by Imani King
A couple minutes after that, I found myself walking down the driveway of a smaller building in comparison to the ones that I had just left, but it was still equally commanding in its presence. I knocked on the front door, and a butler answered. This was still something I had to get used to, the idea of having servants at someone’s beck and call.
“Ms. Wilson. We’ve been expecting you,” the man said allying my fears that my arrival was going to be unexpected.
He led me inside and pointed towards what appeared to be a sitting room off to the left. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting here for a few minutes, we are just finishing getting your suite ready.”
“A suite. That sounds nice,” I said to myself under my breath. I was still in awe that I was in this place at all. The whirlwind that Abby had gotten caught up in had caught me as well. But I found that I was feeling a bit tired. It had been a long day. In fact, it had been a long twenty-four hours to be exact. I had questioned my decision to come right up until the point where I got on the plane. I had procrastinated as long as I could, telling Abby that I had things to finish up before I could leave, which had been a flimsy excuse. There was no way I was going to miss Abby’s wedding, and the allure of seeing Aidan again had been irresistible.
As if I had conjured him up from my thoughts, Aidan strode into the room from the back of the house. He had removed the jacket of his tux. His tie was gone, and his collar was open exposing the skin of his upper chest. My mouth watered. He looked so calm and confident. Immediately, I was on guard.
He had two champagne flutes in his hands. He handed one of them to me, and I took it without even thinking. “I realize you must be tired after such a long day, but I thought that we could still have a nightcap,” he said. He motioned for me to sit on the couch. I tried to stay as far away from him as possible, but he settled down right next to me thoroughly in my space.
“What is it we’re toasting to?”
“To a new adventure for the summer,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. He took a long sip, and I could tell his eyes were on me as I did the same. I could practically hear my heart beating in my chest, and I wondered if he could hear it too. He was so close to me that I caught a whiff of the smell of his aftershave.
My logical brain was telling me to run, but my body swooned closer to him so that I could get a better whiff. I wanted this, and he wanted it too. There was part of me that wondered if the sex was going to be as good as it had been in Gibraltar. Hell, I wanted to find out.
I set the flute down on the table in front of me. As I turned back to him, I found his mouth was right next to my cheek. I didn’t move. I could barely breathe. It was as if he was waiting for me to do something.
I didn’t move away, though, and it must’ve been the signal he was looking for. His lips drifted softly across the skin of my cheek causing me to start to tremble even as his lips found mine. At their first touch, I felt the sigh rise in the back of my throat. The gesture was so sweet and tender, exactly everything that I would not use to describe our initial encounter. Instead, he seemed to be tentative and hopeful. I knew what he wanted me to do. After all, I was the one who had been keeping him at arm’s length all evening.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and with a groan, he pulled me into him. His lips grew more aggressive, and I answered them. Even as I began to open my lips, his tongue pushed inside and found mine. It was a delightful dance that we had perfected. It was also the feeling of something that was old that was new again, and my body quivered from the need of wanting to be as close to him as possible.
His fingers were at the back of my dress, and I slowly became aware of what he was starting to do as I felt them find the top of the zipper. I put my hand against his chest to stop him, “Aidan, not here. Someone could walk in any minute.”
He chuckled; the sound low and throaty. “They servants have all been told to go home. Your suite was already ready. I just needed to stall you for a few minutes while I got the champagne.”
Surprising me, he took another deep pull off his flute. Maybe we weren’t going to move into the hot and heavy stuff right away after all. But then his lips found mine again, and I gasped in surprise as the champagne slipped from his mouth into mine. The contrast of warmth and coolness was erotic and exhilarating, just like Aidan.
This time when his fingertips found the zipper on the back of my dress, I didn’t bother trying to stop him. He tugged the bodice down exposing my naked flesh underneath. His eyes followed the curve of my body as he leaned me backwards on the sofa. He pulled the fabric so that the dress fell off of my hips and onto the floor. I knew that I should have felt vulnerable under the intensity of his stare, but he and I had danced this tango before, and I was eager to find out what happened next. I lay beneath him proudly flaunting every curve to make sure he knew what he’d been missing. His eyes were hungry even as his fingertips skimmed my collarbone and down the center of the space between my breasts.
“You have no idea how I missed this luscious body,” he said as if he had read my mind. I leaned back and arched my back even as his lips began a slow hot crawl down the side of my neck until he found my nipples. His hot tongue and warm mouth teased them into tight buds that stood aching for more attention. Every butterfly plant of his lips against my skin was exquisite. The nerves of my body were on fire.
I felt the tug of his fingertips as he pulled on the hem of the slip of my panties. They were gone before I could even register what had happened. Then Aidan continued his torturous journey down my body. He took his time causing me to dig my fingertips into the fabric of the couch. Then his hands went up under my ass, and he pulled my body forward so that I teetered on the edge of the couch.
He lifted my hips upwards and hooked my knees over his shoulders. I began to pant even as I felt his lips tease the soft skin of my inner thighs. Before I had a chance to get settled in this new position, his tongue dipped into my folds. I couldn’t hold back the cry that escaped my lips. My hands unlatched from the couch and came up to dig into his hair as I pulled him closer.
Every sensory nerve was on high alert when he found my stiffened, wet clit, and I moved my hips in a slow circle mimicking his tongue’s movements. I could feel the tightening clench in my abdomen, and I knew what was coming. It had taken what seemed like barely a moment, but surely we had been doing a sensual dance all evening. I thought about all of the text messages that he’d sent me that had gotten more graphic as the day went on, and how they had made me practically pant in desire. He was fulfilling everything he had promised to them and more.
As the waves of pleasure crashed over me, I let out a small moan. “Aidan!”
I felt his fingers replace his tongue even as he scooped up my body into his arms.
“Where are we going?” I asked breathlessly. I was still riding small waves of desire as I felt his tongue kiss the side of my neck.
“Your suite,” he said.
Then he kissed me on the lips deeply, and I tasted the saltiness of my desire on his tongue. I moaned again as I realized what would be coming next. I wanted it so badly. I wanted him so badly. Why had I been so resistant to what we had both known was inevitable?
We arrived at a set of white double doors with gold trim, and Aidan somehow managed to push them open. I barely noticed. All of the details of the room outside of its immense size escaped me even as he carried me into the room. One detail did manage to invade my senses. A fire crackled in an ornate fireplace next to a couple of small sitting chairs.
I expected Aidan to take me to the bed, but instead he moved closer to the fire. I could feel the warm of the flames on my flushed skin as it warmed me even more now with Aidan’s touch. He sank into the plush rug in front of the fireplace. He laid me down gently on top of it, and I whimpered as he moved away from me.
“Almost there, darling,” he said. He unbuttoned his shirt slowly, and I sat up to help him marveling at his impressive physique. My memories didn’t do him justice at all. He allowed
me to help him, and he swept the shirt off of his shoulders in one fluid movement. My fingertips marveled at every hard inch of his hard pec and abs. They were like finely chiseled marble.
“I think the lady likes what she sees,” he quipped.
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Indeed, the lady does.”
He began to kiss me again exploring parts of my mouth that he hadn’t yet touched. I felt the weight of his body sink onto mine even as I felt the movements that told me that he was stripping the rest of his clothes away. Now fully naked, I felt his long hard body pressed against mine. Even more delightful, I felt the hard push of his cock against my thigh. Now that was one thing I hadn’t forgotten. Perhaps it was because I blamed Aidan’s cock for ruining my sex life.
Abby couldn’t believe it any more than I could, but after Gibraltar, I hadn’t really been out on a single date, so I hadn’t slept with anyone since Aidan. I told myself it was because I was busy and distracted was studying for my thesis presentation. I didn’t need a guy to take care of whatever needs I had in that department. Now, I wondered if it was because my body had innately known what my brain was slowing beginning to understand; any other man would pale in comparison to being taken by this man.
I decided two could play that game. I rolled Aidan over onto his back. I smiled down at him even as I felt my hair fall out of the bobby pins that he was also carefully taking out of my hair.
“I’m not going to let you stay like that for long,” he said. He pushed his hips against my soft folds to give me an idea of what he was talking about. I knew that Aidan always preferred to be the one in control, but every once in a while, he would let me take the reins. Particularly to do what I planned to do next.
I slowly slithered down his body earning groans of delight that warmed my ears. I kissed and licked his hard, flat abs, promising myself that I would return to them soon. But it was really the tip of his thick cock that I pursued in my quest. Even as I sucked it into my mouth, and heard him groan in response, I felt powerful. This was the Crown Prince of Sorenia being sucked off by a small town girl from rural Texas. How our worlds had collided I had no idea, but I felt beautiful, powerful and in control. With every hiss of pleasure, he raked his fingers through my short, spiky hair urging me on. I knew that we were connected in some kind of crazy way that I would never be able to understand. Those were thoughts for another time. For now, I focused my attention again on making sure that Aidan experienced every ounce of pleasure that I could give him.
It was too soon before he pushed me away, gripping my chin and pulling me up to him. He flipped me over onto my back, and I stared up into those clear blue eyes. They were as deep as the ocean. I thought that I could drown in them, and I almost felt like I did the moment I felt his first thrust inside of me.
“I have missed this,” he whispered. “You are still on the pill, yes?”
I nodded even as I reached up for him, at a loss for words. I felt too overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment, and I could do nothing other than just nod in agreement. I knew exactly what he meant about missing this thing between us, and I knew that unless I did something to curb the situation quickly, I was going to be completely out of control.
I felt the build of desire inside of my core again. All other thoughts were swept away as he commanded me to open my eyes. I felt so vulnerable in front of him now, possibly exposing my emotions to him, but I did as he asked. Our limbs tangled together as I felt the last hard push, and then we both let out loud cries of delight in a joined climax.
Somehow, a short time later, we found ourselves in my bed. I could feel my eyelids beginning to droop, and I luxuriated in the feel of Aidan’s tight body curled up behind me. But then I remembered the emotions of earlier. I needed to protect myself. This could be a pleasant distraction for the summer, but that’s all it could be.
I pushed away from him and slowly sat up covering myself. I could see his sleepy eyes blinking at me. “What is it?”
“If I’m going to stay here for the summer, I have one rule. That is that you can’t sleep in my bed.”
He propped his head up on his fist. He looked slightly amused. “I can’t sleep in your bed?”
I shook my head. “That’s something that couples do. We’re not a couple, and we’re not going to be a couple. This is nothing more than a summer fling.”
His expression darkened. “A summer fling.”
“Imogen. That was her name, right? You have this grand future, and you’re going to be king someday and marry a woman named Imogen next spring. I think it’s just better for both of us if we make sure the boundaries around what this is are very clear,” I said.
Aidan sat up in the bed. “Of course. That makes sense.”
Why did I care that he seemed so accepting of this?
He got out of bed and moved over to pick his clothes up off the floor. “I guess I can understand the reason for the rule even though I don’t like it.”
“Thank you.” It seemed as if there was nothing left for us to say after that.
Aidan moved to the door and opened it. He looked over his shoulder at me before stepping outside. “Sleep tight, Eva.” Then he closed the door behind him.
It turned out that the joke was on me. I barely slept a wink for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER FOUR
I found myself at Kian’s house the next morning. Actually, it was more like Kian’s mini-palace. The royal family held property all around the capital city, and Kian liked having space away from the palace as much as I did. But it was more like a palace than a house, and it was surrounded by a tall brick wall with spikes on the top. Despite the security around it, it still had a homey feel to it. While I knew that technically the estate should have been mine, I was content with my villa. Besides, this property in town was better suited for a family, and I wasn’t going to be having one of those anytime soon.
Kian entered the dining room where I had been patiently waiting and sat down at the long breakfast table across from me. He had an expression on his face that told me he had definitely enjoyed the rest of his wedding night.
“So Abby is helping Eva get ready at the villa,” he said to me as if this was something I didn’t already know.
“Indeed,” I said even as I scanned the newspaper that had been sitting next to my plate. I knew that Kian was intensely curious about this new living arrangement, and it appeared to be the validation of his personal theories. He had been giving me a hard time about Eva ever since we left Gibraltar. He said that I had gone soft and was off my game ever since meeting her. Although the tabloids had continued to run their fair share of media coverage snapping pictures of me with various socialites at the requisite charity functions since then, I had actually toned down my activities quite a bit after returning from that particular vacation. Even Kian didn’t know how much, though, and there was no way I was going to admit it out loud to anyone.
“So that was an interesting turn of events, you inviting Eva to stay at your villa,” Kian pressed.
“Eva would have left Sorenia otherwise. She told me that she didn’t want to intrude on you and Abby’s honeymoon. I thought that Abby would appreciate still having her friend close by as she adjusts to life here in Sorenia. Life as a royal isn’t for the faint of heart, after all,” I said calmly. Very matter-of-factly even.
“I’m sure that the invitation had nothing to do with your own personal interest in her,” Kian said.
“My own personal interest?” I said as if I had no idea what he was talking about. I wasn’t going to give my younger brother a thing.
“Why are we playing this game? You like her. You’ve liked her since Gibraltar. In fact, if I didn’t know you as well as I did, I’d even say that you really liked her, which would be an unprecedented turn of events in your life.”
“Eva and I had a wonderful time in Gibraltar. Perhaps we will continue to have a wonderful time this summer,” I said. There was no reason to admit to my brother that we had already s
lept together. “But that’s it. It’s a summer fling, if you must put a label on it. I have responsibilities, as we all know, and a new fiancé that will be visiting this fall. Everything is lining up in my life, and soon you won’t be the only old married man in the family.”
“I know all of that,” Kian said. One of the servants set a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, and fruit in front of us. Kian began to eat with gusto. The previous evening’s activities must have taken a lot out of him. “But I also know that you haven’t met Imogen yet, and who knows if you’ll even like her. But we both know that you do like Eva. And you’re kidding yourself if you think that this is going to be just a summer fling.”
Was there something that Kian saw that I didn’t? “What are you talking about? We had a fun time in Gibraltar, and Eva understands the score. Everything is above board here, Kian. I’m not taking advantage of her, and if she wants to be here, I’m not turning her away.”
“I’ve seen you with more than your fair share of flings over the years. I know what that looks like in your world,” Kian said. “There was nothing about that trip and you and Eva that was a fling even back then. It’s deeper than anything physical. You have similar interests; you think the same way about a lot of things even though you argue about an equal amount too. I’ve never seen you look at another woman the way that you looked at her that week. And that look was gone until I saw you dancing with her last night. Whatever that is, it’s still there, and it’s not a fling.”
I snorted and set the newspaper down. “I don’t know what it is you think you’re seeing, but there’s nothing else between me and Eva.” I was shocked that I had been so transparent, and that made me wonder if my parents had read the situation the same way. I thought that I had managed to hide my interest in Eva by covering it as nothing more than a casual thing. But apparently, I hadn’t been as good at my deception as I thought.