Royal Pursuit

by Susan Kearney

  A rush of warm affection flashed over him. No matter the danger, Alex had known Nicholas would come. They’d always been close. Although Nicholas and Tashya would have been reassured by Hunter’s message that Alex had survived the initial attack at the embassy, Nicholas would want to see Alex for himself.

  Anticipating Taylor’s surprise, Alex didn’t wait for the driver to open the door. He yanked on the vehicle’s handle and gestured to Taylor. “Let’s go.”

  He supposed he could have warned her, but as she slid onto the plush leather seat opposite the king and queen of Vashmira, he couldn’t restrain a grin at the surprise in her eyes. However, she didn’t relax. She didn’t seem awed, but rather wound tight with worry.

  Alex leaned forward and kissed his new sister-in-law on the cheek, then clasped hands with Nicholas. “About damn time you got here.”

  “Alex.” Taylor elbowed him in the ribs. “That’s no way to speak to your brother.”

  Well, no one could say royalty intimidated her. While Queen Ericka chuckled, Alex made introductions. But he could tell from the expression on Taylor’s face that she was bursting to boss them all around.

  “You people shouldn’t be here,” Taylor told them.

  “Really?” Nicholas appeared startled for a moment while his wife lovingly tucked her arm into his. If Alex looked closely, he could see worry in her eyes.

  Nicholas glanced at Alex, his expression darkening with questions at Taylor’s forwardness. Alex simply shrugged. He leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest and looked forward to watching his brother deal with Taylor Welles.

  She kept her voice even and polite. “You should both return to Vashmira and take Alex with you.”

  “Are you so anxious to be rid of my brother?” Nicholas asked gently, his keen blue eyes probing.

  “I want him safe. I want all of you safe. You need to delay the embassy’s opening celebration until we figure out who is trying to kill you.”

  Until we figure out? She’d implied that she wanted to send him home to hide and then keep working for Vashmira? He didn’t think so. Alex rolled his eyes at the ceiling. For his effort, he received another elbow in the ribs.

  Before Ericka had married his brother and become Vashmira’s queen, she had been a political reporter. Now she often privately advised his brother on the best way to accomplish his goals.

  At Taylor’s suggestion that the royal family was in danger, the queen thoughtfully lifted her chin. “So you think all the problems we’ve had are connected, too?”

  “Yes. It’s no coincidence that every member of the royal family has been targeted. At the embassy party, I assume you’ll all be together? That Princess Tashya is also on her way?”

  “She’s with Hunter tonight, but she’ll join us for the ceremony,” Nicholas informed her.

  “You’re setting yourselves up as targets,” Taylor insisted. “I cannot believe Hunter is willing—”

  “Actually, right now he’s trying to talk Tashya out of attending—” Nicholas said.

  “If I know our sister, Hunter isn’t talking right now at all,” Alex commented with a soft, approving grin.

  Taylor sighed and directed her frustrated comment to Nicholas. “Doesn’t Alex ever take anything seriously?”

  Nicholas didn’t answer her. His brother always had been a smart man. “I thank you for your concern.” He spoke warmly to Taylor. “In this troubled time, our family and country needs all of our friends’ support. However, we cannot delay the ceremony to open our embassy. Invitations have been sent. Hundreds of people have made transportation arrangements and hotel reservations. Diplomats from five continents have already begun to arrive. It is vital that we prove to the world that Vashmira is a stable country. That people can vacation in Vashmira and trade with Vashmira without fear of a coup or of terrorism. Our allies will be there, and the royal family must attend to show we are not afraid of our enemies.”

  “You should be afraid,” Taylor countered. “Not even the Secret Service can protect you from suicide terrorists. It’s madness to place your entire family in one place.”

  “It’s also an opportunity,” Alex told her, knowing that her heart was in the right place. “If we know our enemy is coming, we can prepare to meet them.”

  Taylor shook her head. “I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t like it much, either,” Queen Ericka admitted. “But Vashmira’s survival may depend on strengthening our ties to the West. And we cannot do that without a viable embassy.”

  “But your entire family…” Taylor argued.

  “I go where Nicholas goes. Tashya feels the same way about Hunter and, quite frankly, his help and connections behind the scenes may prove invaluable. And no one has ever talked Alexander out of anything he is determined to do. He and Nicholas are stubborn that way.” Ericka softened her words with a slight smile, her love for her husband resonating with every word she spoke.

  “I’ve noticed,” Taylor rumbled.

  Alex casually placed his arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer. Neither Nicholas nor Ericka looked especially surprised. But then he had a reputation with the ladies. They had no idea how much Taylor’s friendship had come to mean to him.

  He enjoyed the fact that she didn’t need to look in a mirror ten times a day to reassure herself about her appearance. In fact, her appearance seemed to mean very little to her. She focused on more important things—such as keeping him alive when someone planted a bomb under his car, such as arguing with police officers to get him a private jail cell. She worried over his family’s safety and stood up to his brother, apparently without a second thought. And she made love as if it were a fantastic dream. In retrospect, he wondered if the sex had really been that good. And decided they should repeat the experience soon.

  Taylor nudged him and he realized he’d lost track of the conversation. “What?”

  “We should keep your location secret until you must appear in public. That will limit your enemies’ options.”

  “You want to hole up with me in a hotel for three days?” Alex grinned, cognizant that he’d deliberately put words into her mouth. “I can live with that.”

  To give Taylor credit, she didn’t blush. In fact she squared her shoulders and shot him a look hot enough to melt polar ice. “It’ll give us time to say a proper goodbye.”

  Nicholas grinned. Ericka sighed.

  Alex restrained himself from squirming in his seat. Taylor confused him. He’d never understand the woman. The blaze in her eyes contrasted with the finality of her words. Goodbye? Who had said anything about goodbye?

  “You can’t monopolize all her time,” Ericka insisted.

  “Why not?” Taylor and Alex both asked at the same time, causing Nicholas to clear his throat to cover an outright laugh.

  “Because she needs a dress for the ceremony.”

  “So, order her one.” Alex sat back as if the matter were settled.

  “She needs a designer dress.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  Alex thought how good she would look in a custom-made gown. He recalled the overalls she’d picked out for him and realized it was his turn to get even. His spirits picked up at the prospect of Taylor dressing up. Buying a gown for Taylor was going to be so much fun—for him.

  TAYLOR TOLD HERSELF that given enough time she would adjust to Alexander in his new persona. Although she approved of his close relationship with his brother and his obvious affection for his sister-in-law, the trappings of royalty made her uncomfortable.

  After her father had abandoned her mother, Taylor’s family had been mostly middle class. They never went hungry, but money had been tight, and extras, such as taking in a movie or buying a prom dress, had to be paid for by doing chores.

  Taylor told herself that things didn’t matter. That Prince Alexander was the same man she’d spent the last few days with, the same man who’d made such exquisite love to her. But her experience back at the police station had given her an inklin
g of what life among the rich and famous might be like.

  The car stopped and she looked out the window to find that they had arrived at one of Washington’s most exclusive hotels. Check-in wasn’t necessary, and they slipped inside through a side entrance. A private elevator took them to the top floor. The king and queen had the penthouse, but Alex’s suite stunned her. Huge bouquets of fresh flowers scented the living room, which boasted marble floors and floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the city skyline. A glass bowl of fruit filled with ripe raspberries, ruby-red apples, dates and apricots sat on a cherrywood table that looked as if it belonged in a museum. In fact, all the furnishings—from the gilt-framed canvasses hung on gold-and-silver-threaded papered walls to the gold faucets in the guest bathroom to the jade carving on a white baby grand—looked classy and expensive.

  “Why don’t you take a shower?” Alex suggested, then picked up the phone. “I’ll order up room service.”

  She wouldn’t mind washing away the stench of her jail cell. A peek into the luxurious bathroom had her shedding her clothes without hesitation. A fifteen-foot-long mirror hung over a set of gold double sinks set in a marble countertop. She ignored the Jacuzzi tub, the steam bath and the sauna in favor of a shower large enough to house half a baseball team.

  She helped herself to the basket of guest supplies and stepped into the shower. Not one, not two, but three spigots splashed water onto her, and the water immediately spouted out hot. The soap, scented with some exotic perfume she didn’t recognize, smelled heavenly. A girl could get used to this.

  “Knock, knock.” Alex opened the shower door. “Can I join you?”

  “There’s room for two.” She giggled. “Or three or four.”

  “Anyone else you want to invite?” Alex teased, his hungry gaze skimming over her soapy body with appreciation, causing her skin to heat.

  She tipped her head back under the water, wishing she had a snappy answer. Just the sight of his broad shoulders, tapering to a narrow waist, and the long lean lines of his hips and legs had her thinking about making love. But it was the hot look in his eyes that had kindled her passion.

  Alex wasn’t just a fling. He wasn’t just a man who had helped her overcome her past. Like a stupid twit, she’d fallen in love with Prince Alexander of Vashmira. Even thinking about his full title couldn’t diminish the feelings welling up inside her.

  Damn it. She’d allowed herself to fall for a man she could never have. Indeed, maybe the impossibility of them ever being together had made her feel safe. But now that she’d allowed herself to have those feelings for him, she was going to have to deal with them after he left.

  She was going to miss him. Big time.

  The fragrant scent of heather warned her that Alex had opened the shampoo, but when his hands threaded through her hair and massaged her scalp, she let out a soft sigh of pleasure. “I can give you an hour to stop that.”

  He soaped her hair, her neck, her back and her bottom. His hands grazed her thighs and calves, his fingers warm, knowing and oh, so clever. He knew exactly how much pressure to apply to cause an ache between her thighs.

  She loved him. She loved the way he touched her. She loved the way he made her feel about herself, special and precious and coveted. And most of all, she loved loving him. Having opened herself up to caring about him, she’d conquered her past and banished her demons. Gloriously free, she spun around for him to wash her front.

  This kind of happiness couldn’t last. He was going to leave her. She’d known that going in, but she could no more resist his kisses or his lovemaking than the earth could resist orbiting the sun.

  Had her fate been inevitable? Had luck brought them together just as destiny would tear them apart?

  When his palms swirled over her breasts, when his thumbs teased her nipples, her thoughts shifted from the past and the future to this moment. Right here, right now, she could make love to the prince of her heart.

  They had tonight, and she intended to make the most of the time they had together. With her heart already full, she looked up at him. The heat in his gaze, the tenderness in his expression and the throbbing muscle at his jaw told her he wanted her.

  And she loved him.

  Loved him enough to keep her feelings to herself. Loved him enough to let him walk away without any feelings of guilt for leaving her behind. For a moment her eyes brimmed with tears that the shower washed away, but determined not to spoil one second of this special time, she leaned into him.

  Gently she bit his earlobe, his neck, a nipple. She used her nails to lightly scrape his back and all the while she arched her back, allowing him free access to her breasts.

  He smiled down at her. “I hope you are hungry. I ordered up—”

  “I’m very hungry,” she admitted. “For you.”

  “I’m all yours.”

  For the moment maybe. She quashed the thought. There were so many feelings she wanted to experience. She wanted to make love to Alex when they were both giggly happy, even tipsy. She wanted to make love to him when she felt ferocious and tender and sad. And most of all, she wanted to give him pleasure. Hot, unruly, wild pleasure that would make him lose control, that would make the blood leave his head, that would leave him in her power.

  She reached between his legs, her fingers teasing up the length of his corded thighs, and cupped his heavy sex. He released a hiss of pure joy.

  “Is that good?” she asked.

  “Heavenly.”

  She lathered soap between her palms and ran her wet, slippery hands over his skin. Teasing him, seeing him quiver under her fingers gave her a heady feeling of power.

  Alex groaned. He reached for her and she stepped away.

  Then, she thoroughly rinsed the soap from his warm, hard flesh. And spun him around to face her again.

  “I want you,” she told him.

  “Good.”

  “I’m going to taste you. All of you.”

  And she did.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The day of the Vashmiran embassy opening, Taylor had trouble keeping her thoughts focused as she made a precheck of the grounds and fingered the microphone/receiver Hunter had insisted she wear. These last few days holed up in the hotel with Alex, now, in retrospect, seemed more like a fantasy than real life. They’d made love repeatedly, refueling their energy with delicious meals and relaxing with long soaks in a whirlpool tub. And between bouts of lovemaking, Taylor had shopped for her gown—shopped without leaving the hotel. Exclusive boutiques had sent a van, a rack of choices all in her size, with accompanying accessories.

  Alex had enjoyed watching her try them all on. And she’d enjoyed posing for him. Never before had she’d enjoyed feeling so feminine and had to tell herself repeatedly not to get accustomed to the royal treatment. While trying on the gowns had been fun, she hadn’t the slightest idea what would be appropriate and allowed Alex to choose a deep emerald gown for her that offset her blond hair and gray eyes. While he’d been interested in the fit of her bodice, she’d checked to make sure the lower portion had enough fullness to allow her to strap a gun to her thigh without having it show. She was well pleased with the slit up the side that allowed her to take normal-size steps. When she’d checked the price tag and tried not to cringe, he’d told her not to worry. She’d assured him she wasn’t worrying one bit. The cost of her dress would be showing up on his bill, as would the hair stylist and makeup artist he’d insisted on hiring.

  Although Taylor knew security would be tight, she didn’t trust the man in charge, Ira Hanuck. Too many difficulties had arisen under his watch and the fact that the security chief planned to retire after the ceremony just seemed too convenient. She would feel better after Hunter had taken over the job. Over a dinner with Hunter and Tashya, she’d learned how Hunter had impersonated Alex in Vashmira and kept Tashya safe. Knowing that Hunter was on their side made her feel better. The man oozed a confidence that had been gained through years of experience—experience Taylor didn’t have
.

  Alex had told her that her job was simply to stay at his side, be his date, and report anything out of the ordinary to the security chief or Hunter. She intended to keep a keen eye on both the general and the secretary of state, as well as Alex.

  Secret Service agents guarded the king and queen. Vashmiran soldiers in ceremonial dress uniforms and loaded rifles full of live rounds stood post at intervals along the perimeter of the embassy grounds. The high wall around the grounds formed a natural defensive barrier, but Taylor couldn’t help wondering if the military men were loyal to both the king and their general. Those high walls could be just as much a prison as a safe enclosure.

  The grounds behind the embassy looked lovely. A makeshift deck had been built and a white canopy pitched. A band had begun to set up equipment under strings of twinkling lights. An open bar stocked with Japanese saki, Russian vodka and even Chinese teas could serve the varied tastes of a multitude of international guests. From the gorgeous lilies and white roses in graceful urns to delicate finger foods offered by tuxedoed butlers on silver trays, the embassy staff had done themselves proud. Now, if the ceremony would just go smoothly.

  Taylor checked her watch. Time to meet Alex, who would arrive with the king and queen. Alex had asked her to ride with them, but she’d wanted a good look around first. And as long as Alex was with Nicholas and Ericka and guarded by the Secret Service, she hadn’t worried overly about his safety.

  If anyone was going to make a move, she sensed it would be later, perhaps during the speeches, when there was a full crowd milling around to help camouflage a retreat. She patted her thigh, reassured herself that her weapon hadn’t slipped, and headed for the front gate.

  Alex exited the limousine first, and he immediately searched the crowd, his piercing blue eyes honing in on her. He looked so handsome in his dove-gray dress uniform and black leather boots that she swallowed hard. No wonder women adored him. And she was no different. She’d lost her heart, but she’d been damned sure not to let him know it.