The Pilot's Prince

by Merry Farmer

  “I’m still fascinated by this banking thing,” she said as she worked. “Is it really like Swiss banks? With numbered accounts instead of names?”

  “Yep.” He held his arms slightly out to the side, watching as she cleaned him up. “And numbered accounts are never a good idea. They conceal all kinds of activity.”

  “I still don’t understand what that has to do with fish, though.” The stain was stubborn, so she slipped a hand into his jacket to hold the lapel from both sides. In the process, she felt the steady thump of his heart.

  “Our environment is everything,” William went on. “We stand to lose generations worth of tradition if habitats and fish populations aren’t protected. I’ve already put the wheels in motion to extend protections and limit industry in Aegirian waters, and once everything becomes official after the wedding, I’ll do even more.”

  “So why don’t you start looking into changing the banking system now too?” At last, the stain came out. She dabbed at his lapel, trying to dry it as much as possible.

  “What, change Aegiria’s banking system?” He blinked at her as if surprised.

  Gloria shrugged. “That will help you catch people who violate environmental law, right?”

  He glanced up to meet her eyes, a smile spreading across his face. “That’s a good point. Although I know nothing about banking. Fish. I know fish. And the ocean.”

  “My brothers are all either involved in the law or business in London. I’m sure they’d have an idea where you could get started.”

  “I’m sure a lot of people know a lot more about banks than I do.”

  “William!” Princess Marina’s call was sharp and impatient.

  Gloria and William both turned to find most of the royal family already assembled on the small dais that held an ancient-looking, gilded throne. Princess Marina’s glare was furious and suspicious, but the queen also looked like her lunch hadn’t agreed with her.

  “You’d better get going,” Gloria whispered, leaning closer to William with a grin. “They don’t look happy.”

  “I can’t have that,” he replied with genuine concern. He broke away from her and rushed to join the others.

  Gloria watched him, but her grin burst into full bloom when she spotted Mack striding quickly into the room in his full, formal dress uniform. She wanted to rush to him to tell him how amazing he looked, but Princess Marina already looked like she wanted to have her thrown from the room, so she settled for catching Mack’s eye and wiggling her eyebrows. She was rewarded when a heated blush spread across Mack’s cheeks. The insatiable hunger that had been growing and growing inside her since the lighthouse flared even hotter.

  Which meant that sitting through the photo session was torture. Gloria didn’t know how they all did it. As soon as it looked like they’d successfully completed one set of photographs, one of the photographers would ask for a slightly different pose. Then another would request time to change lenses. It reminded Gloria of her brother Derek’s wedding shoot, only three times longer and with a hundred times more fussing. There were group pictures, pictures of the queen and her sons, pictures of William and his children.

  At last, things started to wind down. William’s cell phone started ringing in the middle of a particularly stoic arrangement, and when he answered it, then quickly rushed off the dais and out of the throne room, the whole shoot fell apart. Gloria had a hard time feeling bad about it.

  “How about we get a few last pics of the queen and Princess Marina together?” one of the photographers said.

  “Great idea,” Prince Viggo said, bolting from the dais almost as fast as William had. He and his brothers were already tugging at their ties and shrugging out of their jackets as they fled the room.

  Gloria zeroed in on Mack as he undid the buttons of his uniform while walking toward her. “Don’t tempt me, Your Highness,” she said with a breathless laugh and a flicker of her eyebrow.

  “I don’t want to do anything but tempt you,” he answered in a growl when he got close.

  To her surprise, he slipped his arms around her waist, pulled her close and kissed her with a scandalous level of heat. Every bone in her body turned to putty, which was ironic, considering she could feel the exact opposite reaction from him pressed against her hip. She suddenly wanted to do a lot more than watch him peel off his jacket.

  “Are you sure you want to do this here?” she whispered when he let her take a breath. She glanced around. No one was watching them, but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t start.

  “You’re right,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

  He took her hand and whisked her out of the room. There were dozens of doors in the hall that led away from the throne room, but Mack seemed to know where he was going. The door to the room he and his brothers were using as a changing room stood half open, but Mack turned the handle of the door across the hall from that, drawing her inside.

  Gloria found herself in a much smaller dressing room. Mack closed the door behind them and turned the lock with a click, then pivoted to face her and sweep her into his arms again. Their mouths met in a desperate kiss. She pushed at his jacket, trying to get it off, but the heat between them ratcheted up far too quickly. Mack lifted her against him, carrying her to the window seat at the other end of the small room.

  “I’ve never done anything so dangerous or naughty,” she gasped as he hiked up her skirt and tugged her panties off.

  “Neither have I,” he said with a rich, exciting laugh. “But we might have to make a habit of this.”

  She fumbled with the fastening of his pants as he reached for something in the pocket. By the time she’d pushed everything that mattered down over his hips, freeing his impressive erection, he’d already ripped open the condom he’d evidently been carrying with him.

  “After the last day or so,” he panted as he rolled it on, “I figured it was best to be prepared.”

  She barely had time to laugh before he was pounding into her. It was glorious. They were still fully dressed, half standing, half braced against the window, and he was thrusting into her with the strength of Hercules. For her part, she’d never made sounds quite as ecstatic as the ones that escaped from her. She tilted her head back, face pinched with pleasure as she rode him. Mack bent his head to kiss her neck, his thrusts increasing in intensity.

  It was all so fast, but the orgasm that hit her left her shuddering with pleasure. She hadn’t known anything could be so good when it was so unplanned and so indiscreet. Seconds after her, Mack came with a deep, guttural cry, tensing, then slumping as though he’d run a marathon. They collapsed deeper into the window seat together, still joined, gasping to catch their breath.

  “Wow,” Gloria panted. “Just wow.”

  “We definitely need to do this again.” He touched his forehead to hers, then kissed her.

  The kiss heated up in a hurry, and Gloria was just beginning to wonder if he had another condom in his pocket when someone in the hall shouted, “They want one more shot. The royal princes are wanted back in the throne room. One more shot.”

  Mack swore under his breath, pulling away from Gloria. That left her limp and sated and sprawled in a decidedly unladylike way for a moment. She watched as Mack rushed to tidy himself up, dispose of the condom, and zip and button everything he needed to look presentable. She was slow to follow suit.

  “I’ll be back in just a second,” he said as soon as he was presentable. “We can pick up where we left off.”

  Gloria laughed as he dashed out into the hall, then set to work straightening herself. She took her time, stretching her muscles and shimmying back into her panties. Suddenly, life in a crowded royal palace didn’t seem all it was cracked up to be. Not if they couldn’t be left in peace to enjoy their time together.

  She checked her face in the dressing room’s tall mirror, and when she decided that, other than her bright red blush, she looked presentable, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

&n
bsp; “Am I late?” William asked as he sprinted up the hall toward her.

  “I don’t think so,” she answered, bewildered at his flustered appearance.

  He skidded to a stop by her side, as red-faced and panting as she was. “Vickie will kill me if—”

  “There. Didn’t I tell you?” Marina shouted from the doorway to the throne room. “Caught red-handed.”

  Gloria blinked in confusion as Princess Marina marched toward them, fury in her eyes. The queen was a few steps behind, her expression pinched and her face pale.

  “I told you he was cheating on you with that British tramp,” Marina said, her heels clicking as she charged down the hall. “And now you have proof.”

  8

  Mack’s heart was still racing, even though he felt like a limp rubber band, as he gathered on the dais with his brothers for more pictures.

  “Whose crappy idea was this?” Johan asked, shrugging back into his uniform jacket, medals clinking.

  “Yeah,” Kristoff agreed. “Cass and I were supposed to be down on the boat half an hour ago.”

  “We all have better things to do,” Mack muttered. His eyes were glued to the doorway of the throne room and the hall beyond. He still couldn’t quite believe he’d been bold enough to take Gloria in that dressing room the way he had. In spite of his irritation with the situation at hand, he smirked.

  “What’s that look for?” Arne asked, checking his watch.

  “Just thinking about the better things I have to do,” Mack answered, his grin growing more obvious.

  Arne chuckled, glancing to Emma, who waited on one side of the room, chatting with Toni. “We all do.” He turned to Mack. “I like Gloria, by the way.”

  “Good to know,” Mack replied, waiting to see whether some sort of teasing would follow those words.

  But instead, Arne said, “She’s just the sort of woman I always imagined you with.”

  Mack blinked. “Really?”

  “You imagined him with a woman at all?” Viggo cut in, more like what Mack would have expected from his brothers.

  Arne punched Viggo’s arm, then went on. “Gloria is strong. And she’s graceful. She’s just the kind of woman to beat you into shape.”

  As badly as Mack wanted to argue with his brother’s assessment, Arne was right. “I’m trying to convince her to stick around for a while. I introduced her to Carl Gustavson the other day, and—”

  “There. Didn’t I tell you?”

  Mack and his brothers turned to the doorway as Marina barked her accusation. She and the queen rushed out of the throne room to whatever it was that had Marina so suddenly upset.

  “What’s that all about?” Alek asked, glancing to Toni. Toni broke away from Emma and heading for the hall.

  Mack would have been content to stay where he was…until he caught the words “British tramp” as Marina raged on. In a flash, he knew Gloria was the focus of whatever had Marina so worked up. Every protective instinct he had flared to life. He stepped off the dais and marched to the doorway.

  As soon as he hit the hall, he knew there was trouble.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gloria was in the middle of saying to Marina. Her hands were held up to ward the woman off, and her eyes were round with offense. Aside from that, her cheeks were still pink from their previous activity, and her dress was slightly askew.

  “You’ve been caught red-handed,” Marina went on. “Both of you.”

  It was then that Mack noticed William standing by Gloria’s side, looking as disheveled as usual. “This is all just a misunderstanding,” he said. He appealed to the queen. “Poopsy, you know I would never even look at another woman besides you.”

  “I….” The queen held a hand to her chest, color splashed across her face, as if she didn’t know what she believed.

  “It’s as clear as day,” Marina overrode whatever she might have said. “We’ve all seen the way the two of you have been flirting since this one arrived at the palace.” She glanced down her nose at Gloria. “Touching and giggling together.”

  “That wasn’t—” Gloria started.

  “Do you deny it?” Marina snapped.

  Gloria’s mouth hung open for a moment before she made an incredulous sound and said, “I admire Dr. Hayes, and I’ve found him to be a charming conversationalist.”

  Marina snorted. “A likely story.”

  Mack had heard enough. He pushed past his mother to stand by Gloria’s side. “Aunt Marina, stop acting like a fool.”

  Marina balked, blinking fast and gaping at him. “Me, a fool? You’re the one who’s being cuckolded by this dusky British floosy.”

  Mack saw red. He clenched his jaw so hard he thought he might crush his teeth and grabbed Gloria’s hand. “How dare you stand there making insulting accusations with no proof? I thought you were better than that.”

  “No proof?” Marina sniffed. “Just look at the two of them. Look at the state they’re in.”

  “I was just running back after the call I got about the gift I got you being delivered,” William said to the queen. “Only nothing was there. It was a false alarm.”

  Mack narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

  “My assistant saw the two of you in the window from the other wing,” Marina went on with a damning finality in her voice.

  A twist of embarrassment tightened Mack’s stomach. He should have realized that anyone looking out a window in the palace wing across the courtyard would have had a front-row seat to anything he and Gloria did in the window.

  “It was me,” he said. His own embarrassment was unimportant if it would set Marina straight. “Gloria was with me in there. Obviously.” He fixed Marina with a hard stare.

  Gloria sent him a wary but thankful smile. She had the distinct look of someone who had no idea what she should say or do.

  Again, Marina snorted. “You’re only saying that out of a sense of misplaced loyalty. Or because you don’t want to believe your girlfriend would be false.”

  “And why are you so certain that she would be?” Mack challenged her. “Why are you so certain William would cheat on Mother?”

  “I would never!” William said, as though just catching up to the full implication of the situation. “Sweetums, you know that.” He scooted closer to Viktoria’s side. But Viktoria backed away, a hollow look in her eyes. “You know that,” William pleaded.

  “Men cheat,” she said, her voice far too distant for Mack’s liking.

  “And I will not let my darling sister be cheated on again,” Marina added.

  The bottom dropped out of Mack’s stomach. Again? That could only mean that, at some point, his father had been unfaithful.

  “It was me, Mother,” he said, wishing he could do something to wipe the stricken look from her face. “I can find a way to prove it to you, but I think you know that the only logical explanation in this situation is that I was the one who was with Gloria.”

  At last, the queen dragged her gaze to meet his. There was something far deeper going on than was originally apparent. She’d never talked about her relationship to his father before. As far as Mack was aware, the two of them had loved each other, even though it was more of a political marriage than a love match. He remembered the two of them from his childhood, and nothing that he could conjure up from his memory from those days gave him any indication that his father had been untrue. But he could see it now in his mother’s eyes. She’d been hurt at some point, and his father was behind it.

  An odd burst of affection for her blossomed in Mack’s chest. Maybe that was the reason she’d fallen so hard for William to begin with. He was the last person in the world who would cheat on her. As undignified as he could be, William was unfailingly loyal. He hadn’t once stopped to consider how deeply she might need something like that.

  “Vickie,” William said in a quiet, steady voice. He reached for her hand, and she let him take it. “I swear, there’s nothing unseemly going on here. I love you, only you, and I don’t
want anyone but you.”

  Viktoria turned slowly toward him. Her eyes softened, but the doubt was still there in the way her face pinched. “I—”

  “Don’t do it, Viktoria,” Marina blurted. “I can’t bear to see you hurt again.”

  Frustration boiled up through Mack’s gut. “She won’t be hurt. This is all a misunderstanding. You need to stop stirring the pot, Aunt Marina.”

  The queen held up her free hand. “It’s all right, Mack. I can handle the situation myself.” She cleared her throat and turned to William. “I believe you, darling. I do. It’s just that….” She turned to Marina.

  Marina straightened her back and tilted her chin up. “I think we should all just take a break. Viktoria, let me help you change out of that dress and into something more comfortable. Anything to get away from these people.” She glared at Gloria as she rested her hand on the small of Viktoria’s back to lead her away.

  “But—” William started, taking a step after them.

  Mack grabbed his arm to hold him back. He noticed the cluster of his brothers and William’s sons gathered around the doorway to the throne room, watching. “William, why don’t you spend a little time with your sons this afternoon. You haven’t seen them in ages. And if I know my mother, she probably just needs a little time to sort things out in her head. She’s not stupid enough to fall for this.”

  William rocked back on his heels, letting out an anxious breath. “You’re right. And I know all about her past and your father.” He sent a guilty look Mack’s way. “For the record, it wasn’t that bad, all things considered. It was only once, and—”

  “You really don’t need to tell me,” Mack said, his voice flat. If his mother wanted him to know, she would tell him.

  William nodded and started down the hall toward his sons, tripping over his feet as he did.

  Just like that, the situation was over and everyone who had been watching went their own ways. Mack turned to Gloria, eyebrow arched, letting out a low whistle. She made an ironic sound and rubbed her forehead.