underneath Carter’s. Seconds later, he called out my name, pushing himself inside me with one more thrust before practically collapsing on top of me, sweaty and exhausted.
We stayed like this for a while, trapped in our own little blissful bubble. At a certain point, Carter lay down beside me and we were both half-asleep. I knew that he must be avoiding important meetings and other princely duties in order to lie in bed with me. And I figured that I should probably let him get back to work soon.
“Maybe I should go,” I said, stroking his shoulder.
Playboy Prince: A Royal Romance (The Brothers of Ocauria Book 1) Page 7
