Leopold: Part Five (12 page)

She releases a soft, shuddering breath, and I smile before doing the same thing once again.

I could feast on her all day. Damn all our other responsibilities.

My tongue can’t get enough of her. I lick her again and again and again—sometimes with long, slow strokes and sometimes with hot, quick flicks—and with every touch of my tongue, her flavor gets stronger and her scent even headier. I’m drunk on it, a madman desperate for her ambrosia, and little by little I can sense her coming undone. Her soft, ragged breaths turn into moans, and then her moans turn into desperate whimpers. Her fingers move to my hair, tightening in the strands and urging me onward.

I’m only too happy to indulge her. My tongue moves deep, deep inside of her, and she squirms beneath me and lets out a strangled cry. She pulls on my hair almost painfully, but I don’t mind. I want to bring her to the peak of pleasure.

It doesn’t take long. A couple of skillfully placed flicks of my tongue, and she nearly rips the hair right out of my head. A choking sound escapes her throat as she arches her back, pressing herself even harder against my mouth. I ride out the pleasure with her, never stopping my tongue’s caresses.

As the wave subsides, she slumps back against the sofa with a sigh. “That was…”

“The best tea you’ve ever attended?” I finish for her. “I should certainly hope so. It is definitely at the top of my list.” I lick my lips, taking in every last taste of her.

Her eyes fall closed and her lips widen in a grin. “
Definitely
the best tea I’ve ever attended.”

“I’m glad.” I get up and slide onto the sofa beside her again. I wrap my arm around her and pull her against my side.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” she murmurs.

“No?”

She opens her eyes and looks up at me. “It’s my turn to have a taste of you.”

My cock throbs against my pants. “I wouldn’t object to that.”

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t,” she says, pulling away from me and sliding to the ground in front of me. “And after that, I think we should go back to the bedroom and spend the rest of the morning in bed together. I think I may have discovered the best way to work off my nerves before tea with your mother later.”

“That sounds like a marvelous idea,” I say, grinning as she undoes my robe.

Yes, this is all going to work out just fine
.
I knew Elle would be up to the task of winning over my family.

And then her lips close over my cock and I lose the ability to think about anything else.

I
t would be so much easier
to stay like this—tangled together in bed with Leo for the rest of the day.

I did something to him last night, I think. Frightened him, maybe. And I’m not sure if it was how I nearly left after Stephan twisted my arm to go or if it was the conversation we had last night in my closet. But the way he’s behaving today—it’s the same as always, but there’s something else. His actions all seem to be tinged with…something. Almost desperation. Like if he lets me out of his sight for even a moment, he’s going to lose me.

The thought of going to see his mother for tea this afternoon seems to be almost as terrifying for him as it is for me—just different.
I’m
afraid of the questions she’s sure to ask me. Leo seems to be afraid of allowing me to leave my room
at all
. Especially if we aren’t hand in hand.

The tour of the palace he’s promised me never materializes. The few times I’ve actually managed to extricate myself from his arms since our tea this morning have met with some excuse for us to return to bed. He needs to kiss me one more time. He needs to feel me in his arms just once more. And it’s pretty difficult to argue with him—I barely want to admit it to myself, but I need those things almost as much as he seems to. But I’m sort of hating how fragile all this seems—how it seems like one wrong move by either of us is going to cause this whole relationship to come crashing down at our feet. And I’m afraid it will—terrified and almost
certain
it will. And it’s making everything that could be so beautiful—so
right—
almost suffocating instead.

He’s exhausted himself and is asleep again when I’m finally able to slip out of bed and into the shower. I lock the door—as much as I might like to shower with Leo again, I need a few minutes alone. I know he thinks he’s taking my mind off whatever is going to happen this afternoon, but in some ways, he’s making it worse. There’s something about what’s going on right now that is almost unbearable—stifling. And I know the only reason he’s acting this way is because of my constant threats to leave.

I get into the shower and try to weigh my options. Leo has already said that if I should run away again, he’ll find me. It’s a little stalkerish, but I don’t think he really means it that way. I’m pretty sure he has no idea what a relationship is supposed to look like. I’m not much help in that department—the few relationships I’ve had haven’t been anything like this. I’ve never felt anything like what I feel for Leo, so I can almost understand his need to hang on—it’s just a little overwhelming.

So, I guess I can’t leave. Not without Leo, anyway. And being anywhere outside this palace with Leo presents its own problems—namely the paparazzi. And he’s on a short enough leash with his father. As nice as it would be to not be under the thumb of this stuffy palace and its outdated traditions, the alternative seems a lot worse. I don’t think I can ever live again with camera flashes popping in my face. The few days I had to put up with it when he was at my house were bad enough. If we leave Montovia, it will only be worse.

The only other alternative seems to be for us to agree to part ways. I could tell him that this life isn’t for me and hope he would agree to stay here—out of my life. The way he’s behaving now, though, doesn’t make it seem like this is a likely scenario. And after the past few nights, I’m not sure that it’s one I want, anyway.

I turn off the shower and pull on a robe—
dressing gown
. Oh, hell. I’m never going to learn the traditions of this place.

I’m combing out my hair when I hear the knock on the door.
At least he knocked
… It somehow wouldn’t have surprised me if he’d found a way to pick the lock.

I crack the door open, and Leo grins at me. The glint in his eyes tells me
exactly
what he’s thinking about doing with me, especially when his gaze drops to the open neckline of my robe.

His voice is low, almost a growl. “Elle…”

I groan and swing the door the rest of the way open before I step back to the mirror to finish with my hair. “I have to finish getting ready, Leo.”

He walks behind me, sliding his arms around my waist and places a kiss on my neck. “You’re beautiful.”

“Well, I have my doubts that your mother will think so if I walk into tea wearing only a robe…dressing gown.”

He grins at me through the mirror and gives my neck another hasty kiss before he pulls away. “She’s going to love you.”

I pull my hair up, twisting it into something of a loose bun before I glance back up at him. “I would like to believe you. But…” I spin to face him. “I have my doubts.”

His smile falls a little. “She
will
love you. She’ll love you because
I
do, Elle.”

I frown and edge around him without answering before I walk back into the bedroom. I take the dress Leo chose for me last night off the hanger and pull it on.

He steps behind me again, sliding the zipper up my back.

My eyes close, and I try to hide the shiver that runs over my skin at his touch. I’m still not sure how he’s able to do this to me—make an action as simple as pulling up my zipper turn into something so erotic.

But there’s too much to remember. Too many rules about manners—too many possibilities for me to fuck this up. As much as I hate to admit it, I really want to impress his mother. Maybe
impress
isn’t quite the right word—I suppose I just don’t want her to hate me. I don’t want her thinking I’m some sort of trollop the way Stephan and probably Andrew and the king already do.

I need another ally here if I’m going to make this work. I’m already too prone to running away from my problems, and having the queen hate me isn’t going to help me break that particular habit. It’s only going to make me want to run even more.

I pull on my shoes and give myself another quick look in the antique full-length mirror that sits in the corner of my bedroom before I turn back to Leo. “I guess if you can tell me how to get there, I should—”

“Nonsense. I’ll walk with you.” He smiles and extends his elbow to me. “You’re going to be fine, Elle.”

I shake my head as I place my hand on his arm. “There’s too much to remember. And no mnemonic devices for the etiquette rules. If I could make something up, I think I’d be okay. But there’s too much. Too many
don’t-clink-the-glass
and
cross-your-legs-at-your-ankles
kind of rules. Nothing as easy as memorizing the cranial nerves or anything.”
Fuck, I
would
almost rather be taking exams in medical school right now than trying to remember these arcane rules
.

He only lifts a brow, giving me the amused smirk he shows me when he thinks I’m being ridiculous.

“Cranial nerves, Leo. Twelve of them—and there’s a saying to remember them. I still say it to myself when I’m trying to remember what cranial nerve number five is or whatever. And there’s no
On-Old-Olympus-Towering-Tops
saying to remember not to take something from the second tier of food before everyone has eaten something from the first. Because what if I don’t want a fucking finger sandwich? What if what I really want one is of those raspberry pastries from the
bottom
tier? I really have to
force
myself to eat two other things I don’t even
want—
?”

He interrupts me by pressing his lips against mine, sliding his arms around my waist. He pulls away after a moment and tips his forehead to mine. “You’re worrying far too much about this, Elle. It’s
tea
—not an inquisition.”

My breaths slow a little in his arms, but not much. I shake my head. “It might as well be, Leo. I’m going to do something stupid—you don’t know me. It’s what I do. I’ll let an f-bomb slip or I’ll chew with my mouth open. Or—God, forbid—I might clink my spoon against the antique china.”

He chuckles and places a kiss on my cheek before releasing me from his embrace. “I’ll look forward to hearing about that tonight, then.”

“Oh, God.” I shake my head—if he didn’t seem so amused by this, I think I’d be crying. “You really have no reference point, Leo.”

“I know.” He pulls my hand into his and opens the door to my suite, motioning me out. “I don’t mean to make light of the situation, Elle. But I wish you would believe that you have nothing to concern yourself over. You look beautiful—more beautiful than any woman with whom
I’ve
ever had the pleasure of having tea. Not that my mother has invited
me
to tea this afternoon.” He smiles and glances over at me as he leads me down the hallway. “Allow her to lead, and you’ll be fine.”

Right
. I let out a long breath—I probably am making too much of this, but I can hardly help it. It takes quite a bit to get me to freak out—and having tea with a queen seems to be up there with the things that are capable of sending me over the edge.

My whole body stiffens when I hear the voice behind us. “Your Highness. Miss…”

“Doctor,” I grumble under my breath. Not that I expect Stephan will ever honor
my
title.

“Yes, right.” He clears his throat, the sound of disgust obvious. “Miss, Her Majesty is waiting for you. I will accompany you to her sitting room.” He clears his throat again. “The presence of His Highness is requested by His Royal Majesty in his office at this time.”

Leo spins around to face Stephan. “
I
will be accompanying my guest.
You
may inform my father that I will be with him shortly.” His grip on my hand tightens and I can see his other hand curl into a fist. He almost snarls at the man. “You are dismissed.”

Stephan chuckles. “Your Highness does not possess the rank to dismiss me.” His gaze darts to mine for a moment. “And this woman—”

“
Doctor
.” Leo almost growls the word. “Has she not requested that you address her by her title—?”

“I am under no obligation to address her by
anything
, Your Highness.” He smiles and tilts his head over toward me. “You have no objection to that, do you, Miss?”

“I…” I snap my mouth closed. I fucking well
do
have an objection to that, but I can tell he’s trying to upset me. It’s a little too convenient how he’s shown up right before my tea with the queen. He seems to know exactly what to do to get me riled up. And I’m not about to give him the satisfaction. “No, Stephan. Call me whatever you want. I think I’m going to start calling you Stevie. You have no objection to that, do you?”

“I… I…” He sputters the words. “I absolutely
do
object. My name is
Stephan
—”

“Hm.” I shrug and turn to walk down the hall. “I think I like Stevie better.”

I glance up at Leo and see his lips pressed into a line—he’s trying not to laugh.

Stephan huffs behind us as we speed down the corridor. “Yes, well, I wonder what a certain doctor would have to say about your impudence. Yes, let’s see… What was his name again? Doctor Kroll, I believe…”

I stop walking and stare down the hallway before I turn slowly to face the man. “What did you say?”

Stephan grins. “Yes, I thought perhaps that name would be familiar to you, Miss.”

My heart pounds in my chest and I glare at him for a moment before I lift my chin. “You have no right—”

“Oh, I have
every
right, Miss. My only objective is to protect His Royal Majesty, King Edmund. Your presence here is shameful at best. And potentially damaging to His Majesty at worst.”

“You’re trying to upset me before I see the queen. I know what you’re doing, Stevie. And believe me—”

“Elle.” Leo interrupts. He’s frowning and the line between his brows is as deep as I’ve ever seen it. “What is he talking about?”

My frown matches his. “My little…
incident
in medical school.” I turn back to Stephan. “Which is why you’re refusing to call me Doctor, I take it?”

He shrugs. “It doesn’t seem appropriate.”

“Well, considering I retook that class the next summer—and passed my licensing exams the next year—it probably makes about, oh, I don’t know—
zero
difference.” I shrug. “I earned my title and my degree, regardless of how you feel about it.”

He smiles, staring at me for a long moment. “Shall we go and see Her Majesty? She’ll be waiting for you, Miss.”

Leo is almost trembling—his knuckles are white, his fist is clenched so tightly. He speaks through his clenched jaw. “How…how did you find out?”

“I heard you speaking with Her Highness, Princess Sophia some time ago. I did some research and it wasn’t very difficult to find out the name of Miss Parker’s professor. Should news of your…
relationship
go public, it is only a matter of time before the world knows of Miss Parker’s behavior.” He glances between the two of us with a smug smile. “I would suggest that if you don’t want your father to know of your…
companion’s
indiscretions, you will see to it that she leaves the palace at once.” He motions down the hallway. “After she sees Her Majesty for tea, of course.”

My jaw drops a little and I turn to Leo. “You told your
sister
about that?”

His face turns a shade of red I can’t even name. “It was in confidence. I only told her…” His voice drops and he places a hand on my shoulder. “We can discuss this in private later, Elle. I’ll not be discussing anything in front of the weasel—”

“Prince Leopold was trying—rightly, I might add—to convince himself that he should not be pursuing you, Miss, when I overheard the conversation between His Highness and the Princess. I only took it upon myself to investigate further when he insisted upon bringing you here.”

I don’t even turn to look at Stephan. I can’t seem to tear my gaze from Leo’s. And my stomach is twisting in a way I don’t like at all—it almost feels like Leo has shoved a knife in it. And I’d wanted so much to believe that
Stephan
was the bad guy here…

Leo’s voice drops to slightly above a whisper and there is something pained in his expression. “I’m so sorry, Elle.”

I shake my head and finally look away from him as I pull my hand from his. I blink back the tears I hadn’t realized were starting to swim in my eyes.