The Princess's Christmas Baby

by Louisa George

  But no, she told herself. Captain Sensible wouldn’t do that.

  She wouldn’t let him. She’d take tonight but she’d keep her heart safe. And she would never ever trust a man. Never again.

  But sex? Scratch that insatiable Lucas itch? Hell, yes.

  She knocked quietly but there was no answer.

  ‘Lucas,’ she whispered as she pushed open the panel and stepped into his room. And, wow...in the few minutes she’d been upstairs he’d transformed the place into a soothing soft space lit by myriad candles. ‘Lucas?’

  The sound of running water drew her to the bathroom and she found him there, testing the temperature of the water in the large gilt sunken bath. More candles filled every space, every shelf, and bathed the suite in a golden magical glow.

  He’d removed his shirt but his trousers were still on. Her eyes slid over the naked skin and she sighed at the sight of the corded muscles she’d committed to memory three months ago, itching to span them with her hands.

  He turned. Saw her. Stilled.

  It felt as if time stopped, the whole world stopped, as they looked at each other. He said nothing, but his heated eyes spoke volumes. No need to be nervous. He liked what he saw—just a barefoot woman in a simple silk sheath dress. And very expensive underwear...although he didn’t know that yet.

  His gaze heated her, made her feel exposed and yet desired. Adored. Craved. Her skin prickled in anticipation of his touch. She raised her chin, an act of defiance. You want me, but I will have you.

  She was a princess, he was a successful ER consultant with more letters after his name than she could count, but in here they were equals. Lovers.

  She shivered. His pupils dilated and he took a step towards her.

  ‘I always did like this room,’ she said, just to break the heavy lust-laden silence.

  ‘Almost as fine as the bedroom.’ He closed the distance between them and palmed her cheek, his fingers damp and cool. ‘Hello, Gigi.’

  ‘Hello, Lucas.’ Unable to resist touching him, she brushed her fingers across the smattering of dark hair on his chest, ran her nails up to his throat, palmed the back of his neck and tugged his face down to hers.

  ‘God,’ he groaned, his mouth centimetres from hers. ‘No small talk?’

  ‘Have I ever said that you talk too much?’

  ‘Maybe—’

  ‘Too much talking and not enough kissing.’

  She bridged the gap between them, crushing her mouth to his, giving no more space for thought. Just touch. Skin and heat and wet and hot.

  Deepening the kiss, he slid his tongue into her mouth, exploring, hungry. She raked her fingers across his back, his shoulders, his arms, spanning those muscles, desperate to touch every inch of him. Wanting him inside her, filling her.

  He pulled her dress over her head, consigning it to the floor, then he unclipped her bra, letting her breasts fall free. Groaning in appreciation, he cupped them, playing his fingers over her nipples, softly at first then harder until her breasts ached and her nipples peaked at his touch. A soft hurt that she didn’t ever want to stop.

  He propelled her backwards to the vanity, lifted her to sit on the edge of the counter, pulled her legs either side of him, grasped the curve of her hips and rocked her against him.

  Hard. So hard.

  ‘Trousers. Please. Off,’ she managed through desperate kisses, and he obliged, discarding the chinos and boxers. Then he was in front of her, solid and steady and strong. And ready.

  She took him in her hand and stroked his length, watching the mist descend in his half-closed eyes.

  ‘Gigi.’ It was a growl. A warning. A sigh, as he grasped her wrist. ‘I—’

  She rubbed against his erection. ‘I need you. Please.’

  ‘But I had so much planned.’

  ‘Later. After. More. I just need you now. Lucas.’

  He kissed her again, greedy, rough kisses as he settled in front of her, pulling her to the very edge of the counter, pulling her to the edge of her control, holding her close, pressing his body against hers until she felt his imprint everywhere, his scent...everywhere.

  This man who was a danger to her equilibrium, this man who would leave her.

  This man who understood what she needed, where she wanted his touch, where her body ached to be kissed, stroked. This man.

  Then he was sliding inside her, filling her, his fingers slipping into the apex of her legs, stroking her most sensitive part as he slid inside, over and over. Stroking and sliding. Fast and deep.

  His thrusts slowed and he opened his eyes and captured her gaze. This man who had changed her future, changed her life in so many ways. He stroked her cheek with a tenderness that squeezed her heart and made it ache.

  He kissed her long and slow, angling his hips to thrust deeper until she knew nothing more than this sensation, this kiss, this man, this pleasure mounting inside her, over her, through her.

  As the sensation became almost too much she gripped his shoulders, his name on her lips over and over. Then he rocked harder and faster inside her, filling her completely, until she felt his release throb through her, taking her with him.

  His eyes locked onto hers, his gaze honey and whisky, golden and hot. ‘Gigi. God, Gigi.’

  And she knew soul deep that this man was hers.

  At least...for now.

  * * *

  She was wrapped around him, tight and hot, her mouth on his shoulder, her legs around his waist. His hip dug into the sharp edge of the vanity unit and he was getting cramp in his left leg but he couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be, even though he did not like this palace with its legion of staff and lack of privacy.

  His breathing came in gasps and he couldn’t find words. After all his efforts not to do this again, he’d done it. And he didn’t care, because he’d been honest when he’d said there was nowhere he’d rather be than with her. If only they didn’t have to sneak around. If only they were free to be themselves, together. A—his chest hurt at the thought—family.

  But that was impossible. He’d never wanted it, and yet when he was with her he wanted everything.

  He held her tight against him, stroking her back, kissing her as she came down from her orgasmic high. When she was breathing normally again he unpeeled her from his skin and kissed her softly. ‘This can’t be comfortable.’

  ‘Oh, you know. It’s slightly more comfortable than wearing that floss masquerading as underwear.’ She grinned and nipped his earlobe between her teeth.

  He peered at the scraps of lace on the floor and frowned. ‘That was your underwear?’

  ‘Very expensive underwear.’

  ‘I’ll buy you some more. Lots. Just so I can rip it off you.’

  ‘You have the best ideas.’ She laughed, a wonderful perfect sound that brightened his heart even more.

  ‘Yes. Yes, I do. You are one of the best ideas I’ve had.’ He untangled her legs from his and stepped away, his eyes catching the soft swell of her belly. His own gut contracted. ‘Damn, Gigi. I didn’t even think. Did I hurt...? Are you okay?’

  She smiled, spanning her stomach with her fingers. ‘Absolutely okay. Do you want to...?’

  She reached for his hand and drew it towards her, then pressed it against skin that was as soft as the silk dress he’d torn off her. He couldn’t find words as he stroked across her belly. Emotions bundled up inside him, hitting him hard in the chest. This tiny swell was his baby. Theirs. It was real and happening.

  He lowered his head and kissed just below her belly button. Tears pricked his eyes. Hot damn. He blinked quickly, making sure to keep his head bowed so she wouldn’t see this reaction. He never cried. Ever. And he wasn’t going to start doing it now.

  ‘Lucas?’ She tugged him up to look at her, concerned eyes scanning his face.

  The feelings ins
ide him were strange, unfamiliar. As if his heart was growing with a swell of pride and something else he couldn’t remember ever feeling. And a good dose of panic too. He would be responsible for this tiny human for the rest of his life. And responsible for Gigi too. Because they were inexorably linked, tied to each other for ever. ‘I will never let anything bad happen to either of you. I promise.’

  But he had no more time for thinking when her mouth sought his again. This time it was greedy, possessive, a kiss deeper and longer and better than any other. A kiss of longing and want that bruised his heart, branded him as hers.

  Eventually he lifted her from the counter and walked over to the bath, lowering her gently into it. ‘Now, do I get to do all those things I had planned?’

  ‘Totally.’ She splashed water at him, similar to that first day in late summer. ‘Join me?’

  He didn’t need to be asked twice so he slid in opposite her, the warm water easing his bones, although the tension he’d been carrying since they’d arrived in Isola Verde seemed to have already disappeared. He slid under the water then came up to see her watching him with a curious expression. ‘What?’

  She smiled. ‘If I’d known how badly you’ve been missing work I’d have shoved you into that hospital the minute we arrived.’

  He laughed. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been a pain to live with.’

  ‘I have you back, that’s all that matters. Captain Sensible’s gone rogue. Again.’ After kissing him, she turned and backed up so she was leaning against his chest.

  He reached around her, hugging her closer, kissing her neck, her head. His chest almost burst with lightness as he palmed her breast. Was this for real? ‘I can’t get enough of you.’

  ‘Lucas...’ She turned, planting a kiss on his nose then following up with foam bubbles. ‘You already have all of me, and more.’

  Sure he did. Right here, in this bath, in the palace, in the country he didn’t live in and in secret.

  He had her, yes. The difficult question was: for how long?

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘IT’S A BEAUTIFUL MORNING. The sun is shining; it’s so pretty. I know how much you love the island in the winter. We have the trees all decorated and it feels very Christmassy. When you get better we can walk in the gardens.’ Gigi slapped her hand on the breakfast table. ‘Stupido! I never say things like that. Because we never walk together. Why am I even bothering? Okay. Okay.’

  She took a deep breath, deleted everything and tried again, pressing ‘Record’ on the audio app on her phone. Take forty-five. ‘Oh, Papa, this is so hard. I barely talk to you face to face, never mind via a phone app.’

  She stared out of the window and watched the lightning shadows of his horses galloping through the trees.

  ‘I hate to think of you lying there with all those machines around you, and with Dom not even being able to admit he’s your son. I wish I’d tried harder, Papa. I wish you’d loved me as much as I love you. I wish we could have been a proper family, instead of having so much distance between us. And I wish I could have trusted you enough to tell you about Leandro and how he was trying to blackmail me. I wish I hadn’t made that mistake in the first place but, well... I was lonely and he was fun at first.’

  Lucas had been the polar opposite to Leandro. He’d been serious and uninterested in her and immediately she’d thought he was different. That was what had attracted her to him. His steadiness. His honesty.

  She smiled at the thought of him. How many times had they made love in the last ten days? She’d lost count. Funny, she’d thought he’d hightail it back to Seattle as soon as he could break out of here but he’d stayed. Although she had a feeling he wasn’t here just to support her—the hospital work was part of the draw too.

  ‘I wish I could tell you about Lucas too...it’s actually really difficult. I don’t know what to do. I like him. I mean, I like him a lot. I’m having his baby, did you know that? Of course you don’t. We all keep secrets from each other. He’s...he’s lovely. You’d like him. Although if Dom hears about what we’ve been doing he might just kill him.’ She shook her head at the thought of all the complications this relationship brought with it—was it a relationship? ‘But, Dio, it’s nice to have someone here to keep me company instead of rattling around the place on my own like I normally do. I don’t think you realise how lonely it is here for me.’

  The door opened and Lucas breezed in. ‘Hey, Gigi. You got up early.’

  ‘Lucas.’ She fumbled, trying to click off the app, almost dropping the phone in the process, which made it look as if she was doing something she shouldn’t. She laughed, trying to cover up her sudden awkwardness. ‘Um... You heard that?’

  ‘Just a muffled sound. Nothing really.’ He brushed a kiss on her head then helped himself to pancakes and berries.

  She breathed out. Phew. ‘I’m trying to record another message for Papa, but I still feel silly talking into a machine.’ She pressed the ‘Delete’ button and then looked at him. ‘Binned that attempt too. I think I’m up to take forty-six today.’

  He smiled, popping a berry into his mouth and putting a plate of food in front of her. ‘Eat. I know you won’t have and you need to. You’re doing great. Just say what you feel. Tell him what’s going on in your life.’

  ‘I don’t think Papa wants to hear about my everlasting nausea. Or about our child. Or about us. I’m basically hiding my whole life from him at the moment.’

  Lucas’s eyes widened at the mention of us. ‘Just tell him what the weather’s like, that kind of thing.’

  The recordings weren’t supposed to be a confessional, then. It had been a weird kind of therapy, though, just saying her feelings out loud.

  Lucas looked out the window. ‘This place still confuses me, even after two tours. Remind me, where’s King Roberto’s suite?

  ‘In the Verde Wing at the other side of the palace.’

  ‘And Dom’s?’

  She pointed towards the central dome and beyond. ‘Gathering dust over in the East Wing.’

  ‘So you generally mooch around here on your own?’

  Had he heard her say she was lonely?

  The last thing she wanted was him analysing that. ‘I have Maria and my staff. Friends you haven’t been introduced to yet. Growing up, Dom and I shared the nursery and then I moved into the Bella Vista wing. Oh, I spoke to him earlier and he mentioned something about the charity ball at your hospital on the twelfth and do I want to go?’

  ‘Oh? Interesting.’ Lucas frowned and she could see guilt slither back into his features. ‘He texted me this morning, too.’

  Coincidence? Giada’s heart hammered. ‘Do you think he’s suspicious about where we are?’

  ‘I don’t think so. It was just a friendly You’re missing some fun times in the ER text. Fairly sure it wasn’t fishing for information...at least not in relation to you. More about when I’ll be back.’

  ‘And are you going to the ball? Back to Seattle?’ She’d known he would because he’d mentioned the charity event before they’d set off to come here.

  An ache crept under her ribcage. This lovely bubble would burst the minute he stepped onto his plane and then she’d lose him to his life there. She’d tried to shield herself, of course, but he’d been too all-consuming to ignore.

  As she expected, he nodded. ‘Of course. It’s the biggest charity event of the year and duty calls. I asked him to grab me a ticket. Are you going to go?’ He caught her gaze. Paused. Then, ‘Do you want to come? As in...with me?’

  Her chest bloomed with warmth and excitement. ‘Lucas Beaufort, are you asking me on a date?’ So far, over and above their public outings, their intimate getting to know you had been in the confines of each other’s suites.

  He grinned, scraped his chair back and came around to her side of the table. He pulled her up, twirled her round, sat down and pulled her onto his knee. His mouth
found hers and his kiss was filled with promise. Interesting, after an already busy kind of night. He was insatiable. Grazie Dio. ‘It’ll have to be an incognito date.’

  ‘The best kind.’ She grinned. ‘And I can see Papa too. That will be wonderful. I’ll make arrangements for my absence. Yes, I have to make formal arrangements, I can’t just flit around like you do.’

  ‘Will we tell Domenico?’ His hands circled her waist under her blouse. ‘About the baby?’

  She shivered at his touch and in anticipation of where his hands would go to next. ‘Not yet. After Papa’s operation. But he’ll definitely need to know before the announcement.’

  ‘Announcement about...the pregnancy?’ His hand stilled.

  She thought about the way Bianca had looked at her the other week. ‘I was thinking in the New Year. I can’t just hide away until the baby is born, I need to be out working and I can’t risk more gossip and speculation. Women instinctively know when other women are expecting—it’s a thing.’ At his raised eyebrows she said, ‘They do, I promise. And, yes, just being the public face of the hospital is work for me. A royal endorsement brings in sponsorship. Outside the palace I’m always working. My life isn’t my own. It belongs to the nation and...’ he knew already but it had to be said ‘...so will our child’s.’

  Lucas looked as if he’d swallowed a lemon at that, but he wasn’t the only parent of this child; they both needed to learn how to compromise. She steeled herself against his reaction. ‘I know, Lucas. I know, you have something to say about that too.’

  But to her surprise he nodded. ‘Okay. Yes. I understand. An announcement early in the New Year. This is real, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes. It is.’ She put his hand on her belly. ‘I was thinking...’

  ‘Oh, no.’ His head shot up and he winced jokingly. ‘Is that a good thing?’