19. Daniel
Chapter 19
Daniel
H e woke to the feeling of her hands on his chest.
Three days…
Three days of hiding away at a cabin in Big Bear and all he had to do was look at her to feel his pulse quicken. He never wanted to leave. They’d stayed up late, feeding each other ice cream and watching another marathon of Red Dwarf episodes. Episodes they repeatedly had to start over. Particularly after the whipped cream dripped onto her breast… He grinned at that memory. He preferred his whipped cream with nipple on top.
Telling her as much had earned him a shocked look and a delicious peal of laughter that squeezed his orgasm out of him.
Daniel sighed, shifting against the pillows and adjusting her so she seemed more comfortable. Her rich red hair trailed across his chest and her face relaxed completely into slumber with her lips still swollen from kissing him all night long.
This was the purest definition of perfect.
No, he amended mentally, his gaze tracking up to the beat-up bear sitting on the nightstand on her side of the bed. The drive there had been hurried, a rush to escape from the business of home and to lock themselves away in a sweet escape.
He hadn’t questioned his own impatience or taken a look at motivations. Walking out of that meeting with Takahashi to see her stricken expression as a stranger leaned into her set off every alarm bell in his head. He’d marched over there, fighting the first real urge to violence he’d ever experienced. The need to shield her had expanded to be so all-consuming, he’d just wanted to get her out of there, then away from the house. Away from where anyone might find her.
The fact he’d been prevented from leaving for several more days had been infuriating. Each day he’d had to say goodbye to her while he went to the office had eaten away at him. Prentiss had called his office once. He had Lucy put him off. The deal with Takahashi took all of his attention. As soon as it was all finalized, they could steal away.
Prentiss and the duke could wait.
Alyx shifted and her leg nestled deeper between his. He grinned as her mouth opened and closed, a hint of a kiss brushing his pec. It was ridiculous just how deep he’d fallen for this woman. The fact that the grand duke made his approach should have him crowing about financial good fortune, but all he could think about were the tears in her eyes, the absolute blown-away expression on her face and the traces of fear in her voice.
She couldn’t imagine why someone would want her or reach out to her.
He couldn’t imagine not having her right where she was—in his arms.
That was why he’d wanted her away. Maybe they could extend their absence. Another week here, or a trip to Napa. Their last trip there had been amazing.
The photographers closing in, the messages from Lucy about press calls and Martin’s satisfaction about how well his insane plan worked echoed in the back of his mind. Daniel had wanted to crown her a princess, but it never occurred to him that changing her life meant he’d really changed it. Business deal or not, when all was said and done, she would still be a princess. The press would be there, demands for her attention would only continue to increase if the world fell half as much in love with her as he was.
The sobering thought sent adrenaline surging through him. The urge to take her somewhere it could be just the two of them flooded through him so strongly that he’d rushed her into the car as soon as the very last meeting had been handled. She’d only pushed back long enough to grab her bear from her car. She didn’t care about clothes or supplies, but she wanted her bear. Even as the thought occurred to him, his gaze landed on the nightstand.
The ratty one-eyed, overstitched bear sat like a monarch on his nightstand throne.
That bear made this perfect.
She’d carried him in from the car, setting the bear in the room they shared now for real. Their room. Their bed. Their time together.
The ridiculous soppy sentiment prickled through him and he twisted, turning her over to nuzzle her cheek. Like a kid at Christmas, he didn’t want to wait for her to wake up.
Her arms wrapped around him and she murmured against his lips, “Good morning.”
“Morning.” He deepened the kiss, inviting her tongue to dance with his. Her foot slid along the back of his leg and his stiff cock glided against the wet heat of her sex.
For the barest moment, the idea of skipping a condom and just burrowing into her body tried to take root. If he could fill her with a baby, she wouldn’t go anywhere, but he shook away the thought. She’d lost enough choices in her life and as much as he longed to tie her to him, it had to be her choice.
“Did you get any sleep?” Her drowsy voice stroked over his senses like hot dark chocolate poured over a cold treat, sensuous and inviting. He nibbled along her lower lip, drawing it between his teeth and answering her with another soul-baring kiss.
“Some,” he murmured, tracing a path to her ear and then down the slender column of her throat. He nipped at the steady pulse beating beneath her skin. Her pebbled nipples stabbed at his chest and reminded him that he had so much more to play with. He continued his descent, enjoying her low sigh as he circled one nipple with his tongue. Blowing cool air, he grinned at the red tip pearling tight just for him. “But this is so much more interesting than sleep.”
He latched on to the nipple and thrummed it with his tongue. Moments later, as she arched up to him, he rolled a condom on and sank into the hot clamp of her pussy. She let out a low cry, legs scissoring around his waist. The urgency to take her quieted only to be replaced by the singular purpose of burying himself so deeply in her she would forget they’d ever been two people.
She gazed up at him. Her hands stroked up and down his sides in time to his thrusts and a smile played on her lips. “I don’t want this to ever end.”
“It never has to.” He promised and sealed the oath with another kiss before letting himself get lost in the feel of her. The orgasm that shot through him left them clinging together. Slippery with sweat, he rolled onto his back and draped her across him, enjoying the way her hair curtained around him.
This is perfect.
“I’m hungry,” she announced with a half yawn and more than impish grin. As if to illustrate her point, her stomach growled.
He chuckled. “Ride me to exhaustion and then demand to be fed. I see how you are.”
She propped her chin in her hand and lifted her eyebrows. “I beg to differ. You kept me up all night and then woke me up to ride me to exhaustion. You need to feed me or I may perish from fine sex.” The wicked twinkle in her eyes sent a wave of humor through him.
“Well, I would not want you to perish from fine sex.”
“Good. Because I believe I’ve finally acquired the taste for it.” She studied him, her lashes dropping to cover her eyes. “A very specific taste—which means you’ll have to work to keep me pleased.”
“I see. And what does my princess want for food this morning?” He pinched her bottom, grunting as she flexed around him and jerked.
God, it hurt so good.
Her outraged laughter, however, was music to his ears. “I want pancakes. Big fat, fluffy pancakes.”
“Hmm…” He massaged the buttock he’d pinched, rubbing his palm against her skin. He really liked her ass. He loved squeezing it as she took him inside her. “That means getting up and getting dressed.”
“We have to get out of this bed sometime.”
He considered it. And slid out of her and rolled her over so he could look at her back, teasing a line of kisses down her shoulder. “No, we don’t.” He gave her rump a little smack when she started to rise. “Stay put.”
After disposing of the condom, he found his cell phone and called down to the lodge. His cabin was nestled into a private area of the resort, hidden away and secure. He ordered up pancakes, bacon, orange juice and coffee and told them to deliver it in forty-five minutes. She stayed on her tummy, but shot him a questioning look. “I’m hungry now.”
Grinning at the plaintive whine, he slid back onto the bed behind her and nudged her legs apart. “So am I, and I seem to remember promising to go down on you.” Her startled squeal, then low sigh, was all the reward he needed as he flicked his tongue out for a taste. She was just as sweet and spicy as he remembered.
* * *
It was lunchtime before he heated up the pancakes and served her in the bed. She looked like a queen, draped out and exhausted. He wasn’t sure where all his need to take her came from, the urge to fill her up, to keep touching her, to never be apart. Maybe the fact that the press and world noticing his princess meant they would try to take her away from him.
After all, he’d only secured her time for the year.
Grimacing at that thought, he stared down at his pancakes moodily.
“Hey.” She nudged him with a foot along his leg. Whisker burns reddened the sides of her breasts and her cheeks. He really needed to shave before he touched her again. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he lied with a quick shake of his head. “Just—just business stuff.” He wanted to tear up the contract. Martin would kill him, but that was exactly what he needed to do. Tear it up and give her the shredded copy.
Then get down on one knee and ask her to stay for real. Not for money. Not for business.
But for him.
The thought cheered him somewhat and he dredged up a smile. “I’m going to shower and shave—” Her fingers stroking his cheek stilled the next words and he looked at her questioningly.
“I kind of like my sun gods scruffy.” The sultry words went straight to his cock and it gave a valiant attempt to firm up.
“Sun god, huh?”
“Oh yeah.” Her fingers rasped against the stubble. “Blond hair, blue eyes, bronze skin and a killer smile. Definitely a sun god.”
“Thank you. But the scruffy keeps marking your skin and I don’t want to hurt you.” In any way.
She leaned back against the pillows and nibbled her last slice of bacon. She was so unabashed in her nudity, one knee up, her breasts full and lush and utterly kissable. God, if he sat here much longer he’d forget about the shower and remind them both why he needed to shave.
Stacking the plates together, he set them on the table. “I’ll be right back.”
“I hate to see you go, but I love watching you walk away.” He could feel her gaze on him all the way across the room and he resisted the urge to puff out his chest. But when he paused in the bathroom door to look back at her, he couldn’t help but grin at her wolf whistle.
“You’re terrible,” he accused her, still smiling.
“You love it,” she teased, wrinkling her nose.
“Oh yeah.” He swept his gaze over her. “I do.”
Her little inhale sent another grin to his lips as he stepped into the bathroom. He met his gaze in the mirror and nodded. Everything would change when they went home. Shred the contract, talk her into staying and turn this charade into the real thing. Princess or not, deal or not—he wanted Alyx.
Fear punched him in the gut.
But does she want me?
* * *
ALYX
The bathroom door closed behind him and Alyx rocked up to hug her knees. Her heart beat triple time. She’d teased him about loving her, but the look in his eyes, the way he agreed and said I do … Her insides knotted up.
She’d fallen for him, hook, line and glass slipper. But the Daniel she fell for wasn’t the one paying the bills or writing a check—it was the crazy man knocking on her car window. The sensitive guy who seemed truly troubled by the fact that she slept in her car. The thoughtful one who took her to Sacramento to search for her past. The crazy guy who made love to her in the backseat of a limo. The playful one who pinched her bottom and tickled her even as he made love to her.
It was the Daniel who stayed up all night to fix a software problem because it helped someone or shared ice cream and silly stories with her in his kitchen. It was the protective Daniel who stood up to Victor. And—God help her—the passionate one who kissed her until the rest of the world faded away.
But does he mean it? Or has he just fallen for the image we’ve been creating?
Self-doubt was a cold bed companion and it crawled across their passion-scented sheets to wrap its icy fingers around her spine. As much as she’d tried to not obsess over it, Rhonda’s words and doubt haunted her. She looked at the bathroom and listened to the sound of the water. Sliding forward, she started off the bed to join him—to ask him. She’d never been a coward and she wasn’t going to start acting like one now, but a buzzing interrupted her. His cell phone sat next to the bed and Martin’s name flashed on the caller ID.
Ignore it, she told herself, but hesitated. It could be important. Daniel had kept his phone off for most of their sojourn at Big Bear. They’d actually been followed part of the way by photographers—a first and totally unwelcome experience—but once on the resort property, they were safe behind security gates.
On the fourth buzzing vibration, she scooped up the phone. “Hello, Martin. He’s in the shower. Is it important?”
“Well, Princess, it’s definitely fantastic news, but I can tell you and you can tell him. How’s that sound?” Martin didn’t sound like the tough, cynical lawyer she’d first spoken to. His guarded tone was gone, replaced by one that was almost giddy.
She wanted to say no, call him later. But she’d answered the phone.
In for a penny… So she exhaled and said, “Sure. What’s going on?”
“The Grand Duke Armand and his retinue will be in Los Angeles tonight and have requested the honor of your presence—both of you—at a private gala for the family and a few close business associates.”
Her stomach plummeted at the news, but Martin continued on, oblivious to the ice creeping around her heart.
“But that’s not all. Spherecast has been scouted by an EU consortium—the same one your cousin heads. They’ve invited us to a demonstration at the Brussels conference next month.” She could practically hear the fist pump in his words. “This is a real coup, Alyx. A real coup. I know you weren’t that thrilled on this when Daniel proposed his insane idea—and neither was I.” His conversational tone took on an almost confidential note, as if they’d truly been aligned on this matter from the beginning. “But you did it. The two of you have completely sold the world on your romance and escaping to Big Bear—genius. I thought he was crazy to really play up the romance, but it’s worked. Online and off, it’s all the social media hawks have been able to talk about. Where you’ve gone, the beauty of your romance—and now the grand duke…” He sighed. “Thank you, from the bottom line to the headlines, thank you for doing this for him. I told him to buy a royal bloodline and he did it. Now, get your butts back to L.A. and that party tonight. Invitation says cocktails will be served at seven.”
She wasn’t aware of the tears until they dripped onto her bare thighs. “Okay, we’ll be there.” But Martin had already hung up. She looked at the phone for a long time. God, she was such a fool.
This was exactly what Daniel had wanted. Right. It was the deal she agreed to, and she promised to do her job.
Daniel had pursued her to become a princess and she’d become one. The media noticed, his friends noticed and her long-distance-don’t-really-know-them family noticed.
From their first kiss to the first time they’d made love—it had been all about being a princess, a princess in love. They’d put on a grand show.
Too grand.
I thought he was crazy to really play up the romance, but it’s worked.
She swiped at her tears angrily. Somehow she’d fallen for the dream, the ideal they were constructing. She’d started to believe in the charade. The fairy tale shit as Rhonda put it.
She knew better. Good things like this didn’t happen. It was more like what happened to her things, forgotten, lost, and discarded. Like her.
“I knew not to do this. It’s why I said no sex to begin with.” The anger pouring out was all directed to herself. Daniel falling for her as a princess wasn’t his fault. She let him play the game—reveled in the seduction. “Idiot.”
Pushing off the bed, she refused to look at the rumpled sheets. She was dressed in ten minutes and tying on her tennis shoes. The shower continued to run, so she picked up the phone and called the front desk to order a car. The drive to Los Angeles would take a couple of hours, but if he was to seal the deal, he needed the Princess Alyxandretta on his arm, not the thoroughly disheveled lover with nothing but shorts, T-shirts and jeans at her disposal. The desk promised to send a car for him. She’d keep her word and make sure his dream happened for him.
His keys sat on the desk. She found a pen and took the coward’s way out—she wrote Daniel a note.
The grand duke is in Los Angeles. Martin called. Your deal is on. We have to be there. Taking the car. I need to get ready and will meet you at the “ball.” Called for a car to drive you back—lots to do so I won’t disappoint you.
Adding the location and the time of the event she sniffled and signed it with just an A . She set the note on the pillow and circled the bed to grab her bear.
There was nothing else for her in the cabin—just a dream that she’d let herself believe in for five minutes.
If only she could learn her lesson. At the door, she hesitated again. It wouldn’t take her long to tell him the message in person, but the water continued to run and his keys were heavy in her hand.
She needed to get the hell out while she still remembered who she was.
No, he’d hired her to be a princess and to help him enter the European market. It was time to live up to her end of the bargain without any strings or emotional attachments. She buried her pain under a veil of practicality. She’d managed for years without anything—or anyone—of her own.
She could do it again.
But once she was in the car and headed toward Los Angeles, all she could think about was Daniel. Daniel at his desk. Daniel in their—his bed. Holding her. Smiling at her. Teasing her.
Alone, she could cry.
Even princesses can be fools.