The Royals: Alexander and Clara: Volume One (The Royals Saga)

by Geneva Lee

  “Your flatmate has excellent taste then.” It was clear from his tone that Edward’s interest was piqued.

  “You might know her actually: Annabelle Stuart.”

  If Edward knew about the Stuart family scandal he didn’t let on, he simply shook his head. “I’m sorry to say I don’t, but I would love to. If we make it out of here alive, we should have tea.”

  “I would like that.” Now that I’d made a friend in Alexander’s inner circle, I wasn’t letting go. It was nice to be around a member of the royal bunch who didn’t have his head stuck up his ass, which was something I couldn’t always say for Alexander, and I found Edward’s openness about who he was to be a refreshing change of pace. Edward had as much reason to be coy as Alexander, and yet he’d already opened up to me.

  “Uh-oh. I see those wheels turning,” Edward said, interrupting my thoughts before they spiraled further into despair. “This is all you need to know. You look fantastic. The skirt isn’t too short. We’re likely to be treated to a viewing of Pepper or Sandra’s ass tonight. Believe me, this is nothing in comparison. This is sexy and sophisticated.”

  “Just like Pepper,” I said with a sigh.

  “That girl may look like sex on a stick...”

  I raised my eyebrow at hearing this come out of his mouth.

  “I have eyes, even if I’m not buying,” he said with a shrug. “But no one has ever mistaken her for sophisticated.”

  “I did.” I chewed my lip as I remembered my first impression of the statuesque blonde. If I were being honest, part of me would kill to look like Pepper. The other part of me just wanted to kill her.

  Edward grabbed my hand. “Pepper is intimidating, not sophisticated. The difference between the two is very subtle, but don’t ever forget that. She’s all bark and no bite.”

  “I hope you’re right about that.” I couldn’t help but think that Pepper might be more dangerous than Edward or Alexander believed her to be. There was, after all, a difference between attacking and circling. She hadn’t done more than expose her fangs so far, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t planning a strike.

  “After tonight, she’ll know who she’s up against. You’re a badass, Clara Bishop.”

  “I am, huh?” I laughed at his pep talk. It was sweet of him, but he didn’t really know me. The girl who had to remind herself to eat. The girl who had let her ex push her around. The girl who made excuses for everyone.

  “You have to be. Alexander wouldn’t be interested in you if you weren’t.”

  “I get the impression Alexander is pretty interested in anything with two breasts and air in her lungs.” I’d never spoken this fear out loud to anyone. I’d hinted at it with Alexander, always laughing off the mentions of his playboy ways in the press. The closest we’d come to really discussing his sexual history was when I confronted him about Pepper, but I’d always been as eager as he was to avoid the subject of his many girlfriends and flings.

  “Don’t say that.” Edward shook his head, his eyes sad. He rubbed them with the back of his hand. “I’m not the only one who’s been forced to keep up appearances.”

  “Really?” I tried to sound casual but failed miserably. There was so much I didn’t know about Alexander’s life before me, and I couldn’t quite contain my curiosity. Alexander occupied my thoughts constantly. He’d become a compulsion I couldn’t deny, and yet there was so much I wanted to learn about him.

  “I’m not saying all the stories are fake. But some of them have been embellished,” Edward assured me.

  “And why do you think he’s here with me?” I asked, searching his brother’s dark eyes for any clues that would lead me to the answers I so desperately wanted.

  “Because he likes you,” Edward said quickly. “I heard Pepper tell you Alexander was incapable of love.”

  “Is she right?” I whispered, suddenly afraid.

  “I hope not. I remember a time when my brother played with me as a kid. How he’d come in when I was sick and look in on me. I never knew our mother and our father—well, you know how he is, but Alexander took care of me...” His voice trailed away as though there were more, but he didn’t speak again.

  “But?” I prompted.

  “That was before Sarah died.”

  “So this is who he is,” I said, a note of finality ringing in the words. I’d known that. He’d told me that, but somehow I’d thought things could be different. Didn’t every magazine and self-help book ever written warn that wasn’t possible? And yet, here I was, trying anyway. I waved off the concerned look on Edward’s face. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “You look like I kicked a puppy.” Edward’s hand tangled in his hair. He looked so much like his brother in that moment that my heart jumped. “I shouldn’t say this, because I know better than anyone what it’s like to get your hopes up only to have them come crashing down, but I think Alexander is capable of love. You don’t just lose that ability. Whatever is preventing him from getting close to someone is all due to him not wanting to.”

  It was the last thing I wanted to hear, and I turned away so he couldn’t see the pain on my face. Alexander didn’t want to love. That was the real problem, not that he was incapable of it. How stupid was I to think I could fix him? That if I loved him it would be enough? I choked back a sob and took a shaky breath.

  “Here.” Edward handed me a pair of Yves St. Laurent black pumps. They were at least an inch higher than any I’d worn, even the ones Belle had talked me into for the ball. I wrinkled my nose, unable to hide my obvious distress at adding even more leg to this ensemble. I was beginning to think Edward and Belle were part of a large conspiracy to turn me into a fashionista.

  “Trust me,” he continued. “I saw how you spoke to Pepper. You are one sexy bitch, and it’s time to show those brats what you’re capable of.”

  “And I need five-inch heels to do that?”

  “You need your look to match your attitude.”

  “I have an attitude?” This was a surprise to me. A memory of Daniel screaming that I was spineless flitted through my mind, but I pushed it back into the dark recesses I kept those thoughts imprisoned in.

  “You do. I saw it this afternoon.” Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulder and guided me toward the mirror. “And I hate to say it, but Pepper is right. They haven’t even begun yet—those wankers downstairs or the leeches on the corner. They’re going to come after you, and they’re going to come for blood. You need to show them that you are a woman to be reckoned with, and please start with Pepper Spray.”

  The woman reflected in the mirror wasn’t a sexpot, although she could be. The short hemline, the fuck-me pumps, and the crimson lips definitely pointed to that, but when I looked closer, I saw what Edward was saying. I stood taller not just because of the heels. My shoulders were back, my eyes were fierce.

  “She doesn’t look like someone who should be fucked with,” I said out loud.

  “No, she doesn’t!” Edward let out a whoop. “If you’re going to enter this world, Clara, and let me be clear, I’m not saying you should, because only the truly insane would want to be part of this fucked up family, then you have to start playing the game. Think of it as chess.”

  “Chess with backstabbing and sex,” I said, my mouth twisting into a wry smile. The girl in the mirror did the same and I took a step back. Sarcasm looked different dressed like this. Instead of a simple defense mechanism, it was all condescension and judgment. Suddenly, I understood why Pepper always looked like she’d just walked out of the pages of Vogue. It was all part of her act. It was part of the girl she was pretending to be. Although it was possible that she’d been pretending so long that she had actually become the heartless bitch I knew and loathed.

  “Exactly.” Edward dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Last piece of advice?”

  “Yes.” I took a deep breath and nodded that I was ready for it.

  “When you see them, when you walk by them, when they laugh behind your back—with every step yo
u take, just think murder.”

  My eyes widened with surprise and this time I choked back laughter. “Murder?”

  “Trust me. Just the word—although if you have a particularly active imagination, I suppose you can imagine how you’d do them in,” he added, his mouth curving into a grin.

  I raised my eyebrows devilishly. “It would be very royal of me.”

  Edward’s eyes sparkled, watching me take my first few steps in the sky-high heels. They were a bit shaky, but I soon got my bearing.

  “Do you run?” he asked as we entered the hall.

  “I used to run every day at Oxford, but lately I’ve been getting other exercise,” I answered, blushing. “How did you know?”

  “Believe me, anyone standing behind you can tell. If Pepper acts up, just kick her. I can’t imagine that waif could handle those legs.”

  I blushed at his praise, peeking down to discover he was right. My legs didn’t just look long, they were shapely, and with the addition of my stilettos, I didn’t merely tower, I reigned. “I could kiss you, you know.”

  “That’s likely to be the only action I get this weekend,” Edward said, straightening his jacket as we strolled, arm in arm, toward the formal dining room. I was pretty sure we were late, but at least I would be entering with a prince—and wouldn’t look like I’d just been rollicking in the countryside.

  I hesitated to push for more information. How far could I press Edward before he closed himself off to me? But then I remembered that was how Alexander acted. The fact that Edward had brought it up meant he wanted to talk about it. Had I spent so much time with Alexander that I’d forgotten how normal people acted around each other? What it was like to confide in a friend? If so then I needed a dose of reality, stat. “Where’s David?”

  “He headed home for the weekend. He couldn’t handle anymore after...”

  “I shouldn’t have darted off last night,” I said, realizing it had been me that had sent him running for the hills.

  “No!” Edward stopped me, a pained look flashing across his elegant features. “Believe me, we both knew you wouldn’t say anything. My father is another story. We’ve never come out to him, but he suspects and he managed to make his opinion known several times this weekend.”

  “That’s unfair. Does he think all your male friends are your lovers?” I asked.

  “Doesn’t your father think the same thing?” he asked pointedly.

  “Touché.” I sighed, feeling a twinge of empathy. I knew what it was like to have parents butting into my love life. “It still doesn’t mean he should pry.”

  “Father brought up the Defense of Marriage Act fights going on over in America. Let’s just say he made it clear where he stands on the issue.”

  “That’s terrible.” Without thinking, I linked my hand with his and squeezed.

  “You’re late,” a gruff voice interrupted us.

  “Alexander.” Edward gave me a quick look before dropping my hand. “I was just escorting your lovely girlfriend to dinner.”

  Suddenly, I was thankful the hall was dark, so that they couldn’t see me blush. As much as I’d hoped to hear someone call me that, I wasn’t sure how Alexander would respond to someone casually using the term.

  “I can handle that.” Alexander offered his arm with a questioning tilt of his head, his eyes flickering between me and his brother. I rolled mine in response. The last person he needed to be jealous of was his brother. Edward nodded before continuing into the dining room. But when I took Alexander’s arm, he paused, his gaze raking over me. “In this light, you look naked.”

  Despite the tension that still hung in the air, I giggled. More light wasn’t going to help with that. “We’re late for dinner, X.”

  Alexander opened the door, sending a scrap of light into the hallway, and sucked in a breath when he saw me more clearly.

  “What are you wearing?” he whispered, his voice a seductive mix of fury and lust.

  Something about his reaction emboldened me further. It was what I’d hoped for—to show him that try as he might in the bedroom, he couldn’t tame me in public. I cupped his chin, realizing that in these shoes I could look directly into his face rather than up at him. “I wore something sexy for you.”

  He hesitated as if he were trying to piece together what I was up to. “You always look sexy to me.”

  I liked this newfound confidence, and I felt it slipping away with each questioning comment out of Alexander’s mouth. Before he could speak again, I planted a firm kiss on his lips. His hands on my ass informed me that I’d managed to distract him.

  “Christ, this is short,” Alexander said, sliding under my silky hem to cup my bare cheeks. “Suddenly, I’m not hungry.”

  I took a deep breath, willing myself not to fall under his spell. I wasn’t doing the walk of shame into that dinner, not after my run-in with Pepper this afternoon. “I’m ravenous.”

  I swayed on my heels as I pulled away from him, and Alexander caught me, immediately drawing me back to him. His body pressed against mine, his erection nudging against me through his pants. I was tall enough in these that he could push me against that wall and take me with my feet still on the ground. A dozen exciting new possibilities flashed through my head as heat grew between my legs, but I shook them free, smiling at him in the dark, unsure if he could see. “Oh X, don’t you know that good things come to those who wait?”

  “Screw waiting.” But I’d already wiggled free of his arms when his hands attempted to move under my skirt again.

  “Delayed gratification, X.” I skidded a little as I sauntered back toward the dining room door. We were really late now, but I took my time, swinging my hips with each step. I didn’t let myself stop even when Alexander called out my name. Not when I reached the doors and he told me to wait. Instead I pushed them open and stepped into the light, never letting the smile fade from my lips.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The dining table stretched down the length of the cavernous room. Its occupants, clad in dinner attire, sat at formal place settings. The crystal sparkled, the silver was polished, and all eyes were on me. I stared over their heads, which wasn’t hard considering they were all seated, and made my way to the two seats vacant at the end of the table. Daring to look at the other dinner guests, I found Pepper glaring at me with cold rage frozen on her face, her blue eyes casting icy daggers. I raised one eyebrow at her as I passed.

  Game on, Pepper Spray.

  As I reached my seat, the low murmurings of the dinner party grew to a buzz. I chanced a glance around the entire table this time, unsurprised that a few people turned away from my direct gaze. Everyone except two. Jonathan Thompson’s cocky grin made him look as though he were in on some secret joke. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. And at the head of the table, Albert sat watching my late arrival with practiced stoicism.

  I nodded my head in deference to him, feeling only slightly guilty for being tardy. Mostly because I would have been on time if it weren’t for his two sons. Not that I really had any regrets about how I’d spent my time this afternoon.

  A server stepped forward to pull out my chair when the dining room doors burst open. Alexander strode quickly toward me, throwing a cursory nod toward his father’s place, but his eyes never left mine. I was dimly aware that the server was waiting for me to sit, but I couldn’t move. The whole room had faded except for Alexander. The suppressed fury on his face said it all. I was his, and he was reasserting his claim to me. He didn’t need to speak, I already knew his expectation, so I waited. He reached me, dismissing the server curtly. Taking his place behind the chair, he held it for me. “Clara.”

  My name was sex on his lips, and in it I felt the cocktail of possessiveness and lust and confusion that he felt. I sunk into the chair as I sunk back under his command. Alexander hastily took the chair next to mine, and I reached out under the table to place a tentative hand on his knee, but he knocked it away.

  “Nice of you to join us, Alexander,�
� Albert boomed.

  Alexander’s gaze stayed glued to me as he replied, “I had no idea I was a necessary aspect of your meal. You certainly didn’t need to wait for me. I’m not a fork.”

  I swallowed, realizing that Alexander’s need to exert his masculinity was no longer limited to me. It was as if my little show had augmented his craving for control. He was out to prove he was in command, which meant things might get ugly.

  Albert’s jaw tightened. “If you’re finished with this display of machismo, I’d like to eat dinner.”

  “So would I,” Alexander said, and I heard the words he didn’t say:I have somewhere to be.

  I could see his need to fuck me reflecting in his eyes. But if Edward was right, his brother might need to hear the word no every once in a while. I wasn’t positive that Alexander wanted a real relationship, but he had brought me here. He had claimed me in front of his father and everyone else. That had to mean something. However, I also knew that he didn’t know the first thing about having a relationship. With my limited experience in this area, I was only certain of one thing. I had to prove to Alexander—and everyone else—that I wouldn’t tolerate games.

  Peeling my eyes from Alexander, I turned toward my plate, suddenly grateful that the glass of wine at my place had already been filled. As I reached for it, I met Edward’s amused eyes watching me. I’d been too distracted by Alexander’s dramatic entrance to notice that I’d sat right across from his brother. At least I had an ally close by, especially with Pepper too close for comfort. She stared at Alexander expectantly as if she was trying to cast a spell over him, but his concentration couldn’t be broken.

  “Doesn’t Clara look fabulous, Alexander?” Edward asked, steepling his fingers.

  “She’s a bit overdressed for dinner, don’t you think?” Pepper said, butting in. The rest of the brat pack snickered around her on cue. “Or under-dressed, depending on how you look at it.”