The Sinful King: By New York Times Bestselling Author

by Contreras, Claire

  I nodded, swallowing back tears, not really able to speak. When she walked away, it was just Elias and me left in the room and still, I couldn’t bear to look at him.

  “You agreed to plan my wedding?” he asked. His tone was clipped. I didn’t have to face him to know he was upset.

  “What was I supposed to say? No?” I wiped my face, grateful we weren’t facing each other, though he must know I was crying, and I hated that.

  “You could have made up an excuse. Said you had another event that day.”

  “She didn’t even tell me the date.” I wiped my face again, took a breath, and dared to face him. “Do you have a date?”

  “It’ll be in two weeks.”

  A laugh escaped me. “Two weeks. Of course.”

  “Please don’t do this. Don’t plan this, don’t go.”

  “Why shouldn’t I? To save myself the heartache? It’s a little too late for that.”

  “I can’t go through with it if you’re there.”

  “You just went through an engagement just fine. You agreed to it around the time that we slept together. I’d say you’ll be just fine. Anything for the Crown, right?” I turned around and pulled the door open to the room leaving him behind. I walked right up to Thomas and told him I was leaving. He shot me a confused but understanding look.

  “I’ll walk you out. I should probably leave too. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”

  “So do I.”

  I’d have to call my mother and Joss and let them know we were now planning the prince’s wedding.

  Chapter 21

  “Well, I can’t say this isn’t a surprise,” Tio Antonio said. “I’m just not sure if it’s a good one or a bad one yet.”

  He’d finally gotten back from his trip and was standing in front of the bookstore. I’d been wringing my hands together the entire ride over here and now I felt like I was going to be sick. It was fine because worse case I’d blame my mother. It wasn’t like she was here to argue with him about it. I bit my lip as he looked at the structure that looked completely unrecognizable to how he’d left it.

  “Do you like it?”

  “I . . . I think it’s growing on me.” He glanced at me. “Can we go inside?”

  “It’s your bookstore.” I laughed.

  I linked my arm in his and started walking so he had no choice but to step forward. I let go of him and unlocked the door, waiting for him to walk in before me.

  “Addie!” He gasped and turned to look at me. “How much did this cost you?”

  “Don’t worry about that. Do you like it or not?”

  “You even cleared that out.” He laughed and looked up at the small area on the second floor.

  “I think you could put a tiny café up there. Or at least offer tea and coffee.” I shrugged. “You’d have to hire someone, but there are a lot of people in this town I can think of who would totally do it.”

  “I need people to come in here first.”

  “You’ll have people in here. You just have to be better about advertising the place.” I walked over to the window, where I’d set up a few displays that included a mix of self-help, travel, romance, biographies, and literary fiction books. I picked up the first one. “And keep swapping these out every few weeks. We’ve already sold a ton of these to tourists looking for beach reads.”

  “Beach reads,” Tio Antonio repeated. “What do people consider beach reads? Light books?”

  “Not necessarily. Something they can read on the beach is a beach read. It can be anything, which is why you can’t only have travel books up here. A lot of people are on vacation already and not everyone is like you, looking for their next vacation while they’re on their current one.”

  “I hadn’t taken a vacation in years.” He shot me a look.

  “And now you want to take one hundred.”

  “True.” He chuckled. “I got bit by the travel bug.”

  “Good. Now you need to hire someone to do this job so you can go enjoy yourself.”

  “I think I will.” He nodded, looking around. “I may just stay here all day though. It really does look great.” He looked over at me with a smile. “Thank you, Addie.”

  “Any time.” I smiled.

  He shook his head, still smiling. “So, you’re still delivering a basket today, right?”

  “I’ll deliver as many baskets as you want, but remember I’m leaving soon. I have to get back to reality.”

  “You sure it’s safe for you to come out of hiding?”

  “It’ll have to be.”

  “Have you spoken to your father?”

  “Nope.” I bit my lip and looked away. Even though I’d never been close to my father, the fact that he hadn’t even responded to my texts after our fallout hurt.

  “He’ll come around. We all make mistakes.”

  “Some more public than others.”

  “Well, yes.” His lips pressed together. “But you’ve been hiding out long enough. He can’t expect you to stay away, especially not with as well as your company is doing. Your mother told me you planned the Versailles ball for the prince.”

  “I did.”

  “That’s massive.”

  “It was. It is.”

  He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s . . . ” I shook my head. “I have a lot on my mind.”

  “Well, know that I’m proud of you. Your father is too, even though he won’t say it.” Tio Antonio set a hand on my shoulder. “Sometimes parents don’t want to celebrate their children’s successes because they think somehow it’ll help them work harder. My father told me that when he was on his deathbed and it always stuck with me. He regretted it.” He shrugged. “Too late, obviously. By then your father and I were shaped. He’s a lot like him. It’s not a bad thing, but I can see how he’d make the same mistakes with you. He’ll come around.”

  “Yeah, probably when he’s on his own deathbed.” I wiped a tear from my face. My father would never admit he was wrong. “It’s fine. I don’t need my father’s approval.”

  “That’s the biggest lie we tell ourselves.” Uncle Antonio laughed. “And then we all end up in therapy.”

  “You’re hilarious.” I stuck my tongue out, even though I knew he wasn’t kidding about therapy or anything he’d said. “Anyway, I’m glad you like the store. I was a little worried out there. I didn’t make plans to open it back up because I figured you should probably take over from here on out.”

  “Since you’re leaving.”

  “Re-entering society, remember?” I smiled.

  “Maybe you can come back for the grand opening.”

  “Maybe.” I started walking toward the door. “I’m going to set up that basket. Let me know if you have any questions about anything.”

  * * *

  The front door to his villa opened even before I reached it. I paused, my heart dropping as I looked at him. I’d arrived earlier than usual because after yesterday’s engagement announcement I’d hoped I could avoid seeing him. Maybe it was dumb because like Joss had pointed out, even when we were both far from this quaint little beach town, I’d see him everywhere—on the news, in the papers. His Crown might not extend all the way to London, but the gossip would. Even without news trailing behind me, he’d be inescapable no matter where I went because the time I spent with him would remain a part of me.

  “Hey,” he said, brushing a hand through his hair.

  “Hey.” I lifted the basket, hoping it would help calm my nerves, but my shaky hands gave them away nonetheless.

  Elias must have noticed, but didn’t comment. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he stepped away from the door and onto the porch, closing the distance between us. He put his hands just beside mine on the handle of the basket, his fingers brushing against mine as he did. My pulse leaped. I let go of the basket as if my hands caught fire and turned away from him, not giving in to the urge to run, but not wanting to stay another second in his presence.

  “Add
ie, wait.”

  My feet froze. I shut my eyes and breathed out, swallowing as I opened my eyes again, but kept my back to him because I needed another second to regroup.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You know what I think?” I turned around and faced him. He held the basket to his chest and waited for me to speak. “From here on out, we should keep our conversations at a minimum.”

  “What? Why?”

  “You know why.” I shot him a look.

  “So what do you want me to do? Stay inside?”

  “It’s not like you’re ever outside any other time, but it doesn’t matter. I won’t be back tomorrow.”

  “What? Why not?” He stepped forward, the basket still between us. “Are you leaving?”

  “Not yet, but my uncle is back. I’m sure he can handle this better than I can.”

  “You can’t just . . . I’ll only accept the basket from you.”

  I blinked. “You sound like a child.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t care.”

  “Sometimes I forget how spoiled you are.” I rolled my eyes. “Either way, it’s done. I can’t keep doing this.”

  “Please, Adeline.” His voice was low, his eyes searching mine as if begging. “Please. It’s the one thing I look forward to every day.”

  “Can’t you see how much this is hurting me?” I whispered. “As it is, I have to plan your wedding to someone else. This is all too much.”

  “So don’t. I already told you. Don’t plan the wedding. Let someone else do it.”

  “And miss out on the opportunity? It’s not only me, it’s my company, it’s my dream event.” My voice rose as I spoke. I quieted. “Besides, my mother would kill me.”

  “Your mother. You’re going to plan my wedding and ignore everything we had because of your mother.”

  “Yes. I’ve already hurt my parents enough this past year. I won’t let another man dictate the way I live my life.”

  “I’m not . . . ” He took a deep breath, his grip tightening on the basket. “I’m not trying to dictate your life. I’m trying to save you some heartache.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s a little too late for that, Elias.” I swallowed back my emotion and turned around, unable to look him in the eye any longer. “Please don’t follow me.”

  Chapter 22

  A noise woke me from my sleep. I opened my eyes slowly, looking around the dark room. My eyes landed on the clock on my nightstand that read two thirty-three. I rubbed my eyes upon hearing the noise again. It was the front door. My heart leaped into my throat. It could be my uncle, as he was back but, he wouldn’t just come in here at this time. I stumbled over the sheet on my way out of bed and grabbed the stick beside the bedroom door. I didn’t know what the stick was even for. Decoration maybe. Either way, it would have to do. I switched the living room lights on and the intruder brought his arm up to shield his face from the light.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I needed to see you.”

  “How’d you get in?”

  “Key.” He wiggled the key in his hand. I frowned, but then remembered he had never given back the key after the party.

  “Are you drunk?” I blinked. I’d never seen Elias drunk.

  “A little. Maybe. I don’t know.” He tossed the key onto the table beside him. It fell to the floor.

  “You’re obviously drunk.”

  “Maybe.” He exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. When it dropped at his side, he looked at me, eyes hazy and red. “My mother just called. I was . . . I was just with him, and he just . . . my father died.”

  “What?” I held my breath, my brain filing through all of the appropriate things to do in a moment like this, and the one thing that came to mind was that he was no longer Prince Elias, sought-after bachelor. He was now King Elias, if he kept that name. Nevertheless, I curtsied.

  “Don’t.” His voice sounded shredded, as if he was trying hard to hold in tears. I looked up at him. “Please don’t. Not you.”

  I felt my heart rip at the sight of him. Disheveled and sad. He looked like a lonely boy left to fend for himself, and in a sense he was. I pushed aside his title and walked forward, around the couch between us, my heart dropping with each step. When I reached him, I paused just in front of him. Close enough to touch, smart enough not to.

  “I’m so terribly sorry, Eli,” I whispered.

  He nodded a few times, his head bobbing along with his Adam’s apple. He licked his lips, in lieu of words, and continued to nod. He looked utterly broken and I hated seeing him like that. I felt my own sadness creep through and turn to tears, not for me, but for him, for his mother, for his siblings, for the country. He took a deep breath and let it out, bringing a hand to my face. I nearly jumped at the contact, but was left confused when I felt him wipe a tear.

  “You feel so much, Addie. Too much. Even for men you detest,” he whispered.

  “I don’t detest him. I didn’t even know him.” I swallowed. “I know you. I feel for you.”

  “God.” He breathed out, stepping forward and crashing my head onto his chest. “You’re too good to be true. Too good for anyone, definitely too good for me.”

  I let him hold me in his arms, breathing him in as he spoke those words about me. I wasn’t too good to be true. I was just a girl trying to find my place in life. I thought I’d find happiness when I kicked off my company, or when I found a man who made me feel good, or when I finally started getting hired to do the big events I’d dreamed of. All of those things had made me happy for a while. As it turns out, finding happiness is an uphill battle. Being good only accounted for so much. Being good would get me nowhere with Elias. I’d have to settle for bits and pieces of moments like these. After what felt like an eternity, I pulled away, but kept my hands on his arms.

  “Have you gone to the palace? To pay your respects?”

  “I came here.” He blinked, shaking his head. “It was the only place I could think of to go.”

  “God, Elias. You say things like that—”

  “It’s the truth. I’m speaking the truth. After I spoke to my mother, my brother, my sister, you were the first person I wanted to see. The only person I wanted to see.”

  “When do you have to leave?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “Come. Get some rest.” I pulled him by the hand and led him to my bedroom, turning the lights off as we went.

  I wasn’t sure why he’d come or why I’d been the first person he thought of. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to sleep with me or just lay beside me. The only thing I knew for sure was that after today, his life would change drastically and the chances of us ever seeing each other again were slim. So slim that the mere thought of it made my heart ache more. As I closed the door behind us and led him to my bed, I tried not to think about it. He took his shoes off with ease and pulled the light sweatshirt he was wearing over his head, tossing it aside. I walked to my side of the bed and watched him walk to the other. I was wearing tiny pink silk shorts and a silk tank top to match. He left off, wearing gray cotton joggers and a black T-shirt that clung to his muscled torso. He got in bed dressed. I met him halfway and put my arm around him as he put his around me.

  “Everything is going to be okay,” I whispered as he brought his face to the crook of my neck.

  “How do you know?” His breath tickled and I pulled away to look him in the eyes, even though it was too dark to see much.

  “I don’t, but I have the utmost trust in you.”

  “How could you? After everything.”

  “After what?” I brought a hand up and brushed his hair away from his forehead. “I knew what I was getting myself into. I chose you anyway.”

  “Adeline.” He shut his eyes with a sigh. “What I would give for things to be different. To be a normal citizen and be able to have you.”

  “You have me now.”

  “I want you always.” He opened his eyes again. “That’s the problem. And I don’t want to b
e a bastard and suggest something that others have done before me and I always promised I wouldn’t do when I got married, but now I understand them. I understand their need to have a mistress. The one they loved, while married to the one they were obligated to.”

  I felt my heart stop. I’d heard the rumors about his father and all the kings before him. I’d heard rumors about so many of them, but had never heard the word love, and it was the thing I fixated on.

  “King George IV got married in secret,” he said, pushing his leg between mine so there wasn’t a part of us not touching.

  “And then he married another publicly. I know the story. It ended poorly for everyone involved.”

  “It’s said he was buried with a locket that held a photo of her.”

  “Right. After a long life without her.” I searched his eyes. He couldn’t seriously be asking me to be his mistress.

  “I need you, Addie.”

  “I couldn’t do that, Eli,” I whispered, blinking as fresh tears brewed. “I couldn’t be your mistress, standing aside to watch you father children with another woman. Children I would want to share with you.”

  “Fuck.” He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. It smelled of whiskey when he exhaled. When he looked at me again, he looked terribly sad, and I wished I could agree to whatever he asked, but I knew deep down that I couldn’t. “I’m sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing.”

  “I only feel free when I’m with you.” He inched closer, his mouth merely inches from mine. “I only feel anything when I’m with you. I don’t want to give this up. Je ne veux jamais que cela s’arrête.”

  My heart broke with his admission. I never wanted it to end either. I didn’t respond. Not with words. I wouldn’t cave to his demands just because I felt sorry for him in the moment or because his words made me feel things I couldn’t control. I’d been there and done that in the past and it left me running for the hills. Instead of saying anything, I leaned in and kissed him. It was a soft and tentative kiss that he matched. His hands moved underneath the tank top I wore and explored me as the kiss deepened. The gentleness of his touch would be my undoing. Without words, I showed him that I too only felt anything when I was with him, that everything inside of me matched everything inside of him. That knowing he had to marry another woman was killing me slowly. As we undressed and kissed and touched and explored each other’s bodies slowly, I started to cry because I knew it would be the last time. This was the end for us and we both knew it. Elias took his time even in rolling on the condom. His eyes never left mine, his hands roamed over every inch of me, and when he finally positioned himself between my legs and started to fuck me, he was so gentle it left me breathless. Each thrust slower than the last. Each groan deeper. Each tug of my hair stronger. Each scratch deeper, matching the pain. I loved him. I had no doubt of that. And because I loved him, I had to let him go.