Royally Mine: 22 All-New Bad Boy Romance Novellas

by Susan Stoker

  I head to the suite Evans commandeered for an office. The head of security stalks over when I walk in, looming over me.

  “Everything good? I haven’t had time to check my phone—” I stop talking when I see his face.

  “I hired you to fix the problem. Not make it worse,” He throws a stack of paper in my face. They fall in heavy whipping sounds, not paper at all. Huge glossy photographs. Of Theo. Of me. The pool, and us the railing. The kiss in the light of the fireworks. Theo’s arms are wrapped around me, but it’s obvious I’m not wearing a shirt.

  Shit.

  “It’s all over the news. Theo caught with his pants down, again. That’s not all,” his face is so red it’s almost purple. “They’re saying you used to be an escort. That you did it all through college.”

  “What?” I whisper, gathering up the glossies and holding them to my chest, a very fragile armor.

  “Is it true? Who the hell are you, Vesper Smith?”

  “I can fix this,” I say shakily. I go to push my glasses up my face, but they’re gone.

  “I don’t wanna hear it. You’re fucking fired.”

  “I’m sorry—”

  “Get out,” Evans hisses. “Get your things and get out.”

  ***

  The walk back to Theo’s room is the longest of my life. My phone shakes with Google alerts. “Crown prince caught with escort.” The scenario is happening, resurrected from my nightmares. Everything I tried to fix. Everything I tried to hide. Out in the open.

  Even when I was an escort I never felt shame like this. Back then, I was so focused. Each client brought me closer to becoming a college graduate. A business woman. Someone Miss Mavery would be proud of.

  I got my degree and the contacts to launch my career, but it came at a price. I thought I paid it.

  Turns out I still owed, and it would cost me everything I’d built. But if I was very, very lucky, it wouldn’t cost me the man I was falling in love with.

  I open the door to the penthouse and walked in without really seeing anything. “Theo, I—”

  I stop at the giggle. Theo stood there, with Blondie. She’s dressed in a tight grey skirt, blouse and jacket, laughing as she fixes Theo’s shirt collar.

  Long legs, blonde hair. Grey suit.

  Guess I’ve been replaced.

  “Vesper?” Theo says. The blonde goes to touch him and he jerks away.

  A little too late. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I blurt.

  Blondie smirks at me. “Theo,” she reaches for him, and though he pushes her away, my stomach churns with betrayal.

  “Never mind. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I interrupted. I’m sorry—for everything.” I turn for the door. This time I don’t see my way clearly because my vision fills with tears.

  “Vesper,” Theo shouts this time, but I pick up my pace, and flee.

  Chapter Seven

  “I’m sorry, Mina says, the regret in her voice clear even through the phone. “I thought I’d buried it deep enough.”

  “It’s okay. Secrets always come out,” I say wearily. It’s a sentiment I tell my clients, and it chafes my ears. “I wonder who talked?” I throw my things in the suitcase.

  “I’ve done some digging. Rumor has it one of Theo’s hang arounds is an escort too.”

  “Of course. Betrayed by one of my own.”

  “You’re not—” Mina makes a noise in frustration. “Look, you were an escort. So what? It’s perfectly legal.”

  “What I did in hotel rooms was not,” I said.

  “It put you through school,” she continues. Mina is nothing if not stubborn. “It’s not something to be ashamed of.”

  “Yet, here I am,” I say, weary. “Ashamed. The first guy I’ve liked in years, and I ruined it.”

  Mina says nothing. I hear her struggling to think of something nice to say, and then she gives up. “Shit.”

  “Yeah.” I throw the last of my things into my suitcase and zip it up. The hotel room is pristine. Once I leave, it’ll be like I was never even here.

  The hickey on my neck throbs. I want to mark you. And he did. My pussy still aches for him.

  Oh Vesper, you sure can pick ‘em.

  “Shit,” Mina repeats.

  “I know, I really fucked things up—”

  “No, not that. I mean, you did, but—”

  “Well, thanks. Next time you want to make me feel better, just don’t—”

  “He’s on TV,” Mina interrupts.

  “What?”

  “He’s standing outside the hotel and talking to the press.” She squeals. “Oh my god! You have to see this. Channel 108.”

  I rush to turn on the TV. Theo stands in front of his hotel, painted by camera flashes.

  “I know my reputation isn’t at its best,” he says. His hair is mussed and his shirt rumpled, the stark white setting off his tanned skin. He looks dashing. “For too long I’ve put off my responsibilities. I have a lot to make right. But, a few days ago, I met someone.” He pauses, a faraway smile on his face. “She showed me I’m more than my reputation. She challenged me to be more. If she’s listening now, I’d like to make her a promise. I will clean up my act. Vesper, if you’ll come back to me, I’ll make it right.”

  “Oh fuck,” I say, as Theo nods and leaves, the press still shouting for more.

  “Oh fuck!” Mina squeals. “Isn’t that the most romantic shit you ever saw? Maybe I won’t form an investor group to short his company’s stock and send it into a death spiral.”

  She blathers on about her plans of revenge which, knowing her, are barely legal.

  “Mina!” I finally interrupt.

  “What?”

  “Where is he?”

  “How would I know?”

  “Mina.”

  “Heh, you’re right. I hacked his phone, as soon as I knew you were hot for him. You know he’s gotten some texts from Pepper Spice? He blocked her number.”

  “Mina, where is he?”

  “One sec.” There’s a long pause and I rub my forehead. Not even vodka and Valium will touch this headache. “He’s still at the hotel.”

  “You sure?” The clock reads almost ten. “He should be on his way to his interview by now.”

  “Well, I only can tell you where his phone is—”

  “Vesper?” Comes a muffled voice, followed by banging on the door.

  “I’ve got to go,” I tell Mina, before running to open the door. Theo bursts in. His big body crowds me back.

  “Theo, what are you doing? You’re missing your interview.”

  “Fuck the interview,” he pulls me into his arms. “I don’t want to talk to those people. I want to be with you. You’re the only one who sees me.”

  His mouth claims mine, lighting me up with an electric kiss.

  I break it off, even though it physically hurts to do it.

  “You can’t be here,” I say to his throat. “You can’t be seen with me.”

  “Because you were an escort?”

  “Yes—”

  “I don’t care.” He kisses me again, separating only to murmur. “I don’t care about any of that.”

  I should protest, but his desire inflames mine, and sweeps all thought away. I cling to him as he lifts me, his large hands cupping my ass as we walk to the bed.

  “I want you,” he breathes, wild-eyed. I nod. He yanks down his pants and produces a condom from his pocket as I shuck mine. As soon as he rolls it on, he sits on the bed and I straddle him, sinking slowly onto his thick staff. Once he’s sheathed inside me, my hips rock, my mind blanking as I ride him. He holds me gently, supporting me until pleasure rolls through me, gentle as an ebbing tide.

  I gasp, calling his name.

  “My turn,” he growls, and grips my hips. I cry out as he drives into me. My breasts bob up and down as I bounce on his cock.

  “Fuck, Vesper, fuck,” he chants. His fingers bite into my ass. I hang onto his shoulders, feeling his marble hard muscl
es bunch and tighten under my hands.

  His cock hits a pleasure spot deep inside of me, and I jerk out of control, bucking with my orgasm.

  With a curse, he thrusts upwards, body taut as he cums.

  We collapse back on the bed.

  “That was—” I gasp, and shake my head, unable to finish.

  “Yeah,” he agrees. We both laugh.

  “No comment,” I say, but my humor dies.

  I sit up. “I should go.”

  “No.” Theo reaches for me and I shake him off, grabbing up my pants. “That was a nice fuck but—”

  “Stop,” he orders, and I do. “Vesper. This is not goodbye.”

  “No?” I go to touch my glasses, and when they’re not there, I push back my hair instead.

  “I’m not.” He shakes his head. “I’m not ready for goodbye.”

  “You were this morning, with Blondie.”

  “Who? Oh, you mean Nessa?”

  “Yes, Nessa,” I spit. “Why was she in the bedroom with you?”

  Theo’s brows knit together, which only makes me madder. He doesn’t get to be indignant. Not about this. “Fuck if I know. She said you and Evans sent her to help me get ready for the interview.”

  “Oh, I’m so sure,” I snarl. “Did she fluff you before you slept with Pepper Spice, too?”

  “What the fuck?”

  “You. Are. A. Slut,” I scream. “You’re a crown prince who’s slept with roughly half the women on the planet. At least three of whom have been caught on camera. Me included.” I sag onto the bed, my anger passing like a summer storm. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I can pick them.” I cover my face with my hands. Forget glasses. I’m going to have to wear a bag over my head for the rest of my life.

  Theo closes his hands around mine and draws them down. “Vesper, stop.” He kneels before me. “Don’t be hard on yourself. You’re right. I don’t deserve you. Please.” He kisses my hand. “Please just give me a chance.”

  “It’s not going to work. The press is right. I was an escort before I got my degree. That private club I told you about? That’s where I met my clients. One of them got me my first internship that turned into a job.”

  “Vesper, I don’t care.”

  “The world does. The board of your father’s company does. I bet your grandmother does. You can’t just stride into Sweden with me on your arm. It doesn’t work like that.” My throat burns from holding back tears. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

  “I’m sorry. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have dug it up.” He threads his fingers through mine. “You told me everyone has secrets. We’re probably the only two people in the world with none.”

  “I made my bed.” The words come out hollow. “I’m going to lie in it.”

  He rises and stretches out beside me, drawing me down onto the coverlet. “Lie in it then. With me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We don’t have to deal with any of this. It’s bullshit. I don’t care what these people think of me. I care what you think. And you’re right. I have enough wealth, and enough of a platform, I can do something. I can make a difference.” He kisses my hand again. “Help me.”

  “Theo.” Now my throat clogs. “I should’ve asked you from the beginning, day one that I started working for you. What do you want? I can make Theo Kensington. But who do you want to be?”

  He closes his eyes. Opens them. “I want to be happy,” he says. “I want to be free.”

  “Paint the picture for me. Let me see it.”

  “I want to get up in the morning and do something that matters. I want to skateboard on the weekends. And come home to a beautiful woman.” He caresses my cheek.

  “Beautiful, intelligent woman,” I correct.

  He rolls on top of me. “Beautiful, intelligent woman.” He punctuates each word with a kiss. “Stay with me, Vesper. I don’t know what I’m going to do about the board, and the queen, but I don’t care. I want you.”

  We get distracted for a few minutes, and then my phone rings. Out of habit I look for it. Theo, gentleman that he is, grabs it for me. “Evans,” he grimaces, and answers it. “You’re fired.” He tosses the phone on the bed and climbs back to me.

  “What was that?”

  “He sent Nessa to me. I just know it. Maybe he wanted to deflect attention from you, or, I don’t know.”

  I ponder this as he slides me back into his arms. “I think I know what to do about the board.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Resign.”

  He stares at me.

  “You don’t want to be on the board? Don’t be on the board. You still have a majority stake in the company. Your vote has weight.”

  His shoulders slump. “It’s my father’s legacy. I can’t let him down.”

  “Your father made himself. I bet he’d want you to be your own man. Besides, he didn’t build his company for you. He built it for her. To prove he was good enough for a princess.”

  After a moment, Theo nods. “You’re right.”

  “Send them a letter of resignation. Bow out quietly. Tell them you want to focus on your volunteer efforts. Which is true. If in a few years you change your mind, you can petition for reinstatement.”

  A slow smile spreads across his face. “You gonna solve all my life’s problems for me, smart girl?”

  “Probably,” I answer. “Give me a few minutes.” We laugh.

  “What about Sweden?” he asks.

  “What do you want to do about Sweden?”

  “You think I can get away with blowing off an audience with a queen?”

  “I wouldn’t advise it. But what do you want?”

  “I want to go,” he says after a pause. “It would mean a lot to my mother, if she was alive. I want to make peace with her family. For her.”

  “All righty then,” I grab my phone and sit up. “Let’s go see the queen.”

  ***

  On his private plane, Theo lounges beside me, worrying the long sleeves of his dress shirt. He rolled them up just enough to show the black edges of one tattoo. Miss Mavery would make him wear it properly, but I think he looks hot.

  He slides down in his seat, long legs splayed. I flick his thigh.

  “Ow.”

  “The queen will not appreciate your man spread.”

  “Fucking A.”

  “Or cursing. Or slouching.”

  “All right, all right.” He sits up. “Motherfucking Henry Higgins around here.”

  “I know that reference. Watch it.” I waggle a finger before opening my laptop to check on things. My stomach still clenches at the thought of checking social media, so I go straight to my email. There’s one from Mina with only the message: ‘007 requesting contact.’

  “Can I make a phone call?” I move to the seat with the phone near it. The stewardess helps me dial out. Mina answers on the first ring.

  “I took the liberty of contacting some of your old friends. Well, your old clients. I don’t know if you’d call them friends.”

  My stomach plummets to my knees. “You didn't.”

  “Yes, and they were very interested in keeping your reputation intact. They like to keep things private, as you know.”

  “You didn’t,” I repeat, feeling sick and giddy at the same time, like I’m flying through the air without the airplane.

  “The story is pretty much being hushed up. It’s overshadowed by all the royal prince stuff, anyway. The spotlight won’t swing again to you, and if it does, all the press will see is a beautiful woman who worked to put herself through college. The reports of you being an escort are greatly exaggerated. I mean, smart people will know, but you’re not going to have people calling you a whore on national television. It’s all wink, wink. Nod, nod. Hush, hush.”

  I clutch the edge of the seat, trying to make sense of her babbling.

  “Are you okay?” Theo mouths at me.

  I nod, not sure whether I should cry or whoop with triumph. Calling my old clie
nts is a bold move, but Mina’s right. A lot of them are very powerful, and still care for me. I would never reach out to them, so Mina did it for me.

  I could cry, she’s such a good friend.

  I also could kill her.

  Mina is still prattling on. “I'm not sure we can destigmatize sex work with one press conference, so it’s the best I could do. Honestly, V, you should be fine. You're going to Amsterdam, right?”

  “Sweden.”

  “Close enough. I mean all those European countries are so close together. Holland to Sweden is like me driving to New Jersey—and they don’t have a problem with sex work like we do in America. In Holland, I mean, not New Jersey. Not that you were a sex worker, but we all know what escorts really do—”

  “Mina,” I cut in. “Thank you. What you did was genius. Just, please, stop trying to make me feel better.”

  Mina blows into the phone as she sighs in relief. “Thank, fuck. This empathetic shit is hard.”

  “I really appreciate it.”

  “Let me know what else I can do. I’m on standby, ready to destroy your enemies.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Well, if it is, I’ll be all over it. I'm here for ya.” We say goodbye and she hangs up.

  I set the phone down, my hand trembling a little.

  “Vesper?” Theo watches me, concerned.

  “It’s handled,” I whisper, and clear my throat. “My past. My reputation. We’ve done as much damage control as we can do. It’s handled.”

  “Do I want to know how?”

  “No.” I press my fingers to my lips, wishing I could hold everything in. “But I’ll tell you if you want.”

  He slides from his seat and comes to sit beside me. “It doesn’t matter.” He takes my hand and kisses it. He’s been doing that a lot. Maybe a playboy can turn into Prince Charming.

  ***

  Theo keeps a hand on my back as we walk into the Stockholm palace. The massive building is the official royal residence.

  “There are three floors and fourteen thousand and thirty rooms,” our guide intones. “Done in a Baroque style.”

  As we walk through the gilded rooms, I catch a glimpse of a nymph statue, cavorting under the grim stare of some important Swedish dude’s portrait. Looks familiar.