by Anne, Melody
“Good morning, Ms. Palazzo. The king would like to invite you to a ball tonight,” Nico said, and he held out an invitation bordered in dark blue and engraved with gold letters.
“Tonight?” she asked, glancing over at the clock and noting it was already eleven in the morning. This was late notice. And why should she accept when he’d been such an assuming ass of late? Plus, she’d already decided to go home. That was the right choice — she knew that.
“Yes. He apologizes for the delay in asking you, but there were back-to-back meetings he couldn’t step out of, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to attend the event until just a little while ago,” Nico explained.
Rachel hesitated for a moment, automatically ready to refuse because of such an inconsiderate last-minute invite on top of everything else. But what would saying no accomplish? Nothing. Maybe this was the last inning of the game and she could gain something — anything from him. Didn’t she owe this much to herself?
She wanted to bridge the gap between the two of them, not increase the miles that currently separated them. She’d never know whether she made the right decision if she didn’t give this her best effort.
“Tell him I would be pleased to meet him,” Rachel said, giving Nico a big smile.
He let out a relieved breath, and she smiled even wider.
“That is wonderful. I’ll send someone over right away to assist you in choosing your gown,” he said, efficient as ever.
Rachel normally would have rejected such assistance, being perfectly capable of dressing herself. However, she was going to an event she knew nothing about, and she didn’t want to be under- or overdressed, so she nodded her acceptance, and Nico turned to leave.
“Nico,” she called out, and he respectfully turned back toward her.
“Yes, madam?”
“Am I a fool for hoping for more?”
Rachel was surprised by her question to this man, one who hadn’t been overly friendly with her. But if anyone knew Adriane, it was Nico, as he’d been his assistant for many years. She knew he wouldn’t betray his king, but maybe he would give her just a touch of honesty.
“I would never take you for a fool, Ms. Palazzo,” he said before a slight smiled split his lips. “You are adapting quite well,” he added.
It wasn’t an answer, but for some reason his response made her feel better.
“The car will pick you up at seven,” he said with a slight bow, then left her.
The next few hours were a blur of activity as she bathed, dressed with some assistance, and did her hair and makeup, taking her time in getting ready, anticipation flowing through her.
Nervous tension filled her stomach as she made her final preparations for what felt like a defining moment in her relationship with Adriane.
If he still showed no interest in her as more than a body, and when in the public eye he was cold and distant, nothing more than a king speaking to a peasant, another obligation in a long line of obligations, then she was throwing the game and walking away.
She would contact him once the twins were born.
But if… This was a frightening thought. What ifs always were. But still, maybe the two of them could really see each other for the first time; maybe they could take a step in the right direction and be more than the parents of these two babies.
Looking in the mirror, Rachel almost didn’t recognize herself. The gown did a spectacular job of accentuating her curves, while hiding the slight bump on her stomach, focusing the attention all on her and not the babies she carried.
Her hair was left to flow down her back, strands whispering around her face and framing her expertly done-up eyes. Even her lips screamed seduction, painted blood red and glossy as they were, imitating the flare of color they took on when in the throes of passion.
This evening should be a tell-all for what she needed to know.
For, after all her going to and fro in confusion and anguish, she had decided on a bold action. She was going to make love with him. Then, when morning hit, she would have her answers. She hoped, at least, that they lasted till morning. If he walked away from her when he was finished, she didn’t think she could bear it.
Trying to calm her nerves, Rachel stepped from her room at ten minutes to liftoff, and began the long walk to the front of the palace. This was it. She was giving her all, and she prayed that Adriane was willing to accept her offer.
There was no sign of the king when she stepped into the palace foyer, and Rachel’s nerves became even more frayed. Had he changed his mind after she’d spent the entire afternoon preparing for this night?
The thought was too much to bear.
“Ms. Palazzo, King Adriane’s meeting ran over,” Nico said, “and he has asked me to escort you to the ball, to ensure your safe arrival. Please, this way.” He held out his hand, smiling at her and offering a bow of respect.
“I’m sure I can get there on my own,” she said, knowing Nico wouldn’t enjoy spending his time in her presence.
“A lady as beautiful as you cannot be out alone. You would never arrive, as suitors would be stopping you each step of the way,” he said, taking her hand and pulling it through his arm.
“You are quite the charmer, aren’t you, Nico?” she said, loving the softening he was showing toward her. Maybe he didn’t think she was the stupid American he had originally thought her to be. No, he’d never treated her with disrespect, but it had been obvious from day one that he didn’t find her suitable to stand alongside his king. Maybe, just maybe, his opinion was changing. It was odd that she cared, though.
“How can I resist a man who bestows such lavish flattery on me?” she said, laughing as he led her through the massive doors and down the steps to a waiting car.
Nico assisted her inside, then joined her, reaching for a bottle of chilled cider and pouring her a glass. The cool liquid sliding down her throat helped ease a bit of the tension in her stomach.
She and Nico chatted on the extended ride to the Fiorito mansion, and as they drew near, Rachel felt her nerves jump. The closer they approached, the more nervous she became.
What if this night was a failure and she ended up feeling like an idiot?
Then, she would go on with her life. It wasn’t the end-all, and she was too strong to wallow in pity.
“The ball is being held by a longtime friend of the royal family. It is to honor the fallen soldiers of our land, and is quite a big event each year. It would be a disgrace if some member of the royal family did not attend, which is why the king was so upset when he didn’t think he’d be able to make it. By bringing you here, he is announcing to the country that you are a very important part of his life,” Nico said as the car arrived in front of a stately residence.
It was impressive in its old-world charm, made from stone like that used at the castle, and from exquisite marble.
The driveway was lined with a canopy of lush trees, and it wound around a fountain showcasing two cupids dancing within its waters’ mist. Though Rachel had grown up with more money than most, she still found it all a little intimidating.
This was different from what she knew. It was a world of ancient bloodlines, of authority and prestige — a world that wasn’t hers.
Rachel cast off the thoughts as she accepted Nico’s hand and climbed the steps with him. Soon, she’d see Adriane, soon she’d know whether she was giving their relationship a chance, or running away.
Either way, she’d be out of the quandary she’d been in since the day he’d told her she’d be his wife.
As they walked inside the large ballroom, Rachel clung tightly to Nico’s arm and looked around with insecure doe eyes, wondering where Adriane was.
The crowd parted, and suddenly he was there, throwing his head back and laughing at something his companion must have said. The king looked so carefree for a moment that she was rendered motionless.
As if he could sense her, he turned his head, and their gazes locked. Without a word to the man he’d been con
versing with, Adriane moved swiftly through the crowd, his eyes never breaking contact with hers, not for even the briefest of seconds.
An unsatisfied ache flared within the recesses of her womanhood as he reached her side, his gaze drifting down the feminine lines of her body. She felt as if he’d touched her, for his look was so intense as his eyes drank in her revealing but elegant golden gown.
When his gaze returned to her eyes, his expression was unreadable, and Rachel wondered if she’d just made an idiot of herself. She suddenly wanted to turn around and flee.
“My deepest apologizes for not accompanying you on your ride here. I only just arrived,” he said as he held out his arm.
Did she take it and swiftly move forward on her mission, or did she bolt the way she so wanted to do?
She took his arm.
“Nico has been a fine escort. Thank you, Nico,” she said, impulsively leaning over and kissing the man’s cheek. Much to her amazement, the king’s always confident adviser blushed deeply as he looked down and cleared his throat.
“The pleasure of escorting you here was all mine,” he murmured before looking back up and smiling.
“Thank you for bringing her safely, Nico. You may take the rest of the night off,” Adriane said.
Rachel wanted to grab the man and prevent his departure, suddenly feeling safer in his presence. But the moment the words left Adriane’s mouth, Nico obediently turned and left her alone with the man who wanted to marry her.
They were silent as Adriane led her to the center of the room, where couples were floating around the floor in a traditional Viennese waltz. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms as the music enveloped them. Rachel melted against his chest; they spun slowly in a circle.
“I don’t know if I can last this entire event. The way you look in that dress has taken my breath away. I want nothing more right now than to take you back to the palace, carry you to my room and slowly peel the fabric away from your flushed skin and reveal your curves in all their glory. I want to bury myself inside you, and then, when it’s all over, I want to begin again, and pleasure you all through the night.”
Rachel couldn’t say a word as she looked at the raw hunger on his face, in his eyes, and in the tenseness of his mouth, and felt his arousal pressing insistently against her stomach.
After several heartbeats, she nodded her head.
For a moment, he did nothing, as if he didn’t know what she’d just said to him with her silent gesture. When she nodded again, the breath he’d been holding exploded from his lungs; his feet stopped moving, and he bent down and claimed her sweet mouth.
Rachel didn’t care that they weren’t alone. She clung on tightly and accepted his passionate kiss. Finally, tonight she would get to feel the pleasure of lying in his arms again.
The ball couldn’t end soon enough.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“We’re leaving!”
Trembling from the power of his kiss, Rachel didn’t realize for a moment that he’d pulled back from her and now had her hand in a viselike grip as he led her through the crowded room.
“Leaving?” she asked.
“Yes. I want you in my room, on my bed, naked and wet for me,” he said, picking up his pace even more.
Suddenly Rachel’s clothes felt like a straitjacket. She wanted them off immediately.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m plenty wet,” she whispered, relishing the instant power she felt as his steps halted for an instant. He didn’t dare turn in her direction, but instead picked up speed again and led her through the front door.
When he called his car around, Rachel looked back. “Shouldn’t we tell someone we’re leaving?”
“No. I made my appearance; they won’t notice that I’ve gone,” he said in a strained tone.
She doubted that — everyone notices what a king does — but she was too excited to argue. She didn’t even care that she’d spent hours getting ready only to stay at the ball for about ten minutes.
After all, what she’d really been doing was preparing for a night of lovemaking, and it looked as if she was going to get exactly that.
As the car approached, he didn’t wait for his driver to open the door, but just flung it open and helped her inside, and then slid in next to her. As rushed as he was, he was surprisingly gentle.
Before the car pulled from the drive, Adriane grasped her, lifting her onto his lap as he guided her mouth to his face and meshed their heated breaths together in a tantalizing kiss that didn’t quit.
Rachel inhaled his sweet, musky scent as he ran his tongue along her lips. When he bit down softly on her lip before sucking it into his mouth, she felt her blood rush straight to her core, demanding him, now.
Her hands lifted, grabbing and tugging a fistful of his thick short hair, craving more from him. It was never enough — nothing was enough. She wanted him buried inside her while his hands stroked hungrily up and down her back. She wanted a mutual feeling of complete possession in each other’s arms.
She wanted to be held and never let go.
“The sight of you in this dress…oh, Rachel, I’ve been hard and aching since the first glance,” he gasped. “But you can wear anything and my body responds. I’ve never desired a woman so much. Never. I will make love to you long into the night. I don’t think I will ever release you from my bed.” His lips trailed down her throat and sucked on her erratically beating pulse.
Rachel tried to keep some semblance of her sanity — tried to remember that this was about more than sex — but the more places he touched her, the more he spoke, the less control she maintained.
Need.
Raw, exhilarating, thrilling need raged within her in waves and she hoped it would never, ever end.
Adriane was silent when they finally entered the palace. He shot a single look at his servants, and within seconds, he and Rachel were alone.
“I won’t stop,” he warned, as if giving her a last chance to back out.
Rachel didn’t understand why he would give her an out after he’d been waiting for so long, but she was grateful for the consideration. A man who didn’t care wouldn’t have given her the chance to change her mind, would he? She didn’t think so.
“Why are you still talking?” she asked, batting her eyes and letting him know with nothing other than the intense yearning in her features how much she wanted him.
Victory flashed in his eyes for the briefest of moments, replaced by a molten need. She’d given him an answer to his unasked question. She wasn’t going to pull away from him this time.
Without even giving her time to blink, Adriane lifted her into his arms and then began up the staircase, quickly ascending and then winding his way through the hallways, breathing heavily, though not from exertion, as he reached his massive bedroom doors, so lost in his haze of passion, he forgot all about his promise of not taking her to his chambers until after the wedding.
Leaning in against him, she couldn’t resist running her tongue along the salty skin of his neck and delighting in its erotic tang.
“I can barely walk,” he groaned as he dashed through the sitting area and made a straight path to his sleeping chamber, stopping only when he reached his bed.
Had Rachel been able to look around her, she’d have taken in the bold red of his curtains, the matching duvet and the lavish antique furnishings he’d chosen — if he had in fact, chosen them. How foolish. He had servants to do such tasks, of course. Still, she wanted to study it all, but afflicted by passion-inspired tunnel vision, she could see only the man still holding her securely in his hard-muscled arms.
“I want you, Adriane,” she whispered, feeling a shudder pass through his body.
He released her, and she slid down the hard planes of his chest, her stomach trembling as she felt his manhood pulse against her.
Undoing the top of her dress, he dropped to his knees as her skin was bared to him, letting the dress pool at her feet. He grasped her hips with his hand and leaned forward
, breathing in her very essence.
With fierce impatience, he ripped her panties away, grabbed her thighs and spread them roughly apart, not giving her time to even gasp before he buried his face between the juncture of her legs. Her knees trembled while he began licking along her upper thighs, inching toward the place where she was aching the most.
With expert technique, he penetrated her moist folds with his tongue as he continued pushing her legs apart, and when neither of them could stand the foreplay any longer, he clasped her throbbing womanhood and sucked. She cried out when he drank from her, sliding one hand up her thigh and inserting his long fingers into her heat, making her gasp and moan in pleasure.
“Yes, Adriane, more!” she cried as she held on to his shoulder, wondering how she was still standing.
Only a slight groan exited his mouth as he continued devouring her core, his tongue torching a path along every inch of her womanhood.
More! She wanted so much more. She wanted him — only him.
“Please,” she pleaded, wanting it all.
His lips circled her most sensitive area; his tongue swirled and his fingers pushed deep inside of her. She exploded, slumping forward against his face as tremors shook her body.
“Oh, Adriane,” she groaned, unable to move at all, still upright only because she was leaning against him.
What a fool she’d been to wait so long to do this with him!
When he stood up, she nearly fell to the floor, but he caught hold of her, turning her body so she fell on the bed, her limbs weak, her rounded behind in the air.
Trying to turn, she didn’t have a chance as he grabbed her legs and pulled her back to him. “I need you now!” he said in a strained voice before lifting her hips, then gripping her as he slammed into her, burying his burning manhood deep.
Rachel cried out as another orgasm ripped through her, taking her by shock as she pulsed around him, his staff filling her completely.
“Too long,” he groaned as he pulled back, and then surged forward again, making her orgasm continue on and on. “Way too long. You are mine, Rachel Palazzo, mine forever. No other man will touch you again; no other man will have what’s mine,” he said, slamming into her again and branding her with all he was.