His Royal Prize (14 page)

“She did, of course. But eventually I brought her around to my way of thinking.”

Amelia laughed at her friends. As they bantered and had their dessert, she realized that she missed Geoff. She missed having him at her side, enjoying the evening with her.

Being in love was more than just a feeling, she thought. It was also the fact that she wanted to spend every moment of the day with him. And of course the nights. If he’d been here, he would have fit in well with Dominic and Lucinda. She wanted him to become integrated completely into her life and she wasn’t going to be happy until he was.

Happy, she thought. She’d never gotten to the point where she felt safe being happy. She was afraid to trust that what she had with Geoff was going to last, and that wasn’t fair, she thought. Not to herself, and not to Geoff. She couldn’t wait to get home and tell him.

She wasn’t going to hide the fact that she loved him anymore. She wanted the life that Dominic and Lucinda
had together and running away from love wasn’t the key to that kind of deep-seated happiness.

She left Dominic’s a little after ten, which was later than she’d thought she’d be. She and Bebe shared a cab. When Bebe got out of the car, she gave Amelia a hug and Amelia sat back in the seat as the cabbie took her home. She had a bubble of excitement in the pit of her stomach as she got closer to her house where she hoped Geoff was waiting for her.

A
melia got out of the cab and walked toward the entrance of her apartment building. She noticed that Tommy had company this evening and she smiled at the men as she walked past them. She heard them calling her name and asking about Geoff, but she didn’t pay the least bit of attention to them.

Taking a page from Geoff’s family’s book, she’d decided to start ignoring them and it felt good. The bellman held the door for her and she thanked him as she walked by.

The elevator was empty when she swiped her key card and took it up to her penthouse. And as she walked into her apartment, she felt a thrill to see Geoff standing in the living area on his cell phone.

He hung up when he saw her and turned to face her. She saw that look again—something was wrong.

“How was your evening?” he asked.

“Fun, but I missed you, Geoff,” she said. “I didn’t realize until tonight just how much a part of my life you’ve become.” She wanted to know what he had to say, but not before he knew exactly how she felt.

“You’ve become very important to me as well,” he said.

She dropped her purse on the floor and Godiva trotted out to sniff it. Amelia bent down and petted her adorable little dog before sending her back to her padded bed.

Then she walked over to Geoff. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. Geoff’s arms came around her and he held her very tightly to him.

“We need to talk.”

She tipped her head back, panic settling in her throat. “Right now? I was hoping that you’d scoop me up and take me to bed. I want you to make love to me.”

His pupils dilated and she felt his erection stir against her belly. “I’d like nothing more, but—”

She silenced him with the most passionate kiss she could muster. Finally, he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall to her bedroom. He set her on her feet next to the bed. With Geoff she felt exotic in a good way.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers, kissing him with all the love she’d kept bottled inside. His mouth opened over hers and she couldn’t get enough of him.

She pulled him closer to her and reached for the tie around his neck. For a moment, it seemed like he would try to stop her, but she loosened the knot and pulled it free. She felt his hands on her back and soon he was whispering in her ear, which inflamed her even more.

He found the zipper in the side of her blouse and undid it. She whipped the silk fabric over her head and tossed it on the floor. Reaching for his buttons and undoing them as quickly as her fingers would allow, she fumbled over the middle button.

“Get naked,” he said, his voice ragged and almost harsh.

She took off her bra and then unzipped her skirt and pushed it down her legs, along with her panties. She stepped out of her heels and turned to drop her clothing on the floor. Geoff came up behind her.

His naked body pressed all along her back. His hands came up to cup her breasts and tweak her nipples. His hard manhood pressed into her butt and she moved her hips, stroking him with her backside.

He dropped kisses along the length of her neck and she felt his teeth against her skin. She wanted more.

“I need you.”

“Amelia,” he said. “I need you, too.”

He bent her forward and she braced her arms against the bed as he widened his stance behind her. She felt him at the entrance to her body and she tightened and pulsed in anticipation. He cupped her breasts in both his hands and then entered her slowly from behind.

When he was fully seated she almost came. He was so deep and as he thrust in and out of her, she felt everything so much more intensely than she ever had before.

He slid one hand down her body though the thin curls between her legs and stroked the center of her pleasure as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

He leaned in low over her and she felt him pressed all along her back, his hands between her legs and on
her breasts. She was completely surrounded by him. Her world narrowed and focused until it was only Geoff.

She felt everything in her body tightening and she called his name as her orgasm rolled through her. A minute later Geoff cried out as he came, filling her with his essence. He fell down on the bed, keeping them connected and holding her close to him. Sweat dried on their bodies as their breathing slowed.

“I love you,” she said before she could stop her self.

Geoff’s eyes widened. He pulled her back into his arms and made love to her again until they were both exhausted. As they fell asleep, she couldn’t shake the thought that Geoff hadn’t said he loved her back.

Geoff woke to the sun shining and the smell of coffee from the kitchen. He was in the bed of a woman who’d confessed to loving him last night. He took a moment to savor this before a sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he realized he’d left loose ends last night. Someone had taken a photo of him with Mary and he needed to tell Amelia before she saw it. And that wasn’t all he needed to tell her.

He heard her phone ring. A minute later, his mobile phone started ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Edmond. He jumped out of bed, grabbed his pants and yanked them on as he tried to run into the kitchen.

Amelia was standing in the doorway with her little dog dancing at her feet. She was pale and she stared hard at him. She held a copy of
The Sun
in one hand and as he walked toward her she shook her head.

“How could you do this?”

“I can explain,” he started to say as his eyes fell on the front page.

There was a photo of him kissing Amelia on the streets of Bath with a caption that read “Sunday?” Next to that was a photo of him kissing Mary hello at her door, and one of them dancing. The caption read “Monday?” The headline read, “Devonshire Playboy Bests Trashy Heiress at Her Own Game.”

“What is this, Geoff?”

He took the paper from her and sat down, running his hand through his hair. “I should have told you right away.”

“Told me what?”

“That Mary was my date last night.”

Amelia had tears in her eyes. He wanted to take back what he had just said. He hurt her, and that wasn’t his intent.

“It’s was nothing with Mary. She and I had plans to attend the function before I even knew you, but of course the media is trying to make it into something it’s not.”

“I’m not jealous of Mary Werner,” Amelia said. “If you want to spend your time with her, that’s fine with me. But do me the courtesy of at least letting me know that you have a date with another woman.”

“I—”

“Don’t! Please don’t try to justify this or explain it to me. I’m not…”

“Not what?”

“Not some party girl you can have an exotic thrill with and then cast aside. I asked you about Mary, remember?”

Geoff shook his head. “I’m not casting you aside. I asked you to move in with me.”

“It’s not enough. Now I know why you couldn’t tell me you loved me last night… I thought the words might be hard for you to say, but now I know this is just a game to you.”

“That is not true. Don’t let your temper get the better of you.”

“Stop trying to calm me down,” she said, sparks in her eyes. “I’m so mad at you right now.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “That’s not enough. I need you to leave. I don’t want to lay eyes on you ever again.”

“Too bad…I’m not walking away that easily,” he said.

“Your life—our life is not a crazy circus. This is a sensationalized story to try to sell papers. You know that I wouldn’t go from one woman’s bed to yours.”

She started to argue, but then stopped. “You’re right. I do know that. But I’m not sure I can hold my head up while the rest of the city believes I’m part of the Devonshire legacy.”

“No one believes this crap.”

“Yes, they do,” she said. Her phone rang again. “We can’t keep seeing each other.”

“Why not?”

“Because I love you, you idiot, and I can’t stand to see a photo of you with another woman. And this won’t be the last one. No matter what you do or where you go someone will always be following you trying to find the evidence that you are just like Malcolm.”

He was starting to get angry with her. “I’m not Malcolm. And I’ve never treated you with anything but respect.”

“You look like Malcolm,” she said. “And you’re the
star of the gossip rags this morning with two different women. Are the comparisons starting to add up in your mind?”

“You aren’t being rational,” he said.

“I am. I’m just not saying anything that you want to hear. But it makes sense. You know as well as I do that ignoring this isn’t going to make it go away.”

“I don’t know that and neither do you. What I know, Amelia, is that you don’t even want to try. That you are letting fear guide this decision.”

“Fear? Of what?”

“Of finally being with a man who isn’t going to let you scare him off with your ‘outrageous’ behavior. I think you’re afraid to live a normal, quiet life. You were probably waiting for this to happen so you could use it as an excuse to cut me out of your life.”

His mobile was ringing nonstop; he ignored the calls from his sisters, but his mother wasn’t someone he could send to voice mail. When Amelia picked up her dog and walked out of the room, he answered the call from his mother.

“Mum, this is Geoff.”

“I’m…I don’t know what to say to you. How could you do that to Amelia?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” he said, trying to defend himself.

“I’m sure in your eyes it isn’t. But this behavior is unacceptable and I have no choice but to disown you.”

“Mother, don’t be dramatic.”

“I’m not. You have sisters, Geoff. I raised you to be a gentleman—”

“I
am
a gentleman, Mum. I will fix this.”

“You had better. I’m going to call Amelia later. This is…I’m so upset with you, Geoff.”

“I know.”

He hung up the phone and it rang again, this time it was Edmond.

“Devonshire.”

“I guess you’ve seen the papers this morning.”

“Indeed. Did you do this?”

“No. You were managing the heiress and your line of business very well. Why did you add another woman to the mix?”

Geoff realized that what Amelia had said was true. Everyone was going to believe he was simply another Devonshire male who couldn’t be satisfied with one woman.

“I didn’t. Listen, I need to sort this out with Amelia. She is more important to me than you or Malcolm.”

“Is she?” Edmond asked.

“She is. And I have to figure out how to handle this.”

“Good luck, sir. I think you will need it.”

Geoff knew he wasn’t going to be able to fix things right away, and he frankly had no idea what to do. He left her apartment and walked through a flurry of paparazzi—and the idea came to him.

He drew Tommy aside and asked the man to take a picture of him later that day. Then he went home and called his half brothers so they would know what he planned to do.

“I think you’re a nutter,” Henry said. “But love does that to the best of us.”

Love. He’d never thought he’d admit to it, but losing
Amelia made him desperate and he knew that he’d loved her since he’d first clapped eyes on her. “Love will.”

“I hate to say it but I agree,” Steven said. “I flew to New York when I could have sent my VP and suffered through jet lag just to have a drink with Ainsley.”

Geoff laughed and was glad he’d found these brothers. “Are you sure the publicity will be okay?”

“Definitely,” Henry said.

“Of course,” Steven chimed in. “We need to right the wrongs that Malcolm perpetrated when he abandoned our mothers. Show the world that Devonshire men know how to treat ladies.”

“I agree.”

He ended the call with his brothers. Now it felt good to call them that. He looked at the sign he’d made and went downstairs and drove his Veyron across town to her apartment building.

Good to his word, Tommy waited out front. Geoff knew this could all backfire, but he also knew that if he didn’t take a chance on love with Amelia he’d miss out on the greatest adventure of his life.

He got out of the car and left his suit jacket behind. He held the poster board with the message he’d written on it. Tommy snapped pictures as he walked to the building. And Geoff held up his sign.

“Make sure this gets in
The Sun
tomorrow,” Geoff said, handing the man some folded bills.

“I will.”

Geoff didn’t like the thought of leaving, but he knew that now was the time to wait. So he got in his Veyron and left, hoping tomorrow Amelia would see the papers and put him out of his misery.

Bebe had arrived shortly after Geoff had left and she stayed the night. They’d drank martinis and talked and cried. Amelia took comfort from her but Bebe couldn’t stop the hurt.

Amelia’s mobile rang and she glanced at the caller ID. “Hey, Auggie.”

“Lia, are you okay? I saw this morning’s paper and I’m not sure what to say. I’m ready to end the deal with Everest Air. I mean, no one treats you like he did.”

“Thank you, Auggie, but business comes first. This could be your last chance with the board.”

“No, sis, you come first. I know I haven’t been a great big brother but I’m ready to make up for lost time.”

“Auggie, that’s so sweet.”

“I mean it,” he said. “But seeing
The Sun
this morning made me hesitate to call and cancel the deal. Have you seen it?”

“No,” she said. She turned to Bebe. “Will you run to the corner kiosk and get
The Sun?
”

“I will.”

Bebe left and Auggie hung up. Amelia sat on her couch with her little dog, holding her close and wondering why it was that she kept going after the one thing that she knew she couldn’t have. She should have kept her feelings to herself.

But not saying she loved Geoff out loud wouldn’t have made the emotions not exist. She did love him and she missed him.

“Oh, my God,” Bebe said as she came back into the apartment fifteen minutes later. “Look at this.”

Bebe brought the paper to Amelia and she glanced at the photo there. It was Geoff and he held a sign in
his hand…
Sunday, Monday and every other day of the week, I love Amelia Munroe
.