Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1)

by Knightly, Marianne

  The press, raucous as always, settled when Tavin entered and began to speak. Rebecca positioned herself behind him.

  Tavin recited a carefully crafted statement, essentially conveying what Catharine had mentioned that morning: that Rebecca had merely tripped and the Prince had caught her. Any assumption that Catharine was upset at Rebecca for being less than able at her job was completely absurd. The statement deftly ignored the rumours of a romance between Alex and Rebecca, though it did clarify that Rebecca was not throwing herself at him.

  “No offense to Miss Campo,” piped up one reporter. “But today she tripped and our future king had to save her. What if she trips all over the queen of England next? Do we really need to wait for an international incident?”

  “As usual, George,” Alex said as he strode into the room, sending the reporters scrambling to stand and bow. “You’re overreacting and embellishing the situation.”

  When Rebecca rose from her own curtsy, she caught Alex’s eye. For some reason, her fear ebbed slightly.

  Alex walked up to podium and motioned for everyone to sit before speaking. “I should hope that our Vallerian press corps has much better things to do than torment a competent young woman caught in an embarrassing moment. To that end, since the press is so handily gathered, I wanted to inform you personally that a Royal Council meeting was held first thing this morning concerning the budget for the remaining fiscal year.”

  Whispers flew through the room and almost every reporter’s hand flew into the air; reporters could only speak when spoken to when addressing the royal family.

  “I’ll give a short statement, then you can follow-up with Tavin for further inquiries. The Royal Council has approved, amongst other things, greater funds for education, our national parks, national security, and we are reinstituting raises for all government employees effective as of the first of the year. The relevant ministers on the Royal Council, as well as relevant agency heads, will each issue their own statement in turn and provide more details as necessary. Thank you. Now, let’s all get back to work.”

  Alex walked over to Rebecca and gestured for her to walk first, a sign of respect that was not lost on the crowd watching them. Rebecca curtsied on weak knees before walking away. Alex followed behind with what seemed like a larger security team.

  Whatever else you could say, that man had a talent for deflecting attention.

  The pair made their way down the hall and towards the royal offices, stopping at Catharine’s first. While Alex went to brief Catharine in her office, Rebecca went into her own office and shut the door behind her.

  She slumped against the door and let out a long sigh of relief as she put a hand to her stomach, which had finally started to relax and uncurl. She wouldn’t lose her job, and wouldn’t disgrace her family or the royal family. She would be okay.

  At least, she thought she would be okay until Alex came striding into her office through the joint doorway and sent her senses reeling. She dropped into a quick curtsy and saw Alex’s eyes flash.

  He slowly walked over to her, where she was still positioned near the door. Her skin felt hotter, and she couldn’t move. Didn’t want to move, if she was being honest with herself.

  “I told you not to be so formal with me,” he whispered as he stood in front of her.

  She gave a surreptitious glance to the doorway; Catharine could come in any second. Rebecca’s heart beat a little faster.

  “There are other people around,” she whispered and gestured to the door. “It would be best if you stepped away from me.”

  “That is something I’m finding very difficult to do.” He stepped closer, and his hand tucked a stray lock behind her ear. “Tell me, Rebecca. Did you dream of me last night, as I did of you?”

  Alex took another step closer. Rebecca took a step back and pressed herself against the door, which gave a small creak. “Careful, darling,” he said with a smile. “You wouldn’t want to give us away just yet, would you?”

  She shook her head, unable to respond. Her eyes glanced at the doorway again.

  “Don’t worry about Cat,” Alex said without looking away from her. “I told her I wanted a few minutes to speak with you and she readily agreed.”

  Rebecca’s eyes widened with the unspoken question. Alex shook his head. “No, I haven’t told her about us and I won’t, not yet.” He paused, taking another moment to caress her face. Rebecca’s eyes fluttered shut, then opened when his thumb caressed her bottom lip.

  “I’m going to be honest with you,” Alex said. “My father knows.”

  Rebecca gasped. “The king knows?” Rebecca tried to move away from Alex, but he placed a hand on either side of her and stepped closer, trapping her against the door, which creaked lightly again. “He probably told you what a terrible idea this is.”

  “On the contrary. He didn’t approve but he didn’t disapprove either. He said we should make sure we know how we feel before moving forward. He wants to give us a chance.”

  Rebecca shook her head. The king hadn’t immediately spoken against her? King Gabriel was a fair man, but it was a shock to learn he may not mind her as a future queen. “I don’t understand.”

  “He thinks we should spend more time together, and I agree.” He pressed a soft kiss to her temple, then cheek. “How about I come over tonight?”

  “Tonight?” she asked as her hands shifted to clutch his jacket. All she could think of were his able lips against her skin, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

  “Yes, I’ll come over to your apartment. We might find more privacy there than we would at the palace in my suite.”

  Rebecca’s head was foggy, as his lips continued their journey over her chin and to her neck. Why wouldn’t he kiss her where she could taste him, too? “You want to come to my place? For dinner?”

  His lips traveled towards her ear. “And also dessert.” He pulled back and Rebecca saw his stormy gaze. Dark eyes were full of passion and his scent was swirling around her, musk and man and high class.

  “Alex,” she started, but he didn’t let her finish. At the sound of his name on her lips, he let out a low growl and pulled her into his arms. She moaned softly as his lips met hers, seeking and taking as he saw fit. The taste of him was addictive; who knew you could become addicted to the taste of a man? She certainly hadn’t in her inexperience.

  They kissed for moments or minutes, she couldn’t tell. Her hands ached to bury themselves in his rich, lush hair, but she held back. When he finally pulled back, they were both gasping.

  “I must see you, Rebecca.”

  “Yes,” she said, knowing she wanted to see him, too, despite her reservations about it all.

  “Tonight. Eight o’clock.”

  Rebecca nodded. They gazed at each other, warm and safe in each other’s arms, until the shrill ring of Rebecca’s phone broke the moment. One moment, she forgot everything and everyone but him, and the next, reality came crushing back.

  She stepped away from him and walked behind her desk to answer. She hoped he didn’t notice the slight trembling in her hands.

  “Your next appointment is here, Miss Campo, and Tavin would like a word with you, as well,” her secretary said.

  “Thank you. I just need another minute to, um, finish something up. I’ll be out momentarily.”

  After she turned off the intercom, she saw Alex had moved closer to the desk, but hadn’t followed her around it. She felt relief; if he took her in his arms again, she knew exactly what would happen.

  “There’s one other thing you should know, Rebecca,” he said, his voice low and serious. Rebecca’s stomach clenched again; she could tell it wasn’t good news.

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re to have additional security from here on out.”

  “What? Won’t that give rise to speculation?”

  Alex shook his head. “All of our chiefs of staff are getting it, not just you.”

  “That was clever,” she said, but saw something else in h
is eyes. “What else is going on, Alex? There’s a reason for it, isn’t there?”

  “Yes. I can’t say anymore here, there isn’t time, but I’ll tell you about it tonight.”

  Rebecca nodded. “All right. Will the security be a problem for, well, for us?”

  Alex smiled. “No, I’ve made sure of that. My most trusted security agents are handling your safety and mine; they’re also discreet and wouldn’t say anything about our time together.”

  “Done this before, have they?” she asked before she realized what a jealous question it was.

  Alex quirked an eyebrow. “As a matter of fact, they haven’t. I’ll see you tonight, Rebecca,” he said as he headed for the doorway to Cat’s office. “You may want to fix your lipstick before you open the door,” he said with a smug smirk.

  “And you may want to remove your lipstick before you see your sister.”

  Alex deftly removed a handkerchief and wiped his lips before disappearing through the doorway. After quickly fixing her own makeup, she took a deep breath and went back to work.

  ***

  Alex was still smiling when he finally made it back to his office a few hours later. Tavin had accompanied him to a few meetings after the press conference and now followed him, updating him on the rest of the day’s schedule and the plans for the week ahead. Alex listened and responded, even while his thoughts were full of Rebecca.

  He’d thought perhaps he’d imagined the heat between them last night. However, once he’d held her in his arms and tasted her again, he knew it hadn’t been a fluke of his overactive imagination. It was simply her.

  “Alex,” a voice said as he entered his office, and he was startled to see Marcello waiting for him. “We need to talk. Now.”

  Tavin, who had followed Alex into his office, excused himself and shut the door behind him.

  “You have news about the threat?” Alex asked as he leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

  “You could say that. We still don’t know who it is, but they’ve escalated.”

  “What?” Alex said as his arms fell to his sides and he stood in one swift motion. “Our sisters? Parents?”

  Marcello shook his head. “Innocent civilians more like. Take a look at this,” he said as he handed over a folder with more photos. Alex gasped as he saw photos of him in Rebecca’s office, just a short time ago. Fortunately, these weren’t the images of the two of them locked in each other’s arms, but would they come later?

  “This was barely three hours ago.”

  “I know.”

  “Have you taken down the camera?”

  “We’re on it now. It’s stationary, which is the only good news, I suppose. It only faced her desk and didn’t pick up sound.”

  Alex let out an internal sigh of relief. So, their intimate embrace was still a secret, but what if Alex had given her one last kiss as he’d wanted to? “Has she received any death threats?” Please, God, say no. “Do we know if any of the other offices have been tapped?”

  “No death threats and we’re sweeping the offices now under the guise of new security protocols. We’re sweeping the royal apartments multiple times a day, too. I’ve had to pull in extra resources for all this.”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Can these resources be trusted?”

  “I wouldn’t have brought them in if they weren’t.”

  Rebecca flashed through his mind. Her shy smile, her full lips, and her bright laugh. “Sweep her house.”

  Marcello gave Alex a shrewd look. “That may be a bit extreme. So far, the perpetrators have stayed within the palace walls.”

  “Do it. Wouldn’t Cat tell you to do it anyway, once she finds out?”

  Marcello sighed, then nodded. “You’re right. I was hoping to find some evidence in the sweep that could give us a more definitive answer, but nothing yet. I’ll have a team sweep her house in a couple hours; I want the palace secure first. Does she know about the extra security?”

  “Yes, we told her this morning.”

  “Good. I let the rest of our unruly siblings know we’ve heightened security but not the details. They’ve been pestering me all day with questions,” Marcello said as he lifted out his phone, which buzzed with another message. “Arianna this time.”

  Alex smiled, despite the seriousness of the conversation. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that none of them are bothering me right now.”

  Marcello scoffed. “Bother the ‘future king’? Please. They’ll pester you in person, like they always do. They know you and father are always too busy to answer their messages anyway, unless it’s work-related.”

  Alex frowned at that. Thinking back, he realized that only Cat and Marcello really contacted him regularly. When had that happened? He wasn’t sure he liked it. “I don’t mind if they ‘bother’ me, Marcello. They’re my family.”

  After a moment, Marcello said, “I’ll let them know. Be careful what you wish for, though. In the meantime, I’ll let you know if the sweeps turn up anything.”

  Alex looked at the black and white photos in front of him, and stared at Rebecca’s figure. The woman he loved may now be caught in the middle of this. His stomach clenched at the thought of her hurt. He wondered if the threats were coming from someone who knew about their relationship though, since it was barely twenty-four hours old, he could not see how that was the case.

  “Do you see something useful?” Marcello asked.

  Should Alex tell Marcello about Rebecca? After barely a moment, he decided against it. He’d find out soon, but not yet. Alex needed more time with her first, and they both needed more time for them to realize what they could be to one another.

  “No,” Alex said finally. “I’m very concerned, though. I don’t want Rebecca or anyone else harmed.”

  “None of us do. We’re working day and night on this.” When his phone buzzed again, he sighed. “Lorenzo this time. I’d better go and see our parents about this latest development.”

  “Come on,” Alex said as he secured the photos in his desk. “We’ll talk to Papa together, then you can follow-up with Mama on your own.”

  “Coward.”

  “Absolutely. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m a grown man still afraid of his mother.”

  “I’ll let the press know.”

  Alex chuckled as he led Marcello to the secret corridor that joined Alex’s office to Gabriel’s. “Go ahead. I don’t think they’d be all that surprised, to be honest.”

  Chapter 8

  Rebecca stirred the soup bubbling on the stove one more time before turning the heat to low. Her face was flushed, her hair a little frizzy from the heat in the kitchen, and she’d given up on wearing her heels hours ago and was currently barefoot.

  The clock had begun creeping faster and faster towards eight, much faster than her movements could compensate for. Though dinner was almost ready - Masillian fare in the form of the traditional two-course Bouillabaisse, she was still nervous.

  Preparations for dinner had taken longer than expected, so she’d had no time to shower and change as she’d hoped to. Instead, she placed a bottle of Sauvignon-Blanc in the fridge to go with the meal and shuffled quickly into her bedroom.

  Her apartment tonight seemed unbearably small. She worried what Alex might think of it, as someone used to the broad spaces of the palace. She worried what he may think of her second-hand furniture, well-worn plates, and mildly peeling paint. She didn’t mind any of it; to her, this apartment was a sense of freedom and independence she never thought she’d have. However, she still worried what a member of the royal family may think of it all.

  She quickly stripped down to her underwear, a simple set of black bra and panties. She wished she had something more alluring, full of sheer lace and ribbons, but she’d never needed it before. She reminded herself that she may not need it tonight, either.

  She used a washcloth to give herself a quick clean in lieu of a shower, and washed her face. She reapplied some basic makeup,
ran a swift brush through her hair, added a spritz of perfume, and then ran into her closet for something to wear.

  A dot of panic crossed her face as she looked at her meager wardrobe. Most of her outfits were made for work, or casual weekends helping her father in the royal gardens. Deciding against putting on her work clothes again, she picked out the one dress she hoped would work. It was a basic knee-length black dress, with thin straps and a flared skirt. She slipped it on and strode back to the kitchen.

  She’d just given the soup another stir when a knock came at the door. She knew it was either the security agent or Alex. After a look through the peephole, she saw Alex and her heart stuttered.