by S. E. Rose
“Why are you grinning like a fool?” she asks, not bothering to look up from her task.
“Because, I’m reminded that you may be physically small, but your spirit knows no bounds,” I say to her as I crawl on the bed and settle her against me. She laughs.
“What’s so funny?” I ask her as I look down at the screen. It’s a black screen full of codes that I don’t understand.
“You,” she says. I brush another loose hair away from her neck and bend down to kiss her there. She sighs but continues her rapid typing.
“What are we looking for?” I ask her as I trail light kisses up her neck.
“I…don’t exactly know…” She trails off and pauses before she begins typing at a speed that seems not human.
“What?” I ask.
“What the? Holy fuck,” she mutters.
“What?” I say a bit louder.
“M’s signal was near the palace an hour before the bombing,” she says as she keeps typing.
“What does that mean? He planted the bomb?” I ask, my mind starting to explore the possibilities. Was the man hired to kill me here now? Was he inside the palace? Part of me desperately wants to know who the mysterious assassin, M is, but a bigger part of me cares not about the hired hand and instead wants to know even more desperately who hired him.
“I…don’t know,” she admits as she keeps searching for something. Her hand comes up to her forehead and rubs it.
I reach out and start to close the lid on her computer. She grabs it, prying it back open.
“What are you doing?!” she cries out.
“Anna, you need rest,” I say to her.
“No, I need to figure out who planted that bomb, who’s trying to kill you, and who blew up my uncle’s plane,” she snarls.
“Hey,” I say a little more gently as I turn her face so she’s looking up at me. “Your father has hired very smart people to do all of that. I know you can do it too, but right now, you’re not helping yourself. You need to rest and let your body heal.”
Tears well in her eyes, and it cuts me to my very core. I cup her cheek, and she leans against my hand.
“It’s alright. Just breathe, Anna,” I say to her as I run my lips across her forehead. I hear a sob escape her lips, and I push her computer away as I pull her over and press her tightly against me. I let her cry against my chest, her tears forming wet spots on my shirt, but I don’t give a damn. I stroke her back and her hair, which falls out of the bun and runs down her back in messy waves.
After a few minutes, her sobs subside. Aside from her sniffles, she’s quiet but I can tell she hasn’t fallen asleep.
“I have to fix this,” she whispers. I can feel her hot breath through the cotton of my shirt.
“Fix what?” I say to her.
“Everything,” she says on a release of breath.
“Anna, this isn’t your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself, right now,” I say, my voice slightly harsher than I mean it to be.
She sniffles again and pushes up so that I’m looking into her red, swollen eyes. “I can fix it, Logan. I can,” she says, determination lacing her voice.
“I know you can, but you don’t have to,” I say to her, pressing my forehead against hers and breathing her in.
She sighs. “Logan, we don’t know who we can trust. I can’t live like that. I can’t live in fear. I won’t live in fear,” she says. I move my lips forward and brush them against hers.
“Then don’t,” I say, resigning myself to helping her however possible, no matter what rules have to be broken.
She kisses me back, slow and gentle. Neither of us rushes the other in our exploration. I know she’s not ready for more than this, or at least that’s what I keep telling my cock, but it has a mind of its own. It doesn’t help when she begins to grind against it. I moan into her lips as I slide my tongue along them. She opens willing, and I plunge inside, tasting her, owning her, because she’s fucking mine.
My hands explore her body and her hand grip my shoulder, using me as an anchor. It isn’t until she hisses in pain that I pull back.
“Anna?” I say, looking down to see what’s hurt her. I see her arm in an awkward position. I sigh and curse under my breath. “We can’t do this. You’re going to hurt yourself,” I say.
“Please, Logan,” she begs me. I know she wants to forget for a moment and so do I. I gently lift her and lay her down on the mattress. I prop her arm back up on the pillow and crouch over her on all fours.
“No moving,” I instruct. She nods and bites her lip, which only works to harden my cock further.
I go back to kissing her while my hands slide beneath the bottom of her dress. The only good part to her arm injury is the fact that she’s not wearing pants right now because it must be too difficult to pull them up her legs. I feel the cotton of her underwear and it’s soaking wet. I groan and push it aside, running my finger up her sex. She pushes her pelvis against me.
“No moving,” I repeat. She grumbles under her breath, and I can’t help the smirk on my lips as I trail kisses across her jaw and back to her lips. I slowly sink my finger inside her, and she whimpers.
“I got you, baby. I know what you need,” I murmur. I curl my finger inside her and begin rubbing her where I know it’ll feel best for her. I rub circles over her clit with my thumb. Her body begins to tremble, her inner muscles undulate around my finger, and I know she’s close. I slide a second finger inside her and repeat the movement, flicking my fingers back and forth over her sensitive spot. The hand of her good arm comes up to my bicep and grips tightly as she cries out. I lean down pressing my mouth to hers, swallowing her cries.
“Better,” I whisper against her lips after I give her a minute to come back down from her high.
“Yes,” she says with another contented sigh.
I feel her hand run down my chest and abs. I grip it.
“You don’t need to do anything,” I say to her.
“I want to,” she says as she fumbles with my waistband and slides her hand inside, wrapping her warm fingers around my dick. I moan as she squeezes slightly before moving her hand up to my tip and swirling the liquid that’s pooling there around the head of my shaft. She lubricates it several times before moving back down and then up. I don’t move. I support myself on my elbows, hovering over her as she gives me the best fucking hand-job of my damn life. I close my eyes and concentrate on the feel of her small hand attempting to wrap around me. When she slides farther down and grips my balls, I almost blow my load, but it feels so damned good that I force myself into composure, seeking more of the pleasure she’s giving me, prolonging the pleasure she’s giving me. It doesn’t last long as she strokes my dick. I see colors flash from behind my eyelids. I feel my cock swell and my balls pull up as I shoot my load into the fabric of my underwear. I brace myself above her, breathing hard into her neck.
“Shit, Princess. You’re fucking good at that,” I say. “Let me change.” I get up and give her a slow kiss before I walk over to my bag and pull out clean clothes. I take mine off, and she watches me intently.
“You’re beautiful,” she says. I grin.
“You think?” I ask, feeling a little cocky. I know I’m above average in the looks department and lord knows I spend enough time working out every day that my body is well-sculpted.
She rolls her eyes, and I chuckle. “You’re beautiful too, Anna,” I say to her as I walk back over and sit on the bed. She shrugs.
“I’m just me,” she says.
“You don’t think you’re beautiful?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. This woman is drop-dead gorgeous. There’s no way she doesn’t see that.
“I’m OK, I guess,” she says.
I raise my eyebrow farther. I walk over, pick her up in my arms and carry her to the full-length mirror by the bathroom. I set her down, holding onto her shoulders, forcing her to look at herself.
“What do you see?” I ask her.
She sighs. “Short, small, mousy ha
ir, big eyes, petite everything,” she looks down at her body.
“What else do you see?” I ask her.
She cocks her head to one side. I play with her hair, wrapping it around my finger. “I have freckles and highlights from the sun. My eyelashes—I have my mother’s eyelashes, long and curved. And my father’s eye color. I’m thin…” She trails off as she continues looking at herself.
“You know what I see?” I ask her. She shakes her head. I twirl her hair. “Silky, thick hair that I love to wrap around my hands. Beautiful dark blue eyes that I could get lost in every day, surrounded by the most perfect eyelashes I’ve ever seen on a woman. Your face looks like a painting, everything is perfectly portioned and elegant. You’re right, you are thin, but not so thin that you look sickly. There’s muscle tone and your curves are proportioned to your small stature,” I say. I cup her breasts. “And if you ask me, they are absolutely perfect.” She blushes, the pink creeping up her neck into her cheeks, her eyes flutter, but I take one hand and grasp her chin, holding her face in place so she can’t look away.
“You are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen, Susanna…” I trail off, realizing that I don’t know her middle name. She gives me a curious look. “I don’t know your middle name,” I state.
She giggles, clutching her belly as she laughs. It’s like music to my ears. “Two middle names,” she corrects.
“Oh, I see,” I say as I playfully nip her shoulder. “And what are your two middle names?”
“Susanna Lisbet Louise,” she says.
“Last name?” I ask her.
“Royalty doesn’t really have them,” she explains with a frown. “We are the House of Alexander, so I suppose if I were a normal person, my full name would be Susanna Lisbet Louise Alexander.”
“That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful princess,” I say to her. She blushes again.
“What about you?” she asks.
“Logan Edvard Winters,” I say.
“You mean Logan Edvard Winters Hansen,” she corrects me. I frown this time.
“I…never thought about that,” I admit.
“Well, Hansen is your father’s last name, I mean if King Edvard had a last name,” she muses.
“I suppose…that’s correct,” I say. “Hansen,” I add, testing how the word feels coming from my lips. It’s foreign, yet familiar.
“You look like a prince,” Anna says.
“I do?” I ask. I study myself in the mirror. I look the same to me.
“Since the explosion, you’re…different, stronger,” she ponders.
“It made me realize what was actually important,” I say.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“You,” I answer, spinning her in my arms, so I can kiss her lips. She’s stiff and surprised for a half second and then melts into my arms and wraps hers around my neck, drawing me down while I lift her up to allow myself better access to her mouth.
There’s a knock at the door. I gently lower her to the ground.
“Yes?” Anna answers.
“Ma’am, your father is here. He wishes everyone to meet him in your uncle’s study,” Maria’s voice says from the other side of the mahogany door.
“Thank you, Maria. We’ll be right down,” she says.
“Very good, ma’am,” she says as she walks away.
“Ma’am?” I say to her.
She giggles. “Some staff say that. It’s more formal than calling me miss,” she explains.
I look to the ceiling. “God, I have a lot to learn,” I say.
She pulls my head down to hers. “I’ll teach you,” she says with a smirk.
“Oh, will you?” I reply. I won’t lie, images of Susanna dressed like a naughty school teacher with a ruler in hand, dance through my mind. I must be transparent in my thoughts because she slaps my chest.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Logan,” she says.
I grin at her. “But it’s so fun in the gutter,” I say. She rolls her eyes and grabs my hand.
“Come on,” she says as she leads me toward the study.
Chapter Five
The room is packed with our families. It looks like we’ve been to war. Everyone has bandages, bumps, bruises, casts, and those without look like they’ve seen war. Anna and I are the last two to enter. We walk in and sit down on the edge of a sofa next to Mia, Chris, and Auggie. The furniture here looks more formal than the summer palace. I note the silk fabrics covering all the sofas and chairs, the rich leathers and the two-tone wallpaper that I can only imagine is also silk. On the stone-tiled floor, there is an area rug that looks to be an antique oriental number. I almost lift my feet up so as not to touch it with my shoes.
I know Hans is wealthy, but this is some real Versailles shit.
“I hope everyone was able to get some rest last night,” King Michael says, looking at each of us.
“We’ve all suffered a terrible trauma. I know it will take some time for us to recover, both physically and mentally,” he continues as he looks at Anna.
“I have our best experts at the palace now, going through the scene and confirming what caused the blast. Initial reports are that it was a bomb. Fortunately, the individual who placed the bomb did not foresee that there was a former internal blast wall installed during World War II. If it wasn’t for that…well, it would have been significantly worse. I don’t have any news on Lara. She’s still sedated post-surgery. The doctors say they will continue to keep her sedated for a few more days as her body works to heal. It’s a critical time for her,” King Michael poses, clearly finding it difficult to speak of his sister’s condition.
“What’s the game plan?” Auggie asks.
The king looks at him and then over to my father.
“What?” Auggie, Chris, and Anna all say simultaneously.
“It’s clearly not safe here,” the king states. “I’m sending everyone away the day after tomorrow. Your whereabouts will be kept top secret for the next week, as we try to figure out the source of the threat. Your immediate security team will go with you. I don’t want you to contact one another until I know it’s safe. Logan, your father and I have spoken, and you will be assigned a bodyguard.”
My eyebrows rise at this statement.
“Dad, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Chris starts.
King Michael raises a hand. “Christian, that decision is not up to you. You will do as you’re told,” he says. I see Chris grip Mia’s hand and the king’s eyes follow the movement before looking over at my father.
“Do you have anything to add?” he asks him.
My father shakes his head. “I think you’ve covered it, Michael,” he says.
“Very good then. I have to prepare to address the country,” King Michael says. And that’s our cue to leave. “I’ll be in touch with each of you separately regarding your travel arrangements.”
Everyone files out of the room. Chris, Auggie, and Anna stand in the corner of the hallway, deep in conversation with each other. I feel a bit like a voyeur and an outcast all at the same time, as though I don’t belong and should leave them to their sibling discussion.
“Logan,” Chris says. I walk over to them.
“Yes?” I say as I approach.
“You’re taking Anna away from here,” he says quietly, looking around to make sure no one else is in earshot.
“What?” I ask.
“We are entrusting you with Anna. You two will leave tomorrow with your security detail,” Chris says.
“But your father—” I start.
Chris rolls his eyes. “My father has already agreed to this,” he states.
“I don’t understand,” I say.
Chris claps me on my shoulder. “You don’t have to understand. Just know it’s happening. Oh, and your bodyguard is Pete’s cousin, Hendrick. We can trust him,” Chris adds.
Anna launches herself in Auggie’s arms and then Chris’s. “Be careful, you two,” she says.
“We wil
l,” Auggie replies. He looks over at me. “Take care of our little sister, Logan.”
I nod. “I will,” I say to him.
“Anna?” I hear King Michael’s voice from the study. She walks over to the door before turning and beckoning me to her.
I walk over, and she takes my hand and pulls me inside the study, closing the door behind us. King Michael sits in a chair next to my father, and they both look at us.
“You two will leave tonight,” my father says.
“What?” Anna and I both answer.
King Michael stands and walks over to us. “I’d prefer Anna be with her brothers, but since you are still ‘under wraps’ as the prince of Montelandia, I have decided you are the next best thing. Your father agrees with me. However, seeing as how you will be together, we are sending you the farthest away. I have you on a commercial airline, flying into Pittsburgh. Pete has arranged a house for you to stay in near your grandparents’ home. I will alert you when it’s safe to return, and we can figure out everything else then,” my father says.
“Daddy?” Anna says, looking up at her father. He pulls her into an embrace.
“I don’t want to send any of you away, but it’s not safe here, sweet pea,” King Michael says to Anna.
“I know,” she whispers.
“Only communicate with me through Pete, understood?” he says to her as though she’s a soldier that he’s sending off to battle.
“Yes, father,” she replies. He kisses the top of her head and then looks over at me.
“I’m entrusting you with my heart. Don’t fuck it up,” he says, looking back at his daughter.
“I won’t, Your Majesty,” I answer. My father hobbles over to me. He’s clearly still sore from his injuries.
“Take care, Logan,” he says to me. I don’t know why, but I embrace him. He doesn’t move for a long moment. Then he wraps his long arms around me. “You’re so much like her,” he whispers for my ears only.
I pull back. “Be safe, the both of you,” I say to them. I put my arm around Anna and escort her out of the study. We head up to our rooms and pack the few items, not in bags. Her phone buzzes, and she looks down at it.
