Page 59 of Royal Hottie
There’s a loud throat clearing from the backseat.
Phillip turns. “Relationship advice, Rafe?”
“You have a room at the Epicurean, as do we.”
“Ah.”
Rafe rattles off the address, but I already know it. I grew up here. I drive over to the hotel and hand the keys of my decidedly nonluxury car over to the valet.
Phillip grabs my hand and practically runs to the front desk. Within minutes, we’re on our way to the room. His luggage is already there. The guards file into their room next door.
It’s a suite, and I barely register the elegant living room before Phillip scoops me up, cradled in his arms, and carries me to the bedroom. Swoon!
“Music,” I tell him. “We need some sound so the guards can’t hear.”
“Oh, Ruby, they don’t care. Trust me.”
“I care!”
He sets me on my feet by the bed and presses the radio clock on the nightstand. It’s top 40 pop and it’s loud.
I smile. “Perfect!”
He slides open the nightstand drawer, and a box of condoms is in there. He grunts in approval.
“Eww! We arenotusing leftovers from the last person who stayed here.”
He laughs. “These are mine. My valet left them. It’s my preferred brand, and see?” He lifts the box to show me a small gold sticker with his initials on the bottom.
My eyes widen. “You have personalized stickers? Like monogrammed condoms?” I laugh.
He grins. “It’s his little touch when he leaves me something unanticipated, so I know it’s okay. Clearly, he was hoping for our reconciliation.”
I stare at him, speechless. Having a public life is going to take some getting used to.
“Would you rather I didn’t have them, and then I had to request condoms from the concierge?”
I wrap my arms around his middle. “So you really didn’t expect this?”
He wraps his arms around me and gazes down at me. “I wasn’t sure if you’d even see me.”
“Didn’t you know I love you?”
“No. I hoped, but I didn’t know. I thought I ruined it.”
“Well, I do.”
He cradles my face with his hands. “I never thought I’d love again, and then you gallivanted into my life and turned me inside out. I’ve been walking around with my heart outside my chest, in your hands, since the very first time you were in my arms.”
I smile at the memory of our time in the yacht’s cabin, my heart filled to bursting. “I am quite the gallivanter.”
He speaks against my lips. “Thankfully.” And then we’re kissing, and there’s no more talk. He rips my shirt off, unhooks the bra, and tosses it, openly admiring my breasts as he works the button on my shorts.
A small niggling worry makes me ask, “You don’t think I’m too small?” He made a comment about my size during our fight, and I’m a little sensitive about that. “Small body, small-minded.”
He closes his eyes for a moment and pulls me tight against him. “You are petite, but I shouldn’t have commented on your size. And you’re not small-minded either. I so regret saying those things.” He pulls back and runs his hands down my sides. “I love your petite curves. You’re so beautiful, so sexy, and you fit so perfectly with me.”
I lift my chin, still a little miffed. “Maybe the problem is you. Maybe you’re too big.”
