A Prince's Ransom: Kidnapped by the Billionaire (20 page)

Eric’s hands ran over the tops of her thighs through her jeans, stopping at her knees, and then reached to pull up her pant leg enough to find the zipper of each of her boots. She swallowed hard, watching as he pulled those off and tossed them aside, quickly joined by her socks. His blue eyes never left hers as he moved nearer, his hands on either side of her as he crawled across her, driving her further and further back until she was laying across the side of the bed. Then he tugged her shirt out from beneath her, up over her arms and her head and casting it aside. With obvious relish, he bent over her torso, brushing kisses across her breasts.

“I must say, Kat, you may find your small size problematic, but I rather like how tiny you are,” he mused against her skin, even as her breath picked up more and more the longer he touched her. “It just makes every inch of you more precious… and so much lovelier.” She laughed as a blush flared to her features, and he chuckled against her. For the moment, Eric didn’t try to take off her black bra, instead pressing kisses into her cleavage and over the smooth skin of her stomach until he was at the top of her pants. Immediately, his hands moved to tug at the button and the zipper, and he pushed them over her hips and down her thighs. They slid off the rest of the way, landing on the floor.

With her still in her bra and panties, his arm wrapped beneath her waist and he lifted her, turning her just enough to place her instead against the pillows at the head of the bed. When he started to pull away again, she laced her fingers into his black hair and pulled him back, kissing him intensely. He pressed closer to her, greedy as he returned the kiss, until his tongue surged forward and found the seam of her lips, demanding entrance. She gave it to him, moaning into his mouth as she tasted him—a distinct taste of the wine he’d had with their meal on the train, and something more richly masculine. It might not have been a taste that was even real, but Katherine reveled in it, shutting her eyes tightly.

“Slowly , ma chérie,” he whispered when he pulled back at last. “Slow… believe me, there will be more than enough time for such pleasures. I have others in mind.” Eric shifted, draping himself across her lap so that his lips could find her stomach. She leaned back into the pillows, watching him breathlessly, then letting her head tip back. His hands were on her hips, thumbs rubbing at their tender hollows. An involuntary bubble of laughter erupted from her lips when his tongue dipped into her bellybutton.

“H-hey, watch it,” she complained with a more genuine laugh. “I’m ticklish.”

He looked up at her knowingly over the curve of her breasts. “Oh really? I’ll have to remember that for the future.”

She scowled at him playfully, then yelped again when he teased her bellybutton once more, before moving lower. His lips were just above the edge of her panties’ hem, and his hands moved onto the tops of her thighs, brushing across her skin. She didn’t have to watch to know what came next—his teeth latching onto the hem and tugging it from her hips and the curve of her rear. There was wetness spattering the pink folds of her womanhood, but she pressed her thighs together as he pulled the garment free and discarded it over the side of the bed too.

His blue eyes flashed up at her, mischievously. “I am going to find out what you look like as a brunette one day, by the way.”

Katherine snorted and shook her head. “Not if I have anything to say about it, Mr. Prince.” Eric laughed—and then, without any sort of ceremony, plunged his lips between her thighs. She cried out, startled, before gasping sharply and spreading her legs wide. He took the invitation immediately, nibbling on the insides of her thighs and delving further inward to her warm, wet core, which was only growing warmer and wetter. She squirmed against him, moaning as his tongue lightly explored the outer edge of her lower lips.

One of her legs was draped over his shoulder and that arm was wrapped around her, holding her steady; his other hand, though, moved inward, fingertips grazing along her slit, and then pushing those lower lips wide. She whimpered and shut her eyes, her hand twisting into the white coverlet of the bed. He laughed at how little it took to drive her wild, and the sound buzzed against her, making her pulse like mad for a moment, before she managed to let out a breath again. He didn’t give her any sort of respite, though, his tongue pressing between her lower lips, and slowly drawing along one side.

Up one side, down the other, circling around her until her hips twitched every few seconds, coming with faint sounds of pleasure as her wetness became more and more pronounced—and she lost more and more of the ability to think. No guy she had ever been with had ever touched her the way Eric was touching her right now. The fact that he was really damn good at it was a thought she forced away, to be considered at a later time.

“Eric…” she began, only to cry out sharply when he suddenly flicked his tongue against her clit. Katherine’s hips skyrocketed into the air, and she groaned loudly, making him pull back slightly. But as she glanced at him over her breasts, he was obviously pleased by her reaction, and as soon as she grew still again, he pressed even deeper into her slit. One of his fingers abandoned where he was holding her open, and instead slid inside of her soaked tunnel; her nails threatened to rip the cover the bed. His tongue returned to her clit, warmth meeting warmth with a blindingly fantastic sensation that made her throb and writhe where she lay.

Somehow, her legs were even wider than they had been before; both of her knees were bent, and heels were digging into the very edges so that one didn’t lose its footing and slide off entirely. Her wetness poured down the insides of her thighs, undoubtedly staining his lips and his chin, before dripping onto the bed itself. A hitching set of moans collected in the back of her throat. Each started with his name and ended completely unintelligibly. Katherine was panting, her eyes shut tightly just because she couldn’t focus on anything anymore.

Or, nearly anything. She forced one of her feet to move, pressing along his side; Eric didn’t seem to notice, as her toes explored him until they were beneath him. It didn’t take her long, from there, to find his manhood, thick and throbbing and absolutely ready. The prince jerked free the second she touched it, letting out a low, growling groan, and then he moved. He wiped off her wetness on the back of his hand and reached up to pull away her bra, baring her breasts. Then his arms went around her, lifting her up into his lap. His face buried against her exposed breasts, and he moaned as he pulled her closer and closer until she could feel his length rubbing at the soaked entrance to her slit.

Katherine whimpered, wrapping her arms around his neck and threading her fingers through his hair, then slamming herself down onto his length. Both of them cried out loudly, his hips slapping against her thighs, and she whimpered into his ear. Eric held her tightly, his nails very slightly digging into the curve of her ass, before he started to pull her off again. It took only a few seconds before she slammed back down, both of them crying out with pleasure, gritting their teeth and clinging tighter to each other. Their damp, taut bodies strung out as she climaxed, one wave after another, and she whined as the movement of Eric’s hips shifted beneath her—faster, harder, every inch of her crying out with intense gratification as she felt him come all the way inside of her.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. It almost didn’t matter. But white-hot pleasure blinded her as she clenched sharply around him, milking him for long minutes as he growled desperately into the curve of her throat. Then, his arms going limp, he tipped them backwards onto the foot of the bed. They lay there, exhausted and panting and still intertwined.

At some point there was a knock at the door. One of Eric’s bodyguards informed them that the staff at the villa had made a meal for their sudden guests and that it was ready. Both of their stomachs grumbling was cue enough to get up and clean up in the attached bathroom. Katherine was more thorough, and also sorer, as she cleaned herself off and brushed out her hair and made sure that none of her makeup had run from sweat. Only then did she get dressed, with Eric waiting for her. He took her hand as they left out the door to his bedroom, and she smiled a little bit.

He led her downstairs to a small, private dining room where dinner had been prepared. Élise and Tara were already seated when they got there. Katherine smiled at them, happy.

Tara lifted a brow, examining them. “And where did you two get off to?” she asked suspiciously.

Katherine blinked at her innocently. “What? Eric was just taking me on a tour of the villa. This place is massive.”

Tara’s brown eyes narrowed at her pointedly, and then she wrinkled her nose. “I hope you washed your hands first, at least.”

Élise blinked. “Why?”

“Tara!” Katherine cried, blushing as she looked at Eric’s younger sister. The prince was trying to stifle laughter behind his closed fist, feigning a coughing fit, and he quickly gestured at the nearby wait staff to come and serve them before anything got even more out of hand.

“What? You two are really super obvious.”

“Oh my god. Stop talking.” Katherine put her face in her hands and forced herself to breathe—torn between laughing and crying herself. Dishes arrived, nothing too extravagant, just an in-between meal to keep them satisfied. She was really hungry, though, so she ate whatever she was given rather ravenously.

Part way through the meal, the villa’s butler came into the room and bowed to Eric. “My lord, much to my surprise, it seems we have more guests wishing to dine with you at the moment.”

The prince blinked at him—no one was even supposed to know they were here. But he started to stand up, his brow furrowing with confusion. “Do we? Who is it?” He’d barely gotten the question out before an older couple walked in through the hall door. The man had black hair streaked with silver, and his clothing was as carefully selected as Eric’s. The woman had dark blond hair and a pair of stunning blue eyes; she wore a simple but elegant pale green dress that made her seem formidable.

Katherine stared at them, confused, only to catch a glimpse of red behind the pair, and crane her head around. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. Brigitte.

“Your parents,” the butler introduced softly, obviously sensing the immediate, drastic rise in tension in the entire room. “The King and Queen of Montavian.”

The room was absolutely silent. Eric stood in a position that couldn’t be comfortable, and yet he seemed unable to move as he stared at his parents without blinking. Katherine looked from the king to the queen, to Eric, to Brigitte, who looked so smug where she stood a few steps into the hallway. When she looked at Élise, the girl looked like she was about to be sick. Tara still looked confused, but that was also to be expected. She hadn’t been told the entire situation yet, and had no idea what the repercussions of what Brigitte had done were. Then again, Kat didn’t know what they were either.

“
Mon dieu
,” Eric growled at last, straightening himself, his icy blue eyes darting around his parents to stare at Brigitte with absolute loathing and hatred. And then he immediately turned around to address the young women gathered around the table. “Élise, would you mind terribly taking Miss Tara on a tour of the villa? I have a feeling she would very much enjoy it.”

The thoughtful politeness of the words was absolutely a cover, but given the opportunity to bolt, Élise and Tara took it immediately, all but running from the room. Katherine still sat there, dying a little bit inside. She wanted to run away from this, too. The looks on Eric’s parents’ faces were not pleasant in the slightest. This could only end badly. It would most likely end badly for her.

Eric’s gaze was upon her then, and she met his eyes in completely dumb-struck silence, waiting for him to do or say something else. And yet he seemed only to be attempting to gather his wits about him, turning around again to face the newcomers, who had drifted further into the room. The butler had scattered the same way Tara and Élise had.

“
Mon dieu
,” Eric repeated again in that same growl, his hands clenched at his sides—and then apparently losing his battle with composure, glaring openly at Brigitte. “You
tattled to my parents
? What are we, Brigitte, school children?” Katherine hastily drew a glass to her lips to smother the snort of laughter that wanted to rattle free.

The redhead only sniffed dismissively, though, gliding into the room and settling herself into the princess’s vacated chair, glancing for just a moment at Katherine and then looking back at Eric. “I thought it was only fair that they be warned about your selfish intentions to forgo our arrangement simply because of your distaste for me.”

“My distaste for you?!” he rounded on her, eyes blazing. Katherine had never seen him so perfectly livid, defying every speck of elegant, cold calculation she had ever seen in even his worse moments. Considering the situation, though, that seemed kind of warranted.

“Eric,” his father interrupted before he could continue. Immediately, the prince let out a breath and deflated, looking to his parents again with wary, displeased eyes.

He cleared his throat and gestured to Katherine. “Mother, Father, this is Katherine Saunders. She is a friend of mine whom I was showing the sights of Montavian from beyond the veil of academic particulars. She arrived last week on a school trip from her university,” he introduced as formally as he could manage, before looking to her. “Katherine, these are my parents, Grégory and Annette.”

Hastily, she got out her chair, started to reach out for a handshake, and then dropped into an awkward curtsy after thinking better of it. “It is very nice to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs.—I mean, Your… Highnesses?” Katherine had no idea. Really, just absolutely no idea. She already looked like a complete fool from whatever Brigitte had told them about her.

And right on cue…

“This is the girl he coerced into attending the ball he hosted last night, and whom he hopes to marry in my place,” Brigitte informed them snootily. Shit, this girl really was absolutely awful.