Chapter 12

Vivienne

“Good morning, love.” David’s voice wraps around me, and when my eyes greet him, I salivate—he looks delicious.

Standing in my office is the Sexiest Man Alive; the headlines are true. His blue suit perfectly drapes over him, hugging and accentuating his bulkier parts. The color brings out the darker hues in his eyes, and I see a hint of desire flickering in them.

I’m instantly wet.

“I’m impressed. You clean up nicely, Majesty,” I tease while walking over to him.

“As a doting fiancé should,” he winks at me and straightens his tie, but then I redo it for him.

“You ready? Or do we need to go over some ground rules?”

I know, I sound like a fucking teacher. But you can never be too careful. Especially if you’re dealing with a man who’s known for breaking the rules.

“Yes, love. I’m more than ready.” He lingers on my pet name. A tingle of excitement rushes through me, landing at my cunt.

Every. Fucking. Time.

How does he do it? But then I look at him again, and the answer comes to me like a shock of electricity. Yep, that’s how.

He smirks at me, and his hands brush my arm, traveling down to my hand. He intertwines his fingers with mine and tugs me forward.

“Shall we do this?” He says, inches away from my lips.

I force myself not to pout mine and kiss him. “Yes, let’s go.”

Hand in hand, David and I walk through the manor towards a posh sitting area. We look like the picture-perfect, ever-so-in-love couple.

I have to admit, we look damn good at playing pretend. Though the smile taking over my face is completely genuine.

I start to ease into our groove and relax, something’s actually going right for once. Thank God.

The camera crew has already finished setting up, and the reporter stands to greet us as we enter the room.

“Your Royal Highness. Ms. Taylor,” he shakes our hands dutifully. “It’s an honor to be sitting with you on such a historic day. Thank you for having me.”

Before I could open my mouth, David speaks.

“We’re happy to have you here. We’re thrilled to finally make our relationship public.” He looks down at me, and his lips form a small but satisfied grin. I return his expression, making sure to look in his eyes adoringly.

“Please, sit down.” David continues, gesturing towards the seat behind the reporter. He can be so charming. We also follow his orders and sit across from the man, who looks like he’s come straight off the set of Downton Abbey.

Settling into the pearl white Victorian sofa, our hands remain intertwined.

He clutches mine tightly, rubbing his thumb over my sensitive skin. It’s amazing what one thumb can do to a woman. Well, David’s thumb.

Being so close to him is already overwhelming enough that when we’re skin to skin and he’s touching me; my cunt clenches and I have to squeeze my thighs to ease the ache.

He notices my movement, and I watch his eyes travel up my body. Meeting my gaze, his lip curls up in a menacing smirk. It’s his eyes that have me reeling though, they’re wild and are filled with so much promise.

Damn, if it wasn’t for this interview—and my job—I’d be straddling him, making him fulfill all those dirty promises.

But that’s what got us here in the first place.

The reporter clears his throat, and I’m pulled back from my fantasy.

“So, Ms. Taylor, what’s it like moving away from New York and becoming a Queen? And it seems like it happened over night.”

I smile curtly and straighten my posture. I look over at David, who’s waiting for me to answer, and I turn back to the camera.

“Oh, it’s a dream come true, really. What little girl doesn’t dream of becoming a Princess? I guess I just missed a step and became Queen,” I giggle, forcing humor. That’s the one thing people love the most, the most relatable trait—humor.

“And David has been a great teacher, gradually getting me acclimated to his world.” I look up at him again, and he smiles at me.

This is going perfectly. All the studying, memorizing…the glances, the touches usually being done by royal couples when they get interviewed, is paying off.

“As we spend more time together, I discover more things about her. And I fall more in love with every passing day.” David chimes in, while still staring at me.

I feel glued to his stare, and I almost find myself believing in his words. Love? Whoa.

So far, we’ve been ignoring the event that got us here in the first place. But, I’d say, it worked out for the better.

I jerk my head back to the reporter, a little startled over my train of thought. It’s never smart to go down that path.

“You’re a successful PR consultant in New York, is that correct, Ms. Taylor?”

I nod, curious as to where he’s going with this question.

“So, how does a successful businesswoman see herself fitting into the monarchy?”

I knew this would come up, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. There hasn’t been a successful business woman turned Queen before, so this is something I’ll have to come up with on my own.

“The pressures and duties are similar, in some ways. Managing people, making sure day-to-day operations are going smoothly, and hoping that everything you put into place goes as it should.”

David interrupts, and squeezes my hand. “Vivienne will have no problem fitting in. She’s already doing an amazing job at the Manor, and everyone seems to love her. If there’s anyone in the world who can handle the pressure of being Queen, it’s this woman right here.”

“Thanks, David.” I chuckle, playing modest.

“It’s the truth, love.” He smiles at me, and, for a second, I forget that the cameras are on us.

He makes me feel like we’re in our own little bubble, and this fake engagement is actually real.

“You two are really meant for each other, aren’t you?” The reporter teases.

“Definitely,” we say in unison, and then look at each other in shock. We both break out in laughter at our unplanned outburst.

Damn, this couldn’t go any better if I scripted the whole thing myself. Have I said that I’m impressed with him yet? Because I can’t get over how fucking good he is.

Like I said, I almost believe this charade. I have to make sure that I get to thank him for a job well done.

We continue to answer the usual questions for this kind of interview—questions regarding my life here, our life together, and the duties that will be take upon after we officially become a royal couple.

Time goes by quickly when you’re having fun, I suppose. Because, before I knew it, the reporter starts to wrap up the interview.

He ends with a brief outro, though: “Who would’ve thought a woman from across the pond can make the once debaucherous, Prince David, transform into a doting King? Is this a new man, one more suited for his place on the throne? Time will tell, but what we know for sure is that we’ll have fun watching the King and Queen, who are obviously in love with each other.”

I know this is just pretend, that I made him do this. A small sliver inside me, however, hopes that what he said comes true.

But, for now, I have another job to do, and it puts that small part of me to shame.