I admit, I am more than slightly shocked that he interrupted me.
"There is no need to worry about that. If I'd spoken to her on the matter, you would be home by now. No, I have said nothing. I know your secret. I have kept your secret."
"Then why do you tell me this? Is this a warning?"
"In a way."
"I'm listening."
"This may shock you to hear, but once your mother was a little girl. She was much like you. I first met her when she was younger than you are now, sixteen. I had just finished my service in the American army, and I was made her bodyguard."
"What was she like?"
"You. Innocent, in the truest sense of the world. The old sense. She was not like she is now. She is harsh on you. There can be no denying that. Nor are you deserving of it. You are a good girl. Such a good girl."
I blink a few times.
He scans the floor and looks up.
"She loved unwisely, and it broke her heart."
I nod. "My mother did not love my father."
It is not a question.
"No. He gave her seven children, and she never loved him. She never mourned a day when he died. This was not because she was hard, but she let another man take hold of her heart when she was young and innocent, as you are. That man ripped it out."
"I see," I tell him.
He looks up sharply. "You do not. I beg you, Princess, set this boy aside. Look inside yourself and see what you are doing to him. A man once said, loving someone means giving them the power to hurt you terribly and hoping they do not. This will end with the boy hurting you terribly, or you hurting yourself. You are the princess. You will be queen."
I suck in a breath. It turns into a sob. "It's not fair. You told me to go to him in the first place."
He frowns, and looks away.
“If I told you not to, it would only have hardened your conviction to see him. I’d hoped you’d have some fun and move on.”
“Are you going to stop me?”
"I'm not going to betray you to the queen. I will keep your secret."
"Why?"
"Because you must do this yourself. The queen's father, your grandfather, learned of her indiscretion. He forbade her from seeing him ever again. He married another woman. His family is in California."
I roll my shoulders and toy with the pen in my hands.
"You have something else to say."
"It killed her. It killed the girl. Only the queen remained."
"You speak of her with great familiarity."
He looks at me with deep grief in his eyes.
"I have always known my place. I never gave voice to my own desires. She grew into a beautiful woman. In a better world, you might have been my daughter."
I sit up and look up at him as he stands.
"I don't want to be like her."
"I don't want you to either."
"Thank you. I can't stop. I'm leaving tonight."
He nods. "Be careful. Please. You are precious to me."
After he leaves and Mavra brings me my evening meal, I lock myself in my room. I eat some of the food in case Jason has no plans for dinner, but I am too nervous and excited to keep down more.
As much as I would like to wear his hoodie, I leave it on my bed and put on my own, and warmups. When I climb over the back fence, he is waiting for my by the corner.
"Hey, gorgeous."
"Where are we going?" I ask, giddy with excitement.
"We're going to see the stars. Come on. Walk with me."
Walking by his side, I stroll up the street, past the student housing. I keep my hood up and my head down and bounce against him with every step.
Our route takes us out of town, away from the campus. A road leads up into a more wooded area, and we follow it. The trees reach out over the sidewalk, heavy with colorful autumn leaves. The moonlight catches them just so, deepening the colors. I stop to look, and Jason stops to watch me, a lazy smile on his face.
"Come on. The park is this way."
The farther we go, the more I edge toward him, until I'm almost pressed to his side as we walk. The only light is from streetlamps on the far side of the road, or an occasional passing car. This side is dark, and to my left, the trees are black as pitch, with only the barest hint of moonlight shining through their branches.
Jason slips his arm around my waist. "You okay?"
"Yes."
"You have nothing to worry about."
"It's been so long since I have been outside of the town."
Jason looks at me intently, and I start to blush.
"What do you do during the summers, anyway?" he asks.
"I take extra courses and study."
"What else?"
I shrug. "There is not much else. I read. Go on runs. Listen to music, watch movies."
"All in that house?"
"Almost all, yes."
"You live like a half mile from this park and you've never been here?"
I nod, and shrug again.
"Well, we need to fix that."
The sidewalk curves up the road and opens onto a gravel path leading into the trees. The sign reads, New Castle County Property, No Alcoholic Beverages, Closed at Dusk.
"Jason, it says the park is closed."
"Yeah, they say lots of things. Come on."
"Are you sure…?"
I stop at the sign, biting my lip. Jason grabs my arm and gives me a tug, and I stumble after him. He slips his arm around my waist, and we walk up the path, into the dark.
"Don't worry," he says cheerfully. "The mountain lions probably won't get us."
I stop and stare at him.
"I'm joking, Ana. We're safe here. Come on."
On the far side of the field there are tables and benches. Jason hops up and sits on the tabletop with his feet on the bench. I climb up and sit next to him, close. It's grown very chilly tonight, and I start to shiver.
When I tuck up against him, he puts his arm around me and I mold myself to his body. My gaze rises to the stars above. It's strange, but we were in town twenty minutes ago, and now it feels like we're in the wilderness, alone and miles from nowhere. Just us.
"I come here to sit sometimes," he says. "There are some days I just can't stand it."
"Stand what?"
"The big-man-on-campus routine."
"What's that?"
He sighs.
"You know, the all-star quarterback. It usually starts right around now. I'll be scouted. They're going to try to recruit me to play professionally."
"Is that not good?"
He shakes his head. "It was never my dream. It was my dad's dream."
"What is your dream?"
He looks at me and smiles.
"I'd like to have a house. Not a big house, an expensive house, not a trailer, not a cheap house. Just a house. In my head it's a Colonial with a big wraparound porch, with porch swings. I'd like to come home from work and walk in the door and get a kiss from somebody. Maybe have some kids run up to me and yell, 'Daddy's home!' Just be a regular person."
I nod and nuzzle my cheek against his chest. "That is a good dream."
"What's yours? What does Princess Anastasia want for her life?"
I blink, and stare at nothing.
"Ana? Are you okay? I didn't mean—"
"No one has ever asked me that before," I huff. "I don't have a dream. I will be queen. There is no room for anything else."
"If you could do whatever you want, what would you do?"
I sit up and think about that.
"I would see more of the world. So far I have seen only the island and a little of the town here. Yesterday was the farthest I have ever been from campus."
"Where would you like to go?"
I'm quiet for a while.
"I would like to see Montana."
"Why Montana?"
"Why not?"
He laughs. "That's as good a reason as any."
"I would like to go to Japan, and tour Europe. I would
like to go to beaches. Perhaps I could get a tan."
"You'd better be careful. You'll burn to a crisp without sunscreen."
"There are beaches at home," I tell him. "I do tan. I have tanned."
"What are the beaches like?"
"Covered in little pebbles. No one sunbathes on them."
"Tell me more. More dreams. What would you do if you could do whatever you wanted?"
"I would like to go to a place with a beach. A real beach. With a little… bungalow, yes, that is the word. I would like to go there and sit in the sun all day and get very tan."
"Would you have tan lines, or sunbathe nude?"
I smile even as I start to blush. "What would you prefer?"
"Well," he says, slipping his arm up inside my hoodie. "See, I'm of two minds. Tan lines are sexy as hell. On the other hand, I'm imaging you lying buck-ass naked on a towel on the sand covered in sweat. I think I'd like to see that."
"What would you do if you saw me like that?"
"What would I do? I think I'd have to give you a rubdown. A nice, long, slow massage. Start at your neck and work my way down, all the way to your feet, until you're completely relaxed."
I start to feel hot, even though the night is cool the night is. "Then what?"
"Then I'd pick you up in my arms and carry you."
"Where, to bed?"
"No, to the pool. I'd toss you in and jump in after you."
"I can't swim."
He draws back and stares at me. "You live on an island and you can't swim?"
"The sea rarely rises above five degrees."
He blinks a few times.
"Centigrade," I add quickly.
"You should learn to swim. I swim. It's relaxing."
I shrug. "Perhaps I should. Perhaps you only want to see me in a bathing suit."
"I want to see you in your birthday suit."
"You already I have," I say in a low voice as I move closer to him.
I slip up under his chin and nip at the skin of his neck. Gently, he lifts me bodily from the tabletop and sets me in his lap. He's so strong, he can pick me up as though I weigh nothing at all. It makes my chest flutter. I sit sidesaddle in his lap and put my arm around his neck, and rest my other hand on his chest, under his jacket.
"Yowch," he cries, when I tuck my hand under his arm.
"My hands are cold."
"Yeah, I can tell," he says in a high voice.
"Give me your body heat."
He starts laughing. "If you're not careful, I'm going to give you a lot of body heat right on top of this table."
Jason closes his arms around me and touches his lips to my forehead. He kisses my cheek and jaw before he meets my lips.
"What else do you dream about?" he asks.
"I dream about…." I pause, thinking. "Sex."
"With me?"
"Yes. Recently, anyway."
"Oh, so I'm not really the man of your dreams. I'm hurt."
"Men were strange to me before I came here. You still are in a way. Mother made sure I had many girls for company, but I never went to school as you do, socialized the way you do. You do not appreciate how much of a shock it was for me when I first came here."
"Well, I remember how you dressed, with those gowns or whatever. Is that how you dress at home?"
"Yes."
"I miss it. You looked cute. You should dress like that more often."
"I still have them. I could wear them for you."
"What else would you wear for me?"
I think about the surprise I bought and blush. "All sorts of things."
"Sorts of things like…?"
I dig my nails into his side. "Do you want me to spoil the surprise?"
"By all means, no."
"Good, because I'm not going to."
He smirks. "What are you wearing under your clothes right now?"
"Oh," I say as innocently as I can, "nothing. Am I supposed to?"
His smile widens and he breathes against my neck before kissing me. "You're giving my ideas."
"What sort of ideas?"
"Ideas like this.
Jason takes hold of me and turns me around, so I straddle his lap. I can feel him hardening under me. One hand slips up inside my top and rests gently on my breast, while he pops the button on my jeans with the other, and his hand dives down inside, under me. Between my legs. My thighs quiver.
I gasp as his finger runs along my slit and his hand squeezes my breast. He puts his lips against the back of my neck, and I feel his tongue, and then his teeth, just a touch. I lean back and spread my legs, and his finger slips inside me.
"That's good," I whimper.
His kisses trail along the side of my neck, along my jaw, as his finger moves inside me and his hand roams over my chest and stomach. Every touch makes me shudder. The air is cold, but he is warm. Warm breath on my neck, warm hands on my skin, inside me. I slip my hand under my top and rest it on top of his and slide my own hand down my pants, guiding him.
"Like that," I tell him, but I don't have to.
"I want to taste you again."
"Who's there?" a voice yells.
My eyes jerk open as a beam of light cuts across the field, sweeping from one side to the other, the edge of it passing not a foot from my toes. I stifle a cry and wriggle out of Jason's grip and bolt, and he comes running after me, into the trees.
I yank my pants up and button them just before Jason pulls me down onto the ground, drawing me down on top of him.
"Don't move," he whispers in my ear. "No noise."
I lie on top of him, eyes wide, breathing rapidly, scanning the field. The light beam makes me blink, and every time I close my eyes, I see a purple streak. When I open them again, I'm night-blind.
As the flashlight-bearer swings the beam away, my eyes adjust enough to pick up some details. A piece of metal pinned to his chest. A broad hat. A pistol belted to his hip.
"I think that's a policeman," I whisper.
"It's just a park ranger. Stay still."
Jason shifts under me, inching his way along the ground on his butt, until we're behind a tree. He sits up and pulls me against him.
"Now," he whispers in my ear. "Where were we?"
"We can't. He'll catch us," I protest, so softly it's more a breath than a whisper.
Despite my protest, excitement quivers in my belly. Jason starts to turn me in his lap, but I turn around half on my own and grind on his still-hard cock through his jeans. He deserves it for getting me so wound up.
He shoves his hand down his pants again, and the hint of roughness when his finger works inside me is strangely welcome. I squirm on his lap and take his wrist, so I can push his other hand up my top again, holding it place as he squeezes and cups my breast and teases my nipple with his thumb.
I let out a little sound, and the beam of light in the field swings around wildly.
"I know there's somebody there. Show yourself!"
Jason laughs softly in my ear, and I grab his wrist, not to stop him, to make him work his hand harder, faster. He's too strong for me to hold it in place on my chest. His fingers poke up through the collar of my top. I give him a look with heady, lidded eyes and suck his forefinger.
Then I close down with my teeth, nipping it. He yelps, and the footsteps draw closer. A panicked look on his face subsides as he slowly pushes a second finger into my body, and he starts to grin.
My legs snap closed around his hand, trapping him as I curl up. I turn sideways a little so he can work deeper inside me. I'm so wet, it must be soaking through the denim. As he fingers me, I rock my hips, riding his hand. Heat creeps up my neck and face, and Jason touches my nipple over my shirt.
"Pokies," he whispers.
I giggle when I realize what he means.
The policeman is still walking around out there. He starts our way again after my sound, and now I can't contain myself. I start breathing harder, trying to suck breaths in and out. Quickly, before they become whimpers or
moans. I breathe in time with his fingers, and it only makes me hotter, furnace-hot, like a star in my belly. I grab a fistful of his shirt and bite down on it, staring him in the eyes as I bite the shirt so hard it should just rip off. I can't make a sound or we'll be caught.
"Whatever," the policeman says, loudly and angrily. "Freeze to death, I don't care."
Jason slows his rhythm as we listen. The footsteps grow fainter and fainter until they're gone, and then Jason pumps his fingers inside me fast and hard. I cry out, my ecstasy echoing across the field. I thrash in his lap, and he hugs me hard to hold me still as my legs take on a mind of their own, flailing. I hug him hard, and each panting breath is a whimper as my peak slowly subsides.
Jason gently draws his fingers out of my body and brings them up, and I watch, wide-eyed, as he licks them clean. Thoroughly.
I kiss him hard and turn around to face him. He's tucked his cock in his pants against his stomach, and I start grinding on him fiercely. I want him so bad. I want him inside me. I'll show him, I'll make him come too.
"Fuck," he groans, trying to push me away. "You're going to make me cream my jeans. Quit it."
I lock my arms around his neck in defiance of his halfhearted attempts to push me off.
"You could do it inside me," I growl in his ear. "Pull your jeans down and I'll mount you right now."
"Fuck," he croaks. "No."
"Then get up."
"What?"
I grin and wriggle loose from him. Now he tries to hold me against him, but I slip out of his arms and surge to my feet, though I almost fall on shaky legs.
Jason stands up, and I snap around to his side, yank his jeans down, and grab his throbbing cock. I stroke hard and fast, and he groans in my hand. His seed comes out in bursts, landing with wet slaps on the leaves. I jerk him dry, until he's almost pushing me off.
"Holy shit," he pants. "Fuck."
"I wanted to." I smirk at him.
There is a little bit of him on my hand. When he looks at me after tucking himself back in his pants, I lick the back of my hand clean, my eyes on him the entire time.
"You're a lot kinkier than I expected."
"What is a kinky?"
"I'll show you." He grins. "Come here."
He kisses me hard and plucks a leaf out of my hair.
I break from the kiss, stroking his chest as he holds me to him.
"If we keep doing this," I warn him, "you won't have any left for me when we do, ah, go all the way? This is the expression? Yes?"
Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance) Page 17