Billionaire's Princess: A Standalone Novel (A Royal Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (Billionaires Book 2)

by Claire Adams

  “How’s Mike?”

  “Kelly says he needs blood. He’s stopped the bleeding for now, but we need to get him home ASAP.”

  He nodded and glanced over at Emma. “Are we ready to go?”

  I looked at her, too. With a sigh, I said, “Can you get everyone loaded? We’ll be there in just a few.”

  “Sure.” I waited until he was out of earshot before I turned to Emma and said,

  “The plane is ready to go, Emma. We need to get going and get our driver some medical attention for that arm. When we get to the States, I have people waiting for us that can help get you granted amnesty and we can start working on citizenship.”

  Flatly, she said, “You’re not hearing me, Nicholas. I can’t leave.”

  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair that was stuck to my head and sweaty from the black stocking cap I’d been wearing all morning. I honestly wanted to punch or strangle something. What the hell was wrong with her?

  “Why not, Emma?” I growled. “You said you didn’t want to be a princess. You said you didn’t want to be with the monster you’re married to. You asked, I came. My men put their lives on the line for you and now you suddenly say you’re not leaving. Please forgive me when I tell you that I feel like strangling you about now.”

  “I’m sorry I put people at risk,” she said, again flatly.

  I let out a little growl. “You don’t have to be sorry, Emma. What you need to do is get on that plane and let us get the hell out of here so everyone, including you…especially you…is safe!”

  She looked up at me then. “I wish I could go, Nicholas, but I just can’t. Miguel has my son.”

  Jesus, this gets better and better. “Your son?”

  “Yes. Miguel took him a couple of weeks ago and he has him hidden somewhere.”

  “I don’t understand any of this, Emma.” I had so many questions, but I’d originally planned on getting her out of here and to safety first and asking them later. But this question had to be asked.

  “Emma, you’re a part of the royal family, according to what you’ve told me. Why haven’t you gone to your family and asked for help?”

  “You’re right, Nicholas, you don’t understand. You would have to know my family. All that is left of their ‘royal’ status is keeping up appearances. When I ran away, they were faced with social humiliation.

  “Since I’ve been back, they have let Miguel take over ‘controlling’ my behavior, as they see it. I refuse to conform to their idea of what a princess should be. Miguel receives a very hefty allowance for keeping me in check.

  “As far as my son goes…well, they’re not close to him the way you might think grandparents would be. But my father knows where he is and I have to find him, Nicholas. If I leave without him, who knows what Miguel might do to him?”

  “You honestly think that he’d hurt the heir to the throne? His own son no less?”

  “That’s just it – he’s not Miguel’s son.”

  Still confused, I said, “Then why isn’t his father helping you?” She locked eyes with me then and said,

  “He is.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  EMMA

  Three hours after I kind of told Nicholas he was a father, he still hadn’t said a word to me about it. As soon as he snapped out of the silent shock that seized him, he’d simply jumped into action. His colonel was on the phone seconds after Nick spoke to him and the rest of the men were on the plane. The plane took off without us and seconds after, a black car pulled up and Nick said,

  “Let’s go.” I didn’t ask any questions. As long as he wasn’t trying to whisk me away on a plane away from my son, I trusted him. I got into the car with him and now, after over a two hour drive up into the mountains, I was sitting in a cold, practically empty cabin waiting for him to say something.

  The man who brought us here had left once and then came back with groceries and firewood. He and Nicholas talked about “watch” for a bit, with the man telling Nick that he’d be on first watch and his partner second.

  It was easy to tell by the way this man and the men who had been at the villa earlier spoke to Nick that they had a great deal of respect for him. Miguel’s guards, or thugs as I called them, looked at Miguel with fear in their eyes because that was how he kept his staff in line – with threats. It was how he’d kept us all in line I suppose.

  I watched Nicholas from across the room as he was busy starting a fire. I felt like I’d lose my mind if I didn’t do something, or at least get him to talk to me.

  “Are you hungry? Would you like me to fix us something to eat?”

  That was when he snapped. He suddenly turned on me and with a look I’d never seen in his eyes before, he said, “He’s my son? He’s my son and you didn’t tell me and now a maniac has him? What the hell were you thinking, Emma…or should I call you Ariana, or princess? What the fuck was going through your head when you found out you were pregnant and decided to pass him off as Miguel Esparza’s child?”

  His words were full of venom, but I couldn’t blame him. If the shoe were on the other foot, I’d feel the same way. I stood up and walked over toward the window. “Stay away from the window!” he barked.

  I turned back toward him. “I’m sorry, Nicholas. I honestly thought I was doing what was best for us all.”

  He snorted. “Letting my son think his father is a rich thug that simply kills or kidnaps whoever gets in his way and beats his wife was best for him?”

  “I was already his captive when I found out I was pregnant. He told me he would never let me leave with the baby. Gabriel needed me…”

  “That’s his name? Gabriel?” His eyes softened.

  “Yes.” I couldn’t help but smile as I pictured his beautiful face, but the smile was short-lived. Tears filled my eyes as I said, “Everything that I’ve done up to this point was for him. He saved my life, and now I have to save his.”

  “I still don’t understand how you could have not known that had you simply called me two years ago when he was born or when you found out you were pregnant, I would have come then. As it is, I’ve missed out on two years of my son’s life. We have no idea if he’s even still alive.”

  “Don’t say that! Don’t you dare say anything about him not being alive! He’s alive! He has to be…” I was sobbing now.

  “If he wasn’t still breathing, I would know it. I can’t breathe without him, Nicholas!” Just the thought of Gabriel being dead had sent me into a state of panic. I tried to get back over to the trundle bed in the corner, but halfway there I dropped to my knees. I sat there with my feet underneath me and my arms wrapped around myself and cried.

  Nicholas was right; this was all my fault. But we couldn’t go back, and the only thing that would stop me from pushing forward would be if I knew beyond a doubt that I’d never hold my son in my arms again. I dropped down to the rug and curled into a fetal position. Nicholas stood six feet away from me and watched in silent horror as the past two years caught up to me and I had a complete meltdown.

  ********

  I woke up sometime later. I didn’t know how many hours had passed, but it was quite a few. The uncovered windows showed nothing but darkness outside. The only light in the room was the gentle flicker of the fire in the fireplace still burning.

  The strong smell of soup filled my nostrils. It smelled like chicken noodle soup like my nanny used to feed me when I was sick as a girl. I sat up and realized I was tucked into the little bed. I looked around and when I didn’t immediately see Nicholas, panic once again began to seize me.

  Would he leave me here in the middle of nowhere alone? Had I made him that angry? I thought about that…if it were me and I’d been cheated out of two years of my child’s life, there would be no appeasing me. As I had that thought, my eyes landed on a big shadow on the chair by the fire. It turns out he’s a much better person than me. But then again, I already knew that.

  “You’re awake.” His voice sounded thick with exhaustion. It was anot
her thing for me to feel guilty about.

  “Yes. Nicholas, I’m sorry.”

  He pushed up out of the chair and turned to look at me. “You’ve already apologized a dozen times, Emma. Are you hungry?” He acknowledged my apologies but he didn’t say if he accepted them or not. I guess I was being greedy.

  “Yes, I’m actually starving.” I started to pull the covers off and step out of bed.

  “Just stay there, I have it.” I was going to argue with him, but in four large steps, he’d already left the room. He was back a few minutes later with a tray that had a steaming bowl of soup on it. He sat it down in front of me on the bed and I saw he’d also put crackers next to a glass of water and one of milk.

  “Thank you.” He only nodded and went back over and sat down in his chair. He stared into the fire as I drank the water and watched him. I tasted a bite of the soup and I was surprised at how good it was. It tasted homemade. “Did you make the soup from scratch?” He nodded. “It’s really good. I didn’t know you could cook.”

  He looked over at me and said, “I suppose there are a lot of things we didn’t know about each other.”

  I felt my stomach tighten, but I let that go, too. I had to keep reminding myself that everything he was saying was the truth. In reality, all we had was that one night together and he hadn’t even really known who he was with.

  I sipped my soup while he was lost in his thoughts, or ignoring me, I’m not sure which. When I finished, I got up and took my tray into the kitchen. There was a lantern burning and a pan of warm, soapy water in the sink. I washed my dishes and went back into the small living/bedroom. Nicholas looked at me and quietly said,

  “What’s he like?”

  I went over and sat cross-legged in front of the fire. Staring into it, I said, “He’s perfect. He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. He has your blue eyes, and his hair is jet black. He’s got a dimple on one side of his face when he smiles. He smiles a lot. He was born a happy baby. His little laugh is infectious.

  “He’s so smart, too, and strong. He started walking at just over a year and he’s been talking since 18 months. He likes to cuddle and he has this little stuffed rabbit that he takes every….”

  The lump in my throat expanded, and I felt the threat of tears again. I stopped talking so that I could fight them back. “I don’t know if he has it with him or not. I lay awake at night and wonder and worry about it. He can’t sleep without that rabbit. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I think I hear him crying and I dream that I’m trying to get to him, but I can’t. I’m so sorry.”

  I put my head down in my hands. I heard Nicholas move, but didn’t realize he’d slid down in the floor next to me until his big arm was suddenly around me. I let him pull me into his chest and I just lay my head there with my eyes closed as I listened to him breathing and the rhythm of his heart.

  We sat there like that for a long time before I looked up at him. He’s so beautiful, perfect in the light of the fire.

  “I never meant for any of this to happen. I have always been so alone. I just thought depending on myself was best. Unfortunately, I forgot what a sheltered life I’d led and how little I knew about the way the world worked.”

  I could tell something was going on in his head, but I had no idea what it was. Did he hate me? Was he still planning on helping me? We stared at each other for a long time and then suddenly, he dipped his head down and caught my lips up in a kiss. Once again, I was clueless. Was this an inappropriate time? Would this just complicate things further?

  He slipped his warm tongue into my mouth, and for the first time in two years, I was kissed the way a lady wants to be kissed. It was passionate, but at the same time, gentle. He was holding onto me tightly, and I reached up and balled the front of his shirt in my fists as we kissed. We were both breathing hard when he finally pulled back and looked down at my face. As if reading my mind, he said,

  “I don’t know what kind of parent it makes me that I can still get a hard on for you while our son is missing…but God, Emma, I’ve wanted you for so long…”

  “I want you, too. You’re going to be a great parent. We can’t help Gabriel tonight.” Maybe it was me that was the bad parent, but aside from wanting Nicholas so badly, I’d welcome anything that took my mind off the fact that I had no idea where my sweet baby was.

  That was all he needed to hear. He scooped me up like I weighed nothing and carried me over to the bed. I looked up at him and watched as he stripped off his white shirt. He may have had on some kind of vest earlier that made him look so incredibly huge, but he was bigger and his muscles were even more defined than two years ago.

  He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and I gasped when he slid them down along with the shorts he wore underneath. His erection was impressive, but that was no surprise, it had intimidated the hell out of me two years ago.

  What caused me to gasp was the sight of his legs. They were solid muscle from his thigh down to his calves and they looked as hard as steel. Speaking of hard, my eyes were drawn back to that erection and everything in my body liquefied at the thought of being willingly touched by a man again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  NICHOLAS

  I hadn’t planned on seducing her. I hadn’t planned on sleeping with her at all. First, there was Delia. Even though she’d told me that it was over if I got on the plane, I still felt guilty about what I wanted to do with Emma.

  Then there was the fact that I was still so angry with her that I could hardly see straight. How could she keep my child from me? She needed help escaping even back when he was born…why not call me then?

  But despite all of that, I still wanted her. I was still drawn to her and I still felt things when she was close to me that I’ve never felt with another woman…another human being. So just for tonight, I was going to let myself give into it. The consequences would be my own emotions and I was willing to sacrifice those for something I’ve dreamt about for two long years.

  I lowered myself down onto the bed next to her. She turned to face me, and I covered her soft, full lips with mine. I slid my tongue back into her mouth and this time, I took my time tasting her. God, she tasted incredible.

  After I got a temporary fill of her tongue and teeth and lips, I let my lips slide down the side of her face and I attacked her neck. She arched her back and pressed her head into the bed to give me access and she made the same kind of noises that had driven me crazy the first time I was with her. She was still so responsive.

  My fingers went to the buttons of her shirt and while I licked and sucked and nipped at her neck, I slowly opened it, letting my fingers skim the exposed soft skin as I worked my way down.

  When I reached the last button, I pulled it all the way open and then sat up and looked down at her. I wished the light was better. I wanted to really see her. The flickering fire illuminated her beautiful body. She desperately needed to put some weight back on, but even thinner than she should have been, she was gorgeous.

  I slid my hand underneath her back, and she pushed up enough to allow me to reach the clasp of her bra. I unhooked it, and she pushed up on her elbows while I pushed off the shirt and peeled off the bra. I didn’t wait a second before leaning in to taste one of those big, dark nipples. I felt it harden in my mouth and that feeling went straight to my aching cock.

  I sucked as much of her breast into my mouth as I could get and tongued her nipple while I listened to her moan and pant. Then, I moved my mouth over to the other one and reached up and twisted the nipple gently while I devoured that one.

  She was whispering my name and running her hands through my hair. I liked her with an accent; it was incredibly sexy.

  I let the hand that was on her breast slide down across her flat, warm belly, and when I reached the top of her pants, I slid my fingers back and forth across it just enjoying the feel of her and the way she lifted her hips and tried to urge me to touch her more…deeper. I teased her for a while, kissing her stom
ach and licking her belly button before finally unbuttoning and unzipping her pants.

  She lifted her hips like she expected me to slide them down, but I wasn’t ready for that yet. I was still teasing. I wanted to play with her. Who knew when or if I’d be able to have her again?

  I let my fingers travel down into those pants and slip into a pair of silky, already wet panties. Without any trouble, I found her sweet spot. Her clit was swollen and protruding out from between her lips. I pinched it between my fingers and she cried out. I did it again and her fingernails dug into my shoulder. A third time and she was begging me to fuck her.

  I pulled out my hand and stood up off the bed then. Taking the waist of her pants and panties into my hands at the same time, I pulled them down and tossed them aside. I dropped to my knees in the floor next to the bed and pushed her legs open.

  She whimpered as I moved my face up close to her pussy. I let my tongue come out and just touched her clit with the tip of it. She came up off the bed like she’d been shocked. I moved one of my hands around so that I could hold open her lips and then I dove in. I began at the top and licked down across her hard clit until I reached her tight tunnel and I shoved my tongue up inside of her. She tasted so damned good…sweet.

  She clenched her thighs so tightly that they had a vice-like grip on my head. I let her hold me like that while I licked her madly and then found that clit again and sucked it in between my teeth. I bit down on it lightly and she let out a little scream, digging her nails into my hair.

  I could feel her body tensing up even more and I slid my tongue back up inside of her. The velvet walls of her pussy clamped down around it and tried to hold it there as she screamed out with a toe-curling orgasm and her body began to shake and quiver all over. I licked her softly until she came down from her high and then I kissed my way back up to her mouth; like a ravenous animal she licked and sucked at my face, tasting herself there.