“You look ill. Are you okay?” he asks, walking toward me and crouching down in front of me.
I look up and am face to face with him. He’s beautiful; classically handsome with a chiseled strong jaw, and stubble that my fingers itch to feel.
“We’re married and you’re engaged, and oh, my god,” I say, repeating the scenario, unable to look away from his face—afraid that if I do, I might forget what he looks like. This could very well be the last time I see him this close.
“I don’t love her. Hell, I don’t even like her, Riona,” he mutters.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re engaged and the media—oh, holy shit—the media,” I say as my stomach drops.
“They won’t come near you again,” he says, lifting his hand to rest against the side of my neck.
“They haven’t left me alone since they found out who I was. I had to move, Henrik,” I shout as I narrow my eyes on him.
“Move?” he asks in confusion.
“Do you think I’ve always lived in Madison’s pool house? I used to live in a studio apartment on my own. Someone broke into my apartment in the middle of the night when I was asleep in bed. The police and James came. He refused to let me live alone another night.”
“Holy fuck, precious,” he breathes as he sinks to his knees and moves his free hand to cup my cheek. I don’t realize that I’m crying until his thumb wipes one of my tears away.
“Never again,” he murmurs.
“How are you going to stop it? Once they find out, once they find out it’s going to be an even bigger nightmare,” I blubber.
“I don’t know yet, but I will figure it out,” he states.
A knock at the door interrupts our discussion, and I watch as he stands and greets whoever is standing at the other side.
“It’s my brother,” Henrik announces, opening the door.
I watch as a lighter haired version of Henrik walks into the small pool house. He’s cleaner shaven, and a bit thinner than Henrik, but there’s no denying that they’re siblings. His brother eyes me up and down from my seated position on the sofa before giving me a sad smile.
I must look like a disaster from the shock and the tears that I’ve just cried, plus the round of unbelievable sex we had. I cringe to myself hoping it’s not obvious we’ve just screwed.
“We need to let these people rest for the evening, Henrik. We’ll schedule an appointment tomorrow and get all of the necessary paperwork handled then,” he murmurs.
“Paperwork?” I ask as my eyes dart from Henrik to his brother.
“The annulment,” his brother answers with a nod.
“If, if that’s what needs to be done, of course, Henny,” I mutter, more to myself than anybody else, feeling as though a knife has stabbed me in the chest.
“Henny?” his brother questions.
“We’ll discuss everything tomorrow,” Henrik murmurs. “Let’s go, Philip.”
Henrik doesn’t look at me before he leaves. He turns and walks away without a backward glance, a move he seems to have perfected since he did it weeks ago in Vegas.
I stay seated on the sofa, unable to move, unsure of how I’m actually breathing. I’m just staring at the closed door, wishing for him to walk back through. Wanting nothing more than for something to change, for him to declare something for me.
I’m not naïve to believe that I’m in love with him, or that he could be in love with me, but there is something between us. At least, to me—there’s something between us.
The door swings open and instead of Henrik filling my doorway, it’s Madison. We don’t speak. One look at me, and she knows all she needs to. She rushes to my side and wraps her arms around me. Burying my face in her neck, I cry.
I wail because the fantasy has disappeared, and reality has set in. He’s marrying another woman and I’m a stain. A stain he wishes to rid from his past, to brush away and pretend never happened. He wanted one last taste of me, and I gave in, just like I did in Vegas.
At least I won’t have to wonder what-if anymore. I know the answer now. He found me. He knows who I am, and he doesn’t want me. I was fun—for the night. I was never meant to be anything but that. I built us up too much in my own mind, like a silly little girl—like my mother.
Madison holds me until I fall asleep in her arms. I can hear James’ voice in the background as she moves around and places a pillow under my head before she covers me up with a throw blanket. My best friends in the world, my only family, the only people that I can count on to love me and to care for me.
Tomorrow, I’ll have to be strong; but for tonight, I need to be broken. I’ll break again when he leaves me to go back to his regular life. I’ll pick up the pieces and I’ll move on. Maybe not right away; no, I think I need to feel this.
I’ve been broken so many times that I should be used to it. My mother hasn’t wanted me, and no man has ever stayed, yet the fantasy that Henrik might come for me one day, that’s shattered.
It’s silly.
It’s completely and totally silly, yet it hurts so much more than any other shattered dreams I’ve had in the past.
“I don’t want to talk,” I interrupt Philip before he can even get a word out.
“She’s lovely in person,” he murmurs.
“I told you that I didn’t want to talk,” I bark.
“You like her, truly you do,” he says with a nod.
“It doesn’t matter if I do.”
“Oh, I don’t know. You are legally married,” he points out.
“Let me point out just a couple reasons why it doesn’t matter. One, she’s not royal. Two, grandfather, and three, father. Anything else that you can think of just adds to the dramatics of why it doesn’t fucking matter,” I grind out through a clenched jaw.
I do like her. I like her a fuck of a lot, and leaving her tonight was even harder than leaving her in Las Vegas all those weeks ago. Seeing that prick’s hands on her, knowing that when the papers I have are signed, she’ll have other men’s hands on her, and she’ll even marry another man one day, that makes me rage filled. Then, being inside of her again, it was like fucking fireworks. She was absolutely everything I’d remembered and even more.
“Mother would back you.”
“Mother would be steamrolled and you know it,” I huff.
“You don’t give her enough credit, Henrik.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve come out publicly and it’s been announced that Eugenie and I are engaged. What a cluster fuck of a scandal would bringing Riona home cause?” I point out.
“Eugenie is an ice-cold bitch. When the day is done and you’re lying in bed next to your wife, the rest of the world doesn’t matter. All that will matter is the woman you hold and make love to, the woman you want to carry your heirs. That’s what matters. Politics and the crown are rubbish and you know it.”
“You’re a fucking rebel underneath it all, Philip. Why am I just discovering this?” I ask with a chuckle.
“I’m far from a rebel. But I saw the way she looked at you, Henrik. She looks at you the way Bee looked at me when we were first together. It’s not love yet, but that girl, she adores you. Eugenie only wants a title and status. Caitriona, she only wants you. Take tonight and think it over. Choosing her will cause a rift and it will cause dramatics, but are you prepared to live a life without her? Without at least finding out if there’s something more there?”
Philip pulls the car to the valet at the hotel and faces me as he turns the engine off, giving me one last piece of his wisdom for the night.
“I know my brother. I know you, and I know that although you are impulsive and reckless, you are not that impulsive and reckless. You may have been drunk, but you knew what you were doing when you married her. It wasn’t for nothing. It’s up to you to decide if there was a real reason behind it. Nobody can make that call but you.”
Without allowing me to speak, I watch as he steps out of the car and walks into the hotel. I sit for a few moments before I
follow suit and make my way up to my room. My mind and heart are heavy tonight.
The decision I have to make affects so many people; my family, Caitriona, her family, and to some extent, the rest of the world. Though the impact on the world will not be great, it will go down in history books.
It will be a scandal, and Eugenie will not receive it well. Not in the slightest. These are all factors I must weigh, and I only have a few hours left to weigh them. Then, I must decide, if I give a flying fuck how Eugenie feels about anything—which I don’t. She’s a spoiled, entitled, ice cold cunt and the only thing about this situation, that would piss her off, would be the fact that she won’t be made a princess in a few months’ time.
I’ll be heading back over to James and Madison’s home tomorrow to either take Caitriona home with me as my wife, or ask her to dissolve our union with her signature on the annulment papers.
I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW and wonder if I have enough time to take a swim before Henrik returns. I don’t know what time he’s returning, and swimming would give me a way to release the nervous, anxious energy I have flowing through my body. Without another thought, I hurry and change into my swimsuit. It isn’t sexy, just a black one piece that has the sides cut out.
I dive into the pool and start to swim laps, thankful that James turned it into a heated pool when he renovated the entire home and pool house. The talent on that man is astounding to me. It never ceases to amaze me the beautiful things he can accomplish with the combination of his mind and hands. I wish I could find a man like him for myself. Robert Dayton is certainly not that man, and unfortunately, Henrik isn’t either.
Once I’m physically exhausted, I step out of the pool and dry off. A throat clears behind me and I jump with a screech before I turn around to see Henrik standing just a few feet from me, his hands in his pockets, and a smirk tipping his lips.
“How long have you been there?” I ask bringing the towel up to cover myself.
“Don’t,” he murmurs, stepping close to me.
I don’t move.
I’m frozen as he lifts his hand and traces my breast where my swimsuit’s edge is. Just along my skin, just enough to send goosebumps over my entire body—as if he hadn’t fucked me so hard last night that I still feel him between my legs today.
“Henrik,” I whisper.
“Henny.”
“What?”
“You—you call me Henny,” he murmurs.
I open my mouth to ask him what on earth he’s talking about when I feel his lips brush against mine. His kiss, though soft, sweet, and brief, renders me speechless. I lift my arms and bury my fingers in his velvety hair as he deepens the kiss. His tongue fills my mouth as his hands roam down my bare sides.
Last night was hurried and frantic, this kiss is luscious, slow and sweet, making me melt a little closer to him.
“We can’t,” I whisper against his lips, refusing to open my closed eyes.
“We can’t not, Riona,” he murmurs. “I’m supposed to be married in less than six months to a cold, bitter, spoiled bitch. Most of my family will probably never accept you, and we’re sure to be a scandal. You’ll be splashed all over the paps, more than you currently are as it is,” he says.
I finally open my eyes and look into his serious gaze. I’m not sure why he’s explaining these things to me. These are things that I already know, aside from the news of his fiancée being a spoiled bitch—though I could have probably guessed that if I were to judge her at a glance. Let’s be honest, I did judge her, a long time ago, out of nothing but pure jealousy.
“What are you trying to say to me right now?” I ask, needing clarification from his rambling.
“Precious, you’re my wife. You’re mine and I made you that way for a reason. I didn’t sleep last night. I couldn’t, because all I could do was think. All I could think about was you. If I left you, then another man could and would claim you one day. Another man would put his child inside of you, and that isn’t something I can accept.”
“We don’t even know each other, and you’re engaged,” I point out.
“I don’t care. You’re mine. You were meant to be mine, and I’m keeping you,” he whispers as his head dips and he places kisses against my neck.
“Henny—,” I breathe.
“Don’t. Don’t say anything. You’re not signing the annulment or the non-disclosure. You’re coming home with me, as my wife and by my side. We’ll face the shit storm together. I don’t know what’s going to happen with us, but I do know that it isn’t going to be easy, luv. I also know that we met and married for a reason, so we’re going to find that reason out.” I start to protest, but his lips touch mine again.
I melt into him, I melt for him, just like I did the first time he kissed me; just like I’ve done for every kiss after.
Henrik picks me up and carries me inside of the pool house, locking the door behind him before he takes me into my bedroom. He sets me down on my feet and slips his fingers beneath the straps of my suit before he gently slides it down my body, stripping me completely bare, just as I’d done for him weeks ago.
I hold my breath as he lifts his hand again and takes the tie out of my unruly hair before running his fingers through my wet locks.
Henrik then takes a step back and undresses himself, never saying a word—never taking his eyes off of mine.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmur, my eyes drifting from his messy dark hair to his wide broad chest, skirting over his lean muscular frame, and then landing on his cock, hard and waiting.
“No, precious. I am just a man. You are completely spectacular.”
I don’t respond, knowing that I’m not what he says I am, but enjoying the words nonetheless. I gasp when his strong hands wrap around my waist and he lifts me slightly before laying me down on the bed. I spread my thighs to accommodate his hips between them. With his eyes still completely focused on mine, Henrik skims his fingers up my body to my breast, squeezing my flesh with a moan.
“Fuck, these tits, Riona,” he murmurs.
I moan when he pinches my nipple and tugs, sending desire through my body immediately. I wrap my fingers around his shoulders and tip my hips in an invitation. This is so different from last night. He’s taking his time, and it’s absolutely wonderful.
“Does your cunt need me, mmm?” he asks as his fingers leave my breast only to caress my center.
“Henrik,” I whisper as he slides one finger inside of me.
I moan as he pulls out and swirls his finger around my clit before he plunges back inside of me, two fingers, filling and stretching me.
“Do you want me, Riona? Do you want your husband?”
“Yes,” I moan as my hips search for more of him.
I watch in fascination as a smile reaches his lips before he moves his other hand from the bed, where it had been propping him up, to twist in my hair at the nape of my neck. The other hand leaves my core, and without warning, he’s inside of me.
One thrust, and his cock is fully seated to the root, causing a gasp to escape me.
“Wrap your legs around me, precious, and take me in,” he growls.
I lift my legs and wrap them as high as I can around his waist. He shivers above me, but I need him to move, to take and to own. I move my hands from his shoulders to twist in his hair lifting my hips slightly as my eyes stay on his. He’s completely focused on me, his eyes roaming my face.
“Fuck me, Riona,” he groans.
I do, I squeeze my thighs around him and hold onto his body, lifting my hips until he murmurs for me to stop.
Then, with a grin, he begins to pump in and out of me with long, lazy strokes.
“I didn’t want to leave you that morning, Riona. You have to believe me,” he explains as he continues with his never breaking rhythm.
“Henny,” I gasp, unable to concentrate on his words; hearing them, but unable to respond as my body climbs higher and closer toward my release.
“Fuck, you feel so good, precio
us,” he whispers as a sheen of sweat appears on his forehead.
“Let go, Henrik, let go,” I urge.
He is holding back, and I don’t want him to. I want him all, every single piece of him. I want that rough man from last night to take and take, and demand from me.
“Come back with me, make this dream a reality,” he murmurs into my ear as he starts to thrust harder and faster inside of me.
I don’t answer, I can’t. All I can do is cry out as my orgasm rips through me with an intensity I have never felt before in my life. Henrik roars as his own takes over, and he comes inside of me.
“What about Eugenie?” I ask after my breathing has come back to a semblance of normal.
“What about her?” he grunts.
“If I come back with you as your wife, what happens to her?” I ask as I run my fingers up and down his spine.
“I’ll tell her before we even touch down on British soil. There’s no love lost there, Riona. I’ve never even shagged her,” he murmurs as he sucks on my neck.
“What?” I ask in surprise.
He chuckles as he rolls to the side, gathering me in his arms. I press my cheek against the warmth of his chest and wait for him to speak.
“A marriage of status, not love. We don’t even like each other, Riona. I didn’t even propose properly. It was all arranged for us through our PR people and our parents,” he shrugs, as if its no big deal.
“But you were going to marry her, have children with her and everything?”
“Yes, I was prepared to do that,” he says, nodding.
“Forever?”
“Forever. But then you came along, or at least you reappeared,” he murmurs as his fingers comb my still damp hair.
“Are you doing all of this just to get out of your engagement?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip nervously.
“I thought all night long. Naturally, I’m more of an impulsive person than the other members of my family, but I’m not that impulsive. I married you, even if I was completely pissed. I did it and I don’t think I should question it.
“I can’t discount the fact that not for one day since I left Las Vegas have I not thought about you, dreamt of you, and regretted the way I walked away. Then to find out we’re married? It’s too much to simply be a coincidence. I know the repercussions are bound to be grave and uncomfortable, but when I fall asleep at night, I want to do it with you at my side, nobody else.”
Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale Page 8