‘‘Alex?’’
‘‘It’s wrong and selfish.’’
‘‘I don’t believe that. Tell me.’’ He stretched his arm across the table and placed his hand on top of hers.
His fingers were warm and strong as he squeezed hers. She found herself wanting to speak a truth she’d never had the courage to say aloud before. ‘‘Sometimes…sometimes I don’t want to be queen, or even a princess. Sometimes I want to run away and live like everyone else. I don’t want to be responsible or have to worry about the press or the country or what the people will think. Sometimes I just want to be foolish and ordinary and not think about anyone but myself.’’
‘‘There’s nothing wrong with that.’’
‘‘Of course there is. My sisters and I have lived an extraordinary life. We’ve been blessed with material possessions and great responsibility. We have a warm, loving family. That should be enough. I hate that I want more. I hate that I’m not more grateful for all I’ve been given. I hate that I want to be like other women and just meet a man and fall in love. I hate that I’ll have to worry about visiting heads of state instead of my husband, or getting back from a diplomatic trip in time to see my child’s first dance recital.’’
I hate that I can’t pick who I marry. Except she didn’t say that. She could barely admit that truth to herself. But it was true. Although she’d tried very hard to be dutiful and understanding, she wanted to fall in love with the man she married. She wanted their relationship to be special, not politically sound. Sometimes her heart felt so empty and dry, she was afraid it would shatter and blow away.
‘‘I wish I had some words of advice to offer,’’ he said, ‘‘but I don’t. I can’t relate to anything you’re saying. All I know is normal.’’
‘‘You don’t know how I envy that.’’
He offered her a quick smile. ‘‘I wish I could tell you that I envy you your royal life, but I don’t. I’ve only ever wanted to live on the ranch.’’
‘‘I understand why. It’s beautiful there.’’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘‘I wish…’’ Her voice trailed off. There was no point in wishing. Her destiny had been set a long time ago.
‘‘You ready to go?’’ he asked.
When she nodded, he threw several bills on the table. Alex stared at them. ‘‘May I pay for dinner?’’
‘‘No, you may not.’’ He helped her into her coat, then he took her elbow and led her out to the truck, muttering all the while. ‘‘Buy me dinner. That’ll be the day I let a woman pay for my food. I can’t believe you even asked. Talk would spread faster than wildfire if I so much as let you put down the tip. My mama didn’t raise me that way.’’
Alex planted her heels and stared at him. ‘‘You’re a sexist pig.’’
Instead of getting angry, Mitch grinned. ‘‘Yes, ma’am. I hold open doors, I let ladies go first and I pay for meals.’’
‘‘But I’m a princess.’’
‘‘I believe we’ve established that fact.’’
‘‘No one buys me dinner.’’
‘‘Then this is a first.’’ He opened the passenger-side door for her and motioned for her to step inside. ‘‘Now if I remember correctly, little lady, you said something about wanting to go to Submarine Point.’’
She didn’t know whether to laugh or threaten him with beheading again. ‘‘I’ll get you for this,’’ she insisted.
‘‘I’m sure you’ll try.’’
He waited until she was settled, then walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. As he started the truck, he squinted up at the sky. ‘‘It’s nice and clear. We should be able to see all the way to the Pacific Ocean tonight.’’
Alex chuckled, then stopped as she had a sudden, unpleasant thought. She’d suggested going to Submarine Point in jest. Although she didn’t mind seeing the view of the valley below, she didn’t want Mitch thinking that she expected him to, well, do anything.
She bit back a moan. Is that what he thought? That she was demanding he kiss her or whatever it was the teenagers did up there? They’d pulled onto the two-lane highway. There weren’t many other cars out on the road, and they seemed to be alone in some isolated part of the world. There was only the low sound of the engine and the faint whisper of country music coming from the truck’s stereo.
‘‘Um, Mitch?’’
‘‘Yes?’’
‘‘We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to. I mean, I was mostly interested in the view, and it’s getting late and well, it’s not necessary.’’
He gave her a quick glance before returning his attention to the road. ‘‘In no particular order, it’s not all that late, I’m happy to show you the view and, no, you’re not making me do anything I don’t want to do.’’
Okay, so she hadn’t made herself clear. It wasn’t really her fault, she thought grimly. None of her etiquette classes had covered this particular situation. She was twenty-nine years old and she’d never been romantically involved with a man. It was incredibly pitiful.
‘‘What I’m trying to say is that I have no expectations that—’’ She groaned low in her throat. ‘‘That didn’t come out right.’’ She tried again. ‘‘I don’t expect you to feel obligated to be any way other than how you want to be.’’
Despite the darkness of the cab, she saw Mitch’s eyebrows pull together. ‘‘You want to run that by me again?’’
‘‘Not really.’’
‘‘Okay.’’ He nodded a couple of times. ‘‘Let me see if I understand this. You’re saying that your entire interest in Submarine Point is the view, and that I am under no obligation to put out. Does that about sum it up?’’
If she hadn’t thought it would have started an international incident, she would have thrown herself out of the cab and risked tumbling down the side of the mountain. Color heated her cheeks until she could only pray that she would die. Right there. In the truck.
‘‘I’ll take your silence for a yes,’’ he said.
She made a low, strangled sound which he ignored.
‘‘That leaves only one question, Princess Alexandra. Do you want me to do anything or not?’’
Before she could even try to answer, he pulled the truck off the main highway and rolled onto a dirt track. They bounced along for several minutes, rounded a bend and stopped by an outcropping of rock.
Alex leaned forward and caught her breath. Lights twinkled in the valley below, while stars twinkled in the clear sky above. The darkness seemed to go on forever, but not in a way that frightened her. Instead she had the sense of being a small part of a much larger world.
‘‘It’s beautiful,’’ she breathed.
He turned off the engine, and they were instantly surrounded by silence. Mitch opened the driver’s window a couple of inches. ‘‘Pretty soon you’ll be able to hear the coyotes and whatnot going about their business.’’
She glanced at him. ‘‘I’ve never seen a whatnot before. Are they indigenous to the area?’’
‘‘Mostly. Some came over with the Spanish back in the sixteen hundreds. We have several varieties of whatnot out here. The males are sturdy, loyal creatures, but the females can be a real pain in the butt.’’
She turned her back on him and stared out the side window. ‘‘I’m ignoring you.’’
‘‘Why?’’
‘‘You’re insulting me.’’
‘‘For talking about whatnots?’’
‘‘You know exactly what I mean.’’
She pressed her lips together so that her laughter wouldn’t escape. With Mitch she was able to relax more than with anyone other than her immediate family. She was both pleased and confused by that. Maybe it was their isolation on the ranch. Out here there weren’t any royal rituals or reminders of who and what she was. Maybe it was the man himself. He wasn’t one to stand on ceremony.
‘‘Tell me what you’re thinking,’’ he said.
‘‘That you make me laugh.’’
She spoke with
out turning around. Was it her or had it suddenly gotten warm in the cab? And had Mitch’s voice turned low and smoky?
‘‘I’m glad,’’ he said. ‘‘I want you to enjoy your time on the ranch.’’
‘‘I am. You’re a very good host.’’
‘‘Not as good as you think,’’ he admitted.
She turned to face him and found that he’d shifted closer to the middle. Her leg bumped his knee. Her breath caught at the contact, but she couldn’t find it in herself to complain…or retreat. Was it her imagination or had her breathing gotten faster? Her heart was pounding hard enough. She was afraid it might crack one or two ribs.
‘‘What do you mean?’’
‘‘You confuse the hell out of me.’’ In the dim light his eyes were black and bottomless. ‘‘Tonight, when you were talking about being queen of your country, I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut by a steer.’’
‘‘Why? That shouldn’t matter to you at all.’’
‘‘Maybe not, but it does. When it’s just the two of us, you’re plain Alex. But then I have to remember you’re much more than that. I don’t know how to handle Princess Alexandra, or worse, Queen Alexandra.’’
They were both speaking softly. Alex had to force herself not to sway toward him. ‘‘I’m not a horse. I don’t have to be handled.’’
His mouth turned up at the corners. ‘‘You know what I mean. I can’t reconcile what I want with what’s real.’’
Her heart pounded harder. ‘‘Wh-what do you want?’’
Instead of answering, he reached up and, with one hand, cupped her face. His fingers were long and warm against her skin. Her eyelids drifted closed and she found herself rubbing her cheek against his palm, like a cat seeking affection.
‘‘Tell me to take you back to the ranch,’’ he said gruffly.
She opened her eyes and stared at him. ‘‘What?’’
‘‘Or tell me that you wanted to come out here because my kisses make you hot. That you want to pretend we’re just a couple of high school kids who stole away to make out.’’
He was moving closer…or was it she? Not that it mattered which, she thought hazily as she licked her lips in anticipation of his kiss.
‘‘So it’s either or?’’ she asked. ‘‘I have to pick?’’
‘‘Yeah, but hurry up.’’ He put his free hand on the other side of her face and held her still. ‘‘I mean it, Alex. I have to know.’’
She’d never done anything like this before in her life. The experience was coming about nine or ten years too late, but at least she was going to have it.
‘‘Don’t worry, Mitch,’’ she said, her voice low and husky. ‘‘My parents aren’t expecting me home for hours.’’
He stared at her for what felt like forever, but was actually two very loud, very excited beats of her heart.
‘‘You are one hellcat under that bossy facade of yours,’’ he growled, then pulled her close and kissed her.
Chapter Ten
Alex had thought about their kiss on a nearly hourly basis since it had occurred. So she should have been prepared for the impact of having Mitch kiss her again. She shouldn’t have been surprised by the fire that leaped between them or the way her body seemed to melt into a needy pool of desire. But she was surprised by all of it. She gasped at the feel of his firm mouth against hers. His lips brushed hers, slowly at first as if he had to rediscover every curve, then faster, building tension.
Without quite being sure how, she found that she’d raised her hands to his broad shoulders and rested them there. As Mitch’s tongue stroked against her bottom lip, she tensed her fingers, hanging on to him as her world started to spin.
When she parted her lips for him, his tongue slipped into her mouth. He tasted sweet and hot and male. He explored her, his touch making her shiver with delight. They circled around each other, under and over, the rhythm making her sigh. This kiss was as good as the one she remembered. Better, maybe, because this time she wasn’t so startled by the intense wanting that seemed to be flooding her. Heat flowed through her blood, igniting fires in her breasts and between her legs. She felt tension in her stomach and dampness on her panties.
She shivered with delight and a little fear. It was as if her body had been taken over by someone else. Or maybe it was because for the first time in her life, she couldn’t think. She could only react and feel. Mitch was, she realized, her ultimate escape, and she never wanted to have to go back to the regular world.
‘‘What?’’ he asked, pulling back slightly. ‘‘What are you thinking?’’
His voice was low and husky, his breathing rough. She could feel herself struggling to fill her lungs, as well. ‘‘That when I’m with you, like this, I’m just like everyone else.’’
His eyebrows drew together. ‘‘I don’t understand.’’
‘‘Here, in the truck cab, we have our own little world. The regular rules don’t apply. I don’t have to worry about doing the right thing or think about my responsibilities. I can just be a normal woman.’’
‘‘Is that a good thing?’’
‘‘It’s magic, as are you.’’
He chuckled. ‘‘Princess, if anyone has any power in this situation, it’s you. I’m doing all I can just to hang on and act my age.’’
He still cupped her face. Now he moved his thumbs against her cheeks, then across her mouth. She parted her lips and licked the salty pad. They both shuddered.
‘‘See what I mean,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ve got me so turned on that I’m about to explode. All that and we’ve only been kissing for five minutes. Imagine what would happen if this was a real make-out session.’’
‘‘It isn’t?’’ she asked before she could stop herself. ‘‘How disappointing.’’
Mitch sucked in his breath. ‘‘I can’t tell if you’re teasing or serious.’’
She wanted him to kiss her again. She wanted him to touch her and do all those things that teenagers routinely did together when they parked here at Submarine Point. Her body felt tingly and hot and tense, and she wanted more of those feelings. She wanted Mitch to hold her close and make her forget about the rest of her world. For just one night she wanted to find out what it was like to be the same as the rest of the world. For one night she wanted the magic.
‘‘What if it’s both?’’ she asked.
‘‘Both is tricky,’’ he admitted. ‘‘Both means that there’s a line drawn somewhere, and while I can get really close to it, I can’t cross over it.’’
She wasn’t sure about a line, but she did know that there were certain things she wasn’t willing to do with him.
‘‘Are you going to give me any hints?’’ he asked.
‘‘About the line?’’
He nodded.
‘‘No, I think you need to learn that all on your own.’’
They were flirting again, she thought with some surprise. They were having fun and talking and soon they would be kissing. ‘‘I didn’t know it would be like this,’’ she said without thinking.
‘‘The truck, the great view or my incredible company?’’ he asked.
She laughed. ‘‘All of it.’’
‘‘So the royal set is more reticent when they make out in their trucks.’’
She thought about her brief kisses in the past. They’d been chaste and uninspiring. ‘‘They don’t generally make out in trucks, or in anything else.’’
‘‘What? No foreplay. They just get right to it.’’
She could feel herself blushing. ‘‘No, it’s not like that, either.’’
He leaned close and brushed a kiss against her mouth. ‘‘Am I talking too much?’’
‘‘No. I like the conversation. It relaxes me.’’
He moved to her cheek, then to her earlobe and nibbled. She shivered.
‘‘Are you nervous?’’ he asked.
‘‘Yes.’’
‘‘Why?’’
He pressed a damp kiss against the side of
her neck. More shivers rippled through her as her breath caught and her heart rate increased. ‘‘Because I…’’
He licked a sensitive spot right behind her ear, then slid his hands through her hair, tugging gently until she tilted her head back. Then he nipped the point of her chin before trailing kisses down the front of her throat.
‘‘Go on,’’ he murmured at the hollow of her throat. ‘‘I’m listening.’’
‘‘You might be listening,’’ she gasped, ‘‘but I’m having trouble speaking.’’
Shivers and heat and that wonderful tingling radiated from everywhere he touched. She held on to his upper arms, pressing her fingers into the thick muscles there. She’d read about passion before, had overheard conversations between women in airports or in boutiques, but she’d never experienced anything like it in her life. She’d even begun to wonder if there was something wrong with her. After all, she’d never felt that she was missing out on anything. She thought she might be one of those people who simply didn’t have a strong physical connection or need.
But now, with Mitch holding her and kissing her, she knew that she’d been too quick in her assumption that the problem was with her. Obviously she’d just never been kissed the right way…or kissed the right man.
The latter thought terrified her, so she pushed it away. Experience, she thought dreamily as he circled the hollow of her throat with his tongue, was a wonderful thing. At least now she would have a benchmark by which to measure other men. Except she didn’t want to think about being with other men. She only wanted to be with Mitch and have him keep touching her exactly as he was.
He pulled her closer. She started to move toward him, but their legs bumped.
‘‘This isn’t working,’’ he grumbled, then placed his hands on her waist. ‘‘Am I allowed to touch the royal body or would that be a violation of your parameter?’’
She tried to smile, to match his teasing mood. ‘‘I believe we might allow that to happen this one time.’’
‘‘We?’’
She sniffed. ‘‘The royal we.’’
‘‘Ah. The rest of us are very grateful for your generosity. Now slide that long, gorgeous leg of yours across my lap and have a seat, young lady.’’
A Royal Baby on the Way Page 11
