CHAPTER 3
Nic
I’d been enchanted by the beautiful American woman from the first moment I’d seen her, and it wasn’t wearing off. She grew more and more intriguing, and I was determined to figure out exactly what she wanted so I could give it to her.
She was already incredibly rich, so she evidently didn’t care about money.
Clearly, she wasn’t impressed by royalty.
I grinned as I joined my father and my brothers for breakfast the next morning at my sire’s main residence. Diana certainly loved her books. We’d spent most of the afternoon yesterday plowing through all of the historical volumes in The Grand Library, and Diana had looked truly captivated by every book she perused.
She was smart, and very versed in European history. What she couldn’t learn in our archives about Rubare Virgina, I’d been able to tell her myself. One of our duties as royals was to be very well educated on the history of our country.
She’d also looked incredibly beautiful as she’d studied different volumes, taking a copious number of notes as she went through each book.
“So have you made your choice then?” My father, King Heinrich, asked as we lingered over coffee after breakfast.
I bit my tongue, my mood more elevated since I’d met Diana. My father had asked me every single day for the last several months if I’d decided who my bride would be. I wasn’t surprised he’d repeated the same question today. I answered carefully, “We’ve been through this before, father. I’ll make a choice, but I’ll handle this in my own way.”
I resented the fact that I was forced to marry, and I hated the farce that he’d pulled together in order to force my hand. Many of the guests that had arrived from other countries had departed for home this morning, after I told Theo that he needed to let them know that I was unavailable. I wasn’t attending any of the events, but I think a few were holding out hope that Robert might show up. Little did they know that my younger brother didn’t show any sign of settling down anytime soon. But his turn to do his duty would come soon enough. I just hoped that he’d fall in love before it did.
“How was I to know you wouldn’t like more women to choose from,” my father grumbled. “It helped Ballasare find his princess.”
I had to stop myself from reminding him that he’d initially objected to having Jessica as Ballasare’s wife, and the union nearly didn’t happen. But I resisted the urge to contradict him. My father would never change. He was a traditionalist. Maybe he’d bent a little by inviting women from different countries instead of insisting that I choose one of our own. But I hadn’t been able to convince him to start allowing Rubare Virgina to experience different cultures by allowing tourism.
King Heinrich would only bend so much before he broke.
“I’ll choose when I’m ready,” I answered vaguely.
“Decide when you find the right woman,” Ballasare insisted.
Jessica looked up from her coffee to smile at her husband adoringly.
I’d watched the interaction between my older brother and his wife. Even after almost two years of marriage, they still acted like they were honeymooning.
And dammit…I wanted that. Jessica stood up to Ballasare when she needed to, and he listened. The mutual respect and love between the two of them was almost palpable.
“I’m not sure I can wait for the right one,” I answered irritably.
“You have time,” Jessica replied. “If I understand the rumors correctly, you may have already found her. Did you find someone, Nic, or is it just a rumor?”
“Diana,” I answered reluctantly. “She’s an American, and she’s not impressed with royalty. I doubt she’d agree to stay here in an isolated country. She’s quite wealthy, and she doesn’t need my money. Doesn’t want my title, either.”
“Then maybe we should be doing what Rubare Collina does and kidnap brides,” my younger brother, Robert, suggested.
“Nobody is kidnapping a woman,” my father told Robert sternly. “We won’t become the heathens that your cousins are, or adopt any of their archaic traditions.”
“They’re happy,” Robert argued.
“We have our own barbaric traditions,” I answered, and then finished off the last of my coffee.
Jessica spoke before anybody could argue with my comment. “Talk to her. Rubare Virgina really isn’t that bad, Nic, especially if you love the man you’re marrying. The women certainly aren’t repressed. And it’s almost unheard of to live in a country that has no homeless population. I don’t think your Diana would have a difficult time adapting. If she’d give it a chance, I think she’d love it like I do.”
I smiled at my well-intentioned sister-in-law. “I barely know her. But I find her… fascinating. She has no desire to capture my attention, and she doesn’t want to be a princess. She only came here for the chance to visit The Grand Library and study some of our history volumes because it has some European history as well.”
“Believe me, it’s better if she doesn’t bow down to you all the time,” Ballasare commented. “Instant obedience is overrated.”
Jessica flushed, and she suddenly became very busy with an invisible stain on her dress.
“I don’t want a woman who blindly follows my every command.” I desired a female who challenged me, made me think.
Diana was like a fresh breeze after the rain. The woman not only had a grip on my cock, but she had me completely delighted because she was unique. I definitely wanted to fuck her, but I wanted everything else from her as well.
“Why ever not?” my father rumbled. “Your mother obeyed my every command, and we never had a fight until the day she died.”
Ballasare and I exchanged knowing glances. We both missed our mother. Robert had been young when she’d died, but I could still remember how kind and loving she’d been. Truth was, she had doted on our father, but there were times that I’d wished she’d stood up to him when we were younger. She hadn’t been miserable, but I can’t say she had much of a life when she’d lived for the kingdom.
“She was a good mother and a good queen,” I agreed noncommittally.
“Maybe all the education I’ve given you boys isn’t good. You get too many strange notions about the way things should be.” My father’s voice was grave.
None of us answered, and I was willing to bet every one of us were squirming in our chair.
Going away to college, and then traveling as an ambassador for my country had opened up my eyes. I saw the world differently because I knew exactly how it functioned. Had I stayed behind in Rubare Virgina like my father always had, I might have never realized how much the citizens of my country were missing by not acquainting themselves with different people, different countries.
For most Rubareans, this was the only place they knew. Few traveled outside the country, although we didn’t prohibit it. But we didn’t promote the idea, either. We did nothing, even as simple as building a public airport, to encourage Rubareans to visit other countries. For the most part, if we didn’t provide facilities, travel would prove too expensive for an average Rubarean.
I pushed my chair back. “Breakfast was good, but I have to go. I’m picking up Diana today. We’re going to explore the coast.”
After yesterday, I was anxious to see her again today. Even if we’d spent most ofour time in the massive library, it had been one of the most entertaining days I’d had in a very long time.
“Show her your palace if you’re going that direction,” Jessica suggested. “I think she’d love it.”
I grinned at her. “Thanks. Maybe I will.”
My home was closer to the water instead of in the middle of the city. Yes, the castle was big, ancient, and probably somewhat pretentious, but I had turned it into a refuge rather than a showplace.
“You need to put a ring on a finger within the next week,” my father bellowed after my quickly retreating figure.
I kept going, pretending not to hear his comment. I already felt the internal pressure of choosing a bride, and I didn’t need him pressuring me.
He was right.
For the good of my country, I had to find a woman I could tolerate marrying. I didn’t want to stir up the Arcano. My cousins were currently waging war on the ancient guardians of the islands, and the last thing I wanted was to do the same. The members of our Arcano had never stepped over the line like they had in Rubare Collina, and I didn’t want to give them reason to do so now.
I nodded at the staff as I moved through my father’s principal residence, and then raced down the outside stairs, not even noticing the precious gems under my feet. The rare stones were commonplace in our castles, and plentiful in my country.
My car was already in front of my father’s home as I hit the last step, knowing the staff had anticipated my departure. It didn’t surprise me. I’d be disturbed if things didn’t run like clockwork at my father’s residence. Efficiency was something I took for granted since I’d grown up not knowing anything else.
I glanced at the clock as I slid into my luxury SUV.
Nine o’clock.
If I didn’t have any unexpected delays, I’d arrive early at The Colossal Hotel.
I felt elated at the thought of seeing Diana again, but I knew I was going to walk around with my cock hard the entire day. Yesterday had been a full day of living with blue balls. I was attracted to her in ways I couldn’t even begin to understand. I had been since the first time I’d seen her.
Her fiery hair was hard to miss, and those mesmerizing eyes of hers seemed to sparkle with curiosity and intelligence. She had curves that my hands were constantly eager to explore, and there wasn’t a damn thing about her that made my lust any less potent.
“I like her, too,” I said aloud as I pulled away from the main palace.
I realized that I’d never really found a woman I actually respected until I’d met Diana. Sure, I’d slept around. I was male, and my body was insistent on getting sex on a normal basis. But with Diana, I didn’t just want to fuck her. For some unknown reason, I also wanted her to like me. My desire to please her was the reason I was currently on my way to spend the day with her again.
I tried to chase away the voices in my head telling me that I had very little time to choose a bride. Honor and duty were a part of me, and I’d lived by it all my life. For once, I was doing something for myself. And I was going to enjoy my time with a beautiful woman I was beginning to like and respect.
My dick might protest, but I wasn’t willing to give up the opportunity to be with her just because of my intense physiological reaction to her.
I grinned as I thought about our first meeting and her honesty. Diana was different from any woman I’d ever met. Her openness could be brutal sometimes, but I appreciated a woman who didn’t make me guess about what she was thinking.
Somehow, I’d convince her that every rich man wasn’t after more money. Especially not me. I was one of the few men in the world who had almost unlimited amounts of money.
Then, once she liked me, all I’d have to do is tell her that being a prince came with responsibilities, duties that we had to uphold. Arrogance was part of the royal package, but my father had made certain that we were never spoiled or useless.
She had that “spoiled royalty” perception all wrong when it concerned the Demande family. All of us had our own millstones around our necks, obligations that we had to fulfill.
Our lives as royalty was complicated. But if getting involved with Diana was going to give me the chance to sway her opinion, I was willing to convolute things even more.
Even though I’d been unwilling to share with my family right now, I’d known that Diana was the one for me as soon as I’d laid eyes on her.
Now all I had to do was convince my bride.