by L. Nicole
I get up and move over to her, reaching down to get her hand, and pull her into a standing position beside me. I put a hand on her hip and one in the curve of her neck, forcing her to look directly at me. I want her to see how serious I am.
Do you remember when I told you that there’s no way in fuck a man would want another woman when you are in his bed, Princess?”
“Eddie—”
“I don’t want anyone but you, Ree.”
“Eddie—”
“Let it go, Ree. I’m going to prove to you why we are so good together.”
“It wouldn’t take very much convincing,” she says with a sigh.
“Good. Now where am I taking my woman today?” I tell her with a smile, leaning in to kiss the top of her head.
“Why don’t you surprise me?” she says, her face soft. A man would kill to have his woman look at him the way she’s smiling at me right now—as if I hung the moon.
“I can do that, but first….”
“First?” she asks, surprised.
“I need to shower, and I feel the need to have my woman wash me.”
“Wash you?” she laughs, her eyebrow cocked up, showing her skepticism.
“Mmm hmm…” I hum. “With her mouth.”
“You’re such a pig,” she says, leaning against me, letting me take her weight, as she puts her arms around me.
“Is that a yes or a no, Princess?”
“It’s a definite yes, Eddie. A definite yes.”
“That’s my girl.”
We walk hand in hand into the house. I have to find a way to make Ree believe in what we have together. I need her to choose me.
I just do.
13
Ree
“Look, Eddie! Isn’t he adorable?” I whisper in awe, as I scratch under Slooter’s neck. Slooter is the huge turtle in front of me.
“I think you’re the only person I’ve ever heard describe a turtle as adorable, Ree,” Eddie laughs.
“I don’t know I think they’re pretty adorable myself,” Joe says, giving me a wink. I hear Eddie, growl under his breath from beside me and sure enough, when I look up, I see Eddie giving him a look that makes Joe turn a little pale.
Joe is the guide at the turtle park that Eddie brought me to, and I can admit he has been flirting with me. Eddie is not amused. His hand on my back is burning my skin. His entire body language is pissed off and possessive. I probably shouldn’t like it, but I find that I do.
“Perhaps you should attend the other visitors,” Eddie suggests to Joe—although with that tone, I’m not sure you could fully call it a suggestion. Joe seems to pick up on the danger in the air, because he gives me one last smile, nods at Eddie and leaves. I turn to look up at Eddie, now that Slooter has followed Joe over to the family beside us.
“You’re so bad,” I mutter, rolling my eyes at him.
“He was flirting with you. Could he not tell that you have a man?” Eddie grumbles. “I thought I showed remarkable restraint.”
“You did, did you?” I laugh.
“Definitely. I wanted to deck the asshole.”
“Oh stop. He didn’t do anything, Eddie. He was just being friendly,” I admonish.
“With my girl,” he responds, his voice dropping down to a low rumble as he turns so I’m completely facing him and then, wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his body.
“Your caveman is showing, Eddie.”
“It always manages to do so around you,” he admits. “Are you having a good day, Princess?”
“One of the best,” I tell him softly, leaning up to place a kiss on his chest.
I lay my head there, staying cocooned in his arms for a moment. I close my eyes, relishing the peace I feel.
“You okay, Ree?” he asks, and I can hear the concern in his voice.
This is something I didn’t expect with Eddie. I actually can’t remember anyone but my mother worrying about me. Eddie does all the time. I knew sex with him would be off the charts, and I guess I knew that we would get along good together. It’s turned out much deeper than that. Somehow, we manage to fit together perfectly. There are times when it feels like we’ve always been together. He feeds this contentment inside of me and I wasn’t expecting that at all. I don’t know what to do with it, either. It makes me want to beg Eddie to make this permanent, to forget everything that I am supposed to do, and just take what I want. When I pull away to look back into Eddie’s eyes, I know that he’s the only thing I do want.
“I’m better than fine. How did I miss how sweet you were all this time, Eddie? You’re not what I expected at all, if I’m honest.”
“You were too blown away by my devastatingly handsome good looks and charm?” he suggests.
I smile, as he intended, but shake my head no. “I don’t think that’s it.”
“Then it was my devil may care attitude and jovial good wit?”
“God, maybe it was your ego. I’m surprised you can manage to fit it in that head of yours,” I mumble.
“Well, as my favorite Princess told me recently, there’s nothing small about me, Ree.”
“Oh God, I fed the ego,” I whine, making him laugh and squeeze me to his side as we start walking toward the exit of the park.
“Where do you want to go to next?” Eddie questions. “Are you getting hungry?”
“Maybe a little,” I admit.
We’ve been out all day and it won’t be too long now until the sun sets. It’s been a great day however, maybe the best. Then again, every day with Eddie just keeps getting better.
“How about we go along the pier to a restaurant there and we’ll eat under the stars and walk on the beach before returning home?”
Home.
Until this moment, I didn’t realize how much Eddie’s place was beginning to feel like home. I’ve never had that before—never really thought about it.
“That sounds—” My phone rings, interrupting me. I take it out of my back pocket and frown instantly when I see the number. “Hold that thought,” I tell Eddie, hoping he can’t hear the fear in my voice. Father never calls and the fact he is now, just doesn’t feel like a good thing.
“Father,” I breathe, making my voice sound extra cheerful, even though I feel anything but. “This is a surprise.”
“I don’t see why. Tell me, Margarita, is there a reason that you’ve skipped out on your entire security team?”
“I just have Luke and Lyle with me, Father. You make it sound like I have an army.”
“The twins are a small army and they’re to stay with you at all times. Imagine my surprise when they reported in today that you had left the family property and they weren’t sure how long you’d been gone,” Father says, and his voice is stern—sadly it’s the tone I know the most from him.
“I don’t know what they’re talking about,” I lie.
“Cut the bullshit, Ree.” I blink because my father never uses that type of language, unless he’s really pissed. “Lyle told me that girl you’re traveling with has been covering for you by saying you were having woman issues. They only discovered her deception when my package for you arrived today.”
“I just needed a break, father. You did promise me two weeks to myself out of this deal and I’m taking that full two weeks,” I huff.
“Two weeks to yourself did not include refusing to have your security team with you Ree. Your safety is to never be compromised. You are too important to the country.”
I close my eyes as he delivers that painful blow. He didn’t say I’m important to him, only that I’m important to the country. Does he have any idea how his coldness hurts?
“What package did you send?” I ask, forcing the words out and I can hear the pain in them, but I doubt he can.
“It’s at our home, where you should be. See that you get it today, Margarita.”
“Okay, Father,” I agree, knowing that if I don’t he won’t stop until he has my bodyguards hunting me down. He might already be doing that.
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“Don’t test me on this, daughter,” he warns and then hangs up without a goodbye…or an I love you.
“Everything okay, Ree?” Eddie asks.
When I force myself to put my phone away and look at Eddie, tears begin to form in my eyes. There’s nothing I can do to stop them.
“Peachy,” I lie, feeling my cheeks grow wet with my tears.
“Baby,” Eddie croons, taking me into his arms.
“Can we just go back to the house?” I ask him, my voice muffled as I talk into his chest.
“We can do whatever you want, Ree. I just need to you to quit crying,” he says clearly concerned.
“That might be hard. I need to go back to my apartment to get something my father sent and once I do that, my security detail might make sure our two-week escape ends immediately,” I confess.
“How about I take you back home and you let me get the package sent from your father?” he suggests, his face hard.
“But—”
“Trust me, Ree. I can handle this. Let’s get you home and then I’ll see what I can do to make you smile again.”
“If anyone can make me smile, Eddie, it would be you.”
“Keep talking like that, Princess, and I’m going to think you like me,” he jokes, but I don’t feel like joking. I give him the truth—at least part of it.
“That’s because I do like you, Eddie, probably too much,” I tell him, my heart squeezing in my chest. In truth, I could easily love him. I might already be more than a little in love with him now. It feels wrong to tell him that, however. So, I hold that back.
“Same goes, Ree. The very same thing goes,” he promises and then kisses me. He doesn’t stop there, however. Right there in front of everyone, he kisses my face, kissing each tear. Then, he takes my hand and leads be back toward the parking area.
I could definitely love Eddie Andrews.
14
Eddie
“Penny for your thoughts, Princess,” I murmur, kissing her temple. It’s late at night, or early morning—depending on how you look at it. We’re lying in bed and Margarita is lying on her stomach, her head pillowed by her arms. I’m moving my fingers over her back, loving the soft feel of her skin. There’s nothing more pleasurable than having her beside me in bed. It’s something I’ll never tire of.
“I was just thinking that time is moving way too fast. I want to freeze it,” she murmurs, her voice husky with sleep.
“Me too, Princess. Me too,” I agree, kissing her shoulder blade, gently.
She turns her head so she can look at me and I don’t like the sadness that I can read in her eyes. I’ve been seeing it more and more during our time together. She’s right. Time has been moving fast, and yet my life has changed tremendously from the moment I took Margarita’s virginity. Hell, before that really. I’m in love with this woman—although I think the word love is a pale emotion for the things she makes me feel. There’s technically on three days of our two weeks left.
We’ve spent all of this time together and with each day that passes, I’m more convinced that Margarita is meant to be mine. I feel like she knows that too. She doesn’t want to leave me. She thinks she has no choice. I need her to choose me. I have to know that despite everything, she would choose me over it all, even her father’s wishes.
I just don’t know how to get her to do that.
Wanting something and getting it are two entirely different things—especially where Margarita is involved.
“Why can’t we run away together? Just the two of us. We’ll get in your boat and sail away,” she suggests, pleading with me. I can see the desperation in her eyes and hear it in her voice.
I reach down to tuck a thick, wavy lock of her hair behind her ear, the curls springing around my finger almost instantly.
“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, Ree, but your father will find you,” I caution her, and I’m not lying. If she needs more time, I’d give it to her. All I want, is for her to acknowledge that the two of us are destined. Before Ree, I didn’t believe in destiny, but I definitely do now.
“I know,” she admits, morosely. “I knew this would be hard Eddie, but…”
“You need to tell your father, Ree.”
“Tell him what? That I had a fling with a man and after two weeks with him, I’ve decided I can’t marry Prince Archibald?”
“Exactly. What we have is real. Your father will accept that. You’re his daughter. He will want to see you happy.”
She lets out a bitter laugh that hurts me to hear. “You clearly don’t know my father,” she finally says with a sigh. To my father, nothing is more important than to do your royal duty, and in this case, my duty is to marry a man that I don’t know.”
“Pick me, Ree. Pick me and I will make things clear to your father. Rely on me to take care of everything.”
“You’re sweet, Eddie, but the man you’re describing is not my father, and…”
“And what?”
“My father just wouldn’t listen,” she says with a subdued sigh, but I get the feeling she wants to say more.
“Then, who cares?”
“What?’ she says, with a tight laugh. I can tell she doesn’t feel the same way I do about the subject, but I move forward, trying to make her see, to show her what is possible.
“Who cares, Ree? Tell your father that you’ve decided to live your life for you, not for the monarchy or whatever. You didn’t choose this life and you don’t have to plan your life around it.”
“I may not have chosen this life, Eddie, but it is my life. I am in a position of power, whether I like it or not. As Princess of Macrai, I can make a difference in people’s lives. That’s nothing to scoff at,” she replies, and she moves so that she’s sitting up in bed. She draws her knees up to her chest, keeping the cover over her as she hugs her legs. She’s basically closing herself off to me in this position and I can tell I have her upset. Maybe I should let it drop, but I find I can’t. This is too important, and I can feel Margarita trying to slip away from me.
“So, what are you saying? Are you just supposed to throw your life away to help others? You’re not supposed to be happy? That’s bullshit, Ree, and you know it.”
“It’s just the way it is,” she mumbles, getting out of the bed, and putting her robe around her. I let her go, because right now it feels like she’s giving up on me and I’m not sure how to fight that. “You don’t understand, Eddie.”
“Then make me understand,” I bark, getting up too. I walk over to her, stalking her. I sounded like a damn wounded bear, but I can’t help it. I do feel wounded.
“How can I? You’re not of my world, Eddie. You would never fit in.”
“If I did, would it matter? Would you admit that what you feel for me is important, Ree? Would you choose me?”
“I can’t. My life is mapped out already, Eddie.”
“How can you say that?” I growl. “These past two weeks have changed everything!”
“They haven’t,” she says sadly.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” I snarl, gone beyond mad. I can’t believe what she is saying. I don’t understand how she can deny what we have. How in the hell can she calmly stand there and tell me that she’s leaving me to marry a man she doesn’t even know?
“The time with you Eddie has been wonderful,” she begins, but the look on her face tells me what she’s thinking—what she’s going to say.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Stop playing the victim here. You knew what our deal was going in,” she says, finally letting her anger overrule her sadness.
“Excuse me if I thought that you would see what has been true between us since the beginning.”
“What are you talking about? We made a deal about sex, Eddie!”
“Bullshit. You can hide from the truth all you want when it comes to your father, Ree, but don’t do that with me. We’ve played some twisted cat and mouse game a year ago. We both know what is between us isn’t going to go a
way. I love you and if you think that I don’t know that you love me, you’re crazy. There’s no way you would have given me your body and spent this time with me if you didn’t love me. The tabloids are full of stories about the Princess of Macrai being cold, ignoring suitor after suitor. You want me, Ree and I want you to admit it!”
“Fine!” she cries. “I do want you. I’ve wanted you from the beginning and maybe I do love you, but it doesn’t matter, Eddie! What we have…it can’t mean anything.”
“It means everything,” I growl, and then because our bodies always seem to talk better, I trap her against the wall, pulling the sheet from her body.
“Eddie,” she squeaks, outraged. “What are you doing?”
“If all we have is sex, Princess, we have three more days of it and I’m taking it now,” I snarl.
I’m being an asshole, but I’m tired of her denying how she feels about me. Maybe she’ll listen her body. I take her mouth before she can keep arguing with me. We don’t need words for what’s between us. Besides, she clearly isn’t hearing what I’m saying. Now that I’ve moved the sheet from her body, she’s completely bare. I’m done arguing. I’m going to fuck her like I haven’t before. There will be no build up, no gentleness. I don’t have that in me right now. This time I’m taking her just the way I want her.
If I were in a better mindset, I’d be on my knees right now, ready to lick the wetness that’s seeping out of her pussy, but I’m not. Tenderness hasn’t gotten me anywhere when it comes to Ree. Besides, she wants this as much as I do. Her nails are biting into my back, her lips kissing on my neck.
“Don’t ask me to go slow, Ree.”
“Quit talking and just take me, Eddie,” she pants, her tongue licking a path along my neck and shoulder, then her teeth nibble the skin after, marking it.
I hoist her leg around my waist, and then I wait. She looks up at me, her dark eyes betraying her confusion.