My hands were shaking so badly that I almost couldn't hold the blanket up high enough to cover my breasts. I hadn't expected Tomas and Kai to find me so fast. I certainly hadn't expected them to come busting in to Reed's hotel room.

Of course, their initial thought had been that he'd kidnapped me and was forcing me to have sex with him. I knew they'd think that from the moment I heard the manager yell from the main room. They'd stopped because I'd told them to, then they'd frozen because I'd informed them that I wasn't a virgin anymore.

Reed was looking back and forth between me and the men, completely baffled. I felt bad for him, but now wasn't the moment to explain. With as much authority as I could muster while sitting in a bed naked except for the hotel's bedspread, I quickly informed Tomas and Kai that should they deem it necessary to tell my father or mother about this, I would feel obligated to tell my parents that I had, in fact, actually lost my virginity back at Princeton while they were supposed to have been watching me. I saw the realization on their faces, the knowledge that no matter what they said, they were the ones who'd be screwed if this came out.

“Leave.” I switched back to English for Reed's sake. Neither man moved, their eyes darting towards Reed and then back to me. “He's already seen me naked,” I snapped. “You two don't get to. Out! Now!”

Their faces matching shades of red, they left, Tomas slamming the door behind him.

“Um, Nami?” Reed turned to look at me, his eyes wide. “What the hell was that about?”

“I am sorry, Reed,” I said, climbing out from under the covers. I grabbed for my clothes, unable to look at him. “I wish things could be different. I wish I could spend tonight in this room with you.”

I swallowed hard, myriad emotions choking me. I wished I could tell him all the other things I wanted. To be able to choose my own path, my own life. I couldn't say any of that though.

“I have to go. I have a train to catch in the morning.” I fixed my dress and allowed myself a glance at Reed. He was watching me with those dark eyes, an unreadable expression in them. “I'm sorry.”

I walked out without another look back. Tomas and Eli were waiting just a couple feet away from the door, their faces back in those expressionless masks they always wore. I didn't have to see what they were thinking to know it. They thought less of me for what I'd done. I kept my head up though. I had nothing to be ashamed of. A woman taking charge of her sex life wasn't something bad or wrong, and I wouldn’t let them make me feel bad about it.

“How did you find me?” I asked as we stepped into the hallway. I held up a hand before either of them could speak. “Never mind. I don't care.”

“Your father called,” Tomas spoke.

I was always surprised at Tomas's voice. He didn't talk much, especially to me, but when he did, it always made me want to laugh because it was so soft and almost feminine. At the moment, however, nothing was funny.

“He did?” I tensed as we stopped at the elevator.

“Mr. Mikkels has been monitoring the media.”

“Of course he has,” I muttered. Mikkels was my father's PR person. He'd been adamantly against me going to Princeton, sure that I'd be a public relations nightmare. Even after four years of model behavior, he didn't like me. He'd hated the idea of me going on a trip to Europe, making it clear that he thought I'd go wild the moment I stepped foot in London. To my credit, I had at least waited a while before I ran off to a club.

“It seems that there was a model at the club and you were in one of the pictures a reporter took,” Kai said.

Shit. That couldn't lead to anything good.

“Your father has decided that it is time for you to come home,” Tomas said.

“I have a week of my trip left,” I said, walking out of the elevator ahead of the men.

“King Raj was quite insistent that we take you to your train first thing in the morning. Once we arrive in Italy, we're to make sure you are on the plane immediately.”

“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath. Apparently me telling Reed I had a train to catch wasn't a lie after all. I caught Kai giving me a disapproving look at my use of language. “Do you have a problem?” I snapped at him.

“No, Princess,” he replied stiffly.

I would've felt bad for getting smart with him if I hadn't been fuming about my father's orders. Tomas and Kai had been stuck with me for over four years, away from home and everyone they knew. Neither of them were married or had kids, but I knew that Tomas had a large extended family, including several nieces and nephews, and Kai's mother was elderly and sick. I suspected he'd taken the job to pay for quality care for her. Saja had only two nursing homes on the entire island and it wasn't easy getting someone in there.

A limo was waiting for me in front of the hotel. Kai climbed into the passenger's seat while Tomas followed me into the back. The best thing about my bodyguards was that neither of them ever tried to strike up a conversation. That could be a bad thing if I wanted a distraction from the chaos in my head, but right now, I appreciated being able to think uninterrupted.

Well, not think so much as daydream. I didn't want to think about the future and what would happen when I got home. Right now, I wanted to enjoy the memory of my last vestiges of freedom.

While I'd had fun at the club, it hadn't been until Reed had approached me that I'd truly begun to enjoy myself. It had been crowded and loud, with people pressing all against me. I hadn't realized how much I'd gotten used to the little bubble of personal space that who I was had always accorded. Even at school, people hadn't tried to get close since Tomas and Kai had always been there, lurking in the background.

I wondered if Reed would've tried to talk to me even if Tomas and Kai had been there. Remembering the way he'd carried himself, the self-assured way he'd spoken, I thought he would have. He didn't seem like the kind of man who was intimidated by anyone.

I clasped my hands together on my lap, resisting the urge to run them over my neck, across my body, following the path his hands had taken. I could almost feel them, hot against my skin. The nipple he'd bitten throbbed, every movement chafing even as it sent a thrill through me. Aaron had been a good lover, at least I'd assumed so. He hadn't hurt me and I'd come with him, but it had been purely physical pleasure. There had been none of the fire I'd felt with Reed. When he'd been inside me, I'd felt like I had belonged there, with him, our bodies locked together.

I shook my head and swiped at the tears that had formed in my eyes. It was foolish to remember. Maybe later when I was alone and could touch myself, imagine that it was him, but not right now. Now, all I could think of was the way he looked at me, as if I was his only focus. I wasn't naïve. We had no commitment, nothing between us that suggested we would've been anything more than a one-night stand, but for that one night, he had been with me, only me. He hadn't been thinking of someone else, or using me for his own pleasure.

I could only wonder if the man my parents had chosen for me would be equally as attentive. The knot in the pit of my stomach said he would not. My husband would be chosen for his family, his bloodline, nothing else. My own desires were secondary to what was best for the kingdom, and I'd always known it would be so.

I was, after all, a princess.