Page 17 of Royal Rebel

When they give him a total, I realize I’ve never seen him pay for anything before, and I’m interested in if he carries a credit card like the rest of the world. I also wonder what I’m supposed to do if I need to buy something somewhere. The question is answered as he slips some cash out of a wallet I didn’t even know he carried. My pint is placed in front of me, along with what he ordered, and we walk quickly to a corner booth, Parker sitting not too far from us. We scoot in next to each other, me crossing my legs, even though it’s not considered proper, him putting his free hand on my thigh. I take a drink of the ale, and then offer Tristan a small smile. The leisurely way he’s running his fingernail up and down my jeans sends little sparks of awareness through my body.

“What?” he asks, smiling back at me, the edge of his mouth tilting up in a sexy as hell grin.

“Nothing.” I take another drink. “I just wondered howyou would pay. Like do you have a credit card? Do I have a credit card?”

He chuckles, deep and loud. “Do you think people just hand me things?”

I lean in, cutting my eyes at him under my lashes, whispering softly. “I mean, maybe you haven’t heard or not, but you’re about to be king. You kinda do get handed what you want.”

“Do I?” He tilts his head closer to me. “Because I’ve wanted you since the first night I saw you, and you have to be handed to me.”

“Maybe you haven’t been asking in the right way.” I flirt with him, feeling freer than I ever have with him.

Our food is placed in front of us with a flourish. “Prepare to eat some of the best food you’ve ever tasted,” he tells me as he dips the fried fish in malt vinegar and holds it up to my mouth.

When I bite down, tasting the flakiest, freshest fish I’ve ever had, I know he’s telling me the truth.

“Eat up, Lia. I think you might need your strength later.”

His eyes burn a darker shade than they normally are, and I know without a doubt, exactly where this is going.

“It’s going to storm,” Tristan yells behind his shoulder later on in the day. “But we’re only about five miles from home. Might get wet, because I want to get home safe.”

“I’m good with that,” I answer as I hold on tightly.

I can see the driveway when the rains start coming down and the wind starts whipping around us. The storm is furious as it falls almost as dark as night, even though it’searly evening. The water is cold, even through the clothes we wear. When we reach the garage, I breathe a sigh of relief. Slipping inside, Tristan kills the engine.

“Hopefully we walked around enough throughout the day that you aren’t too sore,” he tells me as he helps me off.

With both feet planted on solid ground, I know I’ll be somewhat sore. “Nothing a warm shower won’t fix.” My teeth are chattering, fingers shaking as I try to take the helmet off.

“Here, let me help.” He pushes my hands away, helping me get out of the jacket and helmet, but my shivering won’t stop.

“I didn’t expect that wind, or the rain,” I explain. “Once I get cold like this, it’s really hard for me to get warm.”

“I didn’t expect them either,” he admits as he shrugs out of his outer gear too. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”

With a shriek, he picks me up in his arms, carrying me up the stairs to the suite that is ours. He sets me down, going to work getting the fireplace going, and getting out of his wet clothing. Looking out the windows, we can see the tumult of the waves crashing against the shore, the driving ran, and the lightning off in the distance.

Determined to get warm, I immediately go to the bathroom and start the shower, but as I try to make my fingers work on the button and zipper of my jeans, I’m not making any headway. My fingers are still frozen and refuse to cooperate.

“Need some help with that?”

His voice is deep, dark, a promise of something intensely sensual underlying the words he speaks. I know immediately that if I look up and meet his eyes, that this dance we’ve been doing around each other is over. I tell myself to be strong, butthen I tell myself to shut up. This man is meant to be my husband, and why would I not enjoy all the things that entitles me to?

Lifting my eyes to where he stands, I see first bare feet and legs. Raising my gaze up to his mid-section, I see soaked boxer briefs that leave nothing to the imagination. And I mean nothing. He wants me, of that there is no question. I finish the path up his bare chest until I get to those eyes of his. Just as dark as his voice was, the promise shining bright there.

Licking my lips, I gather up every bit of my courage. “If you could help me, I would really like that.”

He saunters across the marble floor, gliding like he’s got all the time in the world, while I’m dying for him to touch me. When he gets to where I am, he cups both sides of my face in the palm of his hands. “Are you sure, Lia? Once I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

Nodding, I breathe deeply, putting my fingertips against the waistband of his boxer briefs. “I’m sure.”

“Then hang on, princess, I’m about to blow your mind.”

As his mouth crashes into mine, tongues dueling, lips pressing together, breaths being shared, I have no doubt this man is about to do just that.

CHAPTER 10

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