Chapter 21

Tamara

I barreled through the press camped just off-set, round black-out shades complementing my scowl and making me feel very LA. The story broke a few days ago, but so far the paparazzi dogs showed no signs of retreat, and I didn’t blame them. Covering the royal pregnancy paled in comparison to the chance to get a juicy bit of gossip on the other prince, especially since according to them I was the first woman he’d shown a repeat interest in since before Edward and Clarissa were the ones being photographed on dates and mercilessly interrogated.

I would feel special if I didn’t feel so goddamn attacked.

Plus, the press weren’t the only ones trying to prod a reaction out of me. Alexander had been calling me since the day he showed up in my trailer, and I’d ignored every single one. I didn’t even listen to the voicemails he left. Too risky.

My heart hurt. My head hurt. A giant weight seemed to crush my whole body every time I thought about his stupid handsome face or the way my heart flipped in somersaults every time he looked at me. It was easier to cut him off cold turkey, and I thought I’d done that when I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. Apparently, he could be quite resilient.

I made it back to my flat without incident. So far, they’d left me alone at home. A blessing.

I entered my flat with a great sigh, smiling when I saw Jo hovering in the kitchen with a steaming mug of tea. “Hey sis.”

“Hey.” I dropped my back and accepted the mug. “What’s this for?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said, screwing up her face in a way that indicated it was definitely something. “I just thought you might like a nice cup of tea after a long day of work. Anyway. I’m going to go now.”

She went to sidestep me and I grabbed her by the arm. “Jo? Why are you acting so...”

I heard a noise from the living room and my gaze flicked over to where Alex now stood in the doorway.

“What the hell, Jo?” I shot her an accusing glare.

She carefully pried my fingers off her arm and winced. “What could I do? He’s a prince, man.”

With that horrible excuse hanging in the air, Jo grabbed her purse form the counter and slipped out the door. My knuckles turned white from how hard I gripped the handle of the mug.

I’d never seen Alex look so nervous. He wrung his hands together and walk toward me slowly, like I might sprint in the other direction or throw my tea in his face. I gritted my teeth and tried not to listen to the part of my body that lit up the second his smell hit my nostrils.

“There’s a reason I didn’t return your calls,” I said. “I meant what I said so I hope you didn’t come here to change my mind.”

I tried to make my tone as cold as possible but I forgot how his lips seemed to form an eternal smile, even when he was nowhere near smiling. I forgot that his eyes had little bits of gold in the green, and that when he looked at me I knew he saw only me.

I needed to get my shit together fast, else dissolve into a puddle on the floor.

“I know,” he said. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Apology accepted.” I swung aside and gestured for the door.

Alex chuckled.

“It was worth a try,” I muttered.

“I should have never told you to get a thicker skin,” he said. “I understand why you’re cut up about the press and I don’t want to cause you any further pain in that regard.”

I shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. I appreciated the apology, but his unfiltered criticism had been a bit of a wakeup call for me.

Since my breakup with Michael, I’d burrowed into my fear of the media and let it control me. My continued desire to stay separate from Alex was because of more than just that, though. I still thought it for the best. After all, I was leaving soon and I already cared more about him than I should have. Why risk exposing myself to derision from the public and eventual heartbreak when I could just cut it off now?

“You were right, by the way,” he continued. “I used you the same way I used partying, and that wasn’t fair on you or on my family. I need to be better. I want to be better.”

“I’m glad.”

“And I want to be better with you.”

I sighed. “Alex—“

He put up a hand to stop me. “Becoming the prince I need to be means no more secret relationships.” He grinned wickedly. “As fun as it was.”

I frowned, confused. “Okay, so we’re on the same page then.” Why did I feel just a little bit disappointed? I needed to get my mood in check. I was going insane.

“Not exactly,” he said. “I want you to come to the garden party with me. As my date.”

My refusal was a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of exposing myself like that.

“Absolutely not.”

Alex stepped up until our chests brushed. I knew I should put some distance between us but couldn’t make my feet move, and when he laid his hand on my cheek I wondered if I’d ever be able to move again.

“Kitty Kat,” he murmured. “The best way to deal with the press is to ride out the storm. We can do that together and come out on top. I know we can.”

“But what’s the point?” My voice sounded small and I put a little more power in my next words. “I’m going to be leaving in a couple of months, Alex. Don’t you think it would be easier just to end things now? Why risk making it worse?”

He smiled gently. His thumb caressed my cheek and I swallowed hard.

“The point is,” he said, lowering his face toward mine, “that I can’t stay away from you, Tamara.” Our breath mingled in the small space and I tried to think about anything other than how much I wanted to kiss him. “And I don’t think you can stay away from me either.”

His lips were so close. So inviting. I saw the sincerity in his eyes, and felt the responding answer in my chest.

Alex was right. Whether I liked it or not, there was something about him that I wasn’t ready to let go of, even if I knew that I should. From the second he showed up in my flat I was a goner.

I couldn’t help myself. I bridged the gap and kissed him.

My broken heart mended in an explosion of heat and happiness, drowning all my worries as the sensation of Alex’s lips on mine swept through me. It was perfection. His hand tightened on my face and tilted my chin up while the other wrapped around my waist and pulled me tight to his body. I gripped the cool material of his shirt in a desperate attempt to stay upright.

“Tamara,” he whispered against my mouth. A plea? A promise?

I answered with a swipe of my tongue over his lips, and he moaned and deepened our kiss. I felt him harden against my hip. Fuck, just thinking about his dick made me wet. Fire bloomed deep in my core and sizzled through my veins, and I made desperate noises against his mouth as his lips crushed against mine.

Alex grabbed my ass, hauling me tight against his bulge. I groaned and scrambled to pull him closer. My nails dug into his chest, his back, the hard curve of his ass. My desire had never diminished while I ignored him, had just sat dormant, growing. His kiss unleashed it and I thought I would die.

“Bedroom,” I managed to mumble.

Alex lifted me bridal style without breaking the kiss, carrying me on sure feet to my bedroom and dropping me onto the mattress.

I started ripping off my clothes, pleased to see that he was doing the same. The air was electric. It burned my lungs on every breath and left me gasping. Alex watched me with dark eyes while I finished undressing, tossing my underwear across the room just as he pushed his boxers down his hips.

That cock. Fuck.

It jutted proudly between his legs, thick and swollen with desire. I scooted to the edge of the bed and wrapped my hand around the shaft, squeezing as my other hand massaged his balls.

Alex’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. “Fuck, Tamara.”

I stroked down his length, admiring the bulbous tip and pulsing vein. My pussy throbbed at the thought of him entering me, and I looked up with pleading eyes.

Alex’s nostrils flared. He pushed me on my back, stretched out with my feet touching the floor, and reached to the floor for a second before coming back up with a condom.

Once sheathed, he grasped a thigh in each hand and pulled me so my ass lined up with the edge of the bed. His eyes were hard, like chunks of granite. I matched his ferocity with some of my own and met his gaze.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he said, leaning over me and pushing my knees to my chest.

His cock speared into me, driving in to the hilt. He felt deeper than he’d ever been before and I cried out from the delicious mixture of pleasure and pain.

“All I can think about,” he said, pulling out. “Is fucking you. All day. All night.”

He slammed in again and I struggled to catch my breath.

Alex’s mouth crashed into mine and he kissed me fiercely as he thrust in and out in smooth, powerful strokes. I felt every inch of him. Every stroke. My body swirled with perfect bliss, more sensation than woman.

We bucked against each other, straining for release. It struck me that when people spoke of passion, they wanted this. It was bare. Raw. Primal in a way that nothing else in life could be in this age. No crown could civilize the way our bodies smashed together.

Alex growled against my lips, signaling he was close. Fuck, I was close too. Each jerk of his hips shoved me closer and closer to the precipice, and I was mere seconds from crashing over. I couldn’t be sure that I would survive when I did.

I scraped my nails down Alex’s back and he let out a mighty roar, slamming his hips against mine so hard I moved up the bed. A blast of lightning hit me in the core and I came hard, clamping down on his cock and milking him. He shuddered and held himself inside of me, cock spasming.

It felt like hours before I could breathe normally but it was only a few minutes. Alex was in no hurry to move off me, and I was in no hurry for him to move. I missed the smell of his sweat, the feel of his hot skin sticking to mine in the moments after climax. I missed how his breath tickled the hairs on my neck and he always kissed me sweetly right before he moved away.

Alex’s lips brushed over my neck and he rolled to the side, landing with a sigh on the mattress. He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing my knuckles.

“So,” he said. “Will you accompany me to the garden party?”

“How you can speak so formally after fucking me like an animal, I’ll never know.”

He shot me a cocky grin. “That’s a yes?”

“Yes,” I said, rolling my eyes even as a smile dug into my cheeks.

Alex kissed my hand again. “Excellent. There is one small matter to attend to first.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

“You’re going to have to meet my family.”