She doesn’t need me. That’s why I’m so attracted to her.
And why she’s so attracted to me … Because as we’re sitting here on my soaked bed, completely naked, that spark between us is undeniable. So with my thumb and index finger, I reach for her face and kiss her again.
Right when someone barges into the room.
Her eyes burst open, and I release her chin from my grasp.
She squeals and covers herself with my sheets while my eyes draw toward the door in rage.
It’s my father.
Chapter 11
Amir
“What is the meaning of this?!” My father’s voice echoes through the rooms. I didn’t close the bedroom door. He can see us right from where he’s standing near the door. And we’re both completely naked.
Fuck.
I get up, shielding her from his attack. “Don’t,” I say, holding up my hand as he barges toward us.
“I told you not to bring those girls to the palace anymore!” he rages. “How dare you!”
“I’m a grown man, and I can do what I want,” I reply, angry that the guards let him in even though I told them no one could disturb me—except Maya, of course. But apparently, they don’t listen to my authority when my father intrudes. Goddammit.
“This is my palace. You may be a prince, but I’m still your father,” he says, shoving his finger against my chest. “You should know better than to toy with random girls you picked off the street.”
“She’s not a random girl,” I spit back. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
He cocks his head slightly, peeking over my shoulder. His eyes narrow. “Her …”
“Don’t bring her into this,” I say with a stern voice. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“Then why is she sitting here naked on your bed, which is completely soaked?”
“It’s my fault that it’s wet. I fell into the bathtub and didn’t dry off. Don’t be angry with her, please.” I position myself between her and him so he can’t reach her.
“It’s my choice. I brought her here.”
“Isn’t she your designer?” he growls.
I’m biting the inside of my cheeks to restrain myself. “Yes. And she has every right to be here.”
“So now you’re screwing the workers too?” he scoffs, laughing. “Amir, you need to stop playing around. This is no time to hook up with foreign girls.”
“She isn’t just a foreign girl. She’s not just any girl to me, Father,” I say. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along, I like her. A lot.”
“She is a foreigner. A commoner,” he hisses, laying his gaze on her again. “You … I should have you thrown in jail.”
“NO!” I growl back, pushing him away when he tries to get close.
She immediately bolts, still holding the sheets. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she mutters, grabbing her clothes. “This was a mistake.”
“Maya, don’t go,” I say, walking up to her, completely ignoring my dad shouting at me from behind. “Stay, please.”
“I can’t,” she says, shaking her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
I know he hurt her. No, I hurt her. It’s because of me that she’s in this position. I seduced her. Pulled her into my bed. Stripped her naked. And now my father found us … It’s all my fault. My burden to carry.
“I’m sorry,” I say, sighing as I grab her hand. “Please, let me make it up—”
“I … I …” Her eyes shift back and forth between mine and my father’s, and then she pulls her hand away. “I’m sorry, Amir.”
And then she bolts through the doors, carrying all her stuff except the beautiful clothes she made for me.
Maya
Covered in tears and water, I clean myself up in the bathroom and put on my clothes before making a quick exit. I’m mortified of the people looking at me as if they’re seeing a ghost. I know I look ridiculous, but at this point, I just want to get out of here fast. Screw looking decent. Screw saying goodbye. I’m out of here, and I don’t ever wanna see this palace again.
As I make my way back to the hotel, the tears start to pour down my cheeks. I’m unable to keep them at bay, and I don’t know why. Part of me is still in shock, I guess. That’s what happens when the king finds you naked in bed with his son.
God, just thinking about it makes my whole face glow hot again.
I can’t believe I let him seduce me like that again. Am I really that easy? Or does my heart really have a weakness for him?
I swallow away the lump in my throat when I think of his handsome face, telling myself I have to put it away and never think about it again. It was a one-time thing. Okay, a two-time thing, but it’s never going to happen again. I’m never going to see him again.
I’m leaving, and that’s that.
What’s done is done. I can’t change the past, but at least I can stop myself from hurting further.
So when I finally get back to my room, I quickly pack my bags and book a flight back home. I know it’s only for the best. After all, if I don’t leave by choice, who knows what could happen. His father might have me thrown in jail. I don’t even wanna think about that option, so I’d better act fast and get out of here while I still can.
It doesn’t take me long to get to the airport. I left the workshop and everything else as it was. I didn’t bring anything other than what I came here with. I don’t even care about the payment right now; I just want to get out of here.
So I get on the plane, determined not to let my heart cloud my judgment ever again. I knew it was a mistake to kiss him. I should’ve stopped myself before we went too far. Now I’m having to sit down on a seat feeling completely gutted.
God, why does it feel like I’m leaving my heart behind?
Amir
I spend an hour locked away in my room.
I don’t want to speak to anyone. I don’t want to see anyone. I just want to be left alone.
However, I can’t stop fuming and pacing around my room, thinking of all the ways I could’ve done better, how I could’ve stopped her from leaving, how I could’ve … everything!
It all just went by so quickly, and I never got a shot to repair what I broke. I didn’t want to lose her. Didn’t want to say goodbye.
But by the time I managed to escape my father’s anger, she was long gone. Even the workshop was left as it was. It was like she was never even here to begin with.
And it pisses me off to no end. My father’s so hell-bent on making me into what he thinks is the perfect son that he’s losing me in the process. I don’t care about being a prince. I don’t care about this palace or all the riches.
All I want is her, and now she’s gone. Disappeared. Forever, maybe.
And it’s all because of him.
I’m left with a hole in my heart and a wish to scream my lungs out. So I do. Without regret, without any doubt, I release my rage on my father the moment he appears in my room again.
“This is your fucking fault!” I yell, pointing at him as he steps inside without knocking.
“How dare you raise your voice—”
“No, how dare you ruin this for me? Maya was the one girl I wanted to keep.”
“Oh, please, she’s just a foreigner who was here for work. That’s it,” he says, waving it away as though it’s no big deal. But it is to me. It’s time he finally understood. “When are you going to get over it? It’s time you got back to business.”
“You don’t get it.” I tap him on the chest. “You want me to become a prince. Someone people can admire. Someone fit for the throne. Yet you don’t even let me make my own decisions. You think you need to control me, but you’re pushing me further and further away.”
“A prince should care more about his country than himself,” he says.
“Maybe I don’t wanna be a prince,” I say, pacing around the room. “Ever think about that?”
“You don’t have a choice,” he says.
“Exc
ept I do. I could walk out of here tomorrow and never come back.”
His face turns dark, like thunder and lightning. “You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I say, clenching my fist. “Because I really am thinking about it.”
“Why?” he asks, approaching me, but I look away. “Over some girl? You’ve lost your mind.”
“No …” I grasp the clothes she made and hold on to them, smelling them, knowing they were in her hands. They still carry her scent. I wish I could smell it one more time.
“I’ve lost my heart.”
The gravity of it all sinks in like a stone, and I feel like I can barely breathe when I look at the mess that’s left.
“You’ve fallen in love?” he asks. “With a commoner? That’s not possible, you’re—”
“A prince. I know.”
“Exactly.”
“Then I don’t want to be a prince,” I say, gazing at him over my shoulder.
“What did you say?” He frowns.
“You heard me,” I say, standing my ground. “If I can’t have her, it’s not worth it.”
“Nonsense. There are plenty of other actual royal girls available.”
“I don’t want them. I want her. End of story.”
“And what if I don’t agree?” He places his hands against his side.
“Then I’ll quit.”
“Quit what?” He scoffs. “Being a prince?”
I nod. “I don’t care.”
“You’ll lose your right to the throne,” he says. “The palace. The money. Everything.”
I shrug. “It means nothing if I can’t choose who to love.”
His lips part, but there’s no response. I know he can see the look on my face. I mean it for real this time. No joke. This is it.
“You’re willing to risk everything for that girl?” he asks.
I nod. “I told you, she’s not just any girl. At least … not to me.” I sigh. “I want her. Only her.”
“So you’re dismissing all the potential royal ladies waiting for you to make a choice?” he asks.
“They only want me so they can be queen.” I scoff.
He frowns. “You don’t know that.”
“The ones you’ve made me date so far have. And that girl, Maya … she doesn’t want me because I’m a prince. She just likes me for who I am.” I approach my dad. “And having her in my life was the best thing that’s happened to me in years.”
Father sighs out loud, visibly disappointed. And I get it. His son isn’t who he thought he’d be. Maybe it’s only right that I give everything up. I haven’t exactly proven myself to be a great future king.
So I turn around and march for the door.
“Where are you going, Amir?” he asks.
I’m tired of letting him decide for me. This time, I’m making my own decision. “To find her.”
“And do what exactly?”
“Win her back.” I’m determined. I won’t let him persuade me to stay or ignore my feelings for her. It’s too late for that. It’s time I made the right choice.
“She’s probably already gone,” he says.
“I don’t care. I’ll chase her if I have to.”
“Out of the country?” My father gasps.
I shrug as I open the door. “So be it. One way or another, I’m gonna get her back.”
Knowing her, she’ll have already packed her bags, gone back to her hotel, and booked her flight home. Maybe I’m too late, but that won’t stop me from flying after her.
Nothing will stop me from being near her.
Nothing.
Chapter 12
Maya
As I’m waiting for the plane to take off, the crew are bustling back and forth between the seats, trying to get everyone’s luggage in place. However, a particular disturbance at the front makes me grow leery. I peek over the seats in front of me, trying to catch a whiff of what’s going on. People are holding up the line as they’re getting on, most of them talking amongst each other and smiling.
I wonder what’s going on.
The commotion keeps the crew busy as they try to delegate the passengers and tell everyone to remain seated. I peer through the windows to try to catch a glimpse, only to find even the people in the terminal are completely taken by what’s going on.
That’s when I spot it. The small cart skirting through the terminal, sirens on, with lots of people on board. They’re headed straight for the gate, but people around them are taking pictures of the spectacle. Only when the cart disappears do I realize that it was my gate they were headed straight through.
And someone just called out my name.
“Is there a person named Maya on board?” one of the crew members from the front calls out.
I get up and wave awkwardly. “That’s me.”
“Can you come to the front of the plane, please?”
Everyone’s looking at me now, and I feel embarrassed by the sheer volume of eyes pinned at my back. But I persist as I head to the front, clutching my bags, wondering what the hell is going on.
I don’t have to wait long to find out.
At the entrance to the plane, Amir is waiting with a giant bouquet in his hand and a smile on his face that could make any girl melt into a puddle.
My bags instantly drop from my hands.
“Amir?” I mutter.
He grins. “In the flesh.”
I’m completely dumbstruck. “How?”
“I got Mrs. Adallah to talk. Pulled some strings at the airport and security. There’s not a lot people won’t do for the prince,” he says with a smug smile.
My jaw is still practically on the floor. “But why?”
He comes toward me and stops right in front of me. “Because I want you,” he says.
“But I … I …” I don’t even know what to say. The fact that he came all the way here just to beg me to stay has me completely baffled.
“I don’t care what I have to do. If you want me to go on that plane with you, I’ll do it. I’ll give up the right to ever become king.”
The people around us cover their mouths in shock.
“Amir, no, don’t say that. This is important for you,” I say.
“Not as important as this,” he says, grabbing my hand. “I’ve finally found what I really need. What I want. And I don’t wanna lose that.”
“But we’ve only known each other for a few days …”
“All the more reason to give this a chance,” he says. “I’ve known it since I first met you; there is something special between us that I can’t just ignore. I need to know what it is. I need you with me.”
“But—”
“Say you’ll stay, please.” His voice makes me question everything I thought I was doing. I thought I was making the right decision by getting on this plane and never coming back here, but now that I’ve looked him in the eyes, it’s so hard. Nothing has ever been this hard.
“If not, let me come with you,” he says, smiling as he glances over his shoulder at a bunch of suitcases stacked up. “I brought some things, just in case.”
I laugh. “I’m amazed. Is there anything you didn’t already think of?”
“Well …” he says, licking his lips as he hands the bouquet to an assistant to hold while he talks to me. “The one thing I forgot was to stand up to my father. He hurt you, and I’m sorry that happened. Please forgive me.”
I rub my lips together, fighting the tears as he goes on his knees right in front of me.
“Amir, get up,” I hiss between my teeth as everyone around us starts gossiping out loud. “We’re making a scene.”
His dreamy eyes are locked on mine. “I don’t care. Let them talk.”
“But what about your father?” I ask.
“I told him the same thing. I don’t care about being part of a royal family if I can’t have what makes me happy, and right now, that’s you.”
“But you’ll throw away your right to the throne,” I respond, worried he migh
t actually do that. I’m just … me. I’m not worth giving up his entire future for. Especially as a prince.
“I’d rather do that than throw away my only shot at a happy life with you.”
The beaming smile on his face makes the tears roll down my cheeks. I can’t fight them anymore. I don’t even want to. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. It’s like a fairy-tale dream come true.
“And you think your father would accept that?” I ask. “Would he accept me?”
“Once he realizes this is the only way, and that I won’t let him decide for me, I’m sure he will. He was never mad at you; he was mad at me for choosing differently. But I know he’ll come to his senses. Just as I did when I saw you run. I knew then that I never want to see you leave that way ever again.”
I frown, still worried about all the things that could happen if I stay. What about my life back home? My family and friends? My job?
I gaze over my shoulder at the plane and everything I’d be leaving behind if I said yes.
“If you’re worried about your home, I can bring your family here too. Anyone you want for as long as you need.”
“You’d do that for me?” I ask, wiping the tears away. It’s as though he can read my mind.
“Yes, because I love you.”
My eyes widen, and my heart skips a beat.
Love. Did he actually just say that?
“What?” I mutter.
The smile on his face almost seems permanent. He’s unafraid to admit his feelings for me and wants the world to know. “You heard me. I know what I want, and what I want is you. I’m not going to deny what I feel in my heart. Even if it’s quick. Even if it’s outrageous and pisses everyone around me off, including you.”
I laugh at his comment because it’s true, but it makes him adorable too.
“I don’t care what it takes; I wanna make you happy,” he says, and I can tell from his voice he means every word.
Still, the voices in the back of my head can’t seem to shut up. “But what about my work, and—”
“There are plenty of customers waiting in line. I’ve looked at your popularity, and it’s not just people in America who want your clothes. You’re famous, Maya. And don’t try to hide it from me.”
Unprofessional Bad Boys - Boxed Set (Contemporary Romance) Page 49