Royal Tease

by Nana Malone

Jessa...

  Giddy excitement zipped over my skin. I had always wanted to try this. Kind of ironic that I was getting to try this with someone I didn't like, but whatever. It was still freaking trapeze.

  I’ve been obsessed with trapeze since I was a kid. I used to beg and beg and beg my father to take me. Then he’d learned that aerial abilities were a good skill to have and aided in martial arts. Granted, he wanted me to have that skill for other reasons, but still, I’d still never really done trapeze.

  When I walked into the gym, Roone was easy to spot. I felt, him rather than saw him. My body was already attuned to his location like the traitor that it was.

  He was leaning against the wall just inside to the gym. Dressed in low-slung grey sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, he looked good enough to lick.

  No. No licking.

  “Let’s get this over with.”

  His lips tipped up in a casual smile. “Nice to see you too, princess.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Why do you call insist on calling me that?”

  “Because you should always be treated like a princess.” He shrugged. “I’m surprised you made it.”

  A sheepish smile broke out on my lips. “I did. Someone reminded me that sometimes I can stand in my own way, and I’m not going to do that. I really do believe in the app. After hearing Ariel talk about it so much. I decided to give it a shot. A real one this time. No stand in. And I don’t want to have the Evans rip me a new one again.”

  His smile was slow, and I wondered how in the world anyone like him ever needed help from an app. There were moments when he was unwittingly charming and sweet looking. And then he went and ruined it by being overbearing and domineering. But right now, I was getting the sweet and charming side, so I was taking it. “Shall we?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, of course.” And then he reached over and took my bag off my shoulder before clasping my smaller hand in his huge one. How in the world did I miss that his hands were this big?

  The better to touch you in all your secret places, my dear.

  This was a date, yes, but not that kind of a date.

  Who are you kidding?

  That was true. I was still thinking about that kiss yesterday.

  The way he just owned my lips without much work or effort, it was disconcerting. It was also hot as hell.

  His hands were warm. I could feel callouses on them. Under normal circumstances, I would have said he was a paper pushing kind of guy. But, I’d been wrong. His hands had seen hard work. Maybe from the gym? Maybe from using his hands a lot, I didn’t know. The truth was, I didn’t really know much about him.

  His résumé had all the right schools, brief company profiles for past jobs, history and finance, a stint in the Caribbean. Blah, blah, boring blah. To be honest I hadn’t paid much attention to it when Chloe had dug it up for me. Maybe I should.

  I needed to learn about my enemy.

  And if he’s not your enemy?

  If this were a real date, I’d want to get to know the real Roone. Who was he? Who had he been as a kid? What did he like to do, read, eat? But it wasn’t real.

  That kiss was real.

  Our instructor’s name was Gigi. She was a tiny slip of a gymnast-looking kind of a girl, but I could tell she was strong and athletic.

  “Welcome to Fly City.” She slid Roone a glance. “You look familiar.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I was here the other day.”

  She nodded. “Ok, yeah, I thought I recognized you. You were here with, what was your partner’s name? Haley?”

  Was it me, or was that a flush creeping up Roone’s neck?

  “Yeah, that was her.”

  Then Gigi turned to face me. “I guess you’re Roone’s new partner.” I ignored the sardonic bite to her comment.

  “Yep, that’s me. The new partner.”

  “Well, you two follow me. It’s easy, honestly. The number one thing is trust. You guys will do great.”

  She sounded like she was from New Castle, her accent trilling over me. Somehow, when she said she thought we’d do great, I didn’t exactly believe her. Trusting men in general wasn’t high on my list of things to do. Trusting guys like Roone was next to impossible.

  It wasn’t until thirty minutes later when I was harnessed up, staring at the net below with the trapeze bar in my hands, yelling, “Jumper ready,” that I really understood that I was going to need to trust the overgrown oaf.

  In a second, I was going to jump. I could choose to stay swinging, and then just jump down to the net below, or I could choose to trust Roone to catch me. On the other end of the net, he was ready to catch me on the swing out. He would invert his position so that he was hanging upside down and then catch me. The real problem at the center of this was that I didn’t trust anyone.

  Or for once, you can live your life for yourself. You have a choice. Trust him or don’t. Now is the time to decide.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and I jumped.

  As I swung toward him at a speed fast enough to alarm me, my stomach dropped. What was I going to do? What should I do?

  I held my breath, opened my eyes, and let go.

  Strong, gently calloused hands caught me easily by the wrists in the hold Gigi had shown us. The rush of adrenaline was pure and fast and sweet, tasting like a frozen lemonade on a hot summer day. We swung gently back and forth, and he grinned at me before finally letting me drop onto the net. I fell with a soft landing and lay there for several moments, laughing.

  When was the last time I’d laughed like that?

  Before Dad?

  It took several minutes to unharness myself and roll off the net. But then Roone met me on the other side. He held his arms wide, and I didn’t even have to think about it. I ran straight toward him and jumped up into them. “Oh my God, that was bloody fantastic.”

  “Uh, that was brilliant. Well done, princess.”

  He swung me around, and I laughed. When he set me down, his grin was wide and his eyes danced. I couldn’t help but grin back at him. And as I held his gaze, his focus dropped to my lips.

  Butterflies danced low in my belly, and the synapses in my brain zapped and fired. Roone leaned down, and anticipation lit my nerves, making them jump and dance. I knew what was coming. And it was going to be so easy to—

  “Well done, Jessa and Roone. You guys are great. Want to give it another go?”

  Damn. Clam jam much?

  I shook my head. What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t even like him. But I couldn’t even be mad at her because I was going to get to do it again. “Absolutely.”

  Roone just laughed. “Of course you do.”

  Jessa…

  After an hour and a half of flying through the air, falling on my ass, nearly hitting my head, several missed connections with Roone, and more fun than I can probably say I’d had in a year, Roone led the way into Sweet Treats, a little café about a mile away from the trapeze place. Once we were settled at a booth and the waitress had taken our order, he turned his attention to me. "So, was it worth actually going on the date this time?"

  I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips. "You know it was worth it. It was actually really fun."

  He grinned. "And you're actually not bad company."

  "What? I'm excellent company." I leaned forward. "I don't know how they did that. The app is so intuitive. I mean it's fascinating that they take these experiences that people have always wanted to try and make them accessible. That's the real magic in it, not the algorithm and the matching of the actual people but figuring out what people actually want. To me that was outstanding."

  "Do you think the people don't matter?"

  "Of course they matter. But let's face it. People are basically interchangeable. Women can talk themselves into just about anything so as long as they find a guy attractive, even if he's not the right guy for them. Women will bend over backward to make it work. And men well…" I shrugged and eyed him. "Men are visual creatures. As long as you think a chi
ck is hot, you'll put up with all kinds of insanity."

  His gaze narrowed for a moment, but then he said, "You're not wrong about that. Men will put up with just about anything. But you don't think that's chemical? You don't think that has anything to do with compatibility?"

  I shrugged. "Not really. Sure, all that stuff helps, but studies show that when people work together, or you know, are in the trenches together, or hell even in close proximity, those things play more into why people get together than anything else."

  "Aw, it's a shame princess. You don't believe in love."

  "I wouldn't say I don't believe, I would just say I am very skeptical. I believe it's possible. But I've seen too many people take a dive off the deep end because of love, often for things that don't make them happy or even fulfill them. So I believe in the tangible things I can see and taste."

  Roone lifted a brow as his moss-green eyes studied me intently. "Let me ask you a question."

  I wasn't sure I was going to like the direction of this question, but I was game. "Okay, fire."

  "When was the last time you actually had a relationship? Not just, you know, somebody you dated because they were convenient. But someone that you wanted to be with. Someone who curled your toes and made you giddy and excited."

  I opened my mouth to answer quickly, but then I realized that he had me there. Sure, I dated every now and again, put on a pretty dress. But there had been no one who mattered recently. "Maybe it's been a while."

  "Define ‘a while.’"

  "Okay, so it's been a hot minute since I've felt that kind of snappiness. But honestly, that's not that common."

  Roone's voice dropped an octave. "When was the last time someone kissed you like they meant it, Jessa?"

  My stomach flipped. Yesterday afternoon. "How is that even relevant?"

  "Oh, princess, it's relevant."

  "Well, maybe it has been longer than normal. But that's not all that matters in life. I could get kissed any time."

  He chuckled low. "Yeah, tell me about it."

  "I just haven't really connected to anyone to make it mean something, you know?"

  His gaze met mine directly then. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

  “So as great as I think this app is, I’m not a true believer.”

  He cocked his head. “How about a bet? I won’t kiss you again until you ask me to.”

  I sputtered. “Which I won’t.”

  “Right. Of course. But we go on three of these dates. If you ask me to kiss you, we call a truce. We’ll divvy up the clients based on who’s best. If you don’t ask me, I’ll take what you give me.”

  I laughed. “But what’s to stop me from just never asking?”

  He grinned. “Oh, princess, you underestimate me.”

  16

  Roone…

  I hadn’t planned to have fun. I hadn’t expected to really like her.

  I was willing to admit it when I was wrong. Maybe I had judged the princess a little too harshly.

  She was stubborn, obstinate, and always thought she knew what was best. But she was also insightful, smart, and a giant pain in the ass. But she had good instincts. Knew what to fight for. Knew what mattered. And the problem was I liked her. I liked her a lot.

  No, you like that zing of electricity every time she's near you.

  Yeah, okay fine. The zap between us was annoying. That constant awareness of her. I didn't want that. I hated that. She was Sebastian's sister. I was here to protect her. Yes, I was supposed to get close to her, but I was going to do things differently. We weren't going to walk that line. I'm pretty sure the last thing the king wanted was me with my hands all over the lost princess. I didn't care what Ariel or Lucas said. I just had to keep my hands off her. It would be easy. Simple. Between me posing as her coworker and Ariel posing as a client, she would have a good amount of coverage. And we could be friends.

  Those thoughts you're having, they're not very friendly.

  We arrived at the flat, and she led the way down the hall. "Well, thank you for tonight. It was actually fun. I’m surprised."

  I chuckled. "You're welcome. Thank you for the ringing endorsement. This is where you say I give excellent first date."

  "Um, this isn't a real date. You're not getting kissed."

  I laughed. "Are you sure about that?"

  What was wrong with me? Why was I goading her? Why was I poking at her?

  Because you want to kiss her.

  No. No I did not. Yesterday was a fluke.

  Yes, she was beautiful. Everything a guy like me didn't deserve. But more than that, she was my best mate’s little sister. Both of my best mates’ little sister. She had no idea who she was. Her life was about to get complicated as fuck. The last thing she needed was someone like me making it worse. Even if she didn't know who I was, the real me, the forgotten son, the black sheep, that's not someone a princess will look at as an option, so I shoved aside the flare, and walked her to her door. "Like I said, door to door service. I'm glad you came tonight, Jessa."

  She grinned at me widely. "You never use my name. You always call me princess."

  I bit the inside of my cheek. "Yeah well, you seem to like it, so I keep using it."

  "I don't like it." She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not some prissy debutante."

  "I don't think anybody in their right mind would ever call you that."

  She laughed softly. "Yeah, you're right. And thanks for keeping your lips to yourself this time."

  I lifted a brow. "I just want to be clear, this isn't you asking me for a kiss?"

  Just like that the caveman came tapping back at the door. I would love to kiss her again. Love to feel her lips sliding under mine. I wanted to hear those sharp panting breaths she drew in. I wanted to feel her body melt against mine, feel the slickness of her core heat my dick as I pressed up against her. "Just say the word. But I want you to make very sure that you're using the right words. Make sure you add please and thank you."

  Jessa leaned forward too. The lightness of her perfume, the floral scent, made my heart race. I could hear the thud, thud, thud as my pulse clanged. Jesus, what was I doing?

  It doesn't matter. Shut up. This is such a bad idea for so many reasons.

  Dick: Didn’t I tell you to shut up man, if you can't listen, I will take over again.

  "I'm glad to see you're still delusional. You keep holding your breath for that kiss. But I will hand it to you. You do give excellent first date."

  The flood of heat in my veins had me dizzy. My lips tipped into a smile, and I shrugged. “Oh, I know. Let’s get you inside.”

  “Yeah, right. Okay, goodnight then.” She turned the lock and shoved the front door, disengaged the key and stepped inside before stepping right back out.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She swallowed hard. “Someone’s broken into my apartment.”

  Jessa…

  Something was wrong. Something other than Chloe asleep on my couch.

  Roone had called her, insisted really. He said it was either her on my couch, or I was staying with him. And there was no telling how many kisses I’d ask for if I did that because I was weak, so Chloe had been the right choice.

  I hadn’t been able to get back in my flat properly without someone hovering for three hours. But now that I was back in, I could tell something was definitely wrong. For starters, the only thing missing was my rose pendant. But it wasn’t worth much, but it was sentimental. Oh, they’d made a huge mess, clearly looking for something. I did a cursory look when the police had asked, but looking again, nothing of value was actually taken.

  Whoever had been in here hadn’t known to look beyond the surface to get to anything they really wanted. And I really didn’t have much to steal. I had a couple of Louis Vuitton’s in my closet, and they weren’t even touched. One of them was still in the box, unused. I’d left my laptop at work, so that wasn’t an option, but mostly, everything else in the flat was disposable. For someone who wanted roots, I ne
ver seemed to put down any.

  Chloe had been after me for ages. It wasn’t like I’d just moved back to London. It had been three years, but I still had some boxes of things that I hadn’t unpacked. That’s because you think you’re going to have to leave again. Because my life had been in flux for so long, I stayed ready. Hell, I had a go bag that was packed with basic essentials for any weather.

  I heard the door across the hall open and close, and I forced myself to stay put and not run to see if it was him. He’d been so sweet and stayed with me until Chloe had shown up.

  Why did he have to occasionally be so sweet? It threw me off. I didn’t even like him, so I didn’t know what my problem was.

  You do like him.

  Just because he’d woken something primal in me did not mean I liked him. Half the time, I just wanted to mess up that perfect wave of his hair. God, there was just something so douchey about it along with his fuck-me smile.

  Chloe was right. I needed a good shag. I really wanted to mess him up in more ways than one.

  On the couch, Chloe snored.

  I really had to stop this obsession. Whatever little childish annoyance we had with each other couldn’t go on. For starters, he worked with me. But also, this was my home. I had roots. I wasn’t leaving.

  And I couldn’t kiss him ever again. It was dangerous. He was dangerous.

  Despite everything I told myself, that didn’t keep me from staring at the door and willing him to come over. I hated that I was so attuned to him. I hated that he was my match as a date.

  I still hadn’t figured out how the hell I was getting around that, because there was no way in hell was I going to mess up my career for Roone.

  Not today, libido, not today.

  17

  Jessa…

  “Understanding better how the app works and how it provides these tailored experiences will help us provide the user with a specialized, lux experience. My first date was based on something I’ve always wanted to do, an experience I’ve always wanted to have. It felt personalized. It felt tailored to me. So what we’re going to do is push the personalization. We’re going to push Meet Cute as being the app that caters to your fantasies or dreams, things you’ve always wanted to do. That’s going to be our lead in. It’s going to feel special, feel like it’s catered to each individual. So, based on that, will the rest of you please share what your experiences were?” I asked.