His Forbidden Princess (Dirty Royals Book 3)

by Vivian Wood

  I can feel his fingers flex against my back. “Nika…”

  When I close my eyes and lift my mouth to his once more, a hungry little growl escapes his lips. He pulls me closer and sets his too-hot lips against mine. I draw him in, running my hand up into his short hair.

  Erik nips my lower lip hard, making me gasp. Then he bends me back, spearing his free hand in my hair. He kisses me again, so deeply and with so much passion that it takes my breath away. I curl my fist in the collar of his suit jacket.

  He closes his hand in my hair into a fist and draws my head back, making me gasp more loudly.

  He could do anything with me. He holds all the power now and we both know it. His lips traverse down the narrow column of my neck and leave fire in their wake.

  But when he kisses his way down between my breasts, that’s when I actually lose my breath. He buries his face in my cleavage, then turns his face and places a hot, stinging, hard hickey on my left breast. It hurts… but it also makes me want more.

  My eyes widen. My hand tightens in his hair.

  Erik breaks away to kiss my lips again, as brutal and as punishing and as real as anything I’ve ever experienced. I moan and open my mouth to him, making a soft sound as he sweeps the sweetness of his tongue against mine. My hand clutches at his suit, trying to pull him closer. I would bring him inside of me just now if that were physically possible.

  I want him. My breasts ache. My pussy drips. I’m as ready as I have ever been.

  If only we weren’t out here in the open, where anybody at all could see us. I don’t have much self-control, but I don’t want my first time to be so… exposed.

  Or do I? Because the longer he touches me, the quieter the voice of reason is in my head.

  When Erik finally pulls away, we are both struggling for breath. He looks deep into my eyes, passion and anger and frustration all playing across his face.

  And I understand him perfectly, for once in my life.

  He gives his head the tiniest shake. When he speaks, his voice is gone to gravel.

  “Annika… we can’t,” he says. He doesn’t move away, but I can feel him begin to withdraw. “We just can’t. We shouldn’t have ever even touched.”

  I bite my lower lip, dropping my gaze from his. “I know.”

  He raises my head with a finger underneath my chin. “It’s my fault. Okay? It’s… god, it’s not fucking you. You’re perfect.”

  And just like that, my eyes fill with tears. I pull out of his grasp, standing up suddenly. “I think we should go back. Don’t you think?”

  Erik blows out a breath. “Sure, Nika.”

  I jump down off the jungle gym, running to scoop up my heels from where they lie in the sand. Then I take off at jog, heading back to the school.

  Tears prick my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.

  “Annika!” Erik calls.

  I wave behind me, not interested in whatever he has to say. After all, he’s already said everything I’m meant to hear.

  “See you at the school!” I call out, picking up my pace.

  And gentleman that he is, Erik lets me go.

  15

  Erik

  Striding into Nika’s living room, I find her curled up on the couch in high-waisted jeans and a white crop top. When I enter, she looks up, flushing when she sees me. Her eyes are the same fiery color that goes right through me.

  This is the third day since I kissed her on the playground. And it’s the third day that she’s been avoiding me.

  But no more.

  “Come on,” I say. “Grab some riding boots and meet me in the stables in five minutes.”

  Her brow rises delicately. “Why?”

  I cross my arms, favoring her with a serious look. “Because we still have to work together for another two and a half months. So, this thing where we don’t talk? It won’t work.” I give her a sharp stare. “Five minutes. Hurry up.”

  I turn, leaving her rooms. I just have to hope that she actually follows me. Heading down to the stables is a short enough walk through the bright mid-morning sun.

  It’s just starting to get hot. I eye the verdant landscape as I trot toward the stables. All I can see is the fresh green pasture lands and the soaring blue sky overhead. There is nothing for several miles here. It’s just untamed wilderness owned by the royal family.

  I straighten the cuff of my hooded sweatshirt. It feels odd to be dressed down in a black hoodie and dark gray sweatpants. It’s as if I’m going to work out, but I don’t own any clothes just for this purpose.

  Why would I?

  I stalk into the stables, smelling the unique mix of clean horses, sweet horse feed, and the tang of horse shit. It smells incredibly nostalgic to me, harkening back to my earliest days.

  Spotting a groom, I order two horses to be saddled. I know my father has the day off. I made sure of that before I hatched this plan.

  It’s unlikely that I’ll see him. He’s surely already drunk.

  But there is still a vague unease in the pit of my stomach. It stays with me as I watch the groom saddle a black gelding for me and a smaller dappled gray mare for Annika.

  When Nika actually shows up, looking uncertain about why she is here, that feeling grows even stronger. The groom leads our horses outside, holding them as we mount up.

  “You know how to ride, right?” I ask, getting settled in the saddle.

  Her gaze narrows on me as she adjusts her seat, petting her mount’s neck. “Yes. I’m surprised that you do.”

  I take my reins from the groom, thanking him. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to ride,” I admit. “But I grew up in these stables. My father used to be in charge around here.”

  She looks down at her horse, nudging her into a slow walk. “I think I knew that. Your father is not here now though, is he?”

  I squint against the sunlight. “No. He still works here though. I think he’s off today.”

  I use my heels to urge my horse forward, breaking into a trot. Annika keeps pace with me but doesn’t say another word.

  I look over at her. She’s pulled her hair back into a messy bun and there are two blotches of color on her cheeks. Her bare-faced beauty is especially stunning against the ruggedness of the landscape.

  We turn down a wide dusty path that cuts through the greenery. I know that I shouldn’t even be thinking about her in this way. But I can’t help it.

  What I can help is how I act.

  I clear my throat, slowing my horse to a walk again. “Do we need to talk about the other day?”

  A hint of a smile ghosts over her lips. “What is there to talk about? You’ve made your level of interest quite clear.”

  I grit my teeth, adjusting in the saddle. “I told you. It’s not personal. I’m… I… find you… pretty.” My neck heats. “But there are reasons why we shouldn’t… be close.”

  She tosses her head. “Stellan isn’t a good enough reason. He’s defying the rules to marry Margot.”

  “He’s my best fucking friend!” I bark.

  Nika looks at me, pausing. I’m pinned by her ice blue stare, so intense just now that it’s almost electric. Then she returns her gaze back to the path in front of us.

  “I appreciate your loyalty to Stellan,” she says softly. “But does he even notice? From what I can see, you follow him around and he just expects you to do his bidding.”

  I glower at the reins clutched in my hands. “I can’t help it if you don’t like my friendship with Stellan. Like it or not, he is the king. So, what he says goes.”

  She arches a brow. “And he said that I’m off limits?” She slides me a sour look. “I bet you haven’t even tried to discuss it with him.”

  I shoot her my blackest of looks. Nika is perfectly right in that regard, of course. But that’s not entirely the point.

  I roll my shoulders back. “Even if Stellan was okay with it, which he is very much not, other people wouldn’t smile upon it.”

  She cocks her head at me. “Why
do you care so much what other people think?” she asks, frustrated.

  I squint at her. “Why do you?”

  She flushes. “I don’t.”

  “You do. You care very much about how everyone perceives you. Don’t try to hide it from me.”

  “Ugh!” she declares. She urges her horse forward all the sudden, quickly shooting out and leaving me to try to catch up.

  I spur my horse onward, knowing that I messed up. The plan was to come out of this on better terms than before but now I’m worried about Nika even talking to me.

  “Nika!” I call. I nudge my horse more urgently, until I’m riding hard. We thunder down the little path, the dusty road disappearing beneath the horse’s hooves.

  I close the distance eventually. “Annika!” I try again when I know she can hear me.

  She throws a look over her shoulder, slowing down once more. Lifting her chin, she says, “It’s always Annika when you’re angry with me. But this time, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  I school my expression. “No. You haven’t.”

  Nika makes a face. “What if we just… did what we wanted to do and kept it hush hush?”

  My neck heats. I’ve thought about this very subject at great length for the last few nights. I look down, toying with the reins.

  “That wouldn’t be fair. One of us might… develop feelings. Only to have them dashed the very first time that we had to attend a function with a date.”

  She tilts her head, her eyes narrowing. “You’re expecting me to be the one with feelings, then?”

  I glance away with a shrug. “I didn’t say that.”

  Her lips twist and she rolls her eyes. “You thought it, though.”

  I give her a small smile. “Not even once.”

  She eyes me with a sigh. “So, what do you propose? Hm?”

  I lift my shoulders. “It’s just a summer. Surely, we can both just… resist. It’ll just call for a little willpower.”

  Nika looks at me very frankly. “I’m a virgin, Erik. No one has ever accused me of not being able to keep my hormones under control. I just… I’m ready to lose it. How will you feel if I give my virginity away to some other guy?”

  I grip my reins tightly and try not to scowl. Of course I want to be the one she chooses. If I had my way, we would stop right now and fuck right here, in the middle of the goddamned road.

  But that’s not the way that Nika needs it to be. She deserves a hell of a lot more than a quick fuck on a dirty path behind the palace. She’s worth so much more than I can ever give her.

  It’s time to lie my ass off.

  “It would be better than the alternative,” I bluff. “We couldn’t keep it quiet forever. Eventually someone would find out. And I don’t want there to be any consequences over what is essentially just a very bad crush.”

  I can see her open her mouth to argue. I hold me hand up to stop her. “Can you not just believe me when I tell that that’s what this is?”

  Her lips twist again. “I’m just supposed to listen to you, huh?”

  I slide her the tiniest of smiles. “I am your elder, after all.”

  Amusement flickers across her expressive face. “So I hear.” She glances up at the sky and screws up her face. “I should turn around and head back. I’m supposed to meet my personal shopper at noon.”

  I raise a brow. “You are going to be cutting it awfully close, princess.”

  She flashes me a grin. “She’ll wait for me. Or didn’t you hear? I am royalty.”

  With that she pulls the reins she’s holding, turning the horse around. Then Nika starts galloping away from me, riding fast for the stables.

  I stop my horse and watch her go, acid beginning to wash around in the pit of my stomach.

  16

  Annika

  I stop just outside the CRAVE nightclub, brushing back a strand of my immaculately. blown out, gleaming hair. Kalindi comes to a stop just behind me, eyeing my itty bitty shiny black dress.

  “One wrong move and you’re going to show every single club patron your whole butt,” she says. She wrinkles her nose. “I’m not judging you, but I am very concerned about a wardrobe malfunction happening.”

  I roll me eyes, looking critically at her outfit. “I would say something about that white romper, but honestly? You’re rocking it.”

  She beams at me. “Thanks!”

  Behind us, Erik approaches in his same dark suit that he wore all day today. I glance back at him, a frown tugging at my lips.

  Things between us have been decidedly frosty for the last two days. He says that I should find someone else to focus my attentions on.

  So that’s what I’m going to do tonight. Find someone else… anyone else will do.

  “Come on,” I urge Kal, heading toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  When we approach the door, the bouncer looks at me. I see him dismiss me and then look again. His eyes widen and he hurries to open the door.

  “Welcome, princess,” he says.

  We strut right into the big space. Loud dance music thrums through my blood. It takes my eyes a minute to adjust to the near darkness, punctuated by spotlights flashing high above the club. In those moments of light, I can make out the dance floor. It’s packed with nameless and faceless bodies that grind and gyrate to the low, insistent beat.

  “Oh,” Kal says, her mouth open.

  I wiggle my eyebrows at her. “Come on. Let’s start with a drink.”

  Pulling her along by the hand, I head straight for the bar. I know Erik is right behind us, his usual scowl in full effect tonight. But I refuse to glance back at him.

  Tonight is about me and what I want. And just now? I can’t wait to slam down a couple shots of tequila and hit the dance floor.

  Kal leans across the bar and orders us drinks, flirting a little with the hot bartender. I turn and watch the dance floor again, shivering with anticipation.

  I can’t wait to lose myself in between the rhythmic beats.

  Erik ruins my view, stepping into my eye line. The scowl that I imagined is in place on his perfect lips. He narrows his green-brown eyes at me.

  “Nika, what are we doing here?”

  His voice is rough and gravelly. He looks around the nightclub, as if he’s searching for answers.

  I shrug. “I’m trying to meet some eligible young men. I have no idea what you are here for.”

  He narrows his eyes on my face. “Be careful, Annika. You’re coming very close to pushing my buttons.”

  Kal turns around from the bar, two shots in each hand. She arches a brow at Erik and hands me my shots. “Here you go. Bottoms up.”

  I tap the shot glasses against hers and then throw my head back, swallowing one shot and then the next. It snakes its way down my esophagus, burning as it goes.

  “Blech!” Kal says, making a face. “Tequila is terrible.” She looks at Erik apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t get you a shot.”

  Erik just crosses his arms and looks like he would rather be anywhere but here right now. His seeming detachment makes me want to punch him. But instead, I turn to Kal.

  “The dance floor is calling to me!” I say, pulling at her arm. “Come dance.”

  I don’t have to ask her twice. She grins and grabs my arm as I head out to the dance floor, sliding between people to get to the center.

  Erik doesn’t follow us, which is unbelievably fine with me. I throw my hands over my head and shake my ass, gyrating hypnotically to the booming bass. Kal is right beside me, giggling at the men that suddenly appear out of nowhere.

  Two classically handsome Scandinavian-looking men start dancing with us. I grin up at the one I’m closest to, but I don’t bother to introduce myself. If they somehow don’t recognize me, I’m not about to ruin the night by telling them who I am.

  I grin and keep dancing, working up a sweat. Kal seems to be hitting it off with her dance partner; he holds her by the waist as she shimmies and shakes. I grin.

  This is great. Wh
y don’t we do this more often?

  I glance up and realize with a note of surprise that there is an upper balcony tucked discreetly above the dance floor of this club. It’s so dark that I probably wouldn’t ever be able to see it…

  Except that Erik is standing there, glaring at me, his expression a sullen pout. When our gazes meet, it stops me dead in my tracks.

  I arch a brow, stepping closer to the guy who is dancing right beside me. The stranger puts his hands around my waist and pulls me against his body, which I could have honestly done without. But hey, I’m not a giant control freak, unlike Erik.

  I put my hand around the stranger’s neck, realizing that he lack’s Erik’s unusual height. Why that puts me off, I don’t know.

  Erik shakes his head and turns around, putting his back to the dance floor. I dance for another minute in my partner’s grip. But when Erik isn’t watching, it just seems less fun.

  I turn to see Kalindi laughing as her partner whispers something in her ear. I make a ‘I’m going to the bar to get a drink’ gesture at her. She’s so wrapped up in whatever that guy is saying that she just nods at me.

  I head off the dance floor abruptly, leaving the man that I was dancing with behind. My mood is mercurial just now. I’m on the cusp of being pissed off.

  Erik’s black mood is contagious, it seems. Maybe if I just splash some water on my face, it’ll help reset my frame of mind. Heading toward the back of the club, I find the bathrooms in a long black hallway. I push into the first bathroom, wincing at the low light. It’s a single person bathroom; I start closing the door.

  But someone stops me. My eyes widen.

  Erik pushes the door open, glaring at me. He fills the entire doorway, his expression dark as I’ve ever seen it. “And just where do you think that you’re going? Hm?”

  I gulp, raising my chin. “What’s it to you, Erik? You’re just supposed to be my babysitter.”

  He steps inside the little room, eating up the small space. He takes a moment to close the door behind himself. The quiet snick of the lock engaging sounds loud to me.

  Then again, I am used to listening to the thunderous sound my own beating heart makes. Erik rubs a hand over his mouth, looking at me like I’m his to judge. He takes a step, then another, so that he’s only a few inches away from me. “What must you think of me?”