Twice a Princess

by Susan Meier

  She once again touched her lips to his, even as she placed her palm on the back of his head and pulled him close to deepen their kiss. The tip of her tongue darted out and teased his lips. Alexander felt his control trickle away. When he opened his mouth over hers and she answered in kind, he began to fall over the precipice. Vulnerable, exposed, he let the thrill of intimacy wash over him until long-forgotten alarm shot through him.

  The last time he'd let himself be vulnerable with Princess Meredith, she had humiliated him at her coming-out ball, and here he was doing it again. The only proof that she wasn't the same conniving princess who had embarrassed him was Lissa's opinion and a few well-placed comments about his resort. She could be faking her admiration, yet here he was falling under her spell. How could he be so foolish? Especially since this wasn't her first attempt at seduction. Had he forgotten the episode at his pool?

  He pulled away so quickly he nearly lost his balance.

  Lazy, drowsy, Merry said, "Alexander?"

  Furious with himself, he cleared his throat. Before he could speak, he remembered the rumor of her family's magic again and for a second considered that she might have bewitched him. But. again, he dismissed it. He did not believe in magic. But he did know Princess Meredith was a conniver, and he'd nearly handed her the opportunity to get the best of him.

  "I think it's time to leave," he said, pushing himself up and away from her, just barely controlling his anger with himself. When would he learn that this woman absolutely could not be trusted?

  Chapter Four

  Merry stood staring at the closed door of her villa. After several of the steamiest kisses she'd experienced in her life, Alexander had quickly walked her home and virtually dumped her at her door. But at least this time she knew he hadn't rejected "her." From the way he'd kissed her tonight—as if he couldn't help himself, as if he didn't want to stop—and the way he pushed back as if totally horrified that he'd let himself get lost in a few kisses, she knew he didn't dislike her. He disliked the power of their attraction.

  Which made his behavior very easy to understand. If their chemistry was stronger than any he'd ever felt, he might question his ability to get out of the relationship as easily as he had his prior romances. Of course, the same intensity that confused Alexander reinforced Merry's intuition that she and Alexander really did have something special. But if he didn't want it, it seemed foolish for her to daydream about a romance with him. In fact, she was embarrassed by his constant rejection. A princess had her pride, after all.

  Still, her yearning heart ached at the thought of giving up on Alexander completely, and her newly acquired maturity rejected the idea of succumbing to her princessly pride. She had no idea what it was about this man that drew her. She only knew that it saddened her to think tonight's kisses might be the only memory she would make with him—the only memory she would have to assuage her lonely heart while she fulfilled her duty to her country.

  Alexander returned to his villa furious with himself. He actually wished he believed in magic, then he could say Princess Meredith had bewitched him and he wouldn't bear any responsibility for being out of control tonight.

  He hit a few buttons on the phone sitting on the small table by his sofa. When Lissa answered he said, "I want you here in thirty seconds." Then he slammed the receiver into its cradle and strode to the bar.

  After tossing ice into a glass with three clinks, he covered the shimmering cubes with Scotch. He wasn't the kind of prince who gave commands. Technically, with his family monarchy deposed, he wasn't really a ruler. So it surprised him that he suddenly needed to give orders.

  He paused, the Scotch halfway to his lips. Actually, he didn't want to give orders. He wanted some answers and he'd only done what he'd needed to do to get them. He'd demanded that his best source for information come to his quarters.

  A sharp knock sounded on his door, and he called, "Come in."

  Lissa entered, wearing her La Torchere uniform, and he realized he'd ordered her away from night shift at the concierge desk.

  "Your Majesty?"

  Alexander scowled. "All right. I get it. That was a little heavy-handed. But this is making me crazy."

  "What?" Lissa asked innocently.

  Alexander groaned. "Don't pretend there's nothing going on. The woman acts like she spent the past seven years at Mother Teresa's convent."

  "She didn't."

  "So where was she?"

  "That's for her to tell you."

  He sighed. "She acts as if she isn't even herself."

  "I keep telling you she's changed. She isn't herself."

  "She's still a princess. Yet she hasn't once mentioned that to anybody."

  Lissa smiled craftily. "You've never told anyone you're a prince, either. This is America. Not Silestia. Maybe she doesn't want to be a princess for a while, the same way you grew a little tired of being a prince."

  Annoyed by the truth of that, Alexander scowled again.

  Lissa took a few more paces into the room. "Come on, Alexander. Give her a chance."

  "A chance to do what?"

  She walked a little closer. "To prove that she won't be the worst wife in the world."

  "Ha!"

  "And maybe give yourself a chance to prove you're not going to be the worst husband in the world."

  He turned and glared at Lissa. "My intentions were never in question."

  One of Lissa's brows arched regally. "Really?"

  "An arranged marriage makes your private life the property of the people. Our marriage will be a responsibility. I will fulfill mine."

  "Without any benefit to yourself?"

  "There is no place for benefit in a marriage where negotiations must take place. That's why this charade needs to end. And end now."

  Lissa studied him for a few seconds, then asked, "What has you so charged tonight?"

  He scowled. "Nothing."

  Obviously not believing that, Lissa studied him again. "Let's see, you're in swimming trunks, but your pool lights are off… Where were you?"

  As she waited for his answer, she obviously considered the possibilities and suddenly brightened. "You were with Merry!"

  He tossed back the Scotch.

  "And she's not at all what you were expecting so now you're feeling off balance!" Lissa crowed triumphantly.

  "I'm not off balance."

  Lissa ignored his denial. "Liking her could be a real problem in your marriage based on duty."

  Alexander headed for the bar again.

  Lissa laughed. "I'll bet you were ready to put your foot down with a spoiled princess and she's not spoiled anymore."

  "I don't believe it. I think she's acting. Which means she's after something."

  "Which means you have to spend more time with her."

  Alexander smiled slyly. "Or confront her."

  Lissa shrugged. "If you say so, Your Highness." She strolled closer to Alexander, who leaned against the bar. "But it seems to me that confronting her continues to give her the upper hand. If you really want to get the point across to Merry that you're not the same shy prince who was too tongue-tied to retaliate when she insulted you at her coming-out ball, this is your perfect chance."

  Because she hit a nerve—the nerve that Prince Alec would carry with him until he died, the nerve that both hurt him and protected him from Princess Meredith by preventing him from even considering allowing himself to be vulnerable around her—Alexander knew he had to listen.

  "The best way to show her the grown-up Prince Alec is by showing her the real Alexander Rochelle." Lissa shrugged. "You have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

  Alexander would argue that any day of the week. He had plenty to lose. Not just his pride. There was a position of authority in jeopardy, too. Staying in Princess Meredith's company might provide her with plenty of opportunities to see he wasn't a backward prince, but being in her company also caused him to forget who she really was. She lulled him with kindness and tempted him with her body unt
il he wanted to believe everything she said and did, if only to furnish himself with an excuse to give in to the sweet temptation of seducing her.

  And he didn't know which was worse. Being out of control around her because of the shyness that had plagued him as a youth, or being out of control because of unrelenting physical need. Either way the power shifted to her.

  "Unless you're afraid."

  He sighed. "A child's dare, Lissa?"

  "Are you afraid?"

  He wished! The problem wasn't that he was afraid of Merry, but that he had no control around her. Technically, he was the problem, not Merry. "No."

  "Well, since you're not afraid, my advice is to take tonight's events as a warning of sorts. Marrying Princess Merry won't be as cut-and-dried as you first thought. Particularly since you find her attractive. You could stay away from her, but that simply means you'll have to deal with being attracted to her when her father calls you to Silestia to fulfill the marriage contract."

  She strolled away. "It seems smarter to me to handle it now. Instead of running from her, why not strike first? Be the seducer instead of the seduced."

  Hearing his dilemma and a very good solution coming from Lissa, Alexander would swear the woman had been watching over their shoulders. How else would she know the real problem was that his sexual attraction to Merry erased his common sense?

  He looked at the ceiling as if seeking heavenly counsel then said, "So you're suggesting I see her again?"

  "But this time, don't spend the whole date fighting your attraction. Go with it. Use it. Show her how easily you could seduce her." She caught his gaze. "Maris a negotiation, right?"

  He sighed.

  "And you do have to sleep together to produce heirs."

  He sighed again.

  "You don't want to be the one without the power."

  No. He did not.

  Lissa strolled away. Her voice was darkly confident when she suggested, "Unless you're afraid she's not as attracted to you as you are to her…"

  "She's attracted to me."

  "Prove it."

  The next morning Alexander meandered into Merry's office. When she glanced up from her desk, he saw her unguarded look of desire before she could hide it and he knew he was on track. And that Lissa had been correct. The best defense against Merry's charms was the good offense of using his own charms on her.

  "What do you want?"

  He casually leaned one hip against her desk, half sitting and half standing to show he was comfortable, rein control. "To spend the day with you."

  Dismissing him and his suggestion, she took a file folder and walked to the cabinet. "I'm busy."

  "And I'm your boss."

  "That's the argument for why we shouldn't spend time together."

  "Not if you look at my request as an order from your superior."

  She slid the file into its appropriate place then slammed the door closed. "Isn't that sexual harassment?"

  "No," he said, deliberately making his voice contrite and sad. Lissa wanted to see sexual power? He'd show her power. "Actually, I want to make up for last night's disaster."

  Merry slowly turned from the cabinet to face him.

  "I'm very sorry that I ruined our time at the pool."

  "You didn't ruin it. You just got angry for no reason and dumped me at my door like a sack of potatoes."

  He had no idea when Princess Meredith had ever seen a sack of potatoes, but the analogy was a good one. "How about if I promise that I won't dump you at your door?"

  Interest flared in her eyes and Alexander could all but taste victory.

  "You simply want to spend time with me?"

  "That's it. No sexual harassment. No compromising positions."

  "Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?"

  That was the beauty of his plan. He had the perfect sport for wooing her without her even realizing she was being seduced. "I thought we'd play eighteen holes of golf."

  She blinked. "Golf?"

  "It's an activity where we'd be fully clothed, so I could prove to you that I'm trustworthy."

  She frowned. "I don't think you're untrustworthy."

  "Perhaps not, but things did move a little quickly yesterday. If we'd gone any further, you might not have trusted me again."

  She considered that, then shrugged. "Maybe."

  "So… golf?"

  She smiled sheepishly. "I'm not very good."

  "Great, then I'll win."

  She laughed. "Give me fifteen minutes to change."

  "I'll meet you at the clubhouse."

  Though September heralded the beginning of fall for most of the United States, the ninth month of the year was hot, clear and absolutely perfect in Florida. The grass was green. The sun high and bright.

  With two sets of golf clubs tucked into the back of his private cart, Alexander praised himself for his cleverness. Not only were they once again alone at a resort where there was usually somebody sharing all of your activities, but also they were playing a sport that tested even the best tempers.

  While waiting for her at the clubhouse, Alexander had reconsidered their moonlight kisses at the Oasis pool and realized the real bottom-line issue wasn't his sexual power. It was her behavior. With Merry acting like Gandhi's niece, he wasn't reacting the way he would with the real Princess Meredith. But if he could get her to lose her temper and throw a spoiled princess tantrum, then the cards would fall to the table the way they should be falling. He wouldn't be dazzled or dazed, and she wouldn't ever get the upper hand…not even accidentally.

  He teed up and took his first shot, a beautiful drive straight down the fairway.

  "That was perfect!"

  She might as well know he was a great golfer, too. "That's about my average drive."

  "Well, you're about thirty times better than I am!"

  Good.

  She teed up and positioned herself behind the ball. Alexander's attention was caught by the long length of shapely legs exposed by her white shorts and the way her peach colored T-shirt not only hugged her breasts but also heightened the pretty auburn color of her hair. She was, without a doubt, the most attractive woman he'd ever seen, and that reminded Alexander of the fourth reason playing golf was a great idea.

  The first was complete clothing. The second was the privacy. The third was testing Merry's temper. But the fourth…ah, the fourth…was the opportunity for intimacy. He might not need to demonstrate his sexual "power" but it wouldn't hurt to remind his betrothed of just how attractive she found him. On the golf course he could do tons of "reminding" without once looking obvious.

  "Your stance is off," he said, ambling over to her. "Let me help you."

  .Standing behind her, he slid his palms down her arms until he could cover her hands with his. With his chest to her back, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Your hands are good. Wrists are perfect. Elbows are tight." He spoke the words with his cheek rubbing against her soft hair, but he refused to be affected by that or the light scent of her cologne.

  "So that's all good, right?"

  He heard the quiver in her voice and smiled to himself. He was a genius. "It's all good." He removed his hands from her arms and with a lover's touch glided them down her hips. "But you need a little more action here."

  She stiffened under his palms. With her back to him, Alexander knew he could grin to his heart's delight because he guessed she wasn't offended, but affected by the way his fingers lightly kneaded the gentle flare of her hips.

  "Remember, your hips have to pivot." As he explained, he rotated her bottom, mimicking the movement her lower body should make when she hit the ball. "Just like that."

  The twist of her hips turned her entire torso and brought their faces together. Alexander smiled at her confused expression. Having his hands all over her left her more than a bit shaken, bolstering his confidence.

  He stepped away and directed her to go on with her shot.

  She took a long breath, blew it out in a gust, an
d positioned herself in front of the ball again. Then, without warning, or even ten seconds to readjust her position, she pulled back and slammed the club head into the ball, which roared skyward as if it had exploded from a cannon.

  "Nice shot!"

  Her mouth fell open in happy surprise. "Oh, my gosh! Look! My ball landed beside yours."

  He frowned, not sure he liked the fact that she could hit the ball as far as he did, then decided to chalk her exceptional shot up to luck. "Good for you!"

  She jumped into the cart with renewed enthusiasm and bounced out again when they arrived at the appropriate spot in the fairway. Unfortunately, her chip to the green wasn't quite as accurate as her drive had been. Neither were her nine attempts at putting. With all the work she had to do to get the ball in the following five holes, her energy began to wane, her mood darkened and Alexander prepared himself for a tropical storm.

  "Let's see. I have a twenty-seven," Alexander said after the first seven holes. "And you have..."

  "Eighty-four."

  "I thought you played golf?"

  "I did!" she cried defensively, but she quickly collected herself. "Well, I used to. It's been awhile."

  "I'm sure it'll come back to you," Alexander said, pretending to be sympathetic, but the truth was he was on the edge of his cart seat. Any minute now he expected to see her famous temper, and when it emerged, he into pounce.

  She hopped out of the cart to tee up after Alexander hit another ball to the middle of the fairway. He couldn't have picked a better day to have such a good game. Not because he wanted to show off in front of her, though that was a bonus, but because it was another way to push her to the limit.

  She teed up and took her swing. When her ball clobbered a nearby tree. Alexander fell to the ground, barely-avoiding being hit by the ball as it rebounded.

  "Should I try that again?"

  Alexander lifted his head from the gravel beside the cart path. "Unless you want to play the hole behind us."

  Merry faced him and began to laugh. Apparently, seeing him flat on his stomach, with his face in the dirt, really tickled her fancy. She laughed so hard that as Alexander picked picked himself up. she plopped down on the soft grass beside the tee.