Royal Bastard

by Nana Malone

  “Are you sure? I can even dip you?”

  That earned me a wide grin with full dimple. “Come here.” Then just like that, he did that hand thing again where he reached out for me as if I would automatically follow. And there was a part of me in that moment that did. It was easy to trust him, easy to believe him, easy to want the warmth to seep in to my bones.

  He twirled me quickly and then pulled me to him. My breasts were pressed up against his chest, his thigh was between mine, and oh my God, he smelled incredible. A musky scent mixed with the rum on his breath made my head spin, and I was lucky he was holding me upright. Why did Lucas Newsome smell so damn good?

  He could move too. The sexy salsa didn’t faze him in the least. He kept his gaze on me. His dark eyes never left mine as our hips swayed in time with the music, and he guided me in the steps, never missing a single one. Not even when he pushed me away from him and brought me back, on beat, on time. He spun the web around me, crowding out everything else but him.

  When the song changed again to something a little prettier, a little dirtier, with a heavier bass beat in it, that’s when I felt it. The air shifted. Suddenly his direct gaze was slightly hooded, his pupils dilated, and more often than not, I could feel his gaze on my lips. Instinctively, I parted them. Almost immediately, I could feel the hot, hard length of him oh so close to my—oh God. Liquid heat pooled in my center, and my body gave an involuntary clinch. Jesus Christ, Lucas was huge.

  I would have thought that he’d let me go then. But he didn’t. We just kept dancing. It wasn’t until more and more people were allowed into the back area and it became so crowded it was nearly impossible to move that he finally separated from me.

  He cleared his throat and wrapped my hand in his. “Come on, it’s too crowded. Let’s get out of here.”

  His voice was pitched on a lower octave. More intimate, kind of throaty.

  Oh God, I should be concerned. I should be worried. I should be running for the hills. But I wasn’t, because whatever his voice promised, I wanted some of that.

  He was mostly silent as we left the restaurant and meandered through the neighborhood. There were several similar restaurants with music pouring out of them. We finally hailed a cab, and he held the door open for me. I slid over, allowing him space. When he climbed in, he pulled me close to him, arm wrapped around my shoulder, and instinctively, I laid my head on his shoulder.

  This was easy. So damn easy.

  The rock of the taxi lulled me into a half-pulsing-with-need state, but that was just the proximity of Lucas.

  Lucas exited the taxi first and then held out a hand for me. He walked me inside. In the elevator, he was silent. But he didn’t let go of my hand. As we approached our door, my heart started hammering out of control. Something was going to happen, I could feel it. Somewhere along the way, something had changed at that restaurant. I felt it. He wanted me too. And not in just the kind of way where I was a warm body. He wanted me. So what now? What the hell was going to happen? Should we do this? No, you cannot do this. Stop thinking about it. Take a mental cold shower or something because it’s not happening.

  Once in the apartment, I turned to face him and nervously brushed the hair off my face. “Lucas, I—"

  He stepped toward me, and I attempted to swallow but all I came up with was sawdust. “Tonight was fun. This is exactly how you should feel when you’re on a date with someone. That anticipation, the heat, the curiosity, the question.”

  I tried to swallow again, but it didn’t work, so I croaked out, “Question?”

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

  “About what?” Why was my voice so damn squeaky?

  As he stepped toward me, I realized I’d been instinctively taking steps back, but as I hit the island, I had nowhere to go. He leaned over me. My gaze immediately lowered, and my lids fluttered closed because good God, he was about to kiss me and Jesus Christ, I wanted him to.

  More than anything else in my life.

  “You should always anticipate if your date is going to kiss you, and when he’s going to kiss you. You should want it. You should be desperate for it. That’s what a good date feels like.”

  His voice was so low and soothing. I couldn’t put together all the words right away. The way he was talking, I wanted to believe this was real.

  I tried to force my eyes open, but I couldn’t manage it. He was so close. So damn close, and I could just feel him, and smell him, and God this was going to be a mistake, but I didn’t give a shit.

  “Okay.”

  I could feel his breath on my cheek. “And when he kisses you, your knees should be weak. You shouldn’t be able to think about anything else but him. Certainly not me.”

  So he had known I was faking that kiss. I wanted to say something intelligent, something to tell him that I wasn’t thinking about him when I kissed Jase, but all I could muster was, “Uh-huh.”

  And then he was leaning toward me. His lips, I could almost feel them. He was so close. Between us, as his hips made contact with mine, I could feel the length of him against my leg, and it was all I could do not to rock into it.

  It terrified me to admit it, but right about then, I’d have done anything to have his mouth on me.

  Lucas

  The bite of desire injected my blood, making me tingle all over.

  Fuck, she was beautiful. I knew what I should do, but her scent of hibiscus and gardenias wove around me, intoxicating me, confusing me. Making it impossible to think straight.

  Don’t do it, don't do it, don’t do it.

  But even though the command was loud and clear, impulse won out. I had to taste her. The moment our lips met, the blood rushed in my head.

  She tasted sweet and hot, like summer. For a long moment, Bryna held herself perfectly still. But then she made a soft mewling sound at the back of her throat and melted against me. I slid my tongue against hers, groaning when she kissed me back.

  Soo fucking good. Too fucking good. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her fingers slipping into the hair at my nape. When she scored the back of my scalp with her nails, I shuddered.

  My tongue danced with hers, sliding, teasing, playing. Cupping her ass, I pulled her tight against me, lust drowning out the rational protests of my brain. My cock nudged her belly insistently when her full breasts pressed into my body. Sliding a hand into her hair, I fisted a handful, using the leverage to help anchor her head so I could deepen the kiss. With her tongue sliding over mine and her body rocking into me, I didn't give a shit about what a bad idea it was. All that mattered in that moment was how good she felt.

  When she tentatively slid her tongue into my mouth, my tenuous hold on the strings of control slipped. The blood rushed in my skull, and I once again slid my hands into the fall of hair at the nape of her neck. The low growl in my throat as I deepened the kiss warned me that I was losing control. That I was going to take this too far.

  All I wanted to do was take that kiss deeper, but if I went any further, I wouldn't be able to stop. Slowly I released the handful of silken tresses and slid my hands down her body. I had to find some fucking control from somewhere. My hands flexed on her hips, and Bryna arched into me. Dragging my lips from hers, I hissed. "Bryna."

  "Yeah?"

  "Are you trying to drive me insane?"

  She raked her nails over my scalp once more, and a shudder racked my whole body. The growl started low in my throat before I kissed her again.

  I turned our bodies to brace her against the fridge and bracketed both her hands over her head. When I canted my hips, her body bucked into me, and I answered with a slow roll of my hips.

  With one hand securing her wrists, I slid the other up her torso. My thumb traced each rib until I reached the underside of her breast. She wrenched her lips from mine. "Lucas—"

  I dropped my forehead to hers. “Yeah, Bryna?” Fuck, I was so screwed. Now that I’d touched her, could I go back?

  Do you want to?

  “This feels
so…” Her voice trailed as she tossed her head back.

  “I know. I feel like I’m on fire.”

  I slid my lips over hers again. She was so soft, everywhere, with skin like satin. I could spend hours touching her, savoring every inch of her skin, but her breathy moans urged me on. Sliding my hands up her torso, my thumbs grazed the underside of her breasts, and the rest of the blood in my brain migrated south. My cock throbbed painfully against my thigh and I bit back a curse.

  I traced my thumbs over the lace of her bra to the taut nipples beneath. With a frustrated snarl, I picked her up and settled her on the counter. She started to quiver when I stroked my thumbs over her nipples. When I closed my palm over her full breast, Bryna slid her hands into my hair and tugged.

  “Fuck,” I’d tripped into the land of no return, and I didn't give a fuck. I just needed to figure out how to get her naked as quickly as possible.

  Bryna

  Lucas’s hands on my ass and his thumb on my nipple. Yes, Virgnia, there is a Santa Clause. His hands were sure, his lips were soft. I felt safe, but at the same time, I felt like I was about to jump off a cliff with no net.

  His thumbs traced over my nipples again, and I shuddered. “Lucas, I—"

  The booming knock at the door broke through our hazy spell.

  For a second, we stayed like that. Locked in position, as if wondering who was going to make the next move.

  Then Lucas’s heat was gone. He was backing up. That frown I hated seeing on his face was back. “I—" He shook his head. “I need to get that.”

  “What?” I tried to blink the foggy haze clear.

  He inclined his head toward the door. “Someone’s knocking.”

  Knocking? But what about that delicious tingling in my nipples? Was I supposed to just pretend I didn’t now know how that felt?

  Quickly but gently, he readjusted my clothes since I was far too incoherent to do that myself. Lust had dulled my senses.

  “God, all I want to do is kiss you again.“

  Hope flared but vanished when he bit his bottom lip and shook his head. Not going to happen tonight. Besides, I’d heard the knocking too. And maybe it’s for the best. This wasn’t even a real date, and I’d been ready to do him on the counter. I cleared my throat. “Oh, I guess I’ll go to my room. Good night.”

  He nodded slowly, then added, “What you’re feeling right now, you should feel it every time somebody takes you home. Always. Thank you for tonight. I had fun. Now get some sleep.”

  The hell I would. Lucas had just broken me.

  23

  Lucas

  I felt like a creeper. Our ‘mock-date’ had been… intense. Surprising. Fucking perfect. But I had fucked up. Time to face the music.

  She was already dressed and ready for class. Her hair was damp. As soon as she heard me, she stilled then turned around slowly. “Good morning.”

  Her gaze didn’t meet mine. Please fucking look at me. Let me see that it was real.

  Last night had been explosive. Some next level, off-the-charts shit, and we hadn’t even had sex. But somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my mind, I knew that, in so many ways, it was better than sex.

  I could still taste her on my tongue. I could still smell her, even though she was at least twenty feet away from me. I could still feel her warmth, and I wanted more of it. I wanted her back on that counter, legs parted for me, but this time naked, displayed in front of me, one leg hooked over my shoulder, with my mouth firmly planted on her sex.

  No, not helpful.

  My dick throbbed painfully, as if to echo the sentiment. Not helpful at all dude.

  I cleared my throat. “Are you okay?”

  She licked her lips, and my gaze focused on the tip of her tongue. “Yup, I’m fine.”

  I sighed. I really didn’t want this to be awkward. It was already going bad enough because part of me knew that it was going to hurt. “Well, I’m not fine.”

  Her face fell then.

  “No, I don’t mean like that. Last night was…“ What the hell was I supposed to say? Life changing? Or whatever? “Last night, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt like that before.” I loved watching her skin flush a pretty pink.

  Don’t get distracted.

  “But, for so many reasons, it’s a really bad idea.”

  That hope I had just seen in her eyes vanished then. “Oh.”

  “Sebastian asked a favor of me, and for reasons I can’t tell you, him believing in me, trusting me with that, is really important.”

  Her teeth grazed her bottom lip, then she nodded. “But why does it matter what he thinks?”

  As much as I wanted to, there was no way I could tell her the truth. It wasn’t public information. Her father might know, but as a member of the Regents Council it was confidential information to him, so no matter what, he couldn’t out me. “It’s a long story. And it doesn’t matter what he thinks. This is more about me than anything else. I need to be the kind of man who doesn’t take advantage of a situation. Who can see something through without thinking with his dick. I wasn’t supposed to touch you.”

  “Is that what you think happened yesterday?”

  I ran my hands through my hair. “I don't know what the fuck happened yesterday. But the truth of it is that you are my roommate. You needed help, and I overstepped the line. I shouldn’t have. I just wanted you to have a good time and have a fun date.”

  She nodded as she pursed her lips. “And the next thing you know I’m sitting on the counter practically begging you to suck on my nipples.”

  Dick, hard. Tongue, desperate. I felt like I might die if I didn’t taste her nipples. Fuck. I couldn’t focus for shit. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried again. “Bryna, for once, I’m trying to be the good guy. Please let me. Believe me when I say, I want you more than I’ve maybe ever wanted anyone. But I refuse to be a dick. You need help. And a place to stay. I’m not going back to being the guy I used to be. Please.” I wasn’t above begging. I couldn’t have her. And in the long run, she wouldn’t want me. “I want us to actually be friends. No bullshit. And I promise to be a gentleman.”

  A furrow formed in her brow, but she nodded. “Okay. Right. None of it was real anyway. We both got caught up in the moment.”

  My gaze searched hers. I didn’t want that to be the truth, but if it meant I could keep my word for once, then I’d take the lifeline and swallow the truth. “Yeah. Just a little carried away.”

  24

  Lucas

  Two things kept running through my head all day. Sebastian’s words, ‘You wouldn’t do anything to mess this up. This is too important,’ and the scent of Bryna’s perfume.

  Last night had been an exercise in flirting with disaster. I’d been an idiot. I thought I could handle it. No problem. You know, just to be that close to her, to feel her soft skin, to hold her close, I thought none of it would matter. I thought I’d be fine.

  Rookie mistake. The truth was, I could still fucking smell her. Hibiscus, gardenias, heaven.

  Hell. I wanted her. Had wanted her. I got it now, why Roone and Marcus laughed their asses off when I said staying away from her wasn’t going to be a problem. They’d been able to see what I couldn’t see. I wanted that girl, and not in the way that I wanted most, but in a way that was going to crush me if I wasn’t careful. I wanted her in a way that made me want to laugh. I wanted her in a way that made me want to tell her things, my secrets, my truths. I wanted to tell her everything. Mostly, I just wanted to hear her laugh. That throaty, full-on laugh, I’d kill for that.

  That was a goddamn problem because guys like me didn’t get to have that. If she had any idea who I really was, she’d run for the hills. She’d run so far and so fast, her head would spin. Not to mention Sebastian had asked me for one goddamn thing; to not go there. Way to go, Rookie. You screwed up. Getting that close to her was like asking for trouble, because I wanted more than to touch her. I wanted her to touch me and my soul. And given who I was, she was going to get hurt.


  “Where’s your guard?”

  I whipped around at the sound of the quiet, lilting British accent behind me.

  “Jesus fucking Christ. Why are you so damn silent?”

  Matthias Weller just shrugged. “Where is your guard?”

  I pointed at the coffee cart. Marcus had taken the shift today, even though it was supposed to be Roone’s. Roone, it seemed, was still pissed at me. Which was fair. I was intentionally making his job more difficult. And last night, I would have said that it was well worth it, but now, now I didn’t know.

  Matthias shook his head. “There are a lot of people between you and him. What if I had intended to do you harm?”

  I squared my shoulders. “Even before Roone got a hold of me in training, I was never helpless.”

  There was something in Matthias’s eyes then. Respect? Acceptance? I don’t know what it was. Frankly, I didn’t care. “What are you doing lurking around anyway?”

  “You asked for privacy. You haven’t exactly been alone, mate. Last night was a risk too. You’re lucky the Blake Security guys were so good. Oskar almost took out three guys last night, all because they got a little too close to you.”

  I threw up my hands. “Jesus Christ, all of this is fucking unnecessary.”

  Matthias’s gaze narrowed. “No, it’s not. If for nothing else, your mother and her husband are involved with some shady-ass shit. Some dodgy characters like the Melina Cartel.”

  I stared at him. “Are you shitting me right now?”

  Matthias shook his head. “Nah, mate. That last job you did, the shit you stole was worth well over $300,000.”

  I whistled low. I only got a fraction of that.

  “Those diamonds were supposed to be payment for a Melina courier. Now your stepfather and your mother are in deep with them. They need to pay off their debts.”