Corrupted by the Prince (A is for Alpha Book 5)

by Shelli Stevens

  He teased the trimmed curls, murmuring soft words in a language she didn’t speak, before sliding a finger inside her and making a guttural growl against her breast.

  Eva caught her breath and her body instinctively clenched around the sensual invasion.

  He probed and teased, bringing only pleasure as he discovered her body. With expert ease he brought her to the edge of release. He moved to torment the sensitive nub hidden in her folds, and when the callused pad of his thumb pressed hard against her, she was so tightly wound that she tumbled into ecstasy.

  Stunned and with tears of pleasure flooding her eyes, she clenched her fingers in his hair and drew in ragged breaths.

  “I should go slow,” he whispered against her breast. “Find each enchanting freckle on your body, but I cannot, my sweet. Not this time.”

  He eased off her and reached into a drawer beside the bed. She watched, boneless and disorientated, as he fumbled to open the condom. After struggling for a moment with unsteady fingers, he ripped it open with his teeth and rolled it over his rigid flesh a moment later.

  She stared only a moment at the most masculine part of him before lowering her gaze. Her pulse quickened and a wave of apprehension washed over her. Maybe she was inexperienced, but she didn’t need anyone to tell her that he was on the large side.

  Before she could think too much about what would happen next, he returned to the bed and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.

  Any apprehension melted away as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He moved on top of her, his thighs parting hers.

  The miniscule hairs on her body lifted as she felt the thickness of him probe the opening to her body. He cradled her jaw, softening the kiss, becoming almost revenant, when he slid inside her.

  There was only a little resistance from her body, a pang of discomfort that jerked her from the sensual moment. Eva bit her lip, willing her muscles to relax and fully accept him.

  Kostas went still and she bit her lip a little harder, certain he’d discovered the truth.

  “You are paradise,” he said raggedly and began to slowly move. “What have you done to me, Eva? You’re like a drug.”

  Her head spun with pleasure, and she couldn’t form a reply, though he probably didn’t expect one. His face was twisted with pleasure, his eyes glazed as if she were indeed a drug affecting him.

  She caressed his back, her nails lightly pressing into the skin there as she moved her hips experimentally to meet his thrusts.

  He moved slow at first, stroking deep and then dragging back out. Her heart pounded and the coils of heat wound through her muscles again.

  But each thrust seemed to strip his control, until he was moving faster. Harder. Taking her inexperienced body in a way that she knew would leave her sore in the morning. None of that mattered, because pleasure overrode every other sensation.

  He swooped his head down to claim her mouth again, his tongue thrusting against hers and matching time with their intimate rhythm.

  The need for release wound tighter, and he knew exactly what to do as he reached between them to touch her again. The climax was smaller this time, but more sensual because he came with her.

  He choked out her name and fell heavily upon her. His face against her neck as his body shuddered from his own release.

  It took a while before her heart slowed. She moved her hands over his muscled back and closed her eyes.

  Incredible. There was no other way to describe what had just happened. She knew that whatever happened tomorrow, waiting for tonight—for Kostas to be her first time—had been the right choice.

  “Thank you.”

  She hadn’t even been aware she’d whispered it until he lifted his head to look down at her.

  “Did you just thank me for making love to you?” The incredulity in his voice had her blushing.

  “I guess I did.” She gave a husky laugh. “Should I not have?”

  “I adore that you did.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Did I hurt you?”

  The breath locked in her throat. “What do you mean?”

  “You seemed uncomfortable for a moment.” He hesitated. “Had it been a while?”

  She blinked, mind fumbling with how to reply.

  He swore and grimaced, easing off her body to lie beside her. “You don’t have to answer that. It’s crude to ask—”

  “Yes. It’s been awhile.” He’d offered her a way out, and she took it to avoid the other conversation that would’ve occurred.

  Actually, Kostas, you were my first. Hey, congratulations and please don’t let this get awkward.

  No thanks.

  She didn’t need to ask if it had been a while for him, because she had a fairly good idea of the answer. Why did that sit so heavily in her heart?

  Her euphoric mood a little diminished now, she tried to focus on the present again. She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him, easing the hairs on his chest with her finger.

  “I like the smell of that candle.”

  “Do you? It’s Ylang-ylang scented.” He smiled. “It’s sensual and quite soothing.”

  “Mmm, I agree.” She paused as a thought hit her. “It was already burning when we came inside, did someone light it for you?”

  He hesitated. “Yes, my bodyguard.”

  “Oh.” Was this some kind of pre-seduction ritual? “Kind of a fire hazard, don’t you think?”

  He caught a strand of her hair and twisted it around a finger. “Next time we will skip the candle, if you’d like.”

  Next time. Her heart quickened.

  Change the subject. Keep it light.

  “You didn’t really sleep with your brother’s fiancée, did you?”

  That wasn’t exactly light, and maybe she shouldn’t have asked, but curiosity overrode her usual manners. She knew better than anyone knew how media worked. It was probably one night where the two had been photographed together, and the gossip mill went wild.

  Kostas gave a half smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes. I did.”

  “Oh.” Was her lame reply.

  Note to self: Don’t ask questions you really don’t want to know the answer to, Eva.

  She waited with suspended breath for him to explain, or to try to give some kind of defense about what had happened. Instead he just wrapped an arm around her and silently encouraged her to snuggle close.

  With her mind racing in her head, she told herself not to get all worked up about it.

  She snuggled close and listened to the steady thumping of his heart beneath her cheek. Drowsiness began to take over and she realized the past didn’t matter.

  What mattered was the incredible evening they’d shared together. Besides, who really knew what tomorrow would bring?

  When she woke up the next morning, she had her answer. It brought an empty side of the bed, and a black-suited bodyguard informing her she would be driven home at her soonest convenience.

  Chapter 15

  Kostas moved briskly down the corridor of the north wing of his Mykorini home, his face as hard as the stone walls of the castle that surrounded him.

  He ignored the stares, the fervent whispers, but mostly the heavy sense of sympathy and dread from the employees and extended family throughout.

  At the end of the hall he made a sharp left and entered the medium-sized sun room. His mother sat on the Victorian parlor couch in the corner, staring out the window that looked out over the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. There was a handful of other people in the room. Distant relatives and his mother’s assistant of several decades.

  They all glanced his way anxiously as he entered, but no one spoke.

  “You arrived quite quickly.” The toneless words were spoken in Greek.

  “Of course.” He sat down beside her on the couch and reached for her hand. “How are you?”

  She clutched his fingers, giving the tiniest shake of her head. “I am fine. It was the others who did not fair as we
ll.”

  His chest tightened and a wave of pain slammed into him. While on his private jet home he’d been apprised of the massive earthquake that had struck Mykorini and the islands nearby.

  There was extensive damage to the infrastructure of buildings and roads. The death toll was at thirty-six.

  His father and brother had not been spared.

  “We were in the chapel attending the wedding of your second cousin,” she said softly.

  The chapel was as old as the castle—over four centuries. It had survived earthquakes before, but never one of this magnitude. Kostas was informed during the briefing that part of the chapel near the front had collapsed and nineteen people had been killed, including the king and the prince.

  His heart began a slow thundering. He shook his head, already knowing what would come next.

  When his mother’s gaze finally lifted to meet his, the naked grief was barely restrained behind a steely determination. “Kostas, you are the new king of Mykorini.”

  He clenched his jaw. “Mama—”

  “Leave us,” she ordered the handful of people in the room. “I will have a moment alone with my son.”

  The room emptied out quickly.

  “It should be you who takes the throne,” he argued.

  “I am the Queen Consort. I may have shared the king’s social rank, Kostas, but that is all.” She gave a small, sad smile. “I only became royal through marriage. You’ve always known this scenario was a possibility. Quite early in life you were taught the responsibility on your shoulders.”

  “But not like this. I never thought we would lose both of them at once,” he rasped brokenly.

  Grief flared fresh in her eyes. “Nor did I.”

  “You must know I am no king, Mama.”

  “You will become one,” she replied without hesitation. “Your coronation will be one month from today.”

  He wanted to curse the unfairness of it all. To let a yell of anguish that ripped through the stone walls that surrounded him. His mother must’ve recognized the sorrow in him. The frustration.

  Her expression gentled as she continued. “The people of Mykorini will take time to mourn not only their loved ones, but the deaths of the king and prince. We are not allowed that luxury.”

  No, they were not. There was far too much to be done. Their people looked to them for reassurance about the future of Mykorini.

  There would be no public grieving, besides a highly publicized funeral, but he would allow this moment between them. He pulled his mother into his arms and kissed her forehead.

  “I’m so sorry, Mama.”

  For the deaths of her husband and her son. And that the one man who should’ve never been crowned king would now take the thrown.

  His mother gave a ragged sigh. “You must stay out of trouble from now on.”

  Kostas nodded, his head now pounding in time with his heart as the reality of the situation began to settle in.

  “We will begin the immediate search for an appropriate wife for you. With a new king, the people will want a queen. It is one way you can offer stability to our people. To show you have changed.”

  A wife who would be his queen.

  The image of Eva in his bed last night flickered in his mind. Her eyes awash with passion and pleasure.

  He’d left without waking her to say goodbye, functioning in a state of shock and urgency.

  She would now be just another love affair. His final one it seemed. At one point that wouldn’t have bothered him.

  Fortunately, he didn’t have time to analyze why this time it did. It was time to become a new man and leave the past behind him.

  He was a king now, and he’d damn well start act liking one.

  Chapter 16

  “Wait a minute, let me get this straight.” Annalise waved her hands and shook her head. “You lost your virginity last night?”

  Eva closed her eyes to block out the disbelief and eagerness in her oldest sister’s gaze.

  “Yes.”

  And then she’d woken up alone the next morning. And what bothered her most was not Kostas’s actions, but her reaction to them.

  It cut deep, and she hadn’t expected it to. She’d braced for the possibility that it would be a one-night stand. She just hadn’t prepared for him to flee his own home like it was a crime scene.

  “I’m only telling you because I needed to talk to someone about it.” And even though she and Annalise were like night and day, they were close friends as well as sisters.

  Though Eva drew the line with confessing just whom she’d slept with.

  “The whole night was incredible,” she said softly, “and yet I hate myself this morning. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone, Anna.”

  “Discretion is my middle name.” Annalise cleared her throat. “Ugh, most the time.”

  Eva’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile. “When you’re not on a gossip blog with your nipple popping out.”

  “Total accident when a wave caught me off guard. I can’t help it if some tourist caught it on camera and sold it to that trashy blogger.”

  Eva had to laugh, but it turned into sigh as reality sunk in.

  “But he left me alone this morning. I should’ve known this was going to happen. I mean he had something called an Elaine Elaine candle burning before we even got in the room. His bodyguard lit it ahead of time.”

  “He had a ylang-ylang candle burning?” Her sister pursed her lips. “That scent is a well-known aphrodisiac. Did he have expensive champagne at the ready too? Sexy music?”

  “Umm, yes.” Heat burned Eva’s cheeks.

  “Oh, sweetie. That man had one purpose in mind when he brought you home.”

  “I know. And I knew it when I went with him. I don’t know why I’m so upset about this now.”

  “Because you let him into your heart a little.” Annalise grabbed her hand. “And hey, maybe he just freaked out at the virgin part.”

  “It didn’t exactly come up at the time.”

  Her sister gave a harrumph. “Clearly something else came up first?”

  Eva wanted to laugh, but she was a little too depressed.

  “Who is he?” Annalise gave her a look of curiosity. “Do I know him? Do you think you’ll see him again?”

  “It doesn’t matter who he is, because no. I don’t think I’ll see him again.” Or she hoped not. In the future she’d have to make sure she was out of town when he came here on vacation.

  And that was the crux of it, she reminded herself later that night. She’d known that when she slept with him Kostas was never going to be more than the one-night stand.

  He was one of the most handsome, sought-after bachelors in the world. Add that to the fact that he was a bona fide prince and their ending up together was as likely as world peace.

  So she’d move on with her life and take it for what it was. An incredible night with a sinfully handsome prince who’d shown her passion and pleasure for her first time. End of story.

  Or it would’ve been if she hadn’t found herself staring down the positive end of a pregnancy test two weeks later.

  “Here are the profiles of women in the running.”

  In the running. As if this were some form of a game show.

  Kostas held back a sigh as his mother dropped a stack of manila folders on the desk that had formerly belonged to the king.

  It had been nearly three weeks since the earthquake and his days were filled to the brim. The funerals of his father and brother. Addressing his people. Addressing the media. Holding meetings with the necessary people to discuss the damage and rebuilding of Mykorini after the quake. At the moment, his least important problem—at least in his head—was meeting potential wives.

  Kostas was reluctant to pick up any of the folders. Each held photos and detailed biographies of women who lived all over the world. One represented the woman who would likely hold the position of his wife within the next couple of months.

  Position. As cold as it seem
ed, that’s what the situation amounted to. There was nothing romantic about the process of selecting a suitable wife.

  “Why do you scowl, my son?” His mother sat down in the chair across from him. “Surely one of them is suitable.”

  Suitable, yes. They all were, which was why he had to make a choice fairly soon.

  “You know why I scowl.”

  His mother sighed. “If you were hoping to marry for love—”

  “I am not. I have never loved a woman and am not convinced I ever will.” He offered her a small smile. “You, Mama, are the exception.”

  Her lips thinned and she shook her head. “You relish in your playboy reputation. This marriage will be good for you. Perhaps you should choose Saina.”

  Saina. The local woman whose father was a wealthy shipping tycoon. The woman who had briefly been engaged to Petros, and whom Kostas had slept with.

  “No.” His response was low and unsteady.

  “Denes, the royal publicist, has already created a statement that is believable. You have always loved her, and the night together—”

  “No.” His voice was icier now. “And I will ask that you not speak her name again.”

  When he glanced over at his mother, he caught the fleeting look of exhaustion and disappointment on her face before her expression was once again calm and unreadable.

  “I need to clear my head,” he muttered, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To prepare myself breakfast.”

  “We have people to do that for you.”

  “I realize that.” He squeezed her shoulder gently, trying to diffuse his sharp words, before he made his way out of the office.

  Her heeled footsteps behind him showed that she wasn’t ready to abandon this conversation.

  The staff in the kitchen looked alarmed to find the king strolling through without notice.

  He waved his hand, trying to put them at ease. “Continue as you were, I’m simply here for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

  He’d discovered the peculiar comfort food after spending an evening at a frat party in America, and he’d been keen on the sandwiches ever since.