Chapter 11 #3
When the shirt fell open, he took her hands and pulled her up against him. Then he slipped the soft fabric off her shoulders before he kissed the top curve of each breast, his firm lips sending flickers of delight dancing through her. She breathed out a long sigh of pleasure.
“And now for a well-deserved rest.” He rolled the two of them together on the bed so they were stretched out with her back to his chest. His body warmed hers while the weight of his arm over her waist had just the right amount of possessiveness.
She was slack with the afterglow of her orgasm and wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep, cocooned in the comfort of Raul’s embrace. Of course, she couldn’t because he lived in a palace, the palace. People would know she had spent the night with the prince. She let out a long sigh.
“What is it, mi corazón? ” His voice stroked like black velvet in her ear, and a little thrill ran through her at the endearment, even though she knew it was a meaningless intimacy that people used after sex. Or so she tried to convince herself.
“I’m very comfortable, and I don’t want to move,” she said before she had a horrifying thought and tensed. “Your parents aren’t going to stop by to check on you before they go to bed, are they?”
After all, the king had arrived unexpectedly the day before.
“Relax.” He stroked his palm down her hip, sending waves of delight through her. “I set my apartment status to private. No one will come in unless I push the panic button or the fire alarm goes off.” He kissed her shoulder. “I’m surprised that didn’t happen because you are so hot.”
“Seriously? Does that cheesy line usually work for you?” But she snuggled back against him.
“I’ve never tried it before. Was it effective?” The purr of amusement in his words made her happy.
“Maybe a little, but only because you’ve already proven your mettle.”
The huff of his chuckle feathered through her hair. “I look forward to proving it again.”
Desire flickered in her belly, but she shook her head against the pillow. “I think I should go soon.”
His arm tightened around her waist. “Why?”
So many reasons, all of them counter to what she really wanted to do.
“It’s getting late.”
“Tomorrow is Saturday. I’m sure Gabriel is not such a taskmaster that he makes you work on the weekend when you’re not flying him somewhere. You can sleep as long as you want to in the morning.”
Total honesty was called for.
“Okay, then, I don’t want everyone in the palace to know that we spent the night together. It would be awkward for me.” She held her breath, waiting for his denial or annoyance.
But his reaction was worse. He loosened his hold on her waist and let out a sigh of resignation.
“I understand.” He pressed a kiss just below her earlobe, the sweet yet erotic gesture melting her insides. “Tell me when you want to go.”
She glanced at the clock on his bedside table, wishing the hands would move backward. “Another half an hour.”
“Then we will make the most of it.” He rolled onto his back, taking her with him so she lay sprawled over him.
When one of his hands went to her breast and the other slid between her thighs, she forgot about palaces and kings and how beyond her reach they were to let herself sink into pure sensation.
“ Mierda! I have to go!”
Raul awoke with a start to find Erica squirming in his embrace.
Without thinking, he tightened his grip.
Then he remembered that she preferred not to spend the night at the palace.
Acquiescing, he pressed a kiss against her smooth, warm shoulder and forced himself to release her.
Unfortunately, he understood her reasons for wanting a quick, quiet exit.
His love life was a source of endless fascination for the media.
“I wish you would stay,” he said, running his finger down her spine as she sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed.
She smiled over her shoulder. “I’d like to, but…” She waved her hand to encompass his room and beyond.
Grimacing with acceptance, he pushed up onto his elbow. “But you’ll come back tomorrow, won’t you?” He wasn’t ashamed to plead. He desired her company in every way.
An odd look crossed her face, as though she was torn about how to answer. Yet he was sure she had enjoyed their evening together. Sometimes he felt completely in sync with her, and sometimes she was hard to read.
“You have to give me a report on your espionage at the Centro del Dragón.” He smiled to keep it light, but he desperately wanted her to come back, and this provided a compelling reason for her return.
“Right. Of course.” She stood, and he admired her creamy bare skin and delicious curves from behind. “I’ll text you about a time.”
“Come as soon as you finish.” He tossed off his covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed, cursing when he started to stand and felt the shot of pain in his ankle.
She bent to pick up his crutches, giving him a tempting glimpse of her breasts. “Here you go.”
Hauling himself upright, he pulled on his briefs before he followed her into the living room where clothes were flung everywhere around the sofa. “I don’t suppose you would consider leaving your bra draped over the armchair. It adds a nice touch to the décor.”
She gave him the briefest of smiles as she slipped into her panties and snagged the bra. He picked up his crutches and watched as she finished dressing with the same speed and competence as she had set up her tent. He wished like hell he could figure out how she felt.
“I’ll get the dishes from your bedroom,” she said while she tamed her hair into neat waves with a brush pulled from her purse.
“No need. The staff will take care of it in the morning.” He didn’t mention that she wasn’t the first woman to eat in his bed.
“And none of them would be surprised to find dishes there,” she said.
“I’m not sure how to interpret that.” He angled his head in a question.
“As a statement of fact,” she said. “You’re the prince, and you’re not exactly repulsive.”
“A backhanded compliment if ever I heard one.” But the corners of his lips twitched. She liked to keep him humble.
She came back to him and laid her hand against his cheek, her lips curving into a soft smile.
“This has been an amazing evening. Thank you.” She rose onto her toes and pressed a kiss against his lips.
He tried to shift the crutches to put an arm around her to pull her closer, but she stepped back too quickly.
“ Buenas noches, Su Alteza Real. I’ll see you later today. ”
Then she strode toward the door.
“Wait!” he called out. “I’ll call Dario to escort you.”
“I can find my way out.” She kept going and pulled open the door before giving him a wave and vanishing.
“ Maldito crutches!” He hated that he couldn’t wrap his arms around her and kiss her so persuasively that she would be sure to return as soon as possible.
Because his apartment felt empty now. And his bed held no appeal without her hot, gorgeous body in it.
He couldn’t even stomp around the room to work out his frustration.
So he crutched over to the sofa and lowered himself to the spot where she had straddled him and come hard on his lap.
Propping his foot on the cushion she had set on top of the pile of magazines, he let his head fall back and closed his eyes.
His lips curved into a smile as he remembered her comment that he was a good lover for a prince. It was so Erica. A little snarky but a genuine compliment. Or at least he chose to take it as one.
But what was truly great about the sex?—other than the fact that she was hot as hell—was that she didn’t treat him like a prince.
She didn’t put on a performance for him, as all too many women seemed to think they needed to do.
And she didn’t expect him to be anything other than the man she was making love to.
Their responses to each other were primitive and powerful and totally honest.
Somehow, he had known that’s how it would be with her.
Despite all her insistence on reminding him that he was el principe, she brought a directness to their interactions.
It was as though she had opened a door into his soul and let the mountain air blow through, scouring out the corners where the darkest cobwebs hung.
Her fresh perspective made him reexamine parts of his life that he had thought were carved in stone, impossible to change.
But how did she feel about him? There was that lingering sense of connection and now the intimacy of exploring her body, but every time he thought they had gotten close, she seemed to put distance between them.
She was a puzzle that he would take great pleasure in solving.
In the meantime, he lifted his fingers—the ones that had been inside her—and inhaled the scent of her that lingered on them. His cock stirred, and he lost himself in erotic images of what they would do together when she returned.