Accidental Princess: A Hidden Kingdom Novel

by Lexi Whitlow

  “Yep. You’re a piece of shit all over.”

  He grabs my arm like he did before, and a chilling fear grabs hold of me. “Freya, calm down. You’re drawing attention to yourself.”

  “Good,” I yell, stomping down on his foot with my heel.

  Kirk yelps, and I pull away from him. “Freya,” he says sweetly. “I’m the one you really want. You know that. We were together for so long.”

  “And I’ll never get those years back, will I?”

  “Best years of your life.”

  He makes like he’s going to grab me again, and I step back, watching him stumble.

  “I’m done, Kirk. I would be perfectly happy to never see you again, and if you claim to still care for me at all, then you’ll grant me that. And if you can’t,” I say ominously, “then I’ll get a restraining order and let the police take care of things. Technically I’m a princess, so I’m sure they’ll act quick and accordingly.”

  I love seeing the emotions filter over his face while he tries to decide what to say next.

  I beat him to whatever he might have said. “Excuse me, but I need to go to the ladies’ room,” I say getting up. “Good luck in life, Kirk. You’re going to need it.”

  Ally’s still in the phone when I leave the bar.

  “I’m almost done,” she says.

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s go somewhere else. This place suddenly isn’t as appealing anymore,” I tell her.

  “So, you ran into Kirk?” Ally asks. “Again? I can’t even leave you alone for five minutes without shit going down!” she says, pulling me in close.

  We end up at a different pub, about ten blocks away. I take off my heels about half way there, and Ally and I are laughing uproariously when we get there. It’s the quintessential local pub of the neighborhood, brimming with cheer and goodwill and dark beer.

  Was he always that much of an ass and I never realized it, or is that a newer development that I never saw coming? Poor Andreas though, it’s not fair to him to get dragged into the bullshit between Kirk and I.

  We sit in a small booth, drinking beer and eating pub food like it’s going out of style. Ally has a beer in her hand and is animated as she talks.

  “Ally, it was an epic disaster of the worst kind. Complete train wreck status. I still can’t believe the audacity that he had thinking he could pull of something like that!” I say flustered.

  “Tell me everything. I need to know, and don’t skip over the details,” she orders.

  “He waited until we were all gone and broke into our apartment and hacked your computer.”

  She looks shocked. “No!”

  “Yes! He went through your email and God knows what else. He knew that you and Caelan had something going on too,” I add.

  “That asshole! You just wait until I see him again. I’m going to cut off his damned dick!” she vows heatedly. “Did he get paid?”

  I nod. “Yeah, apparently it was enough to put a huge dent in his student loans which is what he said was the motive for it. He thought that if Andreas was out of the way then him and I could get back together. He even invited me to go back to America with him again.”

  “No way! Fucking Kirk the Jerk, you just don’t know when to quit!”

  “Right?”

  “Please tell me you told him to go fuck himself?”

  “Close to it,” I say.

  “Good deal because if you hadn’t we were going to go hunt him down and tell him.”

  “I told him I never wanted to see him again. And I’ll file a restraining order against him if I do.”

  “Damn girl, you did let him have it,” she says happily.

  I shrug. “I felt like it needed to be said.”

  “Absolutely.”

  We eat all the food and finish our drinks, signaling to the server for another round of drinks.

  “Are you going to tell Andreas that it was Kirk who informed the press?” she asks.

  I think about her question for a moment. I should tell him, I owe him that but I’m the last person he wants to talk to right now. We didn’t exactly leave on the best terms earlier.

  “Yes,” I answer. “I’m going to let him have a few days of space and then I’ll stop by the apartment and tell him. What about Caelan? Do you think he needs to know that Kirk knows about you two?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not,” she answers. “Probably yes.”

  I give her a stern look because this is something that Caelan should know, since it might affect him later down the line some day.

  “Okay fine! I’ll tell him,” Ally says giving in. “What about your mom?”

  I grimace thinking about it. “Hopefully I won’t have to tell her. If we get the speedy divorce it’s like it never happened. If she did find out she’d act exactly like the press is painting me. She lives for those dollar signs.”

  “I see what you’re saying but it kinda sucks at the same time because normal people would be able to tell their parents without it messing up anything.”

  “I’m not sure I even know what normal is anymore,” I laugh. “Plus, if I told my mom, then I’d have to listen to what an even bigger failure I was at life. I can hear her now: ‘You can’t keep Kirk and a prince doesn’t want anything to do with you. Good going, Freya!’”

  Ally nods. “We both know your mom’s pretty ruthless at times. It’s moms like yours that make me feel better about not having one.”

  “I’ll give her to you and then you can have a real mom,” I offer. “I’ll make you a real good deal—dirt cheap.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks, I’ve got enough on my plate and there’s not room for a crazy, money-hungry mom.”

  “Touché.”

  22

  Andreas

  Caelan was supposed to come visit for a few days, but something came up last minute and derailed that plan. Truth be told, I was looking forward to seeing him, more so than usual.

  The apartment seems even lonelier than usual.

  After searching online and scrounging through course lists, I finally found where I want to enroll for my advanced degree. The University of Cambridge has a remote campus in Edinburgh that offers both online and in-class courses. It’s the perfect place to be—and the best place for me professionally. There’s some preference for Cambridge alumni, so I might well get in.

  It’s like it was supposed to happen this way. Since I’d already attended Cambridge, I knew that they’d already been vetted and approved by my parents and that the university knew the privacy and security that was expected of them.

  It’s been a couple of days since Freya told me about her decision to get divorced, and I’ve been asking myself why I want to stay here when I could just as easily go back to Cambridge’s actual campus and live in the flat that I have there. The answer is simple.

  I’m not ready to leave Scotland. Not while Freya is still here.

  If I leave here, it’s like everything has ended and our book is closed forever. If I’m still here it gives me this weird sense of hope, like someday she’ll come to her senses.

  It’s a long shot—but it is what it is. You can’t just turn off love, and I do love Freya. I can feel it in my soul, as true as anything I’ve ever known.

  My thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the front door. I get up and answer it and when I see Freya standing there, my stomach twists into a tight knot.

  “I know that I’m probably the last person you want to see right now, but could I come in?” she asks nervously.

  “Yeah.” I step back to make room for her to walk in. I can smell roses as she walks by and it makes me homesick but for her. “What brings you here?” I ask once we’re seated on the couch—Freya on one end, me on the other and a whole cushion in between us.

  “I need to tell you something,” she starts.

  That’s the worst way someone can start a conversation, I think. But I don’t tell her that. “Okay, what is it?”

  “I know who sold us out to the press about being
married. It was Kirk, the fucking loser. Somehow I ended up running into him again and he told me all about how he sold us out.”

  I knew I hated that kid from day one. I remain quiet though, and Freya continues.

  “He told me how he broke into our apartment and hacked Ally’s laptop to see what evidence he could find on there. In his twisted mind, if you were out of the picture then him and I could get back together.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Not even close.” She shakes her head. “And I told him that too. I want nothing to do with Kirk—I just want him to go home and quit messing my life up along the way. I wanted to say that I was sorry for how his actions affected you. He’s out of control and I hate to see anyone get hurt from his selfishness. I didn’t want any more secrets between us either, and I wanted you to hear it directly from me.”

  It shouldn’t surprise me that Kirk would sink so low and do something like that, but it’s also not my first time dealing with people who are money hungry and looking to sell my families secrets.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I say.

  She gives me a sad smile. “You’re welcome.”

  Freya looks more nervous now then when she first walked in, and she’s looking around at everything but me. I can tell when she notices my laptop and the papers that are laying spread around it.

  “What’s that?” she asks.

  “Graduate school,” I say simply.

  “Did you decide to go?”

  “Yeah,” I answer. “I’ve been thinking about it for long enough now. I decided to do something about it.”

  “That’s great news, Andreas.” And it sounds genuine. “What university?”

  “Cambridge, my alma mater.”

  “Oh, that’s perfect,” she says. I can see her mind turning behind those blue eyes. “So, when do you leave?”

  “That’s the best part, I don’t have to. They have a remote campus in Edinburgh I can attend in-class or online.” I can see the relief written all over her face when I tell her that. “Scotland must be growing on me, I guess.”

  “Guess so. I’m happy for you, Andreas. I hope that you get what you’re looking for from it.” Her voice wavers a bit at the end.

  “I’m a little surprised that you’re even here,” I admit to her. “Honestly I thought that since you’d decided on the divorce that I wouldn’t be seeing much of you.”

  “Like I said, I wanted to tell you personally about Kirk and to apologize for that.” She sighs before going on. “But I think it’s more than that. After our fight, I thought long and hard about what I wanted, or at least what I thought I wanted. I was firm in my decision to go through with the divorce and then Kirk dropped that bomb on me. For two whole days I had to keep that secret to myself, except for Ally, and it made me feel horrible. But it also made me think of how bad you must have felt before you told me about your family and how hard it must have been for you. And I never really was able to understand it completely but holding Kirk’s dirty secret helped me to see that.

  “When you told me that you loved me all I wanted to do was scream it back at the top of my lungs, but I wanted to give you the option to find someone that’s more fitted for your life than I am. And by accepting your parents’ offer, it allows me to do that.”

  I shake my head. “But that’s not your choice to make for me, Freya,” I tell her.

  “And I know that, believe me, I know that. I thought that I could go through with the divorce, but I can’t. You’ve shown me that you care and want this to work and I’m tired of being so gung ho about making it not. I just want to be with you— and if royalty comes along with it, then so be it.”

  I think my ears are playing tricks on me, because she just said everything that I’ve wanted to hear and I’m afraid that if I blink it will all just have been a dream.

  “Yeah?” I ask.

  She nods and smiles. “Yeah,” Freya confirms.

  I cross the couch and kiss her hard in seconds flat. I pull her close and get lost in her. It feels like coming home after being away for too long. “I love you, Freya,” I say against her lips. There’s nothing that could happen in the moment to stop or break our kiss.

  “I love you too.” She runs her hand down my sides, spreading her legs wide so that I can fit better against her.

  We just stay like that having an old fashioned make out session. Now that she’s agreed to be with me, we have all the time in the world. I’m on cloud nine as our hands roam over one another. It feels too damned good and I’ve missed this. I’ve missed her.

  I pull back and stand up, scooping her up and kissing her along the way to the bedroom. She giggles and laughs until I set her down on the bed. Then she looks at me with that piercing blue stare and it holds my heart captive.

  A couple of months ago, I would have never guessed myself to be here. If you’d asked me what I saw myself doing, I would have readily answered living life to the fullest with high stakes poker and even higher maintenance women.

  Here, I want nothing more than to join my heart with hers and make her truly mine and give my whole self to her. Maybe that makes me a pussy whipped fool, but I’ll gladly be a fool for her for the rest of my days. My life isn’t complete without Freya in it.

  Leaning down I kiss her lips, slowly, thoroughly, letting her feel everything I want to say to her. She lifts one hand up and places in on my neck, holding me right where she wants me, her thumb stroking the bottom of chin. We get lost in the kiss, even though we’ve kissed a thousand times it feels new.

  I lean back to catch my breath and place a soft kiss on her forehead before I pull back to unbutton my shirt. She watches me from the bed, her heated gaze following my fingers’ every move. I slow down and take my time undoing each button. Her eyes eat up every flash of skin that peeks out.

  Finally, I get the last button open and let my shirt slide off my body. Freya bites her bottom lip and it takes all my self control not to go to her. It’s then I unbuckle me belt and undo my pants. I let the zipper down and push them off my hips. If her gaze was hungry before, it’s ravenous now.

  I stand naked and ready for her; it feels like I’m offering her all my strengths and weaknesses too. I bare everything to her; I need her to touch me and make me feel whole.

  Freya gets up and comes to stand in front of me. She runs her hand through my hair and looks me in the eyes. She doesn’t say a word, but she doesn’t have to. I understand her completely, even in her silence. Her eyes, her hands, her smile, her heartbeat—they all speak to me loud and clear.

  I pull up her shirt, up and off. Her bra is next and before long I have her bare before me.

  “Lay down on the bed, Freya,” I tell her, and she’s happy to oblige.

  I look down at her, lying naked and waiting. I’m the luckiest man in the world to have her there, just for me. I lean over her and kiss those lips that I love so much. Savoring her body, I trail kisses down her neck, to her chest, where I pass between her breasts. I keep moving down until I’m close to her clit.

  I kiss the sweet folds around it, taking my time before I touch it with my lips. Freya jerks a little, and I’ll never get tired of seeing how turned on she gets for me. It’s like her body is this beautiful instrument and I’m the only one who knows how to play it.

  Slowly, I start to lick her and she’s so wet already. It doesn’t take long before she’s moaning and squirming for more. I know just what she likes, and I give her that and more.

  Freya rocks her hips, grinding herself against me and I suck down hard on her clit, teasing it with my tongue as I swiftly flick by tongue over her again and again. Her mumbles are plenty, and incoherent. Her legs tighten up and I can tell that she’s close.

  I insert two fingers and begin to stroke her slowly and then fast when her pussy clenches down tight against them.

  “Cum for me, baby,” I softly tell her, knowing that she’s right there.

  She holds out for as long as she can but it’s useless.
She practically flies from how good it feels. I move my head to keep contact as she tenses and orgasms. I slow my fingers and just keep licking her with my tongue until she’s gotten every last once of pleasure from it.

  I take one last long lick wanting to get one last taste of her before I climb back up her sexy body and kiss her on her lips, letting her taste just how good she tastes too. Neither of us care how wet and sloppy it is, only that it’s intense and sweet.

  “I could get used to that,” she says when she can speak again.

  “Baby, if I could get away with it, I’d have you all day everyday just like that.”

  She rewards me with the sexiest of smirks as she gets up and leans over to kiss me. Her hand runs down my stomach and my abs flex when she gets close to my cock.

  My eyes close from pure pleasure when she finally takes me in her hand. She circles her palm around me and starts to slowly stroke up and down my shaft. It’s already rock hard and getting harder with each little swipe over the head as she spreads the precum around.

  She moves between my legs and gets comfortable before teasing me with her tongue. If I thought that her hand felt good, it’s got nothing on her wet mouth. I run my hand through her hair, holding it back so that she can work.

  My eyes start to close—but I want to watch. Freya’s so damned sexy and I don’t even think she realizes it half of the time. Her blue eyes look into mine for a moment and it gets me even harder if that’s possible.

  I let her set a pace and work me as she pleases until it’s too much and I know I’m close.

  “Freya, come here baby,” I say, offering my hand so that she gets the message.

  She does and moves to straddle me, slowly working her tight pussy down over me. We both stop moving for a moment, pausing to enjoy the feeling of being completely together.

  She sighs and starts to circle her hips and I fucking love the feel of it. My hands are running all over her curvy body, squeezing her ass before moving on and coming back again.

  I start to thrust hard up into her, wanting her to feel me deep inside. She groans, and her head falls back as I drive into her pussy over and over, giving all of me to her.