Taming My Prince Charming

by J. S. Cooper

  “I don’t mind if people know you were in my class.” He said smoothly. “Just like I don’t mind people knowing you slept with me on the first date. I thought it was you that wanted to keep those things a secret.”

  “I’m fine.” I said stiltedly, my face growing red.

  “Xavier, stop teasing the poor girl.” Charlotte chided him and reached for my hand. “You must ignore him, Lola. Xavier loves to rile people up.”

  “No, I don’t.” He retorted back. “I just like to have some fun.”

  “Maybe too much fun.” Richard answered with a wry smile. “I heard what you were up to last night.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” Xavier grinned.

  “Casper’s room, Xavier?” Richard shook his head and laughed.

  “What are you two talking about?” Charlotte asked the question I was thinking and they both shook their heads.

  “Nothing of importance.” Xavier smiled smugly. “I just had a message I wanted to give Casper last night and I left it in his room.”

  “Oh yes, he had that party that you went to.” She looked at her husband. “You and your boys club parties.” She shook her head and looked at me. “Something for you to look forward to Lola. When you marry Xavier, he’ll be out and about with his friends and you’ll be stuck at home with the babies, while he does who knows what.”

  “Parties?” I asked softly, afraid to look at Richard and Xavier.

  “Yes, they all get together and play poker and talk politics.” Charlotte smiled and took a sip of water. “Only no women are allowed.”

  “Oh.” I answered her softly and grabbed my water glass as well.

  “No wives allowed.” Richard rubbed her hand. “You’d ruin the mood, honey.”

  “I told you I could learn poker.” Charlotte turned to him, completely not getting what his ‘no wives’ allowed comment was about. She had no idea she wasn’t allowed to go because he was actually going to sleep with another woman. Then it hit me. Maybe that was the point of the club. Maybe it was for the mistresses. Maybe that’s why everything was so mysterious. My heart started thudding then because I realized that if Xavier was taking me there, he had no intentions of ever becoming more serious with me. I was just his play toy. An object of desire. He had no real feelings for me and never would.

  “It’s about more than playing poker, Charlotte. It’s about bonding.” Richard sighed. “I’ve told you this before.”

  “Excuse me, please.” I jumped up out of my seat. “I need to go to the ladies room.” I walked away from the table quickly, not wanting to listen to him lie to his wife any longer. I walked to the front of the restaurant and then slipped outside to the main road so that I could get some fresh air on my face.

  “What are you doing?” Xavier’s voice sounded angry next to me.

  “I came to get some air. Is that a problem?”

  “Why would it be a problem?” He shrugged and looked into my eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “What do you think?” My voice rose. “You brought me to lunch with a man and his wife. A man I met last night with his girlfriend.”

  “So?” He shrugged.

  “You don’t think that’s shady.”

  “It’s not my life. Not my relationship. What Richard does is his business.”

  “That’s horrible.” I shook my head and turned away from him. “You’re a pig.”

  “I’m a pig because Richard has a mistress?”

  “You’re a pig because you can’t see that what he’s doing is wrong.”

  “Lots of married men have mistresses.”

  “And they are all pigs as well.”

  “I think I’m a good guy.” He paused. “I have no plans to marry, so I will never have a mistress.”

  “Oh wow, great for you.” I said sarcastically. “That makes everything so much better.”

  “I’m just being honest. I know you’re not seriously mad at me for not telling you he was married, are you?”

  “Yes, I am upset. In fact, I’m pissed. How could you not tell me?” I hissed. “Especially as I mentioned Elizabeth this morning.”

  “I know, I should have said something.” He sighed and came closer to me. “I knew you would be upset.”

  “So why are you acting surprised now?”

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t overreact.”

  “Overreact. I’m an accomplice now.” I bit my lower lip. “How can I look her in the face knowing I was having a conversation with someone last night who was telling me how good Richard was in bed. Someone who is not his wife.”

  “I’m sorry, I realize this is a delicate situation for you.”

  “Delicate doesn’t even begin to cover it. This is awkward.” I sighed. “This is more than awkward. I’m a fake fiancée meeting a man and his wife, when I was just hanging out with his mistress.”

  “Keep your voice down, Lola.” He frowned. “I get it. You’re upset. We will talk later.”

  “I don’t want to talk later. And by that I mean if you think talk means sex, you’re going to be waiting a long time. I don’t sleep with pigs.”

  “Lola, grow up.” His voice was mad. “You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

  “I really don’t think I am.” I shook my head. “I think that I’m as upset as any other caring human being would be. Cheating is wrong.”

  “And I’m not saying it’s good.” He grabbed my hands. “Look at me. I don’t agree with Richard’s choices, but it is not for us to judge him.”

  “So you think it’s wrong of him to commit adultery?” I asked softly, slightly mollified.

  “Yes, I think it’s wrong.” He sighed and kissed me lightly on the lips. “I do not believe in adultery.”

  “Okay then.” I stared into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. “That’s good then because I don’t believe in it either.”

  “Can we go inside now?” He asked me softly. “They will be wondering what happened.”

  “I’m not cool with this, you know. I’d rather go back to the palace.” I let out a deep sigh. “But I’ll stay for a quick lunch. However, I’m telling you now, if you do something like this again, I won’t be so patient and I won’t go along with it.”

  “Duly noted.” He said with a small smile on his face. “I’m glad to hear you stick to your principles.”

  “I do and you better not forget it.” I gave him a look and he nodded slightly as he took in my angry appearance.

  “I don’t think I’ll forget.”

  ***

  “I’m going up to the room.” I said to Xavier as we arrived back at the palace after the lunch. “I need a shower to wash the shame off of me.”

  “Lola, no need to be so melodramatic.”

  “Whatever.” I shuddered, thinking back to the farce of a lunch. Charlotte had spent most of the hour talking about what a good husband Richard was and I’d felt so sorry for her. I hurried up the stairs and was walking down the corridor when I saw Tarquin.

  “Oh you’re back.” Tarquin grinned at me. “I have something for you.”

  “For me?” I frowned. “What?”

  “Well, it’s from Violeta.” He shrugged. “She dropped it off this morning with a card. I guess she wanted to apologize.”

  “Oh, really?” I said doubtfully.

  “Yes, hold on. Let me go and get it from my room.” He ran back down the corridor and I waited patiently, wondering what Violeta had bought for me. I really didn’t believe she was going to apologize to me and a gift as well? Something seemed off, but maybe Xavier or Casper had talked to her and told her to be nicer to me. “Here we go.” He walked back with a small box wrapped in silver paper and a cream envelope. “I wonder what she got you.”

  “I’ll let you know later, when I open it.” I took the box and card from him. “Excuse me, I’m going to go and lie down now.”

  “Oh, okay.” He looked disappointed. “Maybe we can hang out later.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “
Oh, I forgot to tell you. Sebastian is coming back to Romerius.”

  “What?” I was surprised. “When?”

  “As soon as he can get a flight.” He grinned.

  “No private plane for him?”

  “It’s a surprise.” Tarquin grinned. “No one knows except me and well you now.”

  “Oh, wow. Why is he coming back?”

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He grinned and flicked his blond hair. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I nodded and walked back to the room wondering why it was such a secret. However, Sebastian soon left my mind as I wanted to know what Violeta had gotten me. I ripped open the box eagerly and my jaw dropped when I saw a vibrator in the box that looked very similar to the one Xavier had given me. I dropped it on the floor and ripped open the envelope and read the card slowly.

  Lola,

  I heard about your fun last night with Xavier. Just thought you should know that you’re not the first girl he’s taken to the club with a vibrator. It’s a fetish of his. The one in the box is the one he gave me when we were together. Yes, I’m the girl he was dating that broke his heart. I moved on to bigger and better. I’m sure you’d agree that Casper is a much better looking man. Unfortunately, Xavier is still a bit upset and jealous that I left him. I suppose that’s why he proposed to you and brought you to the club. Only thing is, that doesn’t make me jealous. Just sad for him and sad for you. Next time you feel like taking a ride, it might help you to remember that there have been many other riders before you. And some of us were treated to gallops, not trots.

  XOXO

  Violeta

  I read the letter twice unable to believe what I was reading. So Violeta wasn’t Sebastian’s ex, she was Xavier’s ex? I suddenly felt like everything was clicking into place. Was Xavier using me to make Violeta jealous? Was that the real reason he’d brought me here to Romerius? I sat on the bed with the letter in my hand and read it again and then ripped it up into little pieces and lay back and stared at the ceiling waiting for Xavier to enter the room.

  ***

  His View

  I knew as soon as I opened the door that Lola was still upset. I hadn’t thought she was going to react so badly to Richard being married. Though, it made me admire and respect her more. Lola was the girl I didn’t think existed any more. She was the sort of girl I would want to meet if I believed in love.

  “You okay?” I asked as I turned the light on and she sat up. Her face was red and blotchy and I could tell that she’d been crying. “What’s wrong?” I frowned as I walked over to her. “You’re not seriously crying because of Richard and Charlotte are you?”

  “No. I’m not crying about that.” She gave me a look that was void of emotion and I froze in fear.

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “You used to date, Violeta?” She spat out. “You used to take her to the club?”

  “How do you know that?” I stepped forward.

  “She sent me the vibrator you gave her.”

  Fuck! I should have known Violeta would do something like that.

  “Don’t you have anything to say?” She jumped up with her finger pointed at me. “How could you?”

  “How could I?” I could feel my blood starting to boil. “I can do what I want. Yes, I used to fuck Violeta, what concern is it of yours? That was my past, Lola.” I knew I sounded angry, but I was filled with fear. Would Lola leave me now? The sudden emptiness that hit me at the thought scared me.

  “I met her and she was rude to me and you never even told me.” She glared at me. “I thought I was—”

  “You thought you were what?” I cut her off. “Haven’t I told you many times that this is not real? We’re not really engaged, Lola. I’m not your Prince Charming. We both know this is about our chemistry together. This is about the sex.” I said bluntly as I stuck the knife into her heart. I could see the pain in her eyes as I spoke, but I was doing this for her as well as myself. I didn’t want her to think I was someone I wasn’t. I couldn’t make her happy. I could never be the man she wanted me to be. I’d already brought her here under nefarious situations. If she knew everything, she would hate me. I knew I should tell her everything. I knew I owed her the truth. The complete and utter truth. But the fact of the matter was; I was scared. I didn’t want to lose her, not yet. Not now. I couldn’t let go of her. I knew that I was losing her with my words, but I didn’t know how to stop hurting her. I didn’t know how to warn her to stay away from me, without having her leave. I didn’t want her to leave. Not yet. I ignored the voice in my head that told me, not ever.

  “I know we’re not engaged for real.” She retorted back at me angrily, the fire back in her eyes as she glared at me. I stared at her beautiful face and felt my heart crying out for her. I was so confused. I didn’t even know what I was thinking or feeling anymore.

  “I’m sorry though.” I grabbed her hands. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I should have told you, but I wasn’t sure you would want to know about my past.”

  “I don’t know that I would have wanted to know either, but Violeta made sure that I did.”

  “I’ll speak to her tonight.” I frowned, angry that Violeta was playing her old games again. Yes, we’d been lovers and yes, I’d enjoyed being with her until I’d seen how manipulative she was.

  “Tonight?”

  “At the ball.”

  “The ball?” She groaned. “Another one.”

  “Yes, I thought you enjoyed it last night.”

  “It was fine.” She frowned. “This is the last one though. I think we need to talk tomorrow. Like really talk. I think I’m ready to go home.”

  “I see.” I turned away from her, pain searing my heart. This was it then. She was going to leave. “It is what it is. Tonight we’ll have one last night of fun and then tomorrow, tomorrow we can talk about you leaving.” The words sounded odd to my ears as I said them. I already knew that tonight was going to be explosive. I could feel it in my bones. I didn’t know what was going to go down and a part of me wondered if it was a good idea to go to the club again, but I dismissed my doubts. There was one room Lola hadn’t seen yet. One room that might make her change her mind and stay. It was risky, but I had to at least try to keep her here. The only problem was I no longer knew why I wanted her to stay. Was it to help me carry out my plan or was it because I was starting to fall for her?

  CHAPTER

  NINE

  The plane ride back to Delmar was quiet. I had nothing to say to Xavier and he didn’t bother trying to flirt with me. He was also smart enough to not bring up the vibrator again. I don’t think I would ever look at a vibrator again in the same way. I’d sure not be able to use one without thinking about him and Violeta. I was still so angry and hurt and I was mad at myself for going back to the club with him. The problem was that I didn’t want him to know just how hurt I was by his words. I didn’t want him to think that he’d devastated me as much as he had.

  He was correct in what he’d said. He’d never led me to believe that this was more than sex. He’d let me know several times that he wasn’t interested in anything else. It was my own fault that I’d believed that we were developing a deeper relationship. He’d never led me to believe anything else. I’d come tonight because of pride. I came because I didn’t want him to know how hurt I was. Though I really just wanted to go home.

  We disembarked the plane and walked to the limousine in silence and we drove up to Casper’s castle without looking at each other. I stepped out of the car and shivered in the cool night air as I stared up at the dark building in front of us.

  “Are you going to ignore me all night?” Xavier’s voice was husky as we stood there.

  “No.” I stared straight ahead and we started walking forward.

  “There you are.” Casper and Violeta walked out of the castle with huge smiles.

  “Good evening.” I smiled at them both. I was not going to let that bitch know that she had affected
me in any way.

  “Nice to see you again, Lola.” She smiled widely. “Been doing any trotting lately?”

  “No.” I smiled back at her. “I wore my stallion out, so he needed a break.”

  “Huh? What are you two talking about?” Xavier frowned and I shook my head and grabbed a hold of his hand.

  “Nothing.” I pressed myself into him. “Let’s go and get a drink.”

  “Oh Lola, I was hoping you’d be a part of my class tonight.” Violeta stepped in front of us. “Please say yes.”

  “I think she’ll pass.” Xavier’s voice was curt and I frowned.

  “No, actually I think I’ll go. I think it’ll be fun.”

  “Are you sure?” His eyes narrowed and he looked displeased.

  “I’m sure.” I let go of his hand and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay.” He frowned, but he didn’t stop me as I walked away with Violeta.

  “Did you like my present?” She asked me softly as we walked down a dark hallway.

  “Oh, it was great. Thank you. Really thoughtful of you.”

  She frowned at my response but didn’t say anything as she opened a door. There were about five other girls in the room waiting for her and she smiled.

  “Okay girls. Tonight, I’m going to teach you the art of stripping.”

  “Like lap dances?” One girl called out and Violeta rolled her eyes.

  “No. I mean the art of taking your clothes off and turning your man on without even touching him. Anyone can sit on a guys’ lap and get his cock hard. That’s easy. You have to have real power to turn a man on just by stripping.” She walked over to the side of the room. “I want to teach you girls that power. I’ll show you an example and then each one of you will strip and show us your most seductive dance.”