Corrupted by the Prince (A is for Alpha Book 5) (6 page)

“As in a job. Your career? Do you work?”

“Of course.” She bit her lip and looked away. When she didn’t immediately answer, a warning bell came to life in his head.

He suspected she didn’t want to answer. Why?

Whether she would’ve eventually or not, he would never know, because they were interrupted by the arrival of their champagne and appetizers.

Relief flickered in her eyes as she perused the tray of food. That question had not-so-subtly had a door slammed on it.

Kostas made eye contact with his chef on hand who’d delivered the food. He gave a nod of appreciation and then watched as she disappeared back into the house.

He’d dismissed her for the evening and had also given his bodyguards instructions to spend the rest of the night in the downstairs of the luxury house.

Kostas wanted privacy with Eva tonight, and he intended to have it. His staff wouldn’t be fazed in the slightest. There was a routine that they followed when he brought a woman home with him. Also included, usually, was a strategic phone call the following morning that would have him whisked away on business to avoid any awkward
morning after
moments.

“This cheese is amazing. What is it?”

She nibbled on a square of white cheese, not hiding the delight on her face.

He gave a small smile. “Thank you. It’s a feta from a local artisan shop back on Mykorini. I have it sent to me whenever I travel.”

“It’s delicious. Probably the best I’ve ever had, surprisingly.”

“Surprisingly?” He arched a brow and moved to the side of the pool next to her.

“I’m a bit of a cheese snob. I’m hard to impress.”

Reaching onto the tray of bite-sized morsels, he picked up an olive that had also traveled from Mykorini.

“Try this. It is also from my home.”

She reached to take it from him, but he had already lifted it nearly to her lips. Hesitation flashed in her eyes and she drew in an unsteady breath before she parted her lips and accepted the olive.

Her lashes drifted shut and she gave a moan of approval at the taste.

The softness of her pink mouth only briefly brushed his fingers, but the effect lasted far longer. He wanted to cup her face and crush those lips beneath his. Taste the hint of oil and salt that would have lingered on her tongue. To hear that sigh of pleasure from his kiss, instead of the food.

And, my God, but it was impossible not to imagine those lips exploring his body. To imagine them parting to accept the most intimate part of him.

The blood in his veins quickened and his flesh stirred beneath his swim trunks.

He turned away from her to take a champagne flute, curling his free hand into a fist.

You are like a school boy.

The thought raced through his head again. He was reacting to her like a hormonal youth with no experience. As if this were his first time with a woman.

Self-control. Dammit he would have an abundance of it before this evening was through. To be any other way was a mockery to the man he was.

“Here,” his voice was husky as he passed the flute to her, “you will try our champagne as well.”

Why did everything seem to be a command from him?

Eva didn’t say her thoughts aloud, but narrowed her eyes as she accepted the glass of champagne from him. In truth she was still a little flustered from that olive-feeding moment. It shouldn’t have been overtly sensual, and yet it had been. The taste of the olive combined with the touch of his long, strong fingers had sent her pulse into overdrive. Along with her imagination.

She’d wanted him to kiss her again. To do more than kiss her. What would those fingers feel like as they discovered her body? What would it feel like to have those hands cupping her breasts?

When a moan had escaped her lips, it hadn’t been because of a silly olive—no matter how delectable it was.

“Thank you.” She sipped the champagne, hoping it might calm her nerves a bit, but all too aware it might loosen whatever inhibitions she had left. At this point, she didn’t really care if it did. Maybe even welcomed it.

She noted he retrieved the second glass and took a sip, but it seemed almost a subconscious gesture. He seemed distracted. Was he as aware of the building tension between them? Surely she couldn’t be the only one feeling it this strongly?

Wanting to get back to the playful mood and conversation, she asked, “So you really enjoy the food and drink from your island home so much that you have it shipped whenever you travel?”

The tension in his shoulders eased, as did the furrow between his brows.

“To be honest, yes. If I’m going to be away for more than a week, I will have the comforts of home—some of them food—sent to my location.”

A week. That meant he’d been in the Hamptons at least a week, or that he would be.

“And how long do you intend to stay here in the Hamptons?”

He reached for a chunk of feta. “Until the end of next week, likely.”

“How often do you come out to the Hamptons?”

“Quite a bit. I love it here and it’s close enough to New York City that I can do business as well.”

“I see.” Which meant their chances of running into each other after tonight—after this week—were entirely possible. “That makes sense.”

“I suppose it’s silly. Having a vacation home near the ocean, when I live on an island—”

“It’s not. I understand completely. It’s why I chose to live here. I’ve never been a big city person, but have always been drawn to the water. The ocean, specifically. I need to be near it.”

“You live in the Hamptons?”

Of course he would focus only on that part of her words. The surprise in his eyes confirmed her suspicion that he had no idea who she was. That he’d written her off as one of the weekenders who came to town to hang out on the beach, or who maybe had friends who lived here.

She swallowed and scrambled for a reply that wouldn’t give too much away about herself. He didn’t know who she was, and she rather liked it that way. It made this whole evening so much less scandalous. Though if it were one of her sisters, an affair with a prince would barely make a blip on the radar.

“I rent,” she answered ambiguously.

There was no need to explain that she rented the space from her parents. That she, along with her sisters, would some day inherit the mansion worth millions in the Hamptons.

“I see.”

He gave a small nod, but the furrow between his brows again meant that he was clearly trying to put the pieces together in his head.

“All right. I spilled mine. Your turn.” She gave a bright smile and touched him gently on the shoulder. Maybe that was a mistake, because it was tangible proof at just how solid and muscular he was.

His gaze slid to where her hand still lingered, and before she could withdraw it, he covered it with his own. “My turn?”

Her heart hammered in her chest and her mouth went dry. She made a small attempt to pull her hand back, but his palm covered her hand completely and it wasn’t budging.

What had she been about to ask him?

“Umm, tell me something about Prince Kostas of Mykorini that would surprise me.” She lowered her lashes and laughed. “Actually, mostly anything you tell me will surprise me, because I don’t know all that much about you. Except who you are, and even that took awhile to sink in if you remember.”

“I remember.” He slid his fingers through hers and lifted her hand from his chest. He turned her hand over until it was palm up, and he pressed a kiss into the center.

Simmering heat ricocheted through her body like a pinball before coming to rest between her legs and leaving a subtle ache of need.

“I often wish I had not been born a royal.”

Clearly he expected the soft confession to surprise her, but it didn’t. She might not be a royal, but she could understand the pressure that came along with being from a family that was constantly under the spotlight. The expectations and pressure.

She took a step closer to him in the water. “You don’t like being a prince?”

“What’s not to like? I can have anything I want, right? Fame? Money? Power?” He shook his head. “Or am I just the tail-end decoration of the royal family? The last-born son who will never be a king.”

Maybe she wasn’t completely certain on how royal ranking worked, but she knew the king was still on the throne, and that Kostas had an older brother.

“Would you want to be king?”

“I haven’t given it much consideration since childhood. My father is alive and healthy. When he passes on, which no one foresees for decades to come, then my brother will ascend the throne. I am the spare that I’m referenced to be.”

A lump gathered in her throat at the way he spoke the words. They were without bitterness. Without resentment. Simply stating a fact.

“I hate that tacky label. The spare. It seems offensive. You can’t write a human life off to being a spare to the heir.”

“It’s not offensive,
glykia mou
. It is simply the truth.”

“Well I doubt your parents chose to have you for that reason alone.”

“
Alone
.” His lips twisted. “Your word choice indicates the truth. While perhaps it isn’t the only reason my mother chose to have me, it is one of them.”

The lump in her throat grew. That was the secret, she suspected, that he would never share with the world. She knew it wasn’t his confession, but rather the hint of sadness behind the words he spoke to her.

The sadness wasn’t part of the image people held of Kostas. There was nothing soft or vulnerable about him to be seen from how he portrayed himself.

She didn’t know what to say to that, and was afraid her words would just end up hurting him again. She just needed to distract him from the sadness. To interrupt those kinds of horrible thoughts he’d spoken aloud. Because she could argue it all she wanted, but he was probably right. While she didn’t doubt his parents loved him, his presence in this world had likely been due to needing to secure the throne of Mykorini.

Another micro step in the water closed the distance between them, until her chest pressed against his. She tugged her hand free from him and slid her arms around his neck.

After lifting herself onto her tiptoes, she pressed her lips gently to his. He stiffened, making no move to return her kiss, and she knew he’d seen through her move. Knew he’d seen the sympathy in her gesture and probably resented the heck out of it. Had she angered him?

Ready to withdraw, she gasped as he crushed her wet body to his. His mouth effortlessly parted hers as his tongue plundered inside the depths to conquer. While she may have initiated the kiss, he was making clear who would control it from this point on.

While she may have initiated the kiss, he was making clear who would control it from this point on.

The ravaging need to claim her overwhelmed Kostas. To strip her of the swim costume and take her here in the pool. To sate this need that had ridden him since he’d first encountered her on the beach this morning.

Had it not even been a full day since they’d met? Dismay stung him, almost penetrating the fog of desire that enveloped him. Then she gave a cry of pleasure and stroked her tongue against his and he was drowning again.

He smoothed his tongue against hers. Advancing and teasing before retreating and making her cling to him and whimper for more.

God. He needed more too. So much more.

Sliding his hands down her waist, he cupped the soft swells of her bottom and lifted her. He didn’t break the kiss as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The need to take her was overridden by his conscience urging him not to do it in the pool. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d made love to a woman in a pool, but it didn’t feel right. There was a prickle of guilt warning him that this time he needed to do better with Eva. At least for their first time making love.

He moved them out of the pool and the sudden rush of cool air against his wet skin warned him the temperature had dropped and the wind had also picked up.

This time he sensed that the shiver that ran through her was not from desire, but from the cold.

He lifted his mouth from hers and rasped, “Let’s go inside and get more comfortable.”

She didn’t open her eyes, but drew in a ragged breath. She bit her lip and gave a tiny nod. Relief slid through him, though he couldn’t say why. With the passion and tension at an explosive level between them, he would’ve been more surprised if she’d said no.

Kostas bypassed the loungers and walked them inside the house, nudging the door shut behind him with his foot.

Within minutes he’d made his way through the silent house to the large bedroom. The only light was from a scented candle burning on the coffee table, and the moon shining through the skylight.

When he reached the bed, he slowly lowered Eva back to the floor. Her eyes were still closed as she moved her hands to his shoulders, her fingernails digging lightly into the skin there.

Another stab of uncertainty hit him, and he blinked, struggling to understand where this was coming from.

“Eva…”

“Don’t ask me if I’m certain I want to do this, because I am.” After another moment, her lashes drifted up and her gaze held his. “I really am, Kostas.”

Kostas’s chest swelled with the breath he took, and how fast his heart thundered. Her words eased the tension and doubt lingering inside him. All that remained was the hot, driving need in his blood to have her.

Slowly, Kostas. You will not lose control.

He cradled her face between his palms and lowered his head to kiss her again. The restraint not to ravage her mouth, or to completely lose himself as he had in the pool, had his hands trembling.

The taste of her was addictive. Beneath the champagne there was a sweet hesitancy. Almost as if she were discovering every inch of his mouth as he was hers.

Despite the fact that they were both in swimwear, there was far too much fabric between them. He lifted his head, dragging in a ragged breath.