Prince and Single Mom (8 page)

“Have you decided what you’d like?”

She saw the glee in his eyes, and realized one characteristic of his personality right away. Philip liked to tease. He’d looked up from his menu and obviously caught her expression, knowing that her mind had wandered. He had great powers of perception, and even greater people-skills. It wouldn’t do to let him have the upper hand all the time. She could see the teasing in his eyes, and decided to act as if he’d only been referring to dinner. “This menu is in French.”

“It is? Mon
Dieu
, you are right. How could such a thing happen?”

Before she could respond the waiter appeared at their table, bowed to Philip, and then turned to her, one eyebrow raised in expectation. Watching for Philip’s reaction, she turned her attention back to the menu.

“
Je souhaite commencer par le soupe de poisson, et aussi les Fromages Grille. Puis, L’escalope de Veau aux Truffes, s’il vous plait
.”

“
Bien
, mademoiselle.” He then turned to Philip, who looked a little shell-shocked. “
Votre Altesse Royale
?”

Catharine felt her grin grow huge. Philip recovered himself enough to order the same appetizers she had – the fish soup and plate of grilled cheese – but instead of the veal, he ordered the beef.

“You speak French. I heard that Canada purported to be a bilingual country, but I thought it was an exaggeration.”

“It is. I happened to enjoy learning and speaking French when I attended high school. So when I became a stay-at-home mom with Jamie, I began reading French books and watching French-language television. I’m not totally bilingual, but I can get by.”

“You teased me when I sought to tease you. Well done. Not many have managed that.”

“Maybe because you’re surrounded too much by those who bow too low,
Your Royal Highness
.
”

His laughter sounded free and easy. It occurred to Catharine that he couldn’t be the epitome of a spoiled prince if he could laugh so easily at himself.

“Why medicine?” Catharine asked as the waiter brought their soup.

“It’s just what I always wanted to do. It was the first thing I thought about, when it came time to turn my mind to a career. Father didn’t care, as long as I did something I enjoyed. I experienced no parental pressure or anything like that, and no trauma in my childhood that aimed me toward a life of attending to children, either. I thought about teaching, which my older sister Sophie went into—that is until she received the promotion to administrator at the orphanage—but education wasn’t what I wanted. Too many days spent in one place doing the same thing over and over again, I think. What about you? Why have you decided to be a nurse?”

“No great calling, either, really. I excelled in sciences in school, and when I looked around at what I
could
pursue, in a practical sense, nursing came out on top. I’ve already completed my secondary school education through correspondence. I only need four semesters of college to become a registered practical nurse. I’m getting a combination grant and loan from the government to pay for that. The difference in salary between what I’ll make as a nurse, and what I’m making now as a waitress is triple. And I like kids. I’ll probably only have Jamie. I can’t see myself getting married at this point and having any more children. This is a way to have them in my life, even after he grows up.”

She thought she saw a flash of something in Philip’s eyes. But it disappeared so quickly, she decided it had been a trick of the lighting. When she tilted her head to the side, he just smiled at her.

The soup had been delicious, with a slight infusion of saffron that made her taste buds sit up and take notice. Wait staff whisked away their empty soup bowls, and set small plates with the grilled pieces of cheese and toast points before them.

“There is one important matter I would like to address, before we go any further.”

His serious tone instantly put Catharine on guard. “Yes?”

“I really need to know your position on dancing.”

“Usually on my feet, on a dance floor.”

“Yes, see? You are even a wise man, just as I am. We do have much in common.”

“That’s wise
guy
,” she corrected. And she knew that he was right, on both counts. Which meant, she mused, the little turn she’d decided to take might not be as simple as she wanted it to be.

* * * *

Hannah checked the time on her watch. Just after nine. Jamie had been asleep for nearly an hour. He’d had an active day, and she didn’t expect him to awaken till morning. She didn’t know how long Catharine would be out. She hoped she hadn’t mistaken the message she thought she and Alex had exchanged earlier.

After bathing Jamie, she’d showered again herself, and put on a simple cotton nightgown—and nothing else. The padded lounge chairs on the patio felt comfortable, and Hannah relaxed, her feet up on a stool. She tried to get into the book she’d chosen, but wasn’t having much success.

She found it pretty hard to get interested in a fictional romance while having a real one of her own.

Well, not a romance exactly, but—

She turned her head to the left because a sound had alerted her, and smiled up at Alex.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Not long. You make a picture, Hannah, your eyes wide and unfocused, that soft smile on your face.”

“So do you, looking dark and dangerous in the shadows.” Perhaps, she mentally amended, this affair held elements of romance, after all. The look in his eyes told her he liked, very much, being considered dark and dangerous.

“The young man is in his bed?”

“Sound asleep, yes.”

“Any idea what time his mother will be back?”

“No.”

He came to her slowly, and the closer he drew the taller he seemed. So easy, dressed in only a thin nightie, sitting in the low chair, to feel temporarily overwhelmed. Dominated.

“Then we likely don’t have much time. I wonder, Hannah, are you the adventurous sort?”

It was the kind of question that made a woman’s stomach clench and her heart race. In that moment, she fully understood that she really didn’t know this man at all, and her sense of vulnerability rose up, a solid and tangible presence. Despite that, or maybe because of it, she felt free to answer him in a way she’d never answered anyone before.

“Today, for the first time in my life, I fucked a man I’d known for barely twenty-four hours. What does that tell you?”

“It tells me you’re adventurous. At least for me.”

As she watched, he slowly moved the stool out of the way, grabbed a cushion from the chair beside her, and tossed it on the ground. Then he got down on his knees in front of her. His hands on her legs caused a shiver to race up her spine, and her nipples to tighten. His hands slowly pushed up her nightgown until she sat, exposed to him.

“Come forward.”

The sound of his husky whisper inflamed her. The heat of arousal in his eyes intrigued her. She felt a little outside of herself as she obeyed him.

“Do you know, there are things I have heard about all my life? Things that men and women do with and to each other that have always been only intellectual concepts. And it occurs to me, Hannah, that the same may be true for you. And that we could have a number of firsts together, you and I. If you dared to be adventurous enough to do as I ask. Adventurous enough to make demands of your own. You can say yes to satisfy intellectual curiosity. Or you can say yes, just for the hell of it.”

Hannah gasped as Alex gently lifted first her right leg, then her left, and hooked her knees over the arms of the chair, leaving her spread wide and open to him.

“Did your husband ever do this to you?”

His words vibrated against the inside of her thighs as he began to kiss and lick them, moving closer to her pussy, his intention clear.

“No.” She whimpered because he nipped her skin lightly, high on her right leg. His breath flowed over her delicate folds and she became aware of her own wetness.

“Good. I’m very glad I will be the first man to taste you like this.”

“Oh God.”

The first caress of his tongue against her slit dissolved all her muscles. His hands gripped firmly on her hips, holding her still, and his wide shoulders prevented her from even trying to close her legs. Not that she wanted to. Slowly, gently, he began to lap and kiss her. She felt his tongue and then his lips explore her labia, and discover her clit. She knew that tiny piece of flesh swelled from the attention. Then he drew it into his mouth.

She held one hand against her mouth to help stifle the little cry of shock as she nearly came. The other hand she anchored firmly in his hair to prevent him from moving away, not that he gave any sign of wanting to.

Never had anything thrilled her so. She’d never been so instantly horny, so bone-meltingly pliant as she was right now. He seemed somehow able to keep her perched right on the very verge of rapture, as his tongue lapped and teased, swirled and dipped. She began to sob, little breath-catchy gasps of pleasure. She moved her hips, pressing her pussy more closely against his mouth. He laughed, and that felt delicious. Volts of electric current began to sizzle across her wet skin, crackling through her body to her toes. Her nipples went rock hard, and she didn’t know how much more she could take.

Then he stabbed his tongue into her pussy and her body ignited into the fiercest orgasm she’d ever had. On and on it went until she couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She could only feel, and then she could only collapse.

Distantly she heard the rasp of a zipper, the rustle of fabric. “I obtained some more condoms,” he whispered as he moved closer, wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her limp and nearly destroyed body toward to his. She groaned when he impaled her. Her already sensitive clit felt as if it wanted to hide when the hair surrounding his cock brushed it. But then, like any coquette, the damn thing decided it liked being nestled in his groin. Wrapping her arms around him, she could feel every hot, hard inch of him, slowly moving in and out. He nuzzled her neck.

“You tasted very good to me, Hannah. Let me share that with you.”

It was the most provocative thing she’d ever been offered. But she accepted, kissing him full on the mouth, tasting herself on his lips, and that taste shot her over the edge of oblivion once more. Even covered with the latex, she could feel the answering ejaculation from his cock. For a long moment she could do nothing but try to breathe, her arms still holding him close. He leaned fully against her, but she didn’t mind his weight. Finally, she asked, “How many more?”

She thought she might have to clarify, but after a moment, he replied, “Dozens.”

“Dozens? My God, Alex, we’re going to kill each other.”

“That, my dear, is entirely possible.”

Dancing felt almost like making love.

The heavy beat of the music, as Melissa Ethridge belted out about being the only one, had always only been a good song to dance to. Never before had it put Philip in mind of hot, greedy sex. Of course he realized the reason for that could lay with the woman he held tightly against his chest.

He’d expected her to protest when he’d pulled her body flush with his as the music started. Instead, she’d wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him dead in the eye.

She kept him off balance, but he didn’t mind that.

Experimenting, he began a subtle back and forth swaying motion with his hips, mimicking the act of love, to see what she’d do. Though startled at first, she soon matched his rhythm. Against his chest he felt her nipples bead beneath her clothes. He had no doubt she could feel his erection trying to make a nest against her mound.

A busy dance club frequented by his countrymen and women was
not
where he wanted to be right now.

“I like this club,” Kate said when the music changed to a less intense and slower song, and the volume lowered slightly.

“Good. It’s not one the tourists frequent, as it lacks a lot of the glitz and polish they look for.”

“So this is where you come when you want to unwind?”

“When I want music and noise and people, yes.”

Philip changed his hold on her, clasping her right hand in is left and moving into a more classic dancing pose, such as he would at a state function. The new position forced a little distance between them, and let him look at her face. It delighted him when, after a few minutes, she lowered her eyes.

“It bothers you when I look at you?”

“I’m not used to being stared at like a dessert on the menu.”

“Ah, my Kate. That tells me you haven’t been very observant these past few years. How could any man see you and not want to gobble you? Thank you for not noticing them and saving yourself for me.”

Because they’d been dancing since they arrived, Philip led her to a small table in the back corner of the club when the music ended. A server appeared almost immediately to take their order.

“Ginger ale, please,” Kate said.

“You don’t like to drink alcohol very much, do you?”

“Sometimes, I’ll have a couple of drinks. Usually late at night, when Jamie’s in bed and I can relax. But not too often when I’m out.”

Philip asked the server for two glasses of the soft drink. When they were alone, he confided, “I don’t drink much, either. And never more than wine with dinner when I have to be on duty the next day.”

“That’s very responsible of you.”

Philip grinned, picking up Kate’s hand. “I acted a bit wild in my college days. I think there may even have been a moment or two when my family despaired of my ever being responsible. But I grew up.” And even living in what some would consider a fish bowl, he’d had more freedom, and more fun, he’d bet, than the woman sitting across the table from him. He wanted to know everything about her, everything she’d gone through. He wanted to know what Jamie had been like as a baby, and he knew she’d delight in talking about her son. But he’d promised her a night of fun.