by Leila Haven
She was holding my arms so I couldn’t take my fingers out of her until she released me. Her delicate hands eventually relaxed their grip as she came back from the abyss she had been lost in.
“God, that was good,” she said, laughing.
“I could tell,” I growled back. “You’re a sexy little minx when you come.”
“How about I do something for you now?” With an offer like that, how could I possibly refuse?
“Be my guest, babe.”
Her lips smirked, clear indication of the kinds of wicked deeds running through her mind. If she wanted to get creative, I wasn’t going to stop her. I was very open-minded.
Melody wriggled around, spreading her legs and then delving between them until she grasped my cock. It was rock hard and ready for action. I gasped in a sharp intake of breath when she gave me a small squeeze. It was like pouring gasoline on my fire, making my self-control almost disappear entirely.
I wanted to fuck her so badly. Her hands started running up and down my cock while I fought to stay together. I didn’t want to come in her hands. I wanted to be buried deep inside her when I spilt my juice.
“Melody,” I said warningly. The little minx knew how close I was to coming undone, and she was toying with me. It was all I could do to grip the edge of the bath so I didn’t stop her.
She released her grip and relaxed against me again. “I want you inside me, Rick.”
“Good thing, babe. Because that’s exactly where I want to be.”
I grabbed her hips and positioned her over my cock, entering her. She was wet and tight, the inside of her cunt exactly the same. I eased into her slowly, not wanting to hurt her with my raging erection. She may have been ready for me, but I didn’t want to push her.
My arms closed around her; one moving to her pussy and the other going to her boobs. I loved having access to all her intimate parts, able to fondle and toy with everything I desired so badly.
While her hips stayed in place, my cock pumped in and out of her. I couldn’t go in deep from this position, but she was tight and that made all the difference. The bathwater splashed around us as we writhed together. I didn’t give a damn how much of it ended up on the floor.
I started rubbing on Melody’s nub again, getting her excited for a second time. Her cunt was starting to tighten as her arousal rose again.
My cock was squeezed as I pushed into her and then released as I slid out again. I continued the action over and over again, fucking her and taking ownership of every part of her irresistible body.
“Oh, God, Rick!”
“Come again, babe. I’m not going to last much longer,” I told her, having to grit my teeth to stop the impending explosion.
It was all happening so fast, but it wasn’t quick enough for my urges. I wanted to come; I needed to come—it wasn’t a choice anymore.
Melody cried out as she came again. I could feel her pussy closing around my cock, squeezing it even tighter as she was lost once more. Her body was so sensitive to my touch that it never took much to get her off. I loved that about her. One day, I was going to test how many times she could come in one session. Maybe on our honeymoon.
Her body stilled while I entered her one last time. It was all I needed. Her little moans were tantalizingly sensual, and they were the last thing I needed to tip me over the edge. My cock shot out its juices inside her, twitching and thrashing until I couldn’t do it any longer.
Everything went calm while the pleasure coursed its way around my body. I held Melody’s gloriously naked body against mine, listening to her breathing while the goodness reigned. After the bad day I’d had, she was exactly what I needed.
My body relaxed and sighed against the edges of the tub. I turned into jelly, as fatigue started to creep in around the edges. My problems seemed really far away in the moment. Sex didn’t fix anything, but it made coping with it all so much bearable.
My cock started to eventually soften, and I slipped out of her. The bathwater was starting to go cold, telling me we needed to get out soon. I didn’t want to, but it was inevitable. Melody’s slender fingers were all wrinkled; I couldn’t keep her there forever.
I kissed her cheek. “We should move.”
She nodded. “I know. This was nice.”
“It wasn’t until you showed up. I could fuck you all night.”
“You should.”
I let out a breathy laugh. “Maybe I will, soon. You’re a temptress, you know that?”
“I don’t know about that, but I am all yours. For whatever you need,” she replied. “We can’t let the palace come between us.”
“No, we can’t.”
I gave her a final squeeze before she climbed out of the tub. I followed her out, wrapping her in a white fluffy towel.
“Stay with me tonight,” I said, hoping it sounded like an order instead of a question. I wanted the woman in my bed tonight, regardless of what anybody else thought. She was mine; she belonged by my side. I was a fucking prince. Surely I could sleep with whomever I wanted.
She nodded and dried herself while I did the same. I picked her up and carried her over to the bed, laying her gently on the mattress. She slid under the sheets while I quickly followed her.
I pulled her against my chest, so tempted to take advantage of her naked form again. My cock was going to spring back to life at the drop of a hat. The woman drove me crazy with desire. One little movement and my brain was flushed with indecent thoughts.
Exhaustion took over and swept me away for the night. It wasn’t until well past midnight when there was a soft knock on my door. I looked over, seeing Melody sound asleep beside me. For a moment, I thought I might have dreamed of the knock until it happened again.
Pushing back the sheets, I staggered to the door naked, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around my waist while I moved. One of the housemaids was standing in the corridor. “I’m so sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty. Her Royal Highness has asked me to wake you. She needs you in her chambers as quickly as possible.”
Dread pooled in my stomach and swiftly took over all my thoughts. I thanked the maid and changed my towel for sweatpants and a T-shirt. I hoped Melody would continue to sleep throughout the night. If my worst fears were realized upstairs, I was going to need her.
I’d never rushed through the palace quite as quickly before. All I could think of was getting to my parents and what horrors I would find once I arrived there. My father’s health was poor, to say the least, anything could be happening now.
I didn’t bother with protocol, knocking would have slowed me down. Instead, I hurried into my parents’ chambers and took in the scene that confronted me.
The doctor was there, packing up his bag. My mother was at my father’s side, holding his hand with wet eyes. I feared the absolute worst until I saw the gentle rise and fall of Dad’s chest.
“What happened?” I asked. All eyes turned to me, pain written in each and every one of them.
It was the doctor who replied, seeing it as his duty to be the bearer of the bad news. “His Royal Highness has had a bad turn, a small fit. It has taken a toll on him, he will need to rest if he wants the best chance of recovering.”
I lowered my voice. “Will he recover?”
The sorry look in the doctor’s eyes told me everything I need to know. He gripped my shoulder. “I’m sorry, son. I really am.”
My knees almost buckled underneath me, but I had to stay strong. We were royalty. We had duties. We couldn’t crumble under pressure. That wasn’t how the kingdom succeeded.
I went to my father, his breathing coming in uneven rattles. It was the death rattle, the warning of an impending end.
“Mother, are you okay?” I asked. She looked ten years older already. She had been married to my father since she was nineteen years old. Being without him was going to kill her.
She gave me a brave smile. “I’m not the important one here. While he’s still breathing, I will be okay.”
I sat
with them for the rest of the night. Every breath seemed like it was made on borrowed time. The stark reality was that my father didn’t have much time left.
We had to bring the wedding forward.
I had to inherit the throne.
Chapter 10
Melody
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Anna had fabric swatches splayed over her desk when I joined her in the morning. We were supposed to be finalizing little details, tying up some loose ends so the majority of the wedding was planned.
“There’s been a change,” she said, not even a hint of a greeting in sight. “The wedding is being brought forward. We need to sort out all the details as a matter of urgency.”
“Why are you doing that?” I asked, convinced it was another one of her ploys. I couldn’t see the scheming behind this one, but I was certain it would reveal itself eventually.
“Because the old date clashes with other events. It’s more beneficial for all to bring it forward by a couple of weeks.”
I eyed her suspiciously, wondering if I should press it any further. If I did, she would run to Rick and tell on me like we were children and this was a playground. But I didn’t want to show weakness either; she would latch onto it and do whatever she wanted to again.
When I woke up in Rick’s bed earlier, I was so positive that things were going to change now. I felt secure with my fiancé, I felt loved. But now it seemed like all that confidence was being eaten away quickly.
“We don’t have a choice in this,” Anna stated when I remained silent. “It is an order, so we have to change the plans to make sure it happens. There are no terms we can negotiate; this is final.”
“Does Rick know?” I hadn’t seen him since falling asleep in his arms the previous night. Nobody was at breakfast this morning, not even Anna.
“He’s the one who told me.”
She still could have been lying, but there was no way to tell. She was too good at it to make it obvious. I would have to subtly ask Rick to confirm it later—if I saw him. “Fine. What else do we need to wrap up?”
She held up a photograph of a model on a runway. “I think these dresses will be suitable for your cousins. They come in this color, which agrees to the other bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“You want to put my cousins in different dresses?” Anger was starting to rise again. “Are you serious?”
She sighed. “We don’t have time to order three more dresses in the other style. With the new deadline, we have to be more creative. These dresses are already made and come in different sizes. We can then get a seamstress to alter them to fit.”
“It will look weird.”
“We don’t have much of a choice. If you insist on having them as bridesmaids, concessions must be made. We don’t have time for anything else.”
I wished she wasn’t making so much sense and being so reasonable. She was making me out to be the bad guy by disagreeing. “The color doesn’t match exactly.”
“It’s as close as I can get at such short notice.”
“Fine,” I agreed. But when things didn’t look all matching in the photographs, I was going to point the finger directly at Anna. If she’d listened to me at the beginning about the bridesmaids, we would have had enough dresses now.
We spent most of the day making decisions and signing off on the wedding plans. We were power planning, trying to get as much done as possible. We were running out of time; the change in date was inconvenient to say the least.
I needed to speak with Rick about why it was moved. If he said it was necessary, then I wouldn’t say another thing about it. But I needed to know, even if just to confirm that Anna wasn’t behind it. Being a paranoid bitch wasn’t something I reveled in.
Rick was nowhere to be found in the palace, and he didn’t show up for dinner that night either. I ate with my cousins, trying to pretend everything was still okay. They had been measured for their dresses, so they were buzzing with excitement.
I went to bed alone, hoping the man I loved would join me, but he didn’t. I woke in the morning determined not to worry too much. Rick loved me. The wedding would be fine. Everything would work itself out.
Nobody was at breakfast again. I hadn’t seen any member of the royal family for almost two days, and it was starting to feel like they were avoiding me.
At least my cousins were a welcome distraction. We sat in the morning sunroom that overlooked the entrance to the palace. It was the brightest room in the palace that I knew of and seemed cheerier than all the others.
Cars continually pulled up at the palace gates and spoke to security before being permitted entry. It was a steady stream all morning, as they would drive in and then the passengers would step out before being escorted inside. They all arrived with luggage, meaning they were staying in the palace as guests.
Wedding guests.
It was all happening at lightning speed now. It made me happy thinking we were so close to being married, but it seemed like there was still so much to do beforehand. I hadn’t even seen my dress yet.
One of the women that climbed out of a vehicle was instantly recognizable. It filled me with complete confusion about what she was doing here. I hadn’t spoken with Violet since the wife competition.
I hurried downstairs, ignoring the questions coming from my cousins. I needed to speak with Violet and see what she wanted. The last person I wanted to see days before my wedding was the other woman my fiancé could have chosen.
“Violet, hi,” I said as I reached her, only slightly puffed from the run down all the stairs. “I didn’t expect to see you back at the palace so soon.”
We exchanged a brief hug before she continued. “I know! I was surprised to receive the invitation. I didn’t think you or Richard would want me at your wedding.”
She was there for the wedding?
It had to be Anna’s work. There was no way Rick would have added her to the guest list. Surely. Maybe. Perhaps. I was starting to doubt every one of my thoughts now.
“I wasn’t going to accept,” Violet continued. “I thought it might be weird for all of us. But when Anna called and insisted I attend, I couldn’t really say no.”
I plastered on a fake smile. “She’s not really the kind of woman you can say no to, is she?”
“Not at all. Good luck with her; that’s all I can say.” Violet leaned in close, sharing a secret with me. “I’m glad I dodged that particular bullet. Her and Rick seem to be a package deal.”
“Yeah, it seems that way.” I couldn’t stand there any longer. “I’ll catch up with you later, I’m sure. Enjoy your stay.”
We had another polite hug before going in different directions. I stopped on the stairs, my hand on the bannister, unsure what I should do next. Running to Anna and giving her a piece of my mind was the first thing to spring forward, but what would it achieve? We couldn’t kick Violet out and un-invite her.
The best thing I could do was rise above it and pretend it didn’t worry me. That would probably drive Anna madder than yelling at her. She also couldn’t use the outburst against me.
I went back to my cousins, and we spent the rest of the day helping around the palace. There was plenty that needed to be done and keeping busy was the best way to keep the nerves at bay.
Rick wasn’t at dinner again that night. His absence was starting to really play on my mind. I needed to see him; I missed him. The palace was too easy to get lost in. I needed his arms around me so I knew he was real.
He wasn’t in his private quarters, but he had to return there eventually. I curled up in his bed, breathing in the scent of him that lingered on the sheets. Everything in the room was all Rick. The furniture reminded me of the man I was marrying—powerful, solid, beautiful.
The hours passed and I dozed, every time I jolted awake I was still alone. It wasn’t until after two a.m. that the door opened and my fiancé stood there. He stopped, surprised to find me there.
“I’ve been waiting for you. I miss you,” I
said, sitting up and resting against his pillows.
He leaned over and planted a kiss on my forehead. “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”
“With guests?” I went fishing for information; if he thought I was nosy, then so be it. Sometimes it was warranted, and it felt like I was entitled to know what my fiancé was doing one week out from our wedding.
“No, not with guests.” He sat on the edge of the bed and started taking off his shoes and socks. I wanted to go to him, massage his shoulders or do something, but it felt like there was distance between us.
