The Prince's Gamble

by Caridad Piñeiro

  The masseuse laid a fresh towel on the padded surface. Once Kathleen was in place, the young woman covered her lower body with a deliciously warm towel and turned down the lights in the room until it almost felt like dusk.

  “This will feel cold at first,” she cautioned and then she placed her hands on Kathleen’s shoulder.

  Despite the warning, she jumped a bit at the chill feel of something slick and wet against her skin. But the woman’s hands were gentle as she soothed the gel across her shoulder. The initial cool soon morphed into penetrating warmth. Combined with the woman’s steady, careful kneading, the discomfort in Kathleen’s shoulder faded until only a dull ache remained.

  “That feels good.” She glanced at the woman gratefully.

  “I’ll leave a small bottle of the lotion for you. It will help draw away the bruise and calm the pain.”

  “Thank you.” At the masseuse’s prompting to relax, she closed her eyes and let herself drift away. The sounds, scents and gentle rub of hands along her body soon had her almost asleep.

  The masseuse paused her ministrations and said, “I’ll be right back.” Before leaving, she covered Kathleen with more heated and scented towels, enveloping her in a pleasant cocoon.

  She truly relaxed, and the tension of the last few days ebbed from her mind and body. In that state of almost nirvana, she allowed herself a moment to think about Alexander and her attraction to him. It was crazy, she knew. They couldn’t be more far apart socially, culturally, and economically. And yet…

  There was so much about him that drew her, despite her initial negative reaction to him. Alexander had turned out to be a caring, compassionate, and hard-working man. Nothing like the demanding and insensitive dilettante she had first thought him to be.

  The snick of the door and a footfall alerted her to the return of the masseuse. A bit of colder air slipped beneath the warm towel a second before strong, capable hands settled at the small of her back and began a deep, powerful massage.

  Big, strong hands.

  Too big to be those of the female masseuse.

  She opened her eyes to find Alexander standing beside her. He had lost his dinner jacket and tie, and his shirt was open to mid-chest.

  “What are you doing here?” she murmured.

  “I should think that would be obvious, Kat.” To prove his point, he tenderly kneaded her muscles while he moved along her back, releasing the last of the tension vertebra by vertebra.

  His massage was totally different. Arousing. And as he reached her mid-back and his fingers just brushed the sides of her breasts, the arousal blossomed into almost painful desire.

  …

  Alexander couldn’t miss the change in her body. When Kathleen shivered as he stroked the sensitive flesh just beneath her arms, he knew he had her just where he wanted her. He bent close to the shell of her ear and whispered. “Roll over for me.”

  She hesitated, shooting an anxious glance toward the door.

  “The spa is officially closed. We have it all to ourselves,” he assured her.

  She did as he asked, but kept the towel loosely over her lower body. He was grateful for that as he moved his hands to her breasts and kneaded her soft flesh and the tight nubs at the tips. Just touching her had him rock hard. He might lose it altogether with a glimpse of all her exquisite femininity.

  Easy, he told himself, even as he imagined seeing her again. Tasting her again. Filling her with his aching cock for the first time.

  He nearly groaned aloud.

  She stroked her hands over his forearms. “Maybe you should get comfortable, too. There’s a robe on the back of the door.”

  He hated taking his hands off her, but relished the thought of being naked with only the robes between them. And hopefully not for long. Grabbing the terry cloth garment with one hand, he undid his shirt buttons with the other.

  She slipped off the table to stand before him. Her robe gaped and shifted, providing tempting glimpses of the breasts he longed to touch and taste to his heart’s content.

  His fingers fumbled, and she brushed his hand away.

  “Let me.” She swiftly undid his buttons and swept off the shirt. Smoothing her hands across his shoulders, she slowly trailed them down his chest to his midsection. She dragged open his pants while he slipped on the robe. With gratifyingly shaky hands, she yanked his pants and briefs down his legs, pausing to allow him to toe off his shoes and socks.

  He stepped from the pile of clothes and drew her close. Warm skin and loopy terry cloth brushed along his length, tormenting him until he sneaked his hand beneath her robe and danced it to her breast. As he caressed the taut nub, she rose on tiptoe and kissed him.

  Her mouth was mobile, moving along his lips to nip and tantalize him until he opened to her. She darted her tongue out to taste him. He groaned and in reply, her soft sough filled the air.

  Reining himself in, he dropped his hand to her waist and raised his head. “Let’s go warm away your aches and pains.”

  “I’d like that.” She wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked side-by-side, hips bumping together to the sauna at the far end of the spa. When they entered, the dry heat in the room immediately assailed them.

  Sweat erupted all along Alexander’s body, although he wasn’t sure if it was from the temperature in the room or the sexily negligent way Kathleen let the robe slip from her body as she sauntered to one of the teak and cedar benches.

  The only thing that kept him from rushing over and taking her on the spot was the sight of the large dark bruise along one shoulder. As randy as she made him feel, he forced himself to remember that she had been hurt and he needed to be gentle.

  Sucking in a lungful of hot dryness, he shucked off his own robe and strode toward her. Her gaze dropped to his erection and his balls tightened deliciously. Especially as she licked lips parched by the heat of the room and he thought of them surrounding him.

  He controlled himself and sat beside her. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the cedar panels on the wall. “This feels good.”

  “It does.” She laid her hand on his thigh, the touch both innocent and alluring. He imagined her trailing that hand upward to caress him. Explore the shape and length of him. He had to brace himself with a long indrawn breath, but that spurred a reaction from Kathleen.

  “You’re too tense, Sasha. Relax.” She rubbed her hand up and down his thigh, but then did just what he had imagined.

  She encircled him with her hand and softly moved along his length, her touch tentative. As she neared his head with another stroke, she paused to draw her finger all along the sensitive edge and underside, making him jump with need…and lose a bit of control.

  With a quick swipe of her finger, she slicked that first hint of release all along the head of his cock and it warmed immediately from the heat of the room.

  “Open your eyes, Sasha,” she said, and there was no denying who intended to be in charge this time.

  Intensely excited at the prospect, he did as she asked.

  She rose from the bench and stood between his legs. With the difference in their heights, his mouth was just inches from her lush breasts. His mouth watered in anticipation, but she moved no closer as she continued caressing him. If anything, she seemed determined to torture him. As he met her gaze, he didn’t miss the wicked gleam there.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” He was, too, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.

  “I can’t help it. I like being in charge,” she said, her tone playful.

  “Yes, you do, Very Special Agent. So tell me, what would you like me to do?” He barely bit back a groan as she reached down and cupped his balls.

  “Kiss me. There.” Her gaze dipped down to her breasts.

  Two could play this game, he thought heatedly. He dropped a quick kiss on the tip of one breast, and murmured, “Sweet.”

  He licked his way across her flushed skin to the other breast, but before offering another kiss he said
, “Salty. Maybe we need to cool you off a bit.”

  Kathleen’s whole body swam with desire as Alexander closed his mouth over her nipple and tugged at it with his lips. Lightheaded, she threaded her fingers through his hair and tenderly urged him away before she passed out.

  “Something cool sounds wonderful.”

  He surged to his feet and wrapped an arm around her waist to offer support. “Let’s hit the rainforest then.”

  Rainforest? She walked with him to an open doorway just feet away from the sauna. Beyond the entrance was a room tiled in a mosaic of greens and blues, with bright splotches of color here and there in the shapes of assorted flowers and animals. Several large rain-type shower heads, artistically embellished to look like waterfalls, graced the walls in the room.

  Alexander guided her beneath one. He worked the dial and a graceful spray of water cascaded down onto them. After the heat of the sauna, it was like an ice-cold bath. She jumped and burrowed against him, letting the heat of his body chase away the chill while the water sluiced down their bodies.

  It took a minute or so to acclimate to the change in temperature. She dropped her head back and let the water splash onto her face and run down her breasts. Her nipples puckered into even tighter buds with the cold.

  He wasted no time in taking them in his hands and tweaking the hard tips, dragging a shaky breath from her as she looked at his face. His eyes were nearly sapphire with desire. When she dropped her hand down to touch him, he shivered with need.

  “Feeling the chill?” she kidded even though there was nothing but heat growing between them as they caressed one another beneath the gentle cascade of the water.

  “Not at all, but I think I know somewhere else for us to explore.”

  So far, it had all been delightful, but knowing Alexander, he had something even more wonderful in mind. “What do you suggest?”

  “Follow me.” With a playful tug, he led her down the hall to a door with a biometric-keycard combo lock on the wall. He placed his thumb on it, and the door clicked open. He pulled her into a room that looked like pictures of the Roman baths she had seen in history books.

  Frescoes of rolling countryside graced the walls, while vaulted niches gave the impression of being in a courtyard. Beneath each arch was a potted orange tree in full bloom and bearing dozens of the fruits. The painted ceiling of a skyscape had strategically placed lighting to make it look like daylight, but when Alexander touched a button, the sky dimmed to dusk and lights came to life beneath the waters of the intimately-sized pool in the center of the room.

  “This is so unbelievably luxurious.” She walked toward the stairs at one edge of the pool.

  “It’s my private spa. I come down here to get away from it all.”

  She could understand why he would find peace here. She trailed a toe through the heated water. Steam rose off its surface in languid curls. The air was filled with the sounds of rustling wind and an occasional bird call, and was scented with the aroma from the orange blossoms on the trees surrounding the pool.

  Alexander took a step down into the water and held out his hand. “Would you join me?”

  She answered by slipping her hand into his and offered him a languid smile. Together they meandered ever lower into the waters until they were mid-waist.

  The dusky lights in the artificial night sky and beneath the waters created a chiaroscuro of light and dark. The temperature of the water was much the same, a perfect blend that was neither too cold nor too hot.

  Alexander led her deeper into the pool until they were both treading water. Then he pulled her close and urged her legs around his waist so he could support her weight.

  Together they floated in that perfect blend of light and liquid. The tips of her breasts bobbed and brushed against the crisp hairs on his chest while the long length of his erection slipped and rubbed along her center.

  The desire already crackling between them grew in degrees like water reaching the boiling point. When Alexander finally moved one arm from around her waist and cupped her breast, Kathleen reached down and guided him to her center.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, with far more restraint than she possessed at that moment.

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything, Sasha.” She shifted her hips and took him in, holding her breath with his penetration. He was a large man and it took her a moment to accommodate his length and width stretching her, pushing inward until he was sheathed to the hilt. She released a shaky breath.

  He shifted then, drawing out and in, and she shuddered and closed her eyes at the sheer pleasure he brought her. But then she slowly opened her eyes because she needed to see his face. She wanted to know it felt as good for him as it did for her.

  Her gaze locked with his and she had no doubts. Squeezing her legs around his waist, she kept her eyes on him as they moved together in a natural and ageless rhythm.

  She clung to his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her as every powerful stroke brought them closer to release. Standing against the edge of the pool, his thrusts grew stronger, more demanding, and she welcomed him, arching her back to increase his penetration.

  She slicked her hands across the breadth of his shoulders and urged him on with soft cries of pleasure. He answered her with a rough groan, his body trembling with his own desire.

  She shook as her climax came closer and closer, and then with one strong thrust, they slipped over the edge together.

  “Sasha,” she cried out as she came.

  “I love you, Kat,” Alexander said, and whispered kisses across her face.

  With those simple words, the pleasure she had been feeling just moments earlier evaporated. Remnants of all her doubts and worries tangled together to form a huge knot in her belly. Sweet lord. What had she done?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kathleen’s body tensed and Alexander shifted away. The cloud of confusion in her eyes told him all he needed to know. He’d lost her. His impulsive words had scared her away.

  Somehow, he contained the disappointment within him so it didn’t yield to anger.

  He brushed his thumb along her lips. “It’s okay, Kat. I know it might be too soon for you, but I’m a patient man.”

  “I’m sorry, Sasha.” Unable to face him, she buried her head against his shoulder as passion quickly ebbed.

  Alexander just held her, hoping the uncertainty within her might fade in time.

  When their skin became slightly waterlogged, he urged her from the pool and back to the sauna where they had left their robes. The garments were pleasantly warm as they slipped into them, and after they had donned the robes, they gathered their clothes for the trip upstairs.

  He hoped she might ask him in when they reached her suite, but she didn’t. He contained his regret that the words he’d hoped would bring them closer had instead driven them apart. There was some small satisfaction, however, from the kiss they shared at her door. Long and passionate, it had her clinging to him before she reluctantly pulled away.

  “Will I see you in the morning?” he asked. He imagined she might return to the FBI field office to continue her interrogation of Petrov, but Alexander wasn’t sure if they would want him there, too.

  “I know you have things to do here at the casino,” she said. “I’ll call and fill you in as soon as we have something solid.”

  Dismissed, he kissed her hard to remind her he was not so easy to send away. Once again she responded in kind, answering his kiss with passion before they broke apart once more.

  “Good night, Kat.” He didn’t wait for her reply to walk away.

  …

  Kathleen was torn between calling after him and asking him to stay, and giving herself the distance she needed to deal with his astonishing declaration. Somehow she mustered the strength to close the door. She leaned against it as she recalled his words, and reminded herself of what her role was supposed to be.

  Investigator. Decoy. The prince’s lover?

  The latter had not
ever been on her list, and yet here she was, having more feelings for him than she had ever expected. Or wanted.

  She wasn’t cut out for the kind of life he led—the whirl of obligations and all that went with them. Or the family he was sure to want to carry on the Ivanov name.

  None of those things had ever been in her game plan.

  With a rueful smile she slipped into bed, and thought of an old saying her mother used when she was particularly frustrated.

  God laughed at women who made plans.

  …

  Petrov slammed his hands flat against the table. “I have nothing to tell you.”

  His shout echoed in the silence that followed as Kathleen stood before him, arms folded across her chest, holding her features flat and unyielding.

  Petrov blew out a harsh breath and looked away from her, as if intent on boring a hole in the wall of the police department interrogation room with his stare.

  Let him try. Kathleen refused to let him ignore her. In a casual stroll, she positioned herself smack in the middle of his line of vision. She bent and stuck her face close, her nose almost grazing his. “Understand this, Nicolai. We have enough to put you away for a very long time. But if you help us—”

  “Do you think I fear you more than I fear—” He stopped abruptly.

  “Who do you fear, Nicolai? Whoever it is, we can protect you,” she cajoled. She’d get Petrov to roll on his associates one way or another.

  Petrov merely chuckled and shook his head. “No one can protect me. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask Sasha? He can tell you about his experience firsthand.”

  Kathleen straightened slowly and in her earpiece she heard, “Let’s call it a day, Special Agent.” They’d been going around and around for hours now.

  “You’re making a mistake, Nicolai,” she offered, giving him one last chance.

  With a dead calm that sent a chill to her gut, Petrov replied, “I’m not the one making the mistake. Don’t underestimate the people involved in this.”

  “In what?” she probed. Again.

  He ignored her.

  “Fine. It’s your life.” Driving back her unease when he just leveled that chilly gaze on her, she exited the interrogation room to where her ADIC and Detective Roman waited in the viewing area. She shot a glance at Roman and asked, “Do you think he’s referring to Stravinski?”