ROYAL BRIDE (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (16 page)

“Oh. Well. Okay then.” She stumbled over her words.

“Goodnight, Elisabeth.”

“Yes. Goodnight.” She hung up, and he leaned back against the back of the couch. He needed a better way to deal with Isabella. He also needed her to understand how much he valued her.

No woman had ever gotten into his head so easily and so permanently as his wife had. Even when he was irritated and wanting to rip his hair out, he would rather be with her than anywhere else in the world.

Something had to give. The joy he’d seen on her face at the charity night was the most relaxed he’d seen her in weeks. The purest of pleasure in her expression was unadulterated and completely unguarded. He wanted that all the time. He wanted all of her walls down, to have her at her most vulnerable. The need to prove to her that he could be the man she needed and wanted grew every day. The misery she had encased herself in recently pulled at him and irritated him.

Elisabeth’s call had given him an insight into who his wife really was. In some ways, she was still the lost little girl looking for guidance and acceptance. He thought about his own little sister, about the lengths he would go to in order to protect her, to make sure she felt safe and loved—and those thoughts quickly made him angry at Isabella’s brother and father. True, Raphael was but a boy when their mother died, but he should have taken more care with his sister. Instead of writing her off as a spoiled brat, he should have seen what was really going on.

He wouldn’t excuse her father. King or not, his responsibilities as a father went beyond sending the girl to the nursery. And to shelter her from an education, leaving her to do it all on her own? Although, when he went down that road, it occurred to him that he was doing very much the same thing by denying her the college she had chosen. He knew the university on his own island was lacking, which was why he was sent abroad to get his higher education. Why should he deny his own wife the same opportunity?

The bedroom door creaked as it opened. He looked up and found her peeking out of the door at him. Her eyes were soft, and her cheeks a bit flushed. Had she been crying?

“Come here, Isabella.” He patted the cushion beside him on the couch. The door swung completely open and she emerged, wearing her nightgown. “It’s not even seven-thirty.” He looked at his watch.

“I assumed I wasn’t going anywhere tonight.” She padded across the carpeted flooring in her bare feet and slid onto the couch. He put his arm out, a signal for her to come closer. She moved over until her thigh touched his, and he pulled her the rest of the way, pushing her head down onto his chest.

She smelled of honey. He couldn’t help but kiss the top of his head. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”

“I seem to have that effect on you,” she whispered, splaying her hand on his chest.

“You have other effects that I much prefer over anger.” He placed his hand over her fingers to still them from the exploration of the button on his shirt. If she kept going, her hand would slip inside his shirt, and if he felt her skin on his at that moment, he would be too distracted to get out what he wanted to say.

“I can’t tell you what you want to know. Not yet.” The statement was said so lightly he almost hadn’t heard her. What he did hear clearly was her fear of upsetting him again. He couldn’t stop his body from tensing at the prospect of his wife insisting on withholding the information he sought, but he tried to keep his voice softer.

“Why?”

“Where I got my information really has nothing to do with what happened today. If I thought for a moment that it did, that it would help you find that woman, I’d tell you. You must know that.”

He did know that. She was as serious about finding Karen as the rest of his team. Hell, she’d gone digging for information on her own about the case. “If you suspect otherwise, even for a second, you’ll tell me?” He let her hand go and brushed some hair away from her forehead.

“Of course. Do you trust me?”

“Trust has to go both ways, Isabella. If I must trust you that you’ll give me this information when I need it, you must trust me enough to give it to me. I know you think telling me will betray your source. But better to rule out that source than to leave a loose end dangling free.” He tried to ignore her unbuttoning his shirt with her nimble fingers and remain focused on their conversation.

“I do trust you. Give me one more day, then I will tell you.”

As compromises went, it wasn’t horrible. One day. His men were already hot on the trail of another lead, and odds were pretty good they’d have the woman found within the day.

“I can’t tell you anything more about the search until you tell me.” He waited for the blowback of his comment. “Like I said, trust goes both ways.”

She was silent for a long moment then nodded. “I understand.”

“Did you really want to spend the night in?” he asked with a finger lifting the hem of her satin nightgown.

“I didn’t think you’d let me out,” she answered honestly.

He chuckled. “There is an event tonight. A charity dinner for the refugee camps in South Africa. I find that I’m not much in the mood for fancy dinners and political speeches.” His hand slid up her thigh, reveling in the heat of her skin. “Maybe we should call it a night. Turn in early?” His voice dipped lower, and he kissed the top of her head.

After a soft sigh, completely forced and fake, she nodded. “I suppose… If that’s what you want.”

He pinched her leg. “Naughty girl.” He laughed and pulled his hand from beneath her gown to pat her leg. “Go get in bed. I’ll be right there.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes and a genuine smile. She might anger him to no end and have a temper as strong as his own, but when it came time for them to slide into bed, she was as soft and pliable as anything he could hope for.

“Don’t be too long,” she whispered. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before hopping off the couch and sauntering back to the bedroom. He watched her hips sway beneath the satin material of her nightgown, and if his cock hadn’t already been hard from her sitting beside him, it would have been at complete attention then.

ISABELLA

Standing beside the bed, Isabella watched the door for him to come to her. There was no reason she could think of that she would need him so badly after having such a horrible afternoon. He’d done it again—brushed her aside and assumed she was nothing more than a simple woman. Yet, she waited for him, standing fully nude and waiting for his touch. She may fail him and shame him in every other aspect, but in the bedroom he was pleased with her.

When he stepped into the bedroom, she felt his heated gaze burn a trail of desire over her skin. He finished unbuttoning his shirt and removed it as he made his way to her. After the shirt was gone, his pants were next, and he took little time shedding those. By the time he reached her, he was gloriously naked, just like her.

He cupped her shoulders, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her. The warmth of his embrace almost surprised her. She had expected him to be rough, unyielding, as he was most nights with her. She loved it when he took her hard and showed her how wonderful it was to be under his power. His large hands moved over her chilled skin, down the length of her back and to the curve of her backside, where he cupped her rounded cheeks. Like most of his actions in the bedroom, his grip on her was possessive.

“What took you so long? I was getting cold,” she whispered against his neck.

“Don’t worry about that, Bella. You’ll be warm in a moment.” The use of her nickname sent a shiver through her. The way he said it, with an undertone of lust and need, made her pulse quicken.

His lips found hers in a crushing kiss. His hands dove into her hair, tugging lightly until her mouth was angled to his specification. Without letting her go, he backed her up to the wall, never breaking the kiss. Pressed against the wall, she let out a sigh when he finally broke the kiss to move his attention elsewhere. He brushed his lips over her collarbone, licked a trail up to her earlobe and nibbled her there as well. Each new touch, each new sensation, sent a tingle of desire through her body.

“Lift your leg for me, Bella.” He cupped her ass as she wrapped her right leg around his waist. He growled softly as he positioned his long erection at her entrance. His eyes met hers, and with one swift motion, he plunged into her. She yelped from the sudden fullness. Standing made his cock fill her in a new way. Given his height, she wasn’t sure the position would work, and when he withdrew slightly, she thought she had been right. But without taking his eyes off hers, he plowed into her again.

“Oh!” She grasped his shoulders to keep her balance and felt the length of him being dragged out again.

He plunged into her again, deep and hard. Shudders of pleasure worked through her body. She turned her head, moaning as he continued his deep invasion of her body. Isabella could feel every ripple of pleasure he gave her, and each time he pulled free, she would crave the next drive forward.

She arched her back, trying to take more of his cock, her chest out. He took one nipple into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue and suckling it hard. “Oh, God!” Her nails dug into his flesh as he continued to drive into her harder. She felt the wall behind her chafing against her naked skin, but it only added to the wonderful sensations of his too-big cock plunging into her.

His mouth found hers again, and his lips covered her with more passion than before. His teeth nipped at her lower lip, and he growled into her mouth as he broke the kiss. “Dammit. What you’ve done to me, woman…” He drove into her again harder.

“You aren’t exactly innocent either,” she retorted and lifted her leg a bit higher, enjoying his expression tighten and his eyes roll from the new sensation she created.

“Such a brat.” He pinched her hip, and she laughed. He slowed his thrusts, dragging his cock out of her and pushing back into her inch by delicious inch. It was enough to make her eyes cross.

“Please, Antonio. Don’t hold back. Please.” Her mouth dried from gasping for air. She slid her mouth along his jaw, nipping at his throat. He growled again, much louder, and plunged into her hard. Her eyes crossed. His hands slid behind her, cupping her ass and lifting her up off the ground. Still pressed against the wall and up in the air, she had no way of moving and was completely at his mercy as he drove into her again and again.

“You do things to me, too, Antonio,” she whispered into his ear. His cock swelled inside her as he drove into her faster and harder. The only sounds in the room were those of their flesh bouncing off of one another and the sultry moans of their pleasure mingling together as one.

Crossing her ankles behind his back, she pushed off the wall and toward him, taking every inch of him and reveling in the power of the man fucking her. He growled his pleasure and nibbled on the soft flesh behind her ear. “Come for me, Bella. Come hard for me,” he ordered.

Unable to hold back, she screamed as the ripples of her orgasm roared through her. She dug her hands into his shoulders as her orgasm ran through her, tightening every fiber in her body. Her vision blurred from the intensity of her orgasm. The room looked to be in a fog and Antonio was the only thing she could see clearly. She called his name over and over again as he dragged out her release with each stroke of his cock until he claimed his own orgasm.

His body slammed into hers, his hold on her ass so tight she wondered if she would bruise. Yet through his roughness, she could feel in her very soul that in his arms, she was the safest she would ever be.

His breath was labored as it mingled with her own, his chest rising and falling against hers as they tried to reclaim control over their bodies.

He smoothed her hair away from her face and placed kisses along her cheeks and on her lips. “Bella,” he whispered against her lips. “You are perfect.”

She froze at his words, holding her breath as he pulled back enough so she could see his face. He was smiling at her. His hands worked over her face, still smoothing away her hair. He’d said she was perfect. The perfect wife, obediently spreading her legs for him when he asked. The perfect lover. The perfect whore.

He withdrew from her and held her until her feet were steady on the ground. She remained quiet as he studied her with a worried expression. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “Bella?”

“I think I’ll shower before bed,” she whispered. It was all she could think of to get away from him for a moment. He didn’t try to stop her, and she was grateful. As she closed the bathroom door, she kept her head down so he wouldn’t see the tears starting to fall from her eyes.

ANTONIO

He would never understand her. She grew more impossible by the day. Their lovemaking the night before had been the closest he had come to telling her that he loved her. Which he did. It was a revelation he’d come to over breakfast.

He’d spent most of the night watching his wife sleep in their bed. After her shower, she had slipped between the sheets and drifted off to sleep before he could even offer her a glass of wine. It hadn’t even been ten o’clock, and she was dead to the world.

At first, he was concerned for her health, and then he was angry that she hadn’t told him she wasn’t feeling well. That emotion rolled into the next, and then the next, until he found himself wound so tight he needed to take a shower himself just to get his muscles to ease enough for him to sleep.

He sat at the breakfast table alone because his wife had departed while he was still dressing, announcing she had a meeting with the college advisor. She wanted to cancel her application in person, she had explained. He didn’t really believe her, and it didn’t matter. He’d already sent a message to the school advisor, telling her to send the bill for whatever coursework his wife wanted to enroll in and he would have the tuition paid for right away.

There were some perks of being a prince. Being able to get the admissions councilor out of bed for a discussion before the crack of dawn was one of them. As he talked with the councilor at half-past four that morning, he realized there was very little he wouldn’t do for Isabella. There really was nothing he wouldn’t do to put a smile—a genuine, heart-felt smile—on her lips.