Chapter Nineteen
For someone who had been nearly invisible for most of her life, the trip into town bordered on the ridiculous. Magnus had said he would provide a driver as well as a guard for her, but somehow that had grown into four men in suits escorting Rachelle down the cobblestoned main street. So much for fitting in.
As she walked, people came out of their homes to meet her. She was tempted to tell them she wasn’t anyone of importance, but they seemed so excited that she didn’t have the heart to. One woman introduced an entire herd of children to her. Rachelle took the time to ask each a question based on their age. She knew from experience to ask the littlest about their toys and the older ones about themselves. There were many, many times in Rachelle’s life when she wasn’t confident, but meeting people and putting them at ease was what she did well. She liked people, and somehow, more often than not, they liked her.
It was natural when a conversation with a plump, older restaurant owner named Zinnia led to following her back to her kitchen to sample the woman’s ribollita, a vegetable soup thickened with bread. When Rachelle attempted to pay for the soup, the woman refused and said it was an honor to have her in her restaurant at all. Only then did Rachelle say, “Please, let me give you something. I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“No. No. I know who you are. You’re Prince Magnus’s woman.”
I wish that didn’t sound quite so much like he owns me, but I’ll allow it for cultural differences. “We’re friends, yes.”
The woman continued, “Maybe one day his bride.”
Whoa. “I don’t know about that.”
“He would not bring you here unless you were very important to him. We helped to raise him. We are his home. His trusted friends. You understand? Four guard you today. One is my nephew. One I had to beat with a stick to keep out of my garden every year until he joined the royal guard. Desi, I have not forgotten where all my ripe tomatoes went.” She turned toward the grown man, who smiled sheepishly at her reprimand.
“Yes, but my wife needed to practice, and now she makes the best sauce in Domovia. You said so yourself.”
“That is the only reason I allow your son to take my roses for his girlfriend. He’s in love.”
Desi frowned. “My son is fifteen. What does he know of love?”
“You were about his age when you started stealing my tomatoes.”
The other men laughed.
Desi did not.
In that instant, Rachelle’s impression of the guards changed. They were no longer intimidating strangers in suits. They had names, families, and a place in this loving community.
“Thank you, Zinnia, for a beautiful lunch,” Rachelle said. “Your warm welcome means more to me than you know.”
Zinnia nodded as she walked with Rachelle back out onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. “Be good to our Magnus. He does not open his heart easily, but there is no one who would fight more fiercely for Vandorra—or for you if he chooses you.”
If he chooses me.
Like it’s that simple.
“How did you become queen?”
“Oh, he chose me.”
Relationships are so much more complicated than that.
Standing on the curb with Zinnia, Rachelle wished it didn’t have to be. Imagine how simple life would be if nothing else mattered besides wanting to be with someone who wanted to be with you? For just a night, Rachelle wanted to experience that. Even if it didn’t last. Even if something that good couldn’t.
One night.
One perfect night. Then I’ll go back to reality.
On that note—“Zinnia, where do women buy clothing in this town?”
“Like a dress?” the woman asked.
“And other things.”
“Other things?” Zinnia smiled knowingly. “Like a pharmacy?”
Rachelle tried not to die right there of embarrassment. “No, a clothing shop.” She glanced down at her jeans, then back at Zinnia. “I’d like to get something more feminine.”
“One minute,” Zinnia said. She turned and called back into the restaurant, right over the heads of the patrons. “Niko. Where does your wife buy those little nighties you blame your five children on?” He called back the name of a shop in a larger neighboring town. “Oh yes. Do you think you could send her quick to buy something nice in a size”—she looked Rachelle over—“eight? Something that would have you propose to her all over again.”
One of the men offered to go. Zinnia told him he was too young to have good sense in such things, but she would tell his father that he offered. The room fell quiet after that. Desi might not have been the only one she’d ever taken a stick to.
A moment later, Niko said his wife welcomed any excuse to shop and would be happy to go.
“Oh no. Please tell him it’s not necessary.”
Zinnia thanked Niko and closed the restaurant door as they exited. “It shouldn’t be until your wedding night, but I’ve given up lecturing the young. You’ll do as you please anyway.”
“Nothing is happening. I simply was looking for something besides jeans.”
Throwing her hands up in the air, Zinnia said, “Why do the young lie? I was never your age? Never in love? How do you think all of you got here if we didn’t first do what you’re planning? Your generation invented the Internet, not sex.”
Okay, then. I may have overbonded with the townspeople. “It’s probably time for me to head back. Thanks again for lunch.”
“You are a natural beauty. You don’t need makeup, but your hair could use a trim and maybe a good brushing. My sister is the best stylist in all of Vandorra. I will call her. She also does manicures. Beautiful and fast.”
You don’t by any chance know my grandmother, do you? Rachelle smoothed a hand over the curls she hadn’t straightened that morning.
“You’ll need a dress,” Zinnia said. “Men love dresses. I know just the shop. My cousin Abri travels once a month to the city to fill her shop with the best of the season. She is who we go to when we want something special.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble. Really. I have clothes.”
“No trouble. It is a memory we’ll all treasure when you marry our Magnus.”
“M-marry? I don’t really know him all that well.”
Zinnia frowned, but a moment later her smile returned. “Hopefully the right dress will change that.” She stepped away to make a few phone calls.
Rachelle looked at the men who still flanked her and realized they had probably heard the conversation. It didn’t show on their faces, but Magnus had said they were trained to look away. Still, she felt she needed to address the awkwardness of the situation. “I know what you’re probably thinking, but it’s not like that. Well, maybe it’s exactly like that, but I live a very ordinary life. I don’t travel to Europe. I don’t meet princes. I went to prom with my brother’s friend because he felt bad for me when he heard I didn’t have a date. So let me enjoy this, okay? Even if it reinforces your impression of me, I don’t care. I’m probably going right back to my regular life after this, but not today. Just give me today.”
A long silence followed.
Desi cleared his throat. “My wife showed me the video clip of you and Prince Magnus in London. She said he’d bring you here. She was right. She’s always right.”
“She makes him say that last part,” one of the other guards joked.
In a move that was so fast Rachelle almost missed it, Desi punched the other man on the arm, then went back to standing as if nothing had happened. It took Rachelle by surprise, and she laughed.
Zinnia returned just then. “Did I miss something?”
“No, not a thing,” Rachelle said.
“My sister said she has time if we go now. Ready?”
Rachelle tucked her hands into her jeans pockets. “Yes. Thank you for doing this, Zinnia.”
Zinnia linked arms with her and guided her down the street. “It’s my pleasure. Now let’s talk about those tennis shoes. Are you planning to play tennis today?”
It was late afternoon before Magnus drove back to his family home. He sat in his car to give himself time to calm down, because his temper was still hot, and he wouldn’t want to show that side of himself to Rachelle. She didn’t need to see the rage that had filled him when the man he’d sent to Slovenia reported Petek was dead. The car transporting him to court that morning had been involved in a hit-and-run crash that had left him and the driver dead. He’d been erased. Whoever was behind this was covering his tracks, but that wouldn’t save him.
His frustration with the situation was not Rachelle’s fault. He and his men needed to act fast and decisively. With Phillip’s help, Magnus designed a plan to lure Delinda’s security expert out into the open. They used their own experts to create duplicate servers, planted information, orchestrated opportunities, and made everything challenging enough for a breach to be believable. If she was as curious as Phillip thought she was, she would follow clues that would lead her right to a time and place they controlled, and they’d have her.
Delinda Westerly was a problem. It was one thing to engage in harmless matchmaking. It was quite another to hack someone’s server. She would soon discover why Vandorra’s borders were safe, despite their limited military capabilities. Magnus didn’t wait for a fight to come to him, and if he went to battle, he didn’t back down until he won. For that reason, he also sent his people more aggressively to uncover anything he could take Delinda down with if it came to that.
A car pulled up behind his. Magnus got out to investigate, then relaxed as soon as he recognized them as local musicians from town. Ones he’d known since they used to race their bikes up and down that very driveway. “Benito, good to see you.”
“Your Royal Highness,” Benito said in greeting before the two exchanged a warm handshake.
“What are you doing here?”
“Every dance floor needs music.”
“I’m sorry, my friend, but there has been a mistake. We don’t have an event planned for tonight.”
Benito wiggled his eyebrows. “I forgot. It’s a secret. If anyone asks, I said nothing.”
“What is a secret?” Magnus growled, his patience already thin after the day he’d had. The three other musicians scurried into the house with their instruments in hand.
“You put me in a difficult spot, no? I would be forever grateful if you let me run inside while you pretend to be surprised.”
“Look at my face, Benito. Do I look like I want to be surprised today?” If his friends had organized some kind of party for him, they had chosen the day poorly. All Magnus wanted was to lose himself in the heaven of Rachelle’s body.
“Trust me, this will put a smile back on your face.”
“Benito.”
Benito looked around instead of immediately answering, which pushed Magnus from impatient to angry. Who did Benito fear more than his prince? “Zinnia asked me to be early, but you know how the band is. One of us is always late. Please, don’t tell her. I swore we would be here before you.”
Zinnia? What the hell was going on? Magnus strode away from Benito to direct his questions toward someone who knew better than to hedge around the truth. “Desi, what is going on here?”
Desi shot a quick look at the guards and stepped forward. “Your Royal Highness, it is a dinner for you and Miss Westerly.”
Still running on the frustration of the day, Magnus asked impatiently, “Then why is Benito here?”
Desi’s expression turned pained. “We took Miss Westerly to town this morning, as instructed.”
“And?”
“Everyone liked her.”
On any other day, Magnus might have found this mildly entertaining, but not that day. “I didn’t ask you what people thought of her, I asked about Benito.”
Desi straightened to a military posture. “Yes, Your Royal Highness. He is here to play music while you dance with Miss Westerly after dinner.”
“By my command?” Magnus demanded.
“No, Your Royal Highness.”
“Surely someone thought to ask my permission.”
“No, Your Royal Highness.”
Temper flaring, Magnus growled, “So, to clarify: I have spent the day determining and planning a defense against a real threat, while, instead of assisting in that, my royal guard has been occupied how?”
“Preparing for this evening, Your Royal Highness.”
“Preparing how? I’m guessing it wasn’t by patrolling the perimeter. Nor by questioning everyone in town to confirm there are no suspicious persons.” It was a sharper tone than he normally used with his men, but too much had been happening in Vandorra for them to not be extra vigilant.
“No, Your Royal Highness.” The remorse in Desi’s eyes was genuine. “It will not happen again.”
“It can’t, Desi, for the sake of my life as well as yours.”
Desi nodded respectfully.
Magnus turned and strode up the steps. Desi must have radioed ahead, because by the time he stepped into the house, his staff was in a panicked scramble. He walked from room to room, shaking his head at what they had wasted their time on. The dining room, as well as most of the first floor of the home, was full of white roses and lit candles. A quick glance out one of the windows revealed that a square dance floor had been created on the lawn facing the river. Benito apparently hadn’t gotten the news, because he and his band were still setting up.
Just as he returned to the foyer, Phillip appeared. “A moment, Your Royal Highness.”
“Did anyone clear this with you? They brought in food, flowers, entertainment. Do they understand how many unknown elements they introduced to my house? My house. Nothing happens here without my knowledge and my permission.”
“It appears this was a spontaneous idea they collectively went with.”
“Unacceptable. This will not happen again. We need to do better than this, Phillip. How can I protect her if my own men become unpredictable?”
“I will speak to them.”
“Where did they get the flowers? The candles? Were they delivered? And if so, by whom? I want to know the name and description of every single person who stepped into my home.”
“I’ll have that information for you shortly, Your Royal Highness.”
Magnus ran his hands through his hair. He knew he sounded like an asshole, but nice didn’t keep people safe. “Why? What is the purpose of all of this, anyway?”
Phillip hesitated, then said, “It’s my understanding that Miss Westerly met Zinnia in town today, and the two got on well enough that they hatched this idea in an attempt to please you.”
“Well, get it all out of here.”
“Are you sure? Miss Westerly obviously went to a lot of trouble—”
“You know what I didn’t need today, Phillip? Another fucking surprise. I don’t care how much work went into this. I want it gone.”
A gasp echoed through the foyer. Magnus turned and was sucker punched by a completely different version of Rachelle than he’d left that morning. Dressed in a strapless dark-blue gown that fit her like a second skin, her hair piled on top of her head in a sexy knot of curls, she stood halfway down the stairway, taking his breath away. He’d waited a long time for her, and there she was, wrapped up for him like a candy begging to be devoured. The anger in her eyes only fueled the wild passion burning within him.
“You don’t care about anyone but yourself, do you? And you don’t even bother to hide it.”
Phillip wisely withdrew, as did the rest of his staff.
Magnus spoke as he crossed the foyer to the bottom of the stairway. “You appear to be feeling better.”
“I am—well enough to be able to drive myself back to the city, if you could lend me a car.”
“That’s not how I see tonight going,” he said as he advanced up the steps. He was done playing games. She’d obviously dressed with the intention of pleasing him, and it had worked. He didn’t need roses, candles, and pretty dresses to want her—but he appreciated the effort.
She stood her ground, her chin raising the closer he came. He would have told her how long the move made her neck look but decided the kisses he’d rain on it would deliver that message. She said, “It appears we’ll both be disappointed tonight, because I’m leaving.”
He came to a stop on the step below her, still towering over her by a few inches, but her mouth was deliciously closer. Her breasts swelled with each deep breath she took, reminding him of the first night he’d met her. “Keep the dress on the first time I fuck you.” She raised her hand to deliver a slap, but he caught it easily. “I don’t mind if you like it rough, but let’s take it somewhere private.” He pulled her closer. “You look so fucking hot in that dress. Good choice.”
“Let me go. Are you deaf? I’m not staying. Not now.”
He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. “Because I didn’t like the flowers? Because I don’t dance? I don’t give a shit about those things. If you’re looking for someone to romance you and read you poetry, that’s not me. I’m not that man.” He ran a thumb over her lip and loved how it opened for him almost against her will. “You don’t care. All you want is my cock again. Say it.”
Her eyes raged with the same desire flooding him. “No.”
He tasted her lips, teasing them with his tongue until she opened them for him. He lifted her into his arms while continuing to plunder her mouth. Her arms wound around his neck, and their kiss tasted of anger and fire. He didn’t know if he could trust her, and she was obviously furious with him, but none of that mattered, because their need for each other consumed all else.
He carried her up the rest of the steps and down the hallway to his room, kicking the door closed behind him. He walked to the bed and tossed her down on it. Standing over her, he said, “Now is not the time to lie to yourself or to me. We both know this is what you want. All you have to do is say yes.” He stepped out of his shoes, then pulled his shirt free of his trousers. “Yes to me bringing you pleasure.” He dropped his shirt on the floor. “Yes to pleasing me.” He unbuckled his belt and removed the rest of his clothing smoothly. He stood before her, naked and fully aroused. “One word, but you have to say it. Give yourself to me.”
Despite the passion in her eyes, she said, “And if I say no?”
“You won’t,” he said, slipping her shoes off and taking each of her stockinged feet in one hand. “But it is always your right to.” He slid a hand beneath her gown, up her leg, and discovered the stockings ended midthigh. “These stay, too.”
She licked her bottom lip. “You like them?”
“Oh yes.” With one strong move, he pulled her to the edge of the bed and held her legs up and apart at his sides. He followed with the other stocking, then went higher to the satin that covered her wet sex. He lightly ran his hand back and forth over the material. “Did you buy this for me as well?”
“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering and glazing with need.
He eased the material aside and dipped his finger gently inside her. “I like that word on your lips. Say it again.”
“Yes.”
He rewarded her by circling her nub until he found just the pressure and rhythm that made her squirm against his hand. She gripped the sheets on either side of her as he caressed her intimately. He wanted to see all of her, kiss every inch of her, but first he wanted the fantasy from that first night. As he touched her, he told her exactly how much he wanted to fuck her, how beautiful she was, how this was only the beginning of the pleasure they’d bring each other.
When her face was flushed with excitement and she was wet and ready, he hauled her to her feet and kissed her deeply. She was wild for him, her hands grasping for more of him. He stepped back, hiked her gown up, and unsnapped the satin crotch.
“Wait.” She reached into the bodice of her dress, pulled out a condom, and tossed it at him. He caught it and smiled.
It was all on then. He sheathed himself, then lifted her so her dress bunched and her legs wrapped around his waist. He kissed his way down her long neck and across the mounds of her eager-to-be-released breasts. Her sex hovered just above the tip of his cock, teasing, ready. She dug her hand into his hair and raised his mouth to hers. The kiss they shared shook him to his core. Never had he wanted a woman more.
They kissed until there was nothing but a painful hunger that could no longer be denied. With a step, he backed her to the wall and thrust up into her. She gasped into their kiss, then met his thrust with one of her own. Deeper and harder. Faster and more wild. The only sound in the room was her calling out for him not to stop and him swearing because it was that fucking good.
When he felt her giving herself over to an orgasm, he joined her with one last powerful thrust. He kissed her gently as they both came back to earth slowly.
Reluctantly, he lowered her back to her feet and disposed of the condom before returning to her side. Her clothing fell back into place. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her neck. “You have good taste in dresses.”
“Thank you.” She melted back against him. “I still think you’re an asshole.”
He chuckled. “We’ll see if you’re still saying that by morning.” He kissed his way across her shoulder while unfastening the back of her dress. She stepped out of it, and he turned her, appreciating every curve the tiny satin outfit clung to, as well as those it revealed. “I like the idea of getting to know the many layers of you.”
Her hand sought his cock and encircled it. “As opposed to stripping right down and putting yourself out there.”
“I’m not as complicated as you are.” Remembering what they were talking about had become nearly impossible as soon as she’d touched him. “This is who I am.”
She brought her other hand around to caress his balls while she rubbed her beautiful tits, still covered with satin, across his chest. “Too bad, I was hoping there was more.”
He gripped her ass roughly. “What else do you need?”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll settle for a night of good sex.”
If all his blood hadn’t been pouring back into his cock, he might have known what to say to that, but he was already finding it difficult to concentrate on anything beyond having her again. He picked her up, carried to the bed, and this time rolled onto it with her.
They made love again, and it was every bit as good as the first time. He stripped her bare for their last, leisurely romp. By the time she fell asleep in his arms, they were both sexually sated, and he knew every inch of her body. What he didn’t know was what more she’d expect from him—and it bothered him enough to keep him awake.
He tucked her to him beneath the blankets and frowned at her as she slept. Now that his head was clear, he replayed his arrival home and didn’t like the way it had gone. She didn’t know he’d been as angry with himself as he’d been with his men. He wasn’t a man who failed, and he’d already failed to protect her. He’d left her unprotected and vulnerable to whoever had hired Petek. It didn’t matter that he’d had no reason to believe she was in danger. Magnus knew how to protect what was his—and she was. She had been since their first kiss.
In the darkness, her gown formed a lump on the floor. He remembered how beautiful she’d looked on the stairs. She’d wanted to be beautiful for him, and she had been.
Had everything else been her idea as well? Was his rejection of it what had disappointed her? Without knowing the nature of his day, she wouldn’t have understood his reaction.
He was not a man who spent much time worrying about what those around him felt, but the idea of hurting the woman in his arms didn’t sit well with him. He rolled over and, despite that it was one in the morning, texted Phillip to order Benito to return.
Did he leave something? Phillip texted back.
No. I have changed my mind. Arrange for flowers, candles, music. Everything that was planned earlier. Use only trusted people.
It will take time. I had the flowers given away in town.
You have an hour.
Rachelle shifted against him, cuddling more closely to his side, and he dropped the phone. Phillip would make it happen. “Are you sleeping?” he asked.
“Are my eyes closed?” she asked with groggy sarcasm.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said.”
She opened one eye, then shut it. “Any chance we can talk about this in the morning?”
“I’m awake now.”
“Yes, you are. I, however, am not.”
“Then you are remarkable at maintaining discourse while sleeping.”
Her eyes opened then. “Fine. What did I say that you actually heard?”
“That I was not thinking about you when I canceled what you had planned for me. I was still preoccupied with my meeting. You and I will shower, get dressed once again, and go have the dance you wanted earlier. As well as whatever else you arranged.”
“I’m sure everyone is gone.”
“They are on their way back.”
She rolled over to check the clock beside the bed. “At this time of night?”
“Yes.”
“Just like that? No one is even upset that you essentially threw them out?”
“They would not dare to be.”
“Of course not, because of who you are. You don’t think that makes you a dick?”
“Do you not want them to return?”
She sat up, and he was momentarily distracted by the bounce of her bare breasts. “No, I do not want them to return. That whole dance thing was stupid. I shouldn’t have been angry with you last night. That’s just who you are. It’s not like you’ve tried to hide it. You’ve been blunt about what you want from me. My mistake was letting Zinnia get into my head.”
“I don’t understand.”
She gave him a long, sad look. “I know.”
He sat up. “Get up. As you said, it’s late. We don’t want to make everyone wait too long for us.”
“I just said I don’t want them to come back. I’m tired. I’m going back to sleep.” She lay back down and rolled away from him. If she truly wanted him to feel anything resembling remorse, she shouldn’t wag her sweet ass at him.
He picked her up and carried her to the shower. “I don’t require a woman to translate this for me. You’re upset that I didn’t dance with you, and you will continue to be upset until we do. So we shall dance.”
He deposited her in the shower and turned the water on—full blast.
She shrieked and jumped away from him in the stall. “Are you crazy? That’s freezing.”
He laughed and shielded her from the water until it warmed, then pulled her toward him. “Now, you’re awake.” He wiggled an eyebrow in challenge.
She threw a facecloth at him. “Jerk.”
“Still upset?” He placed his hand flat on her chest and pushed her back against the wall of the shower. “Luckily I know how to sweeten your mood.” He dropped to his knees, lifted one of her legs, and swung it over his shoulder, then sought her nub with his tongue.
She gripped the back of his head with one hand, steadying herself with her other. “Oh yes. Oh, God, yes.”
Sometimes the best way to talk to a woman did not involve talking at all.