Prince's Babies: A Royal Baby Romance Boxed Set

by Ella Brooke

  He had her undressed before he’d shed so much as his shirt, so she went for the button on his jeans and began unfastening them for him. It was so funny seeing him dressed down. He had bought special clothes just for the workroom, clothes that could get stained with paint and covered in dust. Today, in his plain t-shirt and jeans, he looked as regal as he did in a ten-thousand-dollar suit. Maybe more, as the plainness of his dress highlighted his handsome face, those high cheekbones, artfully swept brows, his firm jawline. When she’d relieved him of his clothes, she sat there for a moment, her fingertips tracing whisper touches over his face as he looked on her curiously.

  “What is it?” he asked. His hand rested on her thigh, and her hand moved down his chest.

  “I just think you’re so beautiful, Mateo. I don’t think you’ve even scratched the surface of what you can be.”

  Mateo kissed her again, this time with a determination that left Hanna almost breathless. Overcome by her sudden need for him, she climbed over his lap, pinning him back against the duvet. He grinned up at her and moved his hands over her sides appreciatively as he took her in. She flushed a little, looking down at her swollen breasts, but he reached up to hold one and she shuddered.

  “Sensitive?” he asked.

  “A little.”

  Emboldened, he reached up and continued massaging with light feather caresses as she reached down to take his already hardening length in hand. A few quick strokes, and he was throbbing and ready for her. She guided him, slowly, inside her, and her wet, waiting lips enveloped him like warm molasses. Hanna moaned, feeling his hardness expanding her softness down there, reaching that spot that had been craving touch almost constantly this week. Along with the hormones surging through her body seemed to have come a constant hunger for Mateo, and finally, she hoped to be sated.

  His hands moved down to her hips to steady her as she began to move, up and down, her hips rocking fluidly, letting his erection hit her most sensitive spots just as she needed them. Below her, Mateo whispered sweet words, encouraging her, praising her body. She felt her lips swelling in response and the warmth between her legs kindled into a fire that threatened to rage.

  She gripped his shoulders as she felt herself beginning to come. Her orgasm rose slowly, so slowly that she thought that it might not crest, but when it did, suddenly, she cried out as it overtook her. She pushed against Mateo’s erection, milking all she could from it, tightening around him and causing him to gasp as well. His hips came up to meet hers, and their noises rose together as though in counterpoint harmony.

  When they were done, she rolled over to lay beside him, and he rested a hand on her belly.

  “You are wonderful,” he whispered.

  Hanna, speechless for a moment, put her hand over his. After a few seconds, though, their eyes started to drift down. They’d remembered of course, that she was pregnant. It had just drifted to the backs of their minds. The baby wasn’t apparent to Mateo yet, but Hanna could feel it. The feeling of fullness below her navel, the swelling of parts of her body. Was he eager for it to show?

  “Enjoy it while it lasts,” she said finally.

  He raised a brow.

  “R.I.P. abs.” Hanna moved his hand lower and pressed his fingers to the firm spot she had noticed herself.

  “It’s very warm,” he said.

  “It should be. It’s the oven cooking.”

  “You’re trying to joke, but it doesn’t make me any less enamored of you.” Mateo kissed her and squeezed her hand. “You’ve given me all of this, and you’re giving me a child, too.”

  “I’m giving you her child,” Hanna muttered.

  “That can’t be helped now.” Mateo rolled onto his side and pulled her against him. “And parentage is such a minor thing. I want you, not her.”

  Hanna wanted to argue, but she also didn’t want to ruin the day they’d had. Mateo was still marrying her. Not Hanna. He would still be going home to raise this baby with her, not Hanna.

  She discarded her worry for now. She could, and would, cry later. For now, she kissed him, twining her legs around his.

  It was very late when they returned to the hostel, but that didn’t mean her friends had gone to bed. When they’d reached the room, it was empty, although Sam and Davide’s bags were resting on the bunk below Maris’s.

  “Where in the world are they?” Mateo said.

  “Probably out by the pool.” Hanna was tired, but it would also be strange for them to disappear for so long without giving some kind of explanation. She couldn’t exactly tell them that they’d gotten a hotel, had sex, gotten room service, and had sex again, and then she’d fallen asleep.

  But it would be more believable now than in the morning that they’d just gone on a ghost tour.

  The others were out on the fenced backyard patio, which was attached to the house with a wooden staircase that circled down to the ground floor. Maris, Sam, and Davide were sitting together, talking with a few strangers, which was not out of place for a hostel visit, but it made Hanna a bit nervous about what they might say about Mateo. To her surprise, Blaine was there. She hadn’t know he was coming.

  “Hey! Kir Royale!” Davide cheered when he spotted them.

  “What?” Hanna pulled up a metal chair.

  “That’s my order. Or it was that night,” Mateo explained to her.

  “What is a Kir Royale?” Maris asked. “Is that some fancy, bougie drink?”

  “Yes,” Davide said. “It is champagne and blackcurrant liquor, and they fuckin’ delicious.”

  “I cannot imagine you drinking such a girlie drink,” Hanna said. “I always thought of you as a whiskey man.”

  “I’m multifaceted,” Mateo informed her.

  “Did I see you guys at Jackson Square today?” Sam asked. He had put out his cigarette as they approached and was digging the butt into the ashtray. “I thought I saw that dress you’re wearing retreating.”

  “Of course, you notice her dress,” Blaine teased.

  “She’s had that dress for years. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to recognize it,” Sam objected.

  “Yes, that was us,” Hanna said. “We headed to Café Du Monde. Then I made Mateo experience one of those haunted tours.”

  “Oooh. I’m sure that didn’t work.” Davide laughed. “He’s too big to be scared, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know if I believe in ghosts. I thought the place we delivered the stoneware to today might be haunted, though. It had that look,” Mateo said.

  “I thought so too!” Maris couldn’t sit still.

  And that was that. Lie accepted. Hanna didn’t feel great about not telling her friends what they’d really been doing, but in many ways, it wasn’t just her secret to tell. There could be no slipping, no scandal. If they came out with their relationship, it had to be deliberate, and planned.

  “What are you doing here?” Hanna asked Blaine.

  “What, the whole group comes out to New Orleans and I’m supposed to just stay home?” Blaine huffed.

  “Davide and I are out here for a gig,” Sam said. “I’m pretty sure it was just a coincidence that they got that order ready in time to meet us down here.”

  “You’re perfectly welcome, Blaine,” Hanna said. “I was just wondering who was watching the shop.”

  “Oh. I got my friend Trey to do it. You know him. Chubby guy. Smiles all the time.”

  Trey had watched the art house once before, so Hanna let it go. She noticed, though, that Sam’s attention had drifted from Blaine’s pout of the day to her and Mateo. Her urge to shift her chair away from Mateo just looked more suspicious. Sam pursed his lips, though, and said nothing. He just furrowed his brow and looked worried. It disheartened her when he stepped away from the group for another cigarette, because she couldn’t follow if he was going to smoke, and he probably knew that would keep her away, meaning he didn’t want to talk about it. Or he didn’t want to hear another lie.

  It was just as well. She didn’t want to t
ell one, so she kept quiet and continued talking with her other friends.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mateo

  As the weeks slid into months, and Mateo spent more and more time with Hanna, two things happened. First, his affection for this woman seemed to grow alongside his child. Her body swelled from his influence, and her cheeks seemed to have a permanent rosy sheen. During these halcyon months, they spent every moment together that they could. From the workroom, to the apartment above the art house, to her apartment, to his, they explored every free, open space in their lives.

  Second and oddly, Ariana seemed more and more pleased. She encouraged their spending time together, even offered things they might do together, promising that she was really a homebody, and liked to spend time on her own. Sometimes she spent time with Hanna’s group of friends, but normally, she would be home alone in their condo. Of course, Mateo knew she wasn’t truly alone. She was probably making long calls with Rico and being as amorous with him as Mateo was with Hanna.

  The deception still stung, but it was difficult to care when he had Hanna. It worked out well with Ariana that he was busy all the time now.

  As he waited for Hanna to finish with a nap upstairs, he’d finished glazing for the day, so he headed out to the front of the shop. It was surprisingly busy. An actual line had formed at the register, and Sam rung up several girls in a row with small purchases of jewelry and individual mugs. Blaine had disappeared from his perch on the couch and there was no one to talk to the other customers or to look around the shop.

  Normally, Mateo knew they let people roam freely unless they had questions, but Mateo came up to a couple who was over by the hanging art. Before he could flash them a smile, he heard the woman saying in a snide tone, “This looks like something Alex’s baby might make playing with the paints.”

  It was one of Blaine’s pieces. Having no appreciation for that level of abstraction himself, Mateo’s smile only grew.

  “Morning,” he said warmly.

  The woman looked a little embarrassed, in that way one did when they had just said something they’d hoped others wouldn’t hear.

  “Can I help you find anything? The artists who work here do a range of things, so we can probably find something to your taste,” he said with a knowing smile.

  “Sarah isn’t much for this kind of painting,” the man said. “Actually, we’re trying to find a gift for a housewarming.”

  “Well, then have you seen the stoneware?” Mateo suggested.

  “Yes,” Sarah said. “I love it, actually. The mug that says ‘rude’ on it is hilarious, and we’ll probably come back for it ourselves sometime, but our friends have already got all those necessary items. We’re trying to find something that would make their space a little homier.”

  Mateo nodded. He glanced back at Sam, who was too busy to even notice him, and guided the couple over to the other side of the gallery.

  “The same artist that did the design on that mug tends to use charcoals,” Mateo explained. “You can see his work over here.”

  Mateo glanced up at the portraits as the couple did. A few of the pieces were based on Hanna and Maris. Mateo was a bit fond of one that was clearly Davide, his smile rendered perfectly. Though his favorite involved Hanna at her potter’s wheel, her hair a mess and the background a faded parchment. The couple, however, seemed drawn to the few pieces that had a bit of color, reds highlighting parts of the figures. They pointed to few different pieces with exploding florals, or figures in embrace, with the backgrounds made from very old books.

  “They’re a bit pricey,” the man said.

  “It’s not that bad,” Sarah said. “Comparable to the paint splatter over there. We can just pick one. You know Maggie loves local art.”

  Sam approached from behind, throwing Mateo a dubious look. “These are on sale, actually. Half price.”

  “Oh, that’s great!” Sarah said.

  “Which one did you want to get?” Sam asked.

  “We’ll take these two, then. The couple here, and the flower.”

  Sam took them over to the register, quickly wrapped up their purchase and had them on their way. After they’d left, he straightened up the register and caught his breath. The rush was over for the moment, it seemed.

  “I guess I owe you a commission,” Sam said.

  “I think the sudden discount had something to do with it as well,” Mateo replied. “I didn’t know we were having a sale.”

  “Artist’s prerogative. I don’t sell enough to be picky.”

  “I think you’re selling yourself short, though. They would’ve paid more.”

  “They also could’ve walked out of here and bought something off Amazon.” Sam shrugged and leaned back against the counter. “Someone else might pay more, but I also might not find someone who wants it at all. There are pieces on that wall that are three or four years old. I make more from portraits.”

  “No accounting for taste,” Mateo said. “I think you’re quite good.”

  Sam laughed and ruffled his hair. “I swear to God, you’re the only straight guy who ever liked me more after figuring out that I’m gay.”

  Mateo spread his hands. “It’s not a big deal in Artigua.”

  “Mm hm.” Sam smiled. “Has nothing to do with the fact that you thought Hanna was living with an older man?”

  “I was right about the basic facts of that.”

  Sam shook his head.

  “Can we talk about why you don’t like me?” Mateo asked.

  “I don’t dislike you. I’m concerned about Hanna. That’s all.” Sam folded his arms. “Where is this going? Where can it go?”

  “I think you should talk to Hanna about that.”

  “No, you should talk to her about that. When Hanna wants my opinion, she’ll ask. And she doesn’t need my approval. She’s an adult. I’m not actually her mother, even if our ridiculous friends keep calling me the ‘mom-friend.’”

  “Why do they do that, if you aren’t the source of approval?”

  “I don’t know. Because they’re all Millennials, and their online, social media lingo doesn’t use the term ‘dad-friend?’ Because I have very basic cooking skills? I don’t entirely understand all their things.” Sam grimaced. “I’m older. Not that much older, but old enough to know better.”

  “You’re only three years older than me.”

  “And you’re old enough to know better, too. So, I’m hoping you don’t shatter her heart into a million pieces.”

  “That isn’t my plan at all.”

  “What’s the plan, then?”

  Mateo’s chest began to tighten. Sam’s expression was mild. He was being very genuine and open, but Mateo didn’t want to think about these things. Obviously, though, if Hanna was open and honest, her best friend would be similar.

  “I don’t know what will happen. All I know is that I’m in love with Hanna,” Mateo admitted.

  Sam’s brows rose, and he opened his mouth, trying to find something to say to that. Finally, he came up with, “Good. That’s good.”

  “Because if this goes badly, we both get our hearts shattered?”

  “Nooo.” Sam pressed his lips together. “Well, maybe. But you’re gonna have to go to Davide if that happens because I’ll have my hands full with Hanna.”

  “Davide likes me better anyway.”

  Sam rubbed his mouth and laughed.

  “I’m gonna go check on her,” Mateo told him.

  “See you later.”

  Hanna was awake already and had changed from the tank top and long skirt she’d being wearing in the workroom that morning into a soft, empire-waisted dress. Mateo walked up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. She giggled. Smoothing his hands over her middle, he felt the gentle swell of the child growing there and a deep contentment settled into his chest. Part of him could not be okay with the situation as it was, but if it were just him, and Hanna, and their child together, he knew he could truly be happy.

  He’d n
ever felt this way. In all his wild exploits, though his quietly restless teenaged years, nothing had ever quite felt as it should. It felt as though he were living someone else’s life. A better version of Prince Mateo, someone who could bring honor to their small kingdom, someone who would have some kind of impact on the world.

  At the art house, the stakes were lower, but felt much more real. He loved her. He really did, and he wanted to spend every moment available to them together.

  “Are you feeling up to going out?” Mateo asked.

  “I am going out.” She cringed. “Ariana wanted to go to lunch.”

  Mateo sucked in his cheeks. “How has she been?”

  “She seems pretty happy.”

  “I bet she is.”

  “You need to talk to her,” said Hanna.

  “You need to talk to Sam. He’s worried about you.”

  “He pretty much told me he’d be worried from start to finish before I even got pregnant.” Hanna shrugged. “But don’t you concern yourself with the two of us. We’ll be fine. I just don’t know what’s going on in Ariana’s head.”

  “Probably a chorus of hallelujahs that she gets to spend so much time talking to her secret fiancé.”

  Hanna swatted his arm. “Come to lunch with us.”

  “Is there a reason you need my company?”

  “I don’t. I just want the two of you getting along so she doesn’t make things weirder for us later on.”

  Mateo looked up at the ceiling. “That’s a good point. And I hate that you made it.”

  When Ariana arrived, she seemed cheerful enough. She’d pinned her hair back and wore a simple, plain skirt. Next to her, Hanna looked like a rosy, ripening peach. Mateo took both of their arms on the way out (causing a raised brow from Sam), and took them both to his car.