Page 60 of Royal Charmer
I’m nervous, ridiculously so. I’d like to think it’s because I haven’t seen Gabriel since the family dinner, where he made it clear Lucas would lose his place in the business if our fake engagement is found out. But the truth is, deep down, I’m just plain scared. Lucas has been…a dream. Ever since our fight two days ago, he’s been all over me, and I don’t mean that just in the sexual way, though he has been that. Decadently so. But he’s also been extremely affectionate and piling on the princely manners that I’ve always dreamed of. I’ve forgiven him his deception because he truly spoke from the heart, all with good intentions toward me. And my blackened heart is beating anew with every look from him, every touch, every crooked sexy smile.
I’m falling for him.
My stupid romantic heart overrides every ounce of sense I possess. I want to be hard and practical. Realistically, I know I’m not ready for love again so soon. And I don’t know if he has those kinds of deep feelings for me. Maybe he’s like this with every woman and that’s why he’s known for his charm. I only have to Google his name to see all the women who love him—the women he’s been with and the women who dream of being with him, stalking him online.
I stare at the cute white cottages we pass, trying to make sense of my time with Lucas. I got what I wanted, a story and, at long last, my writing mojo. I’m going to have the first draft done by the end of the week just in time to email it to my editor before leaving for my London book signing. From London, I could go back home, finish up revisions, and send the final draft to my editor. Or I could stay in my palace suite for the additional four weeks Anna granted me free of charge. There is something to be said for palace life. My every need is attended to, freeing up all my energy and time for writing. But that means more time with Lucas, and I don’t know if it’s smart to let myself get further entangled with the world’s most eligible royal bachelor. I need to be smarter about relationships—ease into things, protect my heart, and have an escape plan.
Escape plan? How unromantic. Obviously, my heart still has scars.
Lucas takes my hand, entwining our fingers. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m nervous about how this is going to go today,” I say, giving him part of the truth. “I don’t want to further aggravate King Gabriel.”
“Just follow Prince Lucas’s lead,” he says, giving me his crooked smile, his aquamarine eyes sparkling with amusement. My heart thumps harder, my stomach doing a topsy-turvy dance, every nerve ending alert and aware. How does that smile provoke a stronger reaction every time? It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.
I focus on his eyes, his stunning aquamarine eyes. “After this meeting, I need to go into my writing cave to finish my draft. I only have three days before I leave for London, and I need to turn it in before I leave. It’s a hard deadline from my publisher.”
He lifts our joined hands and brushes a kiss over my knuckles, his eyes intent on mine. “Is this your polite way of asking me to give you some space?”
I flush guiltily. I guess it was, in part, because I’m scared and I’m falling for him and I don’t know what to do about it. “I’ll text you at the end of each day once my brain is completely fried and out of words, if you want to visit me.”
His big hand cups the back of my neck, drawing me close, his words running hot over my lips. “I’ll do more than visit you, sweet Alice. I will ravish you.”
My breath shudders out, my pulse thrumming through my veins. He hits every button of mine—romantic terms of endearment, Regency speak, princely manners that I’veneverexperienced outside of a book, and a sexual prowess that makes me a greedy multi-orgasmic fiend for more.
He gives me a swift hard kiss before shifting to my ear, his voice a husky rumble, “And by ravish I mean fuck you senseless and then make youbegfor more.” I shiver at his words, and then he gets more explicit, the words feeding my overactive imagination until I picture it so vividly I’m throbbing with need, my breath quickening, hot all over. And he hasn’t even touched me.
And then he does, his hand sliding between my legs under the cover of my dress. I jolt and shove his hand away. “Lucas!” I hiss. We’re not in a limo with a closed divider. It’s a car, and the driver and guard areright therein the front seat.
He grins. “What?” Then he whispers, “It’ll relax you.”
The car stops moving, and the driver says without turning around, “We’re here, Your Highness, ma’am.”
Lucas holds my jaw and kisses me. “Another time.” He peers out the window. “The ferry isn’t here yet. We’ll take a short walk near the dock.”
He helps me out of the car, takes my hand, and guides me to a footpath just before the dock. Thor follows behind us, the driver returning to the car.
“Alice, relax,” Lucas says, giving my hand a squeeze. “It’s going to go smooth as silk today.”
“I am relaxed,” I say tightly.
“Maybe we should head back to the privacy of the car,” he says with a leer. “I’ll ask the driver to take a walk.”
I shake my head, my pulse skyrocketing at his way of relaxing me. “Consider me taken care of in that department.” We’ve been plenty busy in the bedroom, and I draw the line at fucking in the backseat of a car in broad daylight. At least I have a line.
He smirks and then he guides me down a path to the beach, drawing me closer to the hypnotic waves. A cool breeze washes over me, bringing the salty tang of sea air. Something in me relaxes.
He stops, wraps his arms around my waist from behind me, and I melt into his warm embrace. “It’s fortunate the sea soothes you since we’re on an island.”
“I’ve always wanted to live near the water,” I confess.
“Then you should.”
“If wishes were millions of dollars…”
“Stay with me.”
“What?”
