Alexander: Prince (Members From Money Book 14)

by Katie Dowe

  But he was watching her leave, his expression brooding. He had been in meetings most of the day and the anger was burning inside his chest. He had not wanted to face her again because he might just say something he would regret. He unconsciously noticed the sexy walk and the way her hips undulated beneath the dress she was wearing. Damn her, he thought savagely as he felt his skin prickling in awareness. Damn her!

  *****

  Debbie stretched her feet before her in pleasant weariness. It had been an exhausting and exciting day and she had enjoyed every minute of it! She had barely broken for lunch and had enjoyed the delicious clam chowder and roast beef sandwich. She was still full after all that and just needed a glass of wine to soothe her weariness before turning in. She was just about to go to the kitchen when her phone rang. It was Maia.

  “How was it?”

  “Very good. I just got in and, Maia, I never enjoyed a job the way I am enjoying this one.” She poured the wine and took it with her to the bedroom where she started taking off her clothes.

  “And the handsome Prince?”

  “Very moody and taciturn. We did not get off on the right foot, but the mother is very nice for a queen.”

  “I am happy for you. In the meantime, your brother has been coming around saying he wants to be a part of his daughter’s life.”

  “That’s very good as long as he means it,” Debbie said. She had not spoken to her mother since the scene at the restaurant and her brother had avoided her since she refused to give him her money.

  “He is working at a fast food restaurant.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Remember how good he is at frying chicken? He got something at one of Kelsey’s chicken places. You know that woman who became a billionaire with her fried chicken and potato salad and is married to some multibillionaire guy?”

  “How did he manage that?”

  “He told me he made up his mind to turn his life around after you booted him out of your apartment.”

  “Or maybe he is doing it to get into your panties,” Debbie said dryly as she climbed onto the bed and curled her feet beneath her. “Make sure he does not fool you twice.”

  “Not a chance. He tried to kiss me and I pushed him away. He is one sneaky bastard.”

  “In the meantime Mom is not talking to me.” She told her friend of the incident at the restaurant.

  “Ouch!” Maia said with a laugh. “You know how she is when it comes to her Derek.”

  “No wonder he is so screwed up.” Debbie sighed. “How is my niece?”

  “Down for the night after wrestling with me to do homework. How about taking in a movie this weekend?”

  “As long as it is not some chick flick.”

  “Oh please, when have I ever-” She stopped and laughed. “Okay, fine. I will look for something down and dirty and filled with drama.”

  “The grittier the better,” Debbie said with a laugh. “Talk to you later.”

  *****

  Alexander dunked his head beneath the water and held it there for a few minutes before breaking the surface. He had had dinner with his mother and had come up to his suite to try and cool off and get his mind off today and specifically off her but he was not doing a very good job of it. He kept hearing her sultry voice in his head and the sexy way her hips moved beneath her clothes. He sighed and shook the water from his head. It was just his body’s way of telling him that he needed physical contact but after the fiasco with Liana he was not in the mood for another greedy avaricious woman who wanted nothing more than to be a princess. He heaved himself up and sat on the edge of the pool with his feet dangling in the water. He was feeling slightly cold but he did not mind it. With a sudden decision, he swung his feet over and went over to get a towel. He went to the cabinet stocked with liquor and poured himself a glass of Cabernet, swirling the liquid in the glass, his eyes catching the picture of him and his dad standing together in full ceremonial uniform. With a choked sigh, he put the glass to his lips and drank it down with a lack of finesse that would have made his mother shudder!

  Chapter 3

  “I would like you to come with me,” Amelia said suddenly as Debbie finished reeling off the list of things she needed to take care.

  “What?” Debbie looked up at her startled. She had been working there for a month now and had hardly seen Alexander. He had walked out of a meeting they were having with his mother when she told him to grow up and stop behaving as if they were his subjects. She had said it without thinking and had wondered if she would be fired, but Amelia had given her a look of approval and continued.

  “If you do not have anything formal to wear, I would ask Romano’s to send over something in your size.”

  “Romano’s?” Debbie looked at her stupidly. Romano’s was one of the biggest clothing brands in the world.

  “Lorenzo Romano belongs to the club that Alexander is a member of,” she said in amusement.

  “I love their clothes but cannot afford it not even with the very handsome salary you pay me. I was going to lean onto pride and tell you that I want to buy my own clothing but what normal woman turns down designer clothes, especially designs by Romano’s?”

  “I agree with you,” Amelia said with a delighted laugh. “What is your favorite color?”

  “Basic black and then I accessorize.”

  “I will let them send the accessories along with the shoes.”

  “Thank you. What is the function in aid of and how will I get there?”

  “One of our drivers will pick you up. The wives of the members of the club are always doing some charity or the other. This one is in aid of cancer patients.”

  “Good cause,” Debbie said with a nod. “You wrote a check in aid of several other charities. I have advised Linda to make sure accounts are aware of it to file it as a tax write off.”

  “Thanks. Now I need you to take on the household staff as well. I keep forgetting to pay them,” she said with a laugh. “Alexander is no good when it comes to things like these.”

  “I have no problem with the extra work.” She paused and looked up from her iPad. “He seems kind of lost.”

  Amelia looked at her for a moment and then nodded. “His dad means the world to him and when we had to leave without him he did not take it very well.”

  “That’s tough. Our dad left us when we were very small and we have not heard from him since.”

  “I am sorry,” Amelia murmured.

  “Okay, let’s get these appointments filled.”

  *****

  “You allow her to talk to me anyway she wants and it is as if she is suddenly taking over,” Alexander told his mother suddenly.

  “Debbie is the best thing that could ever happen to Costa’s Software and I am not going to fire her to appease your injured feelings. She speaks her mind and I admire her for it.”

  “Thanks for your support, Mother,” he told her bitterly.

  They were having dinner in the large living room that was mostly unused unless they were entertaining. She had insisted on them having dinner together so he had acquiesced.

  “You are most welcome,” she told him sweetly as she stared at him. She missed the happy cheerful boy who had often come to their bedroom and insisted on climbing into their bed at nights because he was afraid of the ‘palace monster.’ He had grown into a sullen young man who complained about everything. “I have invited her to the charity ball next week Saturday.”

  “Of course,” Alexander said sardonically. “I am surprised you have not moved her in here and had her name changed.”

  “Eventually,” she declared, not in the least bit offended. “One step at a time.” She signaled for the waiting maid to come and remove the dishes they were finished with. “Just coffee please.”

  She looked at her son who was still sipping his wine. “Will you be there?”

  “Why not? We will be like one big happy family!”

  *****

  Debbie struck a pose in front of her best fri
end and her sister. “What do you think? Can I pull it off in front of those rich and powerful people?”

  She had gotten the package the very next day and could hardly wait to leave work to tear into it. She had invited them both so she could get their opinion and show off a little at the perks of her job. The dress was light and of a midnight black which looked great against her coffee and cream skin and black hair. It was contoured as if it had been made for her with a deep plunging neckline and fitted bodice. It shimmered down to her ankles and moved sinuously when she did. The shoes had impossibly high heels but she was used to walking in heels like them. The accessories were a hammered gold necklace, earrings, and bracelet and looked great on her!

  “You are going to knock them onto their collective asses,” Deloris breathed as she stared at her beautiful sister. The clothes did not make her, she made the clothes.

  “They are not going to know what hit them,” Maia told her. They had both left their children with Clyde’s sister to come over.

  “Just what I was hoping for.” Debbie stepped out of the shoes and then took off the dress carefully, reaching for a robe to cover the tiny lace scraps that served for underwear. It was Friday night which meant that she was free or maybe not because Amelia had not said anything to her about working for the weekend. She had tons of laundry to do and the apartment needed a much longed for cleaning and she was planning on doing that tomorrow or Sunday.

  “Okay, ladies, I have ordered pizza and I actually have some wine cooling in the fridge and for the lady breastfeeding I have fruit juice.”

  “I have stopped breastfeeding as of last week,” Deloris told her airily as they followed her from the room. “So bring on the booze, honey!”

  *****

  “Of course I don’t mind, Amelia. I will be right over.” Debbie hung up the phone and put away the cleaning supplies she had been using to clean the bathroom. Amelia had told her that she would not be needing her today so she had slept late and gotten up to eat some cereal and then start working. Deloris and Maia had not left the house until almost eleven and she had stayed up after they had left to make some notes on the company’s iPad to prepare her for Monday morning. She looked around the untidy place with a sigh knowing that she probably will not be able to finish it until tomorrow maybe.

  She took a hurried shower and dragged on painted on faded denims and a thin cashmere sweater. She bundled her hair up into a ponytail and grabbing her jacket and pocketbook she left the apartment. It was almost noon already. She punched in the address of the manor where Amelia lived and made her way there. The woman had offered to send a car for her, but she had told her that she would find her way.

  She made the right turn from the highway after traveling a few miles and started to admire the large house she passed, each one looking larger and better than the next. The Costa’s mansion had often been featured in the lifestyle of the powerful and wealthy and she remembered how she had admired the clean lines of the stone hewn building and the immaculate grounds. The gates were swept open as if they were expecting her and she suspected that the members of the household had been apprised of her arrival.

  As soon as she parked in front of the entrance, a man came running out to take the keys from her. “You may go right in, miss,” he said, beaming at her as he went into her car to move it.

  Another man, this one elderly and stately met her at the door with a formal nod. “Miss Amelia said you should go right in.”

  A maid materialized out of nowhere and escorted her into one of the most breathtakingly lovely living room she had ever seen! The color scheme was hard to define, something between tawny rose and champagne. The massive fireplace dominated one corner of the room and glittering chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

  Amelia rose from one of the soft rose color sofas and stretched her hands out to her. “I am so sorry to call you out on such short notice,” she murmured as she clasped the girl’s hands warmly. “A crisis came up and I did not want to wait until Monday.”

  “That’s okay,” Debbie told her.

  “I have ordered lunch to be served the minute you arrive.”

  “Good. I happen to be in need of sustenance.”

  They worked well together and by the time they had finished the delicious meal of thinly crusted cucumber and ham sandwich along with the delicious and savory broth they were well on their way of dealing with the problem.

  Debbie did not mind working on her weekend off and found the time flying as she became absorbed in the job at hand. She had just gotten up to take a breather and go to the bathroom when she bumped into him. His mother had told her that he usually went to the club on Saturdays and she had not seen him since last night.

  “Ms. Williams, are you lost?” His tone was insolent as he stared at her. He was wearing faded jeans and a white t-shirt that defined his chest and made her suddenly uncomfortable.

  “I am not sure in this palace. Can you point me to the nearest bathroom?”

  He stared at her for a moment and wondered what could get under that skin of hers.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Didn’t your mother tell you?” She gave him an arched look. “I am here to relieve your sexual tensions of course. From what I gather you have not been with any of the countless women you are accustomed to being with and I am here to help.”

  The minute the words were out of her mouth she knew she had gone too far! She saw when the veneer of civility slipped from his darkly handsome face to be replaced by something so intense that it frightened her for a moment.

  “Is that so?” he drawled as he advanced closer to her.

  “I am sorry-”

  “So why don’t we get started?” Before she could make her escape, he pulled her into his arms. Debbie tried pushing her away, but he was not having any of it. His head descended and his mouth took hers savagely, forcing his tongue inside her mouth. It had started out as a punishment for him but the minute his tongue touched hers the feelings exploded inside his body with a force that propelled him to push her against the wall and pressed his body against hers. Debbie curled her fingers into the shirt, her body trembling as she returned the kiss. Her brain cried out that she was kissing her boss’ son, but she could not stop even if they paid her to do so! His mouth softened against hers and the kiss deepened. It was the ringing of his phone in his pocket that had him lifting his head to look down at her, his dark eyes hooded and his body shuddering. He moved away abruptly, ignoring his painful erection as he continued to stare at her. Debbie straightened up and lifted her fingers to her lips unconsciously feeling the throbbing. He pointed in the direction of the bathroom and without another word he turned on his heels and left!

  Debbie made her way to the small elegantly decorated half bath and leaned her hands against the cool marble tiles, her breath escaping her lips as she fought to try and control her body’s reaction to the kiss she had just exchanged with him!

  She should not have traded words with him. He had reached his breaking point and had done what any ordinary man would have done! He had lashed out at her in the only way he knew how to! Her fingers touched her swollen lips again and she closed her eyes as she remembered his body against hers. The kiss had set off an explosion inside her that had shocked her to the core! She shook her head and went use the facility refusing to think about it!

  *****

  Alexander stared into his amber drink moodily. He was still feeling her breasts against him and could still taste her lips. What the hell he been thinking of? She was employed to the company he belonged to and she was not his type. He was a prince even though the title was not recognized in this country and as a prince he was supposed to marry royalty one day. He drained the glass and grimaced. He had come for his usual Saturday enjoyment and now she had ruined it! What on earth had she been doing there at his home and on a Saturday?

  He looked up as Marty the bartender came and topped up his glass. “You look like you need it,” the man said with a respec
tful smile.

  “Thanks.” He smiled slightly. “Why is the place so scanty?” he asked, looking around at the empty chairs.

  “Leesa is having a shindig over at her and Brad’s place. You did not get an invitation?”

  “I am sure I did.” He frowned as he tried to remember. “I have a hard time keeping track of these invitations.”

  “Maybe you need a social secretary,” Marty joked.

  “Maybe I do,” he said, his mind turning to Debbie. His mood turned sour again as he thought of her and his body tightened with sudden longing!

  *****

  Debbie lay in the bed and stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom unable to sleep. She had left the Costa’s manor at some minutes to five armed with enough food to feed an army by the chef whom she had spoken to several times as she sorted out the money for food stuff that she had taken over. She had been uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the time and Amelia had asked her if she was okay. No, she had wanted to tell her. Your son kissed me senseless a few minutes ago and now I am unable to function. But instead she had told her that she just wanted to get the stuff done.

  Now alone in her bedroom she could not stop thinking about that kiss that had floored her so much she did not know what to think.

  “Okay, Debbie,” she told herself sternly. “It was just a kiss, not an ordinary one but one that have your insides twisted and your lust level at an incredible rate but maybe that is because of your lack of sexual activity for the past several months!” But with a groan, she knew that was certainly not true!

  *****

  Debbie did her very best to ignore him. She had spent Sunday agonizing over how she was going to face him when she went to the office and had come to terms with it eventually. They were having a meeting in his mother’s office and as far as he was sitting from her she was acutely aware of him. He was wearing a dark blue dress pants and wine red jacket that looked great against his jet black hair and he had kissed her! The thought came unbidden to her mind.

  “If there is nothing else, Amelia?” she asked as she got to her feet.