Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1) (9 page)

“Alex,” she whispered when he began to drop kisses along her neck.

“I love it when you say my name. Say it again.”

“Alex,” she said on a soft moan as her eyes fluttered open to find his watching her.

“You’re so sexy. Do even you know how much?” He kissed her swiftly, as if he couldn’t resist doing so, and then drew back. Every inch of his formidable body could be felt, even through his suit.

"You're not so bad yourself," she said and blushed again.

“Really?” he said as he shifted to lay beside her on the couch, trapping her against it on one side and even closer to his body on the other. “Do you find me attractive, then?”

“I think you know you’re attractive.”

“Do I? And do you find me so?”

“Yes.”

“A compliment. Thank you, my lady.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. You know how handsome you are. Women are always drooling over you.”

“Upgraded from ‘attractive’ to ‘handsome’,” he said as kissed the long line of her neck. Against her ear, he whispered, “Are you one of those women drooling over me?”

“I think you’re handsome,” she said vaguely. It wouldn’t do her any good to reveal just how much she’d thought of him over the years.

He continued to drop soft kisses even as he spoke. “Progress. You just admitted without admitting it that you have been drooling over me.”

“I didn’t say that,” she said as she tried futilely to push him away. He instead held her tighter and kissed a particular spot on her neck that had her vision going foggy.

“You didn’t have to.”

“Alex,” she said trying to push him away, but holding on at the same time. “Please.”

“Please what?” His hand shifted lightly up her leg again.

Just as she was about to speak, a knock sounded on the door. Rebecca gasped and froze as the haze of lust shattered around her. She tried to sit up, but Alex stayed her movements.

“Yes?” he called out, his voice remarkably calm and authoritative.

“The kitchen staff are here, Your Highness,” his security man said in a muted voice through the closed door. “May I give them permission to enter?”

“We’re just finishing up our meeting. Give us a few more minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” he said.

Alex stood swiftly and carried Rebecca to her office. “What are you doing?” she whispered furiously.

“Well, first, I’m going to fire the kitchen staff for interrupting us,” he said as he placed her on the floor again. “Second, I’m going to do this.” She gasped, then moaned softly as another kiss, furious and fast, was planted on her lips. When he pulled away, he said, “I’ll find some time for us, just the two of us, soon. I promise you.”

“You said you keep your promises.”

“Yes, and I do.” He broke her gaze only to glance at the neat piles of papers on her desk. “Were you planning on working all night before I came by?”

Thinking of work had the rest of the day, video catastrophe and all, come rushing back in full force. “That was the plan. If I’m going to be fired tomorrow, I want to clear away as much as possible.”

“You won’t be fired.”

Rebecca shook her head. “You and the Princess may not want to, but you may not have a choice.”

“You won’t be fired. End of story. Go home and relax, all right? We’ll get through this.”

Despite what he’d said this evening, neither of them were ready to make whatever they were public, and she knew it. “I’ll be fine, either way. Don’t worry about me.”

“That’s the problem. I’ve been worrying about you for some time, and I don’t think that will change.” His thumb caressed her slightly swollen lips as he said, “Dream of me, as I’ll dream of you.” He then kissed her forehead and swept from the room.

Rebecca couldn’t think of anything else to do but sit down in her chair. She saw him walk into the conference room before reappearing and head for the front doors to the office, where the kitchen staff awaited.

He turned to give her one last devastating smile, before he opened the door and began speaking to security and the staff outside. She barely remembered that she should be standing as the Prince left, and stood just before the staff entered and saw her. She gave them a wave and sat down again.

After they left, carts of food rattling along in front of them, she took a deep breath and took stock of the evening. A lot had been said, much more had been revealed, and promises had been made. She still wasn’t sure what he was doing with her, but she could trust his sincerity, at the very least.

As she glanced at the piles surrounding her, she knew she wouldn’t be able to think about anything work-related for the rest of the evening. Whether or not she was fired tomorrow, she had think about herself tonight, about everything that had happened. A hot bath and some more wine was calling her, so she grabbed her purse and headed for the door, pausing for a moment near the couch. Her fingers fell to her lips as she remembered the way he’d almost branded her with his kisses.

She may not know what they were doing together, or if she would even be employed at that time tomorrow. However, one thing that was absolute: Alex could kiss, and he wanted her. She was sure she’d still feel his lips against hers as she fell asleep that night.

***

Alex strolled down the familiar palace halls. It was quite a walk from one end, where the royal offices stood, to the other, where the royal apartments were. Sometimes, when there was too little time between appointments or events, he would have a car drive him between the two. Tonight, however, he wanted the long walk to sort through his feelings.

He’d laid his cards on the table, well, most of them anyway. She’d been, as he’d expected, surprised and unsure when he’d revealed his intentions to her. His feelings, though implied, were left unsaid, as were hers. However, she hadn’t turned away or rejected him outright. She must care for him, or at least find him attractive enough to consider the things he’d said.

It was a start, and that’s all he wanted right now.

By the time he’d made it back to the royal apartments, he still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that she was still a virgin. A woman as gorgeous and vital as her still untouched? To him, it was one of the most arousing things about her, and he wondered what else he had yet to learn about her. He wanted to know anything and everything about her.

He opened the doors to his royal apartment and stepped inside, his security man doing a quick sweep before positioning himself outside.

“Will you be staying in the rest of the evening, Your Highness?”

“That’s the plan, unless I need to see the family. I’ll use the corridors for that, if I do,” Alex said, referring to the hidden hallways that linked all the family apartments together. Though each set of apartments had its own entrance, they all linked to a communal family room, which also contained a dining room, offices, and other rooms nearby.

“Very good, sir. Good night.”

“Good night and thank you for your assistance this evening. I may need you again for similar reasons.”

“I am always at your disposal, sir.”

Alex nodded and shut the door. Finally alone after the long, frustrating, and exciting day, he went to a small bar and poured himself some scotch. He usually didn’t go for hard liquor, but he needed something to take the edge off. Particularly, his unsated lust.

He felt mildly uncomfortable in his rooms tonight, knowing that someone had watched him. His eyes flitted toward various corners of the apartment as he walked around, feeling safe now that Marcello had removed all of them.

He drank slowly as he wound his way to the office first, checking the messages on his phone as he did so. He’d turned it off while he had been with Rebecca, and saw several messages from Marcello and Tavin, as well as his parents and Cat. After a quick check of the time, he knew his parents would have eaten already, as would have the rest of the family, but his father would be waiting to speak with him. They spoke every night before bed, if they hadn’t spoken in the office earlier in the day.

Alex loosened his tie as he walked into the bedroom and then flung it off, tossing it onto a nearby chair. He finished off his drink and set the glass aside as he undressed, leaving his clothes in an uncharacteristic pile on the chair. He was too wound up to bother with properly hanging his very expensive suit tonight. His eyes flitted again to a corner where a camera once lay hidden.

He walked into the bathroom naked and semi-erect; that was Rebecca’s doing. Her skin had been so soft yet strong muscles had lain underneath. He could still smell her soft lavender scent and almost groaned. And her taste, by God, her taste was just as arousing, as was the way she reacted to every little thing he had done to her. If only they’d had more time together.

Tonight had been eight months in the making, he thought as he stepped into the spacious shower. A chance moment he had seized upon. However, there was no way he was waiting another eight months to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, and even just speak to her.

It had felt so liberating to finally talk to her as he had that night. He had never been so open and honest with a woman before. He had never been able to trust another woman before Rebecca, he realized.

Alex thought of the other women he’d been with as cold water shuddered around his body. Sex had been one thing, and some of the women he’d been with had wasted little time in telling the whole world they’d spent the night together.

He hadn’t minded, though. A few stories like that only made him more virile in the public’s eye, and that it wasn’t a constant story also allowed the public to believe in him as a steady leader. He wasn’t seen with a new woman on his arm every week, like some of his brothers, and that was accepted, encouraged. A future king must be discreet.

Deciding against release at his own hands, tempting though it was if he imagined Rebecca’s hands there in place of his own, he waited until the cold water calmed his body enough before stepping out. He grabbed a pair of boxers from a dresser nearby and was drying his hair when he walked back into his bedroom.

“Jesus, put some clothes on,” Marcello said.

Alex turned and saw him seated in a corner in a plush chair. Alex swore, then threw the towel at him. “What the hell do you want?”

Marcello easily caught the towel before it hit him and threw it back at Alex in one swift move. “What the hell do you think? You can’t drop a bombshell telling me you’re in love and not elaborate. Where have you been? I’ve been calling for hours.”

“I had something to take care of.”

“Something or someone?”

“Mind your own business.”

“This is my business. This is, in fact, the country’s business.”

Alex swore under his breath. “Don’t you think I know that?”

“Does Papa know?”

Alex shook his head. “You’re the first person I told.”

“Who is she?”

Alex shook his head again as he threw the towel on top of his crushed suit in the chair. “I’m not going to tell you.”

“I could find out, you know.”

Alex gave him a long look. Marcello was very adept at gaining intelligence, and Alex had no doubt he could find out. Now that Alex had conspired some time alone with her, anyone could find out, if they put their mind to it. “I know you could, Marcello, but I hope you’ll have enough faith in me to wait until I tell you.”

Now Marcello swore. “Box me in, why don’t you? What’s the matter? Doesn’t she like you?”