Loving the Princess

by A. C. Arthur

  She took off the pink pantsuit that was beyond out of place there, folded it neatly and placed it on the back of a rocking chair near the dresser. That was wood, too, with a big mirror, where she examined herself after slipping on the khaki pants and peach-colored camisole. There was a jacket to the pants, but she figured she could go without it. She’d appear more casual that way. She wore sandals with a lower heel than the pumps she’d set next to the rocking chair. Feeling like she still looked too prim and proper, Sam removed her necklace and the matching earrings. She pulled out her toiletry bag, found her brush and then proceeded to pull her hair back into a high ponytail.

  Her makeup hadn’t been heavy, but she still felt like she looked too put together. There just didn’t seem to be a point for that there. So she grabbed the toiletry bag and headed across the hall to the bathroom. There she washed her face and then used a light bronzer over her cheeks, chin and forehead. A stroke of eyeliner, some mascara and a neutral-toned lip gloss completed the look.

  “There,” she said to herself in the mirror with a satisfied smile. “You look almost normal.”

  Almost, she thought, because deep down she still knew who she was. No amount of dressing down would change that she was a princess.

  The only other purse she had was a large Givenchy bag that she didn’t think was casual at all, so she’d decided to forego the purse altogether. She slipped her cell phone into her front pants’ pocket, spritzed a little perfume—a soft vanilla-type scent—and headed back to the living room.

  He was already there, waiting for her.

  “Is this casual enough?” she asked as she moved farther into the room.

  “Perfect,” he said with barely a glance at her. “As always.”

  “You are, too,” Sam said without thinking first.

  When he looked at her in surprise, she cleared her throat and continued, “You’re always so composed. Your objective is clear and you move toward it, no questions or hesitations. And that’s just your mental state. But even your clothes are on point with whatever situation you’ve planned to be in. I would say it was methodical, but I think it’s more ingrained than that. It’s simply your personality.”

  There was silence when she finished. Gary stared at her and she glared back at him. Like a standoff but without the requisite tension. Just a casual acknowledgment, Sam thought before she moved toward the door. He stepped quickly in front of her and opened it.

  “Thanks,” she said when what she’d really been thinking was that she knew how to open doors for herself.

  It was silly, especially considering her position. People opened doors for her all the time. They pulled out chairs, asked what she needed and provided it for her. She wouldn’t classify herself as a pampered princess, but to an extent, it could be true. No matter how she wanted it to be different.

  For Gary, it was the polar opposite. He hadn’t been pampered. He’d been teased until he’d had no choice but to fight back, and he’d loved his parents to the end. So Sam walked through that door and did not say a word when Gary led them to a bright red pickup.

  She couldn’t help it, she giggled.

  “Something funny about my truck?” he asked as he lifted his arm and pointed the remote toward the truck, disengaging the locks and alarm system.

  “It’s red,” she said and shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny, it’s just odd. I would never guess you would have a candy-apple-red truck.”

  He opened the passenger door and waited for her to walk around it before saying, “It’s called Barcelona Red Metallic.”

  She chuckled again. “Still doesn’t quite fit you.”

  He extended his hand and Sam put hers in his.

  “Step up on the running board,” he told her. “Or I can lift you up and put you inside.”

  A choice. Sam liked the idea that he’d given her a choice this time.

  With her hand in his, Sam stepped up onto the running board and lifted herself into the cab of the truck. Gary climbed inside just as she finished clicking her seat belt in place. He started the engine and backed up without saying another word. Sam didn’t speak, either. Instead she sat back and enjoyed the sights. There was lots of greenery—grass, trees, shrubbery in front of the large houses they began to pass. The sky was a pristine type of blue today, complete with the puffy clouds Sam remembered seeing as she’d lain on the beach staring up when she was a young girl.

  “That one right there looks like an elephant,” she said after using the remote to lower the window.

  She was shocked when Gary jumped right in. “And that one over there looks like a unicorn. See the horn stretching over that way?”

  Sam leaned forward as Gary was looking out the front windshield. “Yeah, I see it. If it moves a step or two closer, its horn will definitely poke the elephant. That won’t be a pretty scenario.”

  “Not at all,” he said and chuckled.

  Sam laughed, too, as she settled back in her seat and continued to stare out the windows. They drove a bit farther until she could see out of one window that they were riding along the shore of more water.

  “The Choptank River is a tributary to Chesapeake Bay. It flows all the way down this way,” he told her.

  She nodded. “It’s serene here. I like it.”

  “I like it, too,” he told her.

  A while later they were pulling onto a stretch of grass where other vehicles were parked. Gary cut the ignition and undid his seat belt. Sam figured this meant they were getting out, so she undid her seat belt, as well. She was just about to reach for the door handle when Gary touched her arm to stop her.

  “My mom’s favorite color was red,” he told her. “Just before my dad died, he picked out a red dress online and had me order it for her. I buried her in that dress because she said it was her favorite gift from my dad, besides me.”

  He looked momentarily uncomfortable, so Sam covered the hand he had on her arm. She let her fingers rest over his and then looked up at him.

  “It’s a wonderful tribute to her,” she told him. “You were a great son and I’m sure she was bursting with pride for you.”

  He nodded and then moved to get out of the truck. He was at the passenger-side door by the time she was about to jump down. Gary clamped his hands around her waist and lifted her out of the truck. When her feet touched the ground his hands stayed on her. Sam let hers fall to her sides as he stared down at her. She smiled and backed away.

  “What’s this place?”

  “It’s the Maryland Seafood Festival,” he said just after she heard the truck door close. “Great food. Wine. Gorgeous scenery. Just what was prescribed to unwind after a long day’s work,” he told her.

  “It was a two-hour tour and press conference,” she told him.

  “It was work and that’s all you ever seem to do. I think this will be a good place for you to unwind a bit. To just relax for a while.”

  Sam was about to say something to that when a voice from behind stopped her.

  “Well, well, well. Look what the sunshine brought in,” a slow and seductive voice said.

  Sam turned just in time to see the woman brush past her and grab Gary around the neck, pulling him down for a tight hug. Well, it was tight on her part. As for Gary, he’d given her a little pat on her back before letting his arms fall to his sides.

  “Hello, Tonya,” he said in a tone that was less than enthusiastic.

  “Hi, sweetie. I was beginning to think you were never coming back to town,” the woman replied after Gary grabbed her wrists and unwrapped them from his neck.

  “Hello,” Sam said because she was beginning to feel like a third wheel and did not like that feeling one bit.

  The woman turned slowly and looked at Sam as if she’d just realized she was standing there. Sam may have grown up in a palace and t
hus had a different type of childhood and introduction to the social niceties, but she wasn’t stupid. She recognized an unhappy woman when she saw one.

  This Tonya person was definitely unhappy.

  She was a very pretty woman with caramel-toned skin and blond dreadlocks. She wore black shorts and a white T-shirt with a huge red crab on its front with Maryland is for Crab Lovers written in red, black and gold script. She was smiling but it was a different type of smile. The kind that didn’t reach the eyes.

  “Well, hi,” Tonya said and stepped in Sam’s direction. “Who are you?”

  “Samantha DeSaunters,” Sam said, extending her hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Tonya looked at the hand a second longer than was polite before shaking.

  “Oh, okay, Samantha. Are you a visiting relative? I don’t recall you having any other family around, Gary.”

  Tonya spoke to Gary but she did not take her gaze off Sam. She was looking at everything from the band holding Sam’s hair together to the polish on her nails and the straps on her shoes. Or at least, that’s the way it appeared to Sam. She wasn’t unnerved because Sam was more than used to people staring at her. What did bother her was the look of disdain Tonya was giving her. Now, that was something Sam was not used to. Not until Malayka had entered the scene, anyway.

  “She’s Princess Samantha DeSaunters from Grand Serenity Island,” Gary corrected.

  He came to stand beside Sam and they both looked at Tonya whose eyes had grown wider.

  “You’re a princess?” she asked in disbelief. Then she actually laughed. “Are you serious? Or is that just what she told you to get you into bed?”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Gary said. “We’re leaving.” He took Sam’s hand and turned away from Tonya.

  They hadn’t taken more than three steps before she yelled out, “He’s a liar and a cheater!”

  Sam stopped walking before Gary did. She turned to look at Tonya, which, from the way she’d folded her arms across her chest in triumph, was exactly what the woman had wanted Sam to do.

  “That’s right. I was married to him. For a year and a half, and I tried to be everything a wife should be to her husband. But it wasn’t enough for him. No, I think he was intimidated by my success as a star athlete and all the attention that drew. But that was no reason for him to sleep with our neighbor. Bastard!”

  Sam couldn’t believe what she was seeing and she didn’t believe what she was hearing, either. Just a few minutes ago this woman had had her arms wrapped around Gary’s neck. She’d been smiling up into his face, rubbing her ample breasts against his chest, very happy to see him. Now she seemed just as happy to embarrass him.

  “Oh, that’s okay,” Sam replied much to the woman’s surprise. “You see, I’m known as the Prowling Princess. That means I go through men quicker than I do tiaras. So he won’t be breaking my heart if he cheats on me. In fact, I’m likely to cheat on him first.”

  At her words Tonya’s mouth opened then closed, then opened once more as she slapped her hands on her hips. The woman didn’t know what to say, which made Sam feel triumphant.

  “That’s not funny!” Tonya snapped.

  Sam turned to see that the woman was staring at Gary, who was, in fact, laughing. She’d never heard him laugh like that before.

  “Look, Miss...whoever you are—’cause I’m not believing that princess crap at all. He’s not worth your time and wherever you purchased those shoes, you should send them back because they’re horrible knock-offs.”

  With that Tonya sashayed her very generous bottom away from where they stood.

  Gary’s chuckles subsided when they were once again alone. He then looked at Sam and said with a victorious grin, “I wish you lived in Cambridge.”

  Chapter 17

  Samantha moaned and the sound sent pleasure tendrils throughout Gary’s body. Like, literally, he shivered from the jolt of arousal that shot through him when he heard the sound. He looked up to see her lying on her back, her hands splayed over her abdomen, mouth partially open and eyes closed.

  “I ate too much,” she complained. “Why did you let me eat so much?”

  Gary cleared his throat as a way to also clear his mind. It didn’t work because he was still thinking about ripping her clothes off and taking her right there on the blanket where they lay close to the water.

  “I didn’t tell you to sample everything you saw,” he said and continued to massage one of her feet on his lap.

  “You said, and I quote, ‘This is some of the best food you will ever taste in your life. Everything is freshly caught from the Chesapeake Bay and seasoned generously with Maryland’s signature Old Bay Seasoning.’ Those were your words exactly.”

  Because she’d lifted an arm and dropped it over her eyes Gary could smile at her pouting lips. Well, he could smile until he imagined those lips on him, around him... Damn, this wasn’t going the way he’d imagined.

  When he’d realized Samantha had needed to come to the States for a business trip, he’d felt like his mother was actually reaching down and giving him a little push. Well, considering what he’d gone through with Tonya, it had actually taken a pretty big push to get him to go after another woman. This time, however, Gary had finally admitted to himself that he didn’t think he needed his mother’s push at all. He’d already fallen completely, head-over-heels in love with Samantha.

  It hadn’t been a quiet or sneaky type of fall, either. Nor had it been foreseen or even cultivated the way he had attempted with Tonya. No, this time it had smacked him in the face the moment he’d first seen her. But no matter how high his IQ was judged by a written exam, he hadn’t seen it until the night she’d first placed her lips on his.

  “I did say that,” he replied. “But I didn’t fix two plates after I’d had samples of everything, either.”

  “Ugh.” She groaned this time. “Two plates! You let me eat two whole plates of food? And that fruit punch had to have contained at least a gallon of sugar. I feel sick.”

  “You look beautiful,” he told her.

  Her arm slid from her face and she stared at him through partially parted lids. “What? You think my bloated look and the greenish color of my skin, because I’m afraid I might puke at any moment, is beautiful?”

  Gary smiled, now touching both her feet as he stared up at her.

  “Yes,” he said. “That’s what I think.”

  She waited a minute, processing his words, he thought. Then she shook her head. “You had too many beers.”

  He chuckled.

  “Yet you let me drive you back here and convince you to sit out under the night sky, instead of telling me to call your limo back and get your plane ready to take you to Grand Serenity.”

  Saying the words aloud made him irritable, but he had thought it so many times this afternoon, it was no wonder he would speak them now. Sending her maid and her jet home without Samantha was a gamble. She didn’t like it when he made decisions for her. While he figured she was used to people doing that, he could also see why it bothered her. The only problem with that was that he was used to giving commands. He’d led an elite team of snipers in the army, calling the shots for adult men. She was a princess in a family of powerful and authoritative men, it was no wonder she hated being told what to do and when to do it. Yet she was loyal and astute enough to disagree with pride and elegance.

  That was only one of the things he adored about her.

  The quick and efficient way in which she’d cut Tonya off at the knees this afternoon was another.

  “I didn’t want to go back,” she said, her voice softer this time.

  “That worked in my favor,” he said and let his hands move over her feet to grip her ankles.

  “I hate saying it,” she conceded. “Admitting that I don’t want to go home. It s
ounds so juvenile. Besides, I have responsibilities. I’ve always had duties. I was born with them.”

  “You were also born to live,” he told her as his hands pushed her pants up a bit so that he could touch the skin of her calves.

  He loved how her skin felt beneath his touch. Smooth, warm skin gliding along his big palms was like a slice of heaven.

  “And you can live outside of Grand Serenity,” he continued. “Outside of the crown with all its duties and responsibilities.”

  “No, I can’t,” she said. “I’m the princess, remember?”

  “Not today you weren’t. You were just a woman at a food festival eating and drinking too much just like everybody else.”

  She sat up slowly, her hair falling down around her shoulders, hands resting in her lap.

  “Is that why you left the army? To be just a guy like everybody else?”

  She always had questions. Gary had been trained to look for answers. They were matched in so many areas it was odd.

  “I didn’t like what I was doing anymore,” he stated evenly. That was the easiest way he could explain feeling used and dissuaded. “I was fighting a war for a country that didn’t take care of their own.”

  “The United States has the most powerful military in the world,” she said.

  “And they have a horrifically insufficient program to take care of their veterans. My father served in the Vietnam war. He was enlisted in the army for twenty years before retiring. But when he became sick, his doctor’s bills soared and the supplemental insurance he had didn’t do a damn thing. They exhausted their savings and my mother’s pension trying to take care of him. If I hadn’t left the military when I did, they would have lost their house.”

  Gary sighed. He looked out at the river, saw the moonlight’s glossy glow over the water and shook his head slowly.

  “I came home and I did what I could to make money as fast as I could to help them. All of my monthly checks from the service had been deposited directly into my parents’ account and they were still drowning in debt. When I was in high school I was on the wrestling team. For a while I thought that would be my ticket to college since I knew my parents didn’t have the money for me to go.”