I startle and drop my keys, sending them, and the keyring featuring a picture of Tira scraping against the gravel.
That voice.
I’d know that voice anywhere.
I’ve had dreams featuring it so many times over the years. Naughty dreams. Dreams that I hoped would disappear with time, but never have. Slowly I spin around and there he is. Prince Drake Henley. The man I hoped to never come face to face with ever again.
He scoops to pick up my keys but I get there first and thrust them deep in my bag. ‘What are you doing here, Drake?’ I look over his shoulder, expecting to see an entourage of legal eagles and security. But there are none. It looks like it’s just him and me and my galloping heart.
He shrugs and smirks down at me. His gunmetal grey eyes twinkling with his trademark playfulness. ‘I came to join the club and as luck would have it, I spotted you putting a client through her paces. Much like you used to do to me.’
My skin burns. Yes, I did put him through his paces, but the man always gave as good as he got, and worked me just as hard outside the gym as I did him inside.
‘Listen, as much as I’d love to stop and reminisce I’ve got a lot to do. If you want to join the club pop in and see Sally, she’ll do the papers with you.’ I’m calling his bluff. Prince Drake isn’t here to join a public country club. There are pools and gyms and outdoor running tracks at the palace. He’d never sweat in public, not in a million years.
He stalks forward and stops just two inches away from me. I never thought I’d ever be this close to the man again. He still smells the same. So masculine. Wood sage and sea salt. The years melt away, and I fight to overcome the urge to flick out my tongue, just to find out if he still tastes as good as he once did.
‘I don’t want Sally. I want you,’ he purrs and instantaneously my panties dampen.
For fuck’s sake. This is why I left without a word. Our bodies are too in tune with one another even if our maturity levels are poles apart. If he’d come to me that night as I’d asked, instead of sending his twin as a replacement, hoping I was stupid enough not to notice, I would have lost all resolve and fallen into bed with him and never l left. I’ve wondered a billion times how different my life would be now if I had just gone to him that night and told him everything.
He raises his hand and grazes the side of my cheek with his knuckle while tucking some wayward hair behind my ear with his other hand. He gently tugs on my ponytail in the exact same way he used to. The dance hasn’t changed. And unfortunately my body still automatically follows the choreography without thought.
‘Where did you go, Ness?’
A horrid lump grows in my throat. How am I supposed to answer his question and come out of this unexpected encounter unscathed? I open my eyes and stare into his sincere ones. Finding a moment of clarity I break free from his hypnotising touch. Every nerve in my body cries out with despair, but I know that this cannot happen.
‘I’m sorry, Drake. I had to move on. We both did.’ I say as matter-of-factly as possible. But my traitorous voice quivers, giving away my weakness.
He moistens his lips and nods knowingly. But he doesn’t know. He could never have known. He was too wrapped up in himself to know. ‘Well, if you’ve finished with your moving on, I want to take you to dinner. Tonight.’
Panic surges through my veins. Not this. Not again. He can’t just bowl back into my life and sweep me away. ‘I’m sorry Drake but I can’t, not tonight. I’m busy.’
He arches an eyebrow. ‘So, cancel. Whatever it is, can wait.’
My blood boils. He hasn’t changed. Not one bit. Nothing in Drake’s world is more important than Prince Drake fucking Henley. I’m reminded that that is why I walked away. Because despite him being fun company, a prince, and the best shag in the world, he was, and still is by the looks of things, an overgrown child.
‘I can’t just cancel my plans, Drake. Some of us have grown up. Taken responsibility for ourselves...’ I take a sharp intake of breath to stop myself from saying anymore and thrust my arms across my chest to end the subject. ‘Sorry Drake, but the answer’s no.’
His eyes spark even harder than before. ‘God, I love how your cheeks flush when you’re mad.’ He steps backward and holds his hands up in defeat. ‘Fine, if you have plans that you cannot cancel, I’ll come over after. Surely your plans aren’t likely to swallow your entire evening.’ He cocks his head to one side. ‘Unless you’ve somehow found somebody to replace me?’
I’m suddenly aware that I’m grinding my back teeth. I’ve not done that in years. The man has me between a rock and a hard place. If I don’t go to dinner with him, he’ll come to my home. He’s found out where I work so I know he’ll sniff out my address with little effort. Unless he already has. My blood freezes in my veins at the sudden realisation that he may have gone to my house first. No, he can’t have done. He’d have asked awkward questions by now if he had. I make my mind up. If he wants dinner. Then he can have dinner. Maybe I need to spend two hours in his company, just to remind myself how juvenile he is. It might give me the closure I desperately need so that maybe, just maybe, I can finally move on.
‘Fine,’ I spit. ‘I’ll meet you for dinner. But you are not coming to my home.’
He nods approvingly. ‘Good decision, Ness. I’ll meet you at Pisano Ristorante. At our usual table.’ He hooks his fingers around mine. ‘Do you remember it?’
Oh yes, I remember it well. It was where we first escalated our relationship from a professional one to a personal one. There’s no room for sentimentality now though. This is my closure. Not a rekindling of flings gone by. ‘Fine. I’ll see you there at 8.30. Tonight. If you’re even five minutes late though, I leave. Do you understand?’
‘You should know I’d never leave you hanging Ness,’ he winks and that one little facial expression both riles me to the core and turns my nipples to rocks. What the hell am I playing at?
Chapter Three
Drake
A group of teens pass my hiding place outside Pisano Ristorante. They’re whooping and hollering about something or the other and are entirely oblivious to me, but still, I shrink further into the shadows. It’s a beautiful night, the hot summer sun still lingers in the air bursting with beautiful promise, so the last thing I want is to blow my cover.
As a royal I’m not supposed to leave the palace without security, even to frequent the obscure boltholes the family owns which allow us to experience normality from time to time. But I don’t want security breathing down my neck tonight. The only breath I want on my neck tonight is the laboured little pants of Vanessa while we rekindle what once was.
In my defence I had tried to find Felix, to let him know I was sliding out under the cloak of darkness but, as is the norm these days, he was nowhere to be found. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that he was in hiding because the last thing my ego needed was a ribbing from my twin brother about meeting with Vanessa.
Meeting with Vanessa. I slump against the wall and let the thought sink in. I could have done with telling somebody. Just to say the words out loud, to make them real. Pinching myself all afternoon had done nothing to convince my mind that it was happening. That I’m finally meeting up with the one that got away. Felix would have been the perfect confidant, considering he’s the only person in the entire world who saw me shed a tear over her when she left. I didn’t even cry in front of Magnus.
My heart stutters when she approaches. At first, I hear the clip-clop of her heels, then last she emerges from the shadows. She’s dressed up for me. A slinky little black number, sprinkled with a million and one sequins, hugs the contours of her body. Her shoes are red. Hot fucking red. With heels that go on for miles. Ness always preferred to wear sky-high heels. She hated her height. I loved her height. There was something about her build that brought out the caveman in me. Apparently, it still does. All I want to do is bundle her into my car, sequester her in my royal suite, and fuck her hard at least once for every day that she’s been missing
from my life. I’m determined to remind her of the good times we had and make sure she never, ever walks away from me again.
I wait until her hand is on the handle of the restaurant door before approaching her from behind.
‘You look fucking amazing.’ I say, startling her. She gasps and spins to face me with a combination of fear and fight in her eyes. Yep. She’s still a feisty little firecracker.
‘Drake, you idiot.’ She smacks my chest with her clutch bag. ‘You could have been anybody.’
I tease tendrils of her silky hair with my fingers. Letting her know that I haven’t failed to notice that she’s worn it down. She only ever used to wear it down when she had one thing on her mind. Although, she pretty much always had just one thing on her mind. As did I. Which is why we worked so well. ‘Ness, I’ll never be just anybody to you and you know that.’
She chews on her bottom lip and averts her eyes like she’s a naïve little girl who didn’t expect any flirting from me tonight. ‘Come on,’ she says. ‘Let’s grab some food.’
‘I have a better idea.’
She slits her eyes at me suspiciously. Even in skyscraper heels, she’s still at least a good foot shorter than me.
‘I’ve ordered a takeout.’ Well, kinda. I’ve ordered that my team arrange a surprise but it’s not as crass as just a takeout. ‘Let’s go someplace quiet. Someplace away from prying ears.’
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. I swear that when she opens them again they’ve darkened and the distinctive emerald green of her irises have shrunk to nothing but a captivating slither of colour. ‘You mean away from prying eyes.’
‘Aren’t you as perceptive as ever?’ I place my hand on the concave of her lower back and guide her to where I’ve parked across the street. I open the door and step to one side, gesturing for my lady to take a seat.
She hesitates. ‘Drake, do you honestly think this is a good idea?’
‘I think it’s the best decision you will have made in the best part of four years.’
Her eyes search my face. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but I don’t break eye contact with her. Not once. I need for her to know that I’m not kidding. I’m not the boy she walked away from all those years ago. I do not understand what took her from me. But tonight it’s my mission to make sure whatever it was about me that repelled her is no more.
The lines on her face soften. ‘Fine, but for the record Drake. This is one evening and one evening only. After tonight you never, ever bother me again.’
She slides her cute ass in the car and I close the door before bursting into a happy dance. One fucking night! Is she for real? Once she’s had a gentle reminder of what she’s missing, she’s never going back. Nor am I.
Vanessa
I’m not sure why I hesitated before getting into the car because I knew what tonight was about. I knew exactly what I was doing when I arranged for Tira to spend the night at a friends’ house. Arousal buzzed through my entire body while I meticulously groomed and polished my body. I’d not selected the sexiest dress I own without thought. I’d not slipped my pedicured toes into a pair of fuck me shoes in blissful ignorance. As much as I want to deny it, I want Drake Henley. I want closure. We never got to say our goodbyes and tonight is that opportunity. I know I didn’t just agree to dinner. I know that I agreed to meet Drake at Pisano Ristorante to fuck him for just one last time. And the anticipation is driving me insane.
We’re heading out of town in his blacked-out coupe. His driving seems calmer than it once was, so maybe he has matured a little. I steal a glance at him. He’s in complete control of the car. One strong hand is clutching the steering wheel, and the other is draped around the gear stick. The signet ring he’s always worn on his pinkie finger glistens in the darkness, as do his eyes. His cheek dimples where he’s trying to suppress a saucy smile and his muscles flex with every slight movement. He clearly pumped some iron before coming out tonight. Physical evidence that he’s as full of expectation of what tonight will hold as I am.
‘Where are we going?’ I ask, to break the silence more than out of interest.
He slides his eyes across and flashes me a magnificent grin. ‘Does it matter?’
I squish my thighs together. No, it really doesn’t. As long as we’re alone.
We continue to drive into the seclusion of the countryside. He indicates to turn off the main road and my heart gallops when it hits me where we’re going. We came here before. A million times. It kinda became our place. A picnic site with the most magnificent view of the city. I would bring Drake up here for hill sprints, which inevitably became a sprint of a different kind every single time.
‘No way!’ I gasp as he pulls to a stop at the familiar clearing. He’s turned the place into his own private restaurant. There are scatter cushions and candles and lights strung up in the trees. A feast of cheeses and hams and breads is illuminated by a roaring chiminea.
‘It’s beautiful,’ I whisper before twisting in my seat to face him. ‘And there I was thinking you were expecting a quick fumble in the grass.’
He roars with laughter and his entire face glows with glee. ‘Seriously, Ness?’ He shakes his head before dipping his chin and pinning his captivating eyes onto me. ‘Do you have half an idea how long I’ve waited for this opportunity. There’s no way I’m going to make it a half-assed fondle.’
He places his palm on my knee and the sensation of his skin on mine releases any tension in my thighs. They become putty in his hands. My eyes close and I relax into the seat as his hand slides up the hem of my dress and his fingers find my lace panties. A small groan escapes my lips when he applies pressure to my burning sex and circles his thumb around my hypersensitive clit. I’m already so wet for him. I have been all day.
‘Missed this then, huh?’ He leans forward and presses his silky mouth against mine at the same time as he delves his finger inside my underwear to explore my heat. He swallows my groan of satisfaction with a kiss and my hips take on a life of their own. They circle round and round and round. I ride his hand like a wanton hussy. Hungry for an orgasm. Starving for the pleasure that I know Drake is more than capable of giving. My eyes are closed and my mind is fogs with desire.
‘That’s it, baby,’ he coos. ‘You come fast and hard for me, fast and fucking hard.’
His words are like a detonation button to my core and instantly my body jerks out of control. My back arches clear off the seat. His free hand clamps against my thigh, forcing my legs to stay spread wide open while my juices soak the underwear he slipped to one side. My fluids flood the seat beneath me as I howl into the night like a wild beast.
Drake doesn’t remove his hand straightway. Instead, he strokes my soaking wet pussy, back and forth, back and forth. I rock my hips against his palm. Desperately wanting more. He’s opened the floodgates and I’m not yet ready to stem the flow. He plays with me. Sliding his drenched fingers into the crevice of my backside and, knowing where his wandering hands are going, I clamp my teeth down on my lower lip. He teases me. Toying with the tightness before callously moving his fingers away, making me whimper like a spoilt puppy.
‘Oh my God, Ness…’ His face is so close to mine his breath caresses the hair that has tumbled into my face. ‘You haven’t changed at all. You’re still a filthy little minx.’
I open my eyes and they bore into his. I try to talk but my throat is raw from the orgasm that Drake just ripped from my core so I kiss him instead. I let him know that he’s right. That my appetite hasn’t waned in the years we’ve been apart. If anything, I’m more rampant now than I was back then. Four years of celibacy will do that to a girl.
Chapter Four
Drake
I can’t fucking take this anymore. If I’m not balls deep in the sexy little bitch in five seconds flat, I’m gonna explode in my underwear.
I rip my mouth away from hers and she gasps at the sudden distance. ‘Unbuckle your fucking belt,’ I growl then kick my car door open and take p
owerful strides around to her side of the car.
Vanessa has barely removed her safety belt before I tear open her door, grab hold of her arms, and pull her into my chest. Her soft breasts squish into my body as I clamp my mouth back onto hers and guide her to where I’ve laid out our feast.
Judging by the way her fingers frantically work to unbutton my jeans food is not a priority for her though. As soon as she lowers my zipper, she yanks my jeans down my arse along with my underwear and wraps her delicate hand around my burgeoning cock. She’s works it like a fucking charm. She’s moaning and groaning as she expertly slides her hand up and down the length of my shaft.
The girl wants it and she wants it bad.
God, I’ve missed her so fucking much.
My hands don’t know where to start. Every inch of her is delicious and I want to touch every part. I grasp at her voluptuous tits. I squeeze her ass. I run my hands down the length of her spine. I grasp at her hips and pull her close. I don’t have enough fucking hands. They want to be everywhere all at once. To memorise every curve, every nook and cranny. Every pulse point.
When she rips her mouth away from mine, her lips are raw and puffy and I know instantly where I want them to be. I fist her fiery red hair into my hand and tug. Lowering her to her knees. She fires me a wicked grin through her thick lashes before parting her sweet lips and taking my dick into her mouth. I hiss against the urge to fire my load straight away. She senses my difficulties and teases me. Raising her palm, she squeezes my balls softly. The power she holds over me sparks from every one of her pores. Without messing about she opens up her throat and takes my cock all the way into her hot mouth, not once removing her wicked eyes from mine.
If I know my girl, and Vanessa is my girl, I know exactly what she’s gonna do. She’s gonna make me come, and she’s gonna swallow the lot. Just like old times. Her head bobs up and down on my shaft and her hand works in tandem with her mouth to bring me closer and closer to the brink. And when I’m close and pounding her face hard, she moans one last time. The vibrations are enough to push me over the edge. My balls tighten. My toes curl. My chest bursts. And my dick erupts. Vanessa digs her nails into my thighs as she swallows and swallows and swallows. My hungry little sexpot doesn’t spill a drop. When I’m drained dry, she allows my shaft to fall from her mouth and she looks up at me, cum-drunk, with hooded eyes and she smiles.
Infatuated Prince Page 2
