The Prince's Pregnant Challenge (The Royals of Monaco, #2)

by Leslie North

  “Relax it's apple cider.”

  “You are not wearing your ring.” He felt that it was unfair that he had to wear his. He hated wearing a ring.

  “My fingers are too fat,” Liane snapped. She had become over emotional about everything in the last few months. “Everything is too fat. I look like a whale.”

  Jean Pierre laughed. “Maybe a baby one,” he joked. Liane's jaw dropped open.

  “That's not nice, jackass,” Liane tried to walk but she froze.

  “It was a joke.”

  “A crap one.” Liane frowned and touched her belly.

  “What is the matter?” Jean Pierre stood in front of her and looked at her.

  “I am trying to figure out if I wet myself.”

  “Liane, what?” Jean Pierre frowned. She suddenly screamed. Jean Pierre's eyes widened. He was not sure what was happening or what to do.

  “Get my sisters,” she screamed. He nodded and ran to find her sisters. He returned in a few moments with them. They were both panicking and confused. They did not know what was happening. “I think my water broke,” she said.

  “Oh, my God!” Both of her sisters screamed at the same time. They linked her arms and helped her out of the room. Prince Louis was talking to Lord Jacques when he saw the three sisters come out. He excused himself and went to Jean Pierre who was trailing behind them.

  “What is going on?” Prince Louis asked Jean Pierre.

  “Liane is in labour,” he replied calmly.

  “Then, let's go, quickly.” He ushered everyone to a waiting car. As he was climbing in, Prince Louis told one of the maids to tell Bridgette and Mrs LeBlanc that Liane had gone into labour.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Liane was immediately admitted into a private room in the maternity ward. Her sisters were in the room with her helping her change into a hospital gown. Prince Louis's security team quickly secured the area as he went to speak with the doctor. Jean Pierre waited outside Liane's room unsure what to do. He could hear her swearing and screaming.

  “I am glad I am not a woman,” Prince Louis said as he joined Jean Pierre.

  “Tell me about it” Jean Pierre replied. Moments later, they heard Liane calling for Jean Pierre.

  “Get him in here,” she shouted. Francesca opened the door as Jean Pierre scrambled into the room. Liane started throwing anything she could get her hands on at him. “You bastard! You put me in this mess!” she shouted. Jean Pierre rushed back out of the room and shut the door behind him.

  “She's crazy,” he said to Prince Louis who was roaring with laughter.

  “She is right,” the prince replied, as he continued to laugh.

  Liane's parents and Bridgette rushed in. Mrs LeBlanc went into Liane's room. She wanted to be there when her first grandchild was born. Her daughters found it very difficult to believe, as this was very much unlike their mother.

  A little while later, the doctor came to check on Liane. “Please tell me it's time,” Liane said. The contractions made her feel as if there was a bear trying to claw its way out and she wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

  “Yes, you are crowning,” the doctor replied. She called for the medical team to come in so that she could deliver the baby. “Do you want them to stay?” she asked referring to her sisters and mother.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, I need you to gather your strength because we are going to start pushing on my count to three.”

  When Liane started pushing, everyone outside her room could hear her. “Does that sound normal?” Jean Pierre asked.

  “I have no idea,” the prince replied.

  “It's very normal,” Bridgette said.

  “Give me another big push,” the doctor asked Liane. She was getting tired. It was too much effort and pain. She knew it was going to be hard but not this hard. Her sisters and her mother cheered her on. If it was not for them being there, she would have given up.

  Soon a different wail pierced the air. “It's a girl,” the doctor said at last. Liane had felt as if she had been pushing forever.

  “You did it,” Macee said to Liane as she hugged her. She was really exhausted and sweaty, as she lay there smiling. The doctor gave her the tiny little human being, as Liane looked down at her baby and smiled. Her mother and sisters were all smiling and hugging each other.

  “Gosh, I hope she grows up to look like me,” was the first thing Liane said. Everyone started laughing.

  “Jean Pierre is not that bad,” Francesca said.

  “I know but his traits are.”

  Jean Pierre entered the room and approached the bed. Liane handed him the baby. He looked at her smiling. She was tiny and so adorable. The nurse wheeled in an incubator, which she placed next to the bed before taking the baby from him. Everyone crowded into the room to look at the new baby, as Liane closed her eyes, happy that the worst was over.

  ***

  It was time for her to leave the hospital and Liane was reluctant to go home. Their house was ready and her sisters had decorated the nursery for their new niece. She was not prepared to start her life with Jean Pierre as husband and wife. Her sisters came to get her from the hospital and take her to her new house. They were excited to see what she thought of her new home.

  “We are here!” Macee shouted with excitement as they walked through the door. Liane groaned.

  “There are maids here that will help you with everything,” Francesca said. “So you rest.”

  They took Liane to her room. She and the baby needed to rest. While she did not want her sisters to leave, she knew they had to go. She couldn’t keep them with her all the time.

  Liane later woke up when the baby started to cry. It had already begun, the lack of sleep. She picked up her daughter and started breastfeeding. The door flew open and Jean Pierre barged in. She frowned and asked him what he was doing.

  “Well, I heard the baby crying,” he said.

  “Come back when I am done feeding her,” she replied.

  “Nothing I have not seen before,” he told her as he sat on the bed watching her. Liane covered her breast anyway. He had only seen her once, maybe he did not remember and she did not want to remind him. Jean Pierre felt uncomfortable. He had never sat next to Liane quietly. Usually when he was next to her, they were arguing.

  He watched her breastfeeding the baby. She was good with the baby. It came natural to her. “Laura,” he said.

  “What?” Liane asked.

  “Her name.”

  “No, Emma.”

  “Too plain, Beatrice.”

  “Ew, no! Who still names their child that?”

  “It's a unique name.”

  “For a sixty year old!”

  And the arguing began. Jean Pierre knew it was impossible for them to be around each other and have a sane conversation. How on earth were they going to live as a family? It was a mystery to him.

  “What then?” he asked her.

  “Liane,” she joked.

  “Definitely not.”

  She whipped her head in his direction. “What is wrong with my name?” she asked.

  “Moving on,” he knew not to answer that question. “Martha,” he said.

  “Sandra.”

  “Jessica.”

  They were not getting anywhere. They were spitting out names but would not agree. Liane stopped breastfeeding the baby and patted her back to burp her. “Do you think she is full?” Jean Pierre asked her.

  “I don't know, she stopped sucking,” Liane replied. Jean Pierre started laughing. She narrowed her gaze at him. “Grow up,” she said.

  “Lighten up.”

  They both looked at the baby wondering if she was full or not. “Maybe I should try to feed her some more?” Liane asked. She put the nipple back in her mouth but she did not suck. “I guess she is full,” she said to Jean Pierre. He shrugged his shoulders. He too had no idea.

  Chapter 12

  Liane walked into the kitchen breathless, sweaty and tired. She had just
finished working out. She was trying to get her figure back, since giving birth. She groaned when she saw Jean Pierre sitting at the table, shirtless and reading a newspaper. She looked away quickly but the image of his toned chest was burned into her brain. She opened the cabinets and pulled out protein powder.

  Jean Pierre looked up from his paper and watched Liane making herself a protein shake. He could not help but notice the shape of her bottom in her yoga pants. His expression grew darker as he remembered how it felt in his hands. He cleared his throat and looked away when she turned.

  “We still need a name,” he said to her.

  “I am aware,” she said before she started drinking her protein shake. They still did not agree on a name. Jean Pierre stood up from the table. Liane suddenly felt uncomfortable looking at his bare chest. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers up his chest but it was Jean Pierre. She could not stand him. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

  “Like what you see?”

  Liane instantly felt mortified. He had caught her staring at him. She kept her cool. “Narcissism is unattractive,” she said. Jean Pierre laughed as he left the room.

  “Your mouth says one thing, your body says another,” he said.

  Liane put the protein shaker against her face to cool off. Jean Pierre was right. She had been admiring him and she hated that. She threw the protein shaker in the sink and went to check on the baby. It was weird not being around her. She often panicked that something was wrong.

  Later that day, Macee and Prince Louis came over dinner. Liane was very excited to see her sister. She needed to see other people. It was not fun seeing Jean Pierre every single day and arguing over everything.

  “You are suffocating me,” Macee said during her hug with Liane. Her older sister was holding onto her very tightly.

  “I am sorry, porcupine. I am just so glad to see you,” Liane said. She released her sister from her embrace and led her to the dining room.

  “It hasn’t been that long, Annie. I know I should come more often but Charles,” Macee expressed the rest of her sentence with a groan. Liane laughed.

  “I know, Charles is a piece of work,” Liane said. She could relate.

  “So, where is my niece?”

  “She is sleeping.”

  Macee frowned. She was really looking forward to seeing her niece. Macee sat down at the table. Jean Pierre and the prince were speaking in the hallway. They walked in moments later and joined them at the table.

  “And how are you, Jean Pierre?” Macee asked him.

  “I am well, thank you. I trust that you are also?” he asked as he replied to her. Macee smiled at him.

  “I am.”

  The maids had already set the table and once everyone was seated, brought in the food and dished it out for them. Macee and Prince Louis sat next to each other, which forced Liane and Jean Pierre to sit next to each other. Macee could see just how uncomfortable they both were and she couldn’t help but find it amusing.

  “Why are you guys taking so long to name the baby?” Macee asked, as she bit into her food.

  “Apparently, we cannot seem to agree on any names,” Liane said. She was annoyed about it and had grown tired of calling her baby, “baby or little one”.

  “My wife has some interesting choices,” Jean Pierre said.

  “It's not me with the interesting choices. He tried to name the baby, Beatrice.”

  Macee started laughing. “I am sorry but that is awful,” she said. Prince Louis looked at her as if to say she had said something inappropriate.

  “That is what I said.”

  Jean Pierre was starting to see just how similar Macee was to Liane. It was crazy. “What about Dorothy?” he asked.

  “Oh my God!” Liane and Macee said at the same time. They looked at each other. “That is even worse,” they said at the same time. Prince Louis sipped his wine and watched everything unfold. Jean Pierre's jaw dropped open.

  “It's not that bad,” he defended the name.

  “He seems to favour old lady names,” Liane said.

  “This is exactly why we still do not have a name.”

  “Sidonia.”

  “We are not naming her after a city.”

  “Simone,” Prince Louis said. He had been keeping out of the conversation but then the name popped into his head. Macee gasped and looked at him.

  “Simone!” Jean Pierre and Liane said with excitement. They looked at each other and frowned. They rarely agreed on anything.

  “Yay,” Macee said and clapped her hands. “Seems like we have a name,” she added.

  “Hallelujah,” Liane said. She could finally call her baby something. She finally had a name.

  The maids poured them some red wine. Before Macee could start drinking hers, Liane was already half way through her own glass. Macee dropped her jaw.

  “Did I marry a secret alcoholic?” Jean Pierre asked.

  “I became one when I married you,” she replied. Macee and the prince looked at each other. There was no end to their arguments. They just drank their wine quietly.

  Liane pouted after she shut the front door. She did not want her sister to go. She was now left alone with Jean Pierre. They could not even pretend to get along because they were holding the baby, as she was asleep.

  They both sat in the living room quietly. It was awkward. Liane went to pick up the remote and switched on the television. They needed some sort of distraction. Jean Pierre watched her walk back to her seat. She was wearing a short blue dress, which made her legs look even longer. He blinked a few times and looked away.

  “Pick a channel already,” he said to her. She was flipping through channels constantly.

  “There is nothing to watch,” Liane said with frustration.

  “You are just being too picky.”

  Liane threw the remote control at him. She wanted to pass it to him so that he could choose what to watch but her hand had other thoughts. She threw it harder than she anticipated. Luckily he caught it quickly.

  “Trying to kill me?” he asked. Liane started laughing.

  “Sorry.” She actually meant it.

  “Is that genuine?”

  “Take it or leave it.”

  Liane fell asleep on the sofa. Her sleep cycle was messed up what with getting up to feed Simone every few hours. Jean Pierre switched off the television. He picked her up and carried her to her room, put her into bed and then covered her with the duvet. He looked down at her. She slept so peacefully. Why couldn’t she be like that all the time? Was he really so bad? He traced her cheekbones with his thumb. Her skin was so soft. Her rose-coloured lips looked so plump and inviting. He could still remember how they felt when he kissed her.

  Jean Pierre swallowed nervously because of the uncomfortable feeling in his groin. Liane opened her eyes and found him staring at her. She frowned as she tried to sit up, “What is going on?” she asked.

  “Go to sleep,” Jean Pierre said and caressed her cheeks with the back of his hand. He stood up and left the room. Liane closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  Liane came out of the shower to find Jean Pierre in her room. She screamed loudly and placed her hand on her heart. She was not expecting to see him there. “What are you doing in here?” she asked him. Jean Pierre was looking at her as if she was crazy. She acted as if he was some random stranger instead of her husband.

  “Lady, relax, I am here to see Simone,” he replied.

  “So where is she?” Liane could not see the baby.

  “The nanny is changing her nappy.”

  Liane narrowed her gaze. She had never seen him change the baby. He was always hugging her and kissing her but not changing her dirty nappies. “You will have to change her nappy at some point,” she said. Jean Pierre could not even focus on what she was saying. All his brain could register was the fact that she was standing there in nothing but a towel, dripping wet.

  “You can get out now,” Liane said.
She needed to change but Jean Pierre was in the room. She expected him to either leave or say something stupid as always. To her surprise, he walked over to her and ripped her towel off her body.

  Liane gasped and slapped him. “What are you doing?” she demanded. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his body.

  “I am kissing my wife,” he told her. Liane had not realised how much she had wanted him to kiss her until he did. She responded quickly as her hands wound their way around his neck. He felt so good.

  They had only been kissing for a few seconds, but Liane could already feel his arousal, which made her gasp. Taking advantage, Jean Pierre explored her mouth with his tongue, as Liane moaned and kissed him back, their tongues quickly becoming entwined, as they pushed against each other. Kissing her cheeks, he explored her face, as she made soft noises. Tilting her head, he kissed her neck as she arched against him. He lowered his head and kissed her breasts before taking a nipple in his mouth and sucking. He groaned as her nipple hardened to a stiff peak in his mouth. Liane closed her eyes and held onto his neck.

  Lifting his head, he kissed her deeply, as he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. As he set her down, Liane immediately began tugging at his clothes as she helped him strip down. “I knew you liked what you saw,” he said with a grin, as Liane rubbed her hands over his chest

  “You are so conceited,” Liane said as she pulled him towards her. Kissing him seemed to be the best way to shut him up.

  This time was different from the rush of their first time. Jean Pierre took his time as he explored Liane’s body, kissing her everywhere. He was amazing as he took his time arousing her until she was writhing beneath him. As he worked his way down her body, Liane gasped as she clutched at the sheets. Parting her legs, he kissed the insides of her thighs.

  He couldn’t believe how good she felt. A part of him was waiting for her to come to her senses and kick him off the bed, but he would continue to press his luck because he couldn’t think straight around her anymore. She was his wife and he wanted her. He wasn’t prepared to accept the ramifications of that thought and was content to make love to her for as long as she would allow.