The Reluctant Prince

by Candice Gilmer

  He shook his head. “You are a trip.” The waitress returned with our drinks, and set them down on the table. Hadrian dropped some cash on the tray, and she disappeared.

  “Now, let’s play poker.”

  The dealer, who looked relieved he would actually get to do something, smiled and dealt the cards.

  Chapter Four

  After three hours of playing poker with Sydney, Hadrian was convinced she needed to spend at least one night with him in his room. Her curves pressed right against her black T-shirt, and several times he caught himself watching her and not the game.

  At one point, she stretched, and he saw the navel ring she wore, a long jeweled butterfly, with dangling tiger’s eye stones. He noticed it matched her bracelet on her left wrist.

  He teased her about the ring, and she blushed. She told him she had eight other piercings, and he couldn’t help but wonder where they were.

  He decided he was going to find out.

  The dealer laid out the latest cards, and once again, Sydney had a hard time deciding what she was going to bet. She had very few tells for a first timer, and from the decent sized stack of chips in front of her, she was doing well. He’d had to shell out another hundred to keep the chips even between them.

  “Lady’s bet,” the dealer said.

  “Uh, I think, I’ll do,—” Sydney picked up some of her chips, “—uh, forty.”

  “Forty to you, sir,”

  Hadrian looked at his cards. He had a pair of sixes. Not a bad hand. He kept looking at Sydney. He’d have to lose soon, though if he wanted to get her out of here.

  “I think I’ll raise, one hundred forty.”

  Sydney inhaled sharply.

  “One hundred to you, ma’am.”

  Sydney looked at her cards again, and Hadrian saw her bite the inside of her cheek. She tapped the cards, and then looked at her chips. “I’ll call.” She tossed another hundred dollars in chips out.

  The dealer laid out the cards in front of him. A seven, a king, another seven and an ace appeared.

  Hadrian couldn’t repress his grin.

  “Bet to you, sir,”

  He looked at his chips. There was about one hundred dollars lying there. “Oh, I’ll just bet it all.” He pushed his chips into the pot.

  Sydney blinked, and stared at the chips. She touched her forehead and looked down at her cards then at her remaining chips.

  “One hundred five dollars to you, ma’am.”

  She nodded, ran a finger through her hair, and counted out one hundred five dollars, leaving her with about fifteen dollars. “I’ll call.”

  The dealer nodded and laid out his next two cards. Another ace came up, along with a six.

  Hadrian grinned and tossed his two sixes out, showing off his hand. He reached up to grab the pot.

  “Wait,” Sydney said. She flipped over her cards. Two kings.

  “Son of a bitch,” Hadrian said.

  “Lady is the winner with a full house.” the dealer said, and pushed the pot over to her.

  “You won all my money.”

  Sydney, who’d been grinning, turned her head to him, her face somber. “Do you want it back?”

  “No,” he said. “You won fair and square.”

  She nodded. “If you’re sure.”

  “I am. But, I do require this,” he said and leaned across her. Her soft feminine scent sent shiver up his back. The urge to kiss her overwhelmed him, but he bit back the need. Instead he grabbed two twenty-dollar chips from her stack. He tossed them to the dealer and stood.

  Sydney smiled as the dealer thanked him, and she scooped up her chips. “So what do I do with these?”

  “You cash them in if you want. Or you can save them for later.” He helped her down from the stool and saw her shopping bag. What was it? Something like four hours before? Was that all?

  “I think I’ll cash them in.”

  He led her to the cash booth, and she cashed them in. When she got back, she handed him roughly two hundred dollars.

  “Thanks for the lesson.”

  “You keep it.”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to.”

  “Tell you what, you keep it. I plan on winning them back from you.” He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him. He could smell her shampoo, a distinct aroma, but he couldn’t place it. It smelled good, in any case.

  “So this is goodnight?”

  Hadrian pulled her up against him. “It doesn’t have to be.”

  “So what do you want to do?”

  He didn’t let go of her. “There are lots of things to do in a city that doesn’t sleep.”

  “Well, you are quite the host here. Why don’t I run upstairs and drop my shopping off, and go from there, huh?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  My heart pounded. We rode up the elevator in the north tower to my room with Hadrian holding my hand, his finger doing that incredible feeling but oh so subtle caress across my palm. He hadn’t made any kind of move, except for holding hands and wrapping his arm around me.

  He was being a gentleman. Still, I could feel his body heat through his fingers, making my head spin like I’d had five margaritas.

  What am I doing? The logical side screamed at me, the one I usually always listened to.

  Seriously, I’m twenty-nine. I know better than to let a strange man come up to my room. Horrible things happened to women who did things like that.

  Yet my whole body hummed with energy.

  I wanted to feel him—touch him—taste him. I needed it all. I wanted to explode and shove him against the elevator and have my way with him.

  Not that I’d complain if he pushed me against the door and did the same to me. As the elevator slowed, I couldn’t tell if the vibrations were from the elevator or from my own body’s desperation.

  The doors opened, and he let go of my hand, allowing me to lead the way to the room. There’s still time to tell him to go. I can say goodbye at the door.

  Like that’s going to happen.

  I’d had my fair share of lovers before I got married, but I hadn’t had any true one-night stands, so what would it hurt to have one? I mean, I would be thirty this year, shouldn’t I have at least one in my lifetime? Celebrate the dissolving of my shitty marriage and subsequent divorce?

  You bet I should. I really, really should.

  And why not, with a handsome, sexy actor? Or cook. Whatever. Same difference. He was on TV.

  My hands trembled as I put the card key in the door lock. What would he do? Would he come in? Would he want to? He’d been such a gentleman, would he go so far?

  Would I be able to hold myself back from him?

  “Did you want to come in?”

  Hadrian nodded a tiny bit, his eyes darker, lust blooming in them.

  Oh yeah, he can feel it too. I mentally did a happy dance.

  I headed to the far side of the room, trying to busy myself with taking my bags out of my purse and look totally relaxed at the sight of my little hotel room.

  Not that it was working.

  “These are my humble accommodations, probably not near as nice as what you’re used to.” I walked back toward him, and he loomed in the entryway, well, the short hall next to bathroom, if one could call that an entryway.

  “They look very nice.” He looked around a bit. “I like that picture.” He pointed to the foil print of Nefertiti.

  “So do I. I thought it was a good omen when I walked in.”

  “Fan of Egypt?”

  “That’s why I’m staying here and not next door at the Mandalay Bay. Well, that and the fact that the room was a better deal.”

  He slipped his arm around me, pulling me tight against him. Tight enough I could tell he was hard. Everywhere.

  “So what time is your first class in the morning?”

  “Nine. There’s a, uh, registration starting at eight, with donuts and stuff and uh, where I get my papers and promo material.”

  As I spoke,
he ran his fingers up my back, one hand sliding up to the back of my head into my hair.

  “You really should get to bed soon.” He didn’t release me as he spoke. Instead, he stared at me with those amber-whiskey-sexy eyes of his.

  “I know.”

  He leaned closer, his lips mere millimeters from mine.

  “It’s, uh, been a, uh, long day.” I went up on my toes, holding onto his shoulders.

  “Yes, I should let you go to bed.” His breath grazed my cheek, and my insides screamed with desire.

  “Yeah.”

  Hadrian leaned down, his lips meeting mine. And I have to give him credit—the fire burning between the two of us was powerful. Heck, the energy burned my skin. He had to be feeling it as well.

  So when he kissed me with a restrained, soft kiss, I was impressed. I was ready to throw him down and have my way with him. His lips grazed mine, a slight part, more like he was tasting me rather than kissing me.

  Or he was waiting for permission to do more.

  Which I gave.

  Instantly.

  I opened my mouth wider. He answered in kind, his lips opening enough so his tongue flicked out, grazing me.

  That was about all we both needed.

  Whatever he was holding back, he released, and the soft, tentative kiss was gone, replaced with fire, passion, and those things found in the pages of romance novels. I ran my hands up and down his back, lacing in his hair. Our tongues danced with each other, mating in primal ways that made no logical sense.

  One of his hands slid down my side, caressing the edge of my breast, and I moaned, arching forward to bring his hand in contact with my ever-so-needy nipple.

  Our lips didn’t part as he started guiding me backwards to the bed.

  My heart rammed harder and harder, like it could explode in any second.

  Wait a minute, what the Hell was I doing?

  I didn’t know this guy.

  And I was about to go to bed with him?

  Had I lost my ever-lovin’ mind?

  I was beginning to think so.

  When my knees hit the bed, I landed with a thump. My worry must have shown on my face, because Hadrian paused.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He knelt in front of me. “I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with.” He stroked my legs. “I can go, if you’d like.”

  I bit my lip, reaching up to feel his soft hair. “I don’t know.” Everything inside me was torn. In my head, I had every logical reason why I should have him leave. And my body was screaming for release from the sex tension building between us both all night.

  He tipped his head to the side, and I ran my hand over his cheek. “You feel amazing, Sydney.” His eyes shut, and he tilted his head into my hand, placing a soft kiss on my palm.

  “So do you.”

  He let out a sigh. “I hear a ‘but’ coming.”

  I tried to paint on a nice smile. “As much as I want you—and I know you can tell I want you—I’m afraid. It’s been a long time since I was with someone besides my husband…” my words trailed off. There was more within me, but I didn’t have the words to articulate it.

  Surprisingly, he smiled back at me. I half expected him to call me some kind of name, a dick tease or something to that effect.

  “I understand.” He glanced around the room. “We could watch television. Talk a little more.”

  I felt guilty. I couldn’t help it. I felt like I was leading him on in the worst way. “I wouldn’t want you to feel like you—I don’t want you thinking…”

  “This isn’t your only night here, is it?”

  “No.”

  “When they make wines, the wine has to age in order to get that perfect flavor. They let it simmer, if you will. I have no problem letting you simmer for a bit, to make sure your wine—” he glanced down my body, “—is ready to savor.”

  A shiver ran through me, and I licked my lips. “You’re pretty smooth with your words, there, buddy.”

  “I’m smooth with a lot of things.”

  My heart hammered again as I wondered whether I’d let him show me exactly what he was smooth at.

  “Yes, and I want that billed to my room,” Hadrian said into the phone. “Good.” He hung up the room phone. “Food should be here shortly.”

  It hadn’t taken long for us to switch gears, and we both seemed to opt for getting something to eat. I, for one, was famished, since I hadn’t eaten much today.

  God knows I wanted to eat Hadrian, but my conscience wouldn’t let me do it tonight.

  Stupid morals.

  What the difference a day would make, I have no idea, but there you have it.

  I sat on the bed, though I tried not to sit in any way even remotely looking like I was trying to be sexy and attractive. Part of me wanted to belch if that would lessen the sexual tension in the room.

  And trust me, the tension wasn’t going away even though we’d both agreed to simmer for the night.

  I flipped on the television, since frankly, the boob tube was perfect for zoning out. If we got touchy or something while watching it, well…

  I am on the birth control shot.

  “Well, let’s see what’s on TV.” I pulled the remote out, and started surfing through the channels. I propped the pillows against the headboard so I could properly surf, and Hadrian did the same, stretching his legs out on the bed.

  I couldn’t help immediately noticing he’d already kicked off his shoes.

  Would anything else be kicked off before the night was through?

  Stop it.

  I gritted my teeth. Seriously, I needed a hormone reducer or something. I focused on surfing through the channels.

  “Oh, please,” he said, grabbing the remote. “Let me show you how it’s done.” He started expertly flipping through the channels. The channels zoom by.

  “Wait, stop! Go back!”

  Hadrian flipped back.

  “There,” I said. “Signs. It’s a great movie.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “Oh, it’s an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It’s about aliens. Have you ever seen it?”

  “No.”

  “Then there you go. This is the one.” I patted his rather firm knee. “You’ll love it. Trust me.”

  He put the remote down and put his hands behind his head. The pose he struck was amazing.

  I probably would have been drooling if I hadn’t been interrupted by a knock on the door.

  “Wow, that was fast.” I climbed off the bed and headed for the door. Sure enough, room service was there, pushing a cart with our twelve-dollar sandwiches on it.

  The gal pushing the cart pretty much looked right through me to Hadrian. She smiled far too much as she brought the cart over to the small table.

  “Is here okay, Mr. Drake?” she asked, so far over the moon for the guy it was frightening.

  I couldn’t really blame her, but still. She had to have some pride, right?

  “Thank you.” He got up off the bed and pulled out his wallet.

  I smacked myself upside the head. “Tip, right.” I reached into my own pants, and both Hadrian and I produced a few bills at the same time.

  The gal didn’t even see the ones I had in my hand.

  “Oh, thank you Mr. Drake. If there’s, like, anything you need, just call down and, like, ask for Mikeyla, that’s me,” she said with a really annoying giggle. She waved her fingers at him, like they were old friends. “Like, uh, thank you, bye bye now.”

  The door shut, and I walked over to the table. “Like, that’s gotta, be, uh, you know, like totally annoying.”

  Hadrian grinned. “It is very scary how well you do the valley girl voice.”

  “I am a child of the eighties.” I started opening the platters to see which sandwich was whose. “Ah, here we go. Pharaoh’s club sandwich. This is yours.” I handed him the plate. I scooped up my Nefertiti’s BLTT, a bacon sandwich with double the veggies on
it.

  We got situated on the bed, balancing our plates and our drinks, just as Mel Gibson was looking for his kids in the cornfield.

  Well, if I’m not getting any, at least I have gorgeous company and Mel Gibson.

  They watched the movie, Hadrian noticing how wrapped up in it Sydney was getting. She didn’t talk at all during it, which thrilled him.

  They finished off their food in the first hour, and now as the movie started to climax, both of them were on the edge of their seats, figuratively, of course.

  Literally, they both were sitting rather close on the bed. He could feel her warmth, and it made him crazy. He’d been debating for about ten minutes whether to put his arm around her, but she answered that conundrum by scooting closer to him and curling up under his arm.

  As the movie reached the climax, Sydney’s head started to bob against his chest a bit. He looked down at her and realized she was nodding off.

  She must be exhausted. He debated moving to pull the covers over her, but it would involve him getting off the bed. Instead he kept an arm around her, and she nuzzled into him. He reached over to the nightstand and flipped off the lights.

  He hoped she wouldn’t mind him watching the end of the movie, even though she was sleeping. He wanted to see how this was going to end.

  At one point, she woke up, and shifted so she wasn’t so much on top of his chest. With sleepy eyes, she glanced at him, a bit of a smile on her face, before her head hung down, nodding off again.

  At the very end of the movie, Sydney started to jerk. She started to mumble, her groans sounding very much like she was in pain.

  He reached down and touched her forehead, and he felt sweat across her brow.

  “Sydney?”

  She bolted straight up, her chest heaving, crying out some word lost on her lips as soon as she awoke.

  “Sydney!” Hadrian wrapped his arms around her.

  She shook against him. “Coming, he was coming.”

  He pulled her into a tight embrace and started to rock her. “It’s okay. I’m here. It’s okay.” He kissed top of her head. He grabbed the remote with his left arm and flipped the TV off.

  “He was coming.”