Reluctantly Royal

by Gillian Archer

  “The team as well as management has been briefed? No one is to come—”

  “Within five meters of you tonight. Oui, monsieur.”

  “Bon ben. I’ll see you later.”

  “Or not, monsieur.”

  “Touché, Nicolas.” I headed for the front doors while Nicolas hung back at the SUV.

  I smiled as I walked under the Erotic Heritage Museum’s huge neon sign. Hannah definitely knew how to break the ice. My smile turned into a grin when I cleared the doors and saw Hannah in all her date-night glory. Wearing a figure-skimming dark green dress with some brown swirls in the pattern here and there, her outfit mirrored her gorgeous eyes that I’d been so captivated by last night. But now I couldn’t take my eyes off the curve of her breasts and the way her nipples hardened in the air-conditioned space. It might’ve been October, but that didn’t mean squat in Las Vegas. Not that I was complaining. The change of temperatures did wonderful things to Hannah’s lovely breasts. I couldn’t wait to see them for myself. Weigh them in my hands. Rub my thumb against their tips. Taste her tight, throbbing nipples.

  While I’d been busy checking her out, Hannah had been buried in her phone’s screen, biting her lip as she typed something. She smiled. Then, a beat later, my mobile inside my pocket dinged. Her head jerked up at the sound and the look on her face had my heart pounding in my chest. Joy mixed with naughty anticipation.

  I grinned back at her and closed the distance between us. “Bonjour, mon chou.”

  “Hi,” she whispered huskily as I drew her into my arms and kissed both of her cheeks.

  “I hope I haven’t been keeping you long?” I drew back but kept one arm at her back.

  “I, uh. No. No, I haven’t been waiting long.” Her cheeks grew redder the longer I stood there and didn’t say anything.

  It was a dick move on my part, but she was just so goddamn cute.

  I waited a beat and enjoyed the way she bit her lip and avoided my gaze. It was enchanting. Exciting. Made me want to pound on my chest like a caveman. Especially considering she had no idea who I really was.

  Or did she?

  I couldn’t deny the suspicion that ran through my head. Particularly given my own deception. Was she the one playing an elaborate game? Were her coquettish mannerisms just a con? Did she know my actual identity?

  Hannah smiled up at me and tilted her head. “Are you ready to start our tour?”

  I relaxed somewhat at her innocent expression. “When you mentioned showing me the sights, this wasn’t exactly what I imagined.”

  “Really? It should be on all the Vegas top-ten lists.”

  I gently guided us toward the tacky enclosed ticket booth. “Do you bring all your first dates to the Erotic Museum?”

  “Err, not exactly.” Her breathing hitched when I drew her toward me to avoid a collision with a group of men dressed in leather pants and button-up shirts. “And besides, this is our second date.”

  I had to laugh at that qualification. “Do you usually bring your second dates here?”

  “No, not usually. But it is a good indicator if we’ll be a match or not.”

  “So you said last night. Something about grading me?”

  “Hey, so far so good. You’ve made it to night two, right?” Hannah hitched her shoulder in a shrug. “Judging you on first impressions got you onto the dance floor with me. Your performance on the dance floor and your kiss got you a second date.”

  I nodded silently as I conceded her point.

  “And what happens tonight will determine…other things.”

  We stopped at the end of the line for tickets. Or I did. Hannah jostled into my side when I suddenly stopped.

  “Oh, sorry.” She rubbed my shoulder where her head bumped into me.

  “I don’t bruise easily. What do you mean by ‘other things’?” I stared into her eyes as I asked the question but in my mind I was picturing her perfect breasts again. And hoping I’d see them before the end of the night.

  Hannah tilted her head as she faced me. “You know, the usual progression of dating.”

  Actually, I didn’t. I’d never had a traditional girlfriend. There were the girls who I hooked up with on a casual basis while I was in the military, and the debutantes and the society women I’d stood too close to when pictures were being taken, but I’d never actually done the courting thing before. “Ah, right. Dating.”

  “Wait, is that not how things are done in Monaco?”

  “I can’t exactly speak for the Monaco dating scene. I’ve been mostly abroad since school—in England, then in France with the military.”

  “But you’ve been back in Monaco for how long?”

  “Almost a year.”

  “And you haven’t dated anyone in a year?” She asked the question with a high-pitched quality, like she’d just discovered an alien.

  I shrugged uncomfortably. Technically, I hadn’t dated anyone, ever. I’d been the king of hookups. But I thought that reply would sound strange. Especially given the way she said a year. I wasn’t going to confess to never dating. “My, uh, brother and father died in an accident a year ago, so dating hasn’t exactly been high on my radar lately.”

  “Oh, my god.” Hannah covered her mouth with her hands. “I am so sorry. I wouldn’t have teased you if I knew. I can’t believe— This is actually my specialty. Open mouth, insert foot. If it were an Olympic event, I would medal. Every year. I just—”

  “Hannah,” I interjected, stopping her self-flagellation. “It’s okay, mon chou. You didn’t know.” She was pretty cute when she went off on a rant like that. Her eyes sparkled with fire, and I unconsciously took a step closer to feel the flames.

  She nodded slowly before looking at me with a pained expression. “I know a little something about dealing with life and death. Things like that…” She trailed off for a second, lost in her own thoughts, before she could continue. “Things like that change you. They change your whole outlook on life. So I get it. I get it, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  Sincerity rolled off her in waves. She clearly knew what she was talking about. “Merci. What you said means more to me than I can say.” And it did. I’d had more than my fill of the sycophants who were so eager to shove their fake sympathetic shoulder in my face. Or even worse, the ones who wanted details. But Hannah was different. I could feel it. She’d been through something so difficult it hurt her to even think about it. “And I’m so sorry for the loss you had to experience.”

  Hannah flinched, then looked away with an excruciating expression. But before I could ask her about it—

  “Next!” The strident voice pierced our bubble, and we both jumped at the intrusion. “Next, please!”

  “Oh!” Hannah looked left and right, like she just discovered we were standing in the ticket line. “We can go right in. I already bought tickets.”

  It took a second for what she said to sink in. She bought? She paid for my ticket? I don’t think that had ever happened. After all, when with a prince, what woman would pay? None I’d ever been with.

  Until now.

  I was such a paranoid bastard. She couldn’t be hiding anything from me. There was no way Hannah knew who I was.

  This time it was my turn to stutter. “Wha—uh, I can’t remember anyone ever doing that before.”

  Hannah gave me a strange look.

  “I mean, merci. Thank you.”

  She grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the official entrance. “Don’t think this is a free ride. I fully expect you to put out later.”

  I laughed and my awkwardness faded away. “Duly noted.”

  After handing our tickets to the attendant at the podium, Hannah laced her fingers with mine and pulled me into the Erotic Museum. “Where do you want to start?”

  “I think in this instance, I should bow to your, er, expertise.”

  Hannah laughed slightly and rolled her eyes. “You’d be surprised how amateur I am when it comes to some things. Let’s start with the dildos. Oh, w
ait! They have a new exhibition of Catherine the Great’s sex furniture. I haven’t seen it. Let’s start there.”

  I had to laugh at that. “Sounds like a plan.”

  We had to walk past a few displays of dildos, lingerie, and paddles that Hannah laughingly told me we’d come back to later. Given the interactive nature of some of the displays, I didn’t mind the thought of revisiting them.

  Hannah stopped in front of a large platform stage that had a red velvet rope to stop anyone from entering. But all that faded away in the face of so many penises. Peni? Whichever. They were everywhere. On the legs of chairs. In the middle of a dresser. In the headboard of a way-too-small bed. Cock and balls carved into wood, over and over again. Women’s heads licking penises. Sprawled torsos with dicks thrusting between the legs. Sex. Everywhere.

  Hannah’s hand went rigid in my grasp. “Oh, wow.”

  “Yeah. Wow.” I squeezed her hand. “Not exactly what I was picturing when you said ‘sex furniture.’ ”

  Hannah broke out into laughter. “Me, neither. I was thinking…I don’t know. Benches angled for her pleasure?”

  “Like that one?” I asked pointing toward a different stage with some weird tiered ottoman bench.

  “Oooh, interesting. Let’s check that out next.”

  I had to laugh at her eagerness. I’d thought maybe she was a little freaked out, given her initial reaction to the furniture, but then again she probably wouldn’t have brought us to the Erotic Museum if she was the shy type.

  “Do you think her lovers ever had confidence issues, surrounded by so many hugely erect penises?” Hannah asked, her eyes wide with what I could only describe as wonder as she tilted her head, staring at a table leg that was one large penis and ended with a nut sack under the table top.

  “Is this where I do my Crocodile Dundee impression?”

  Hannah’s brow wrinkled with her frown. “Huh?”

  “That’s not a knife,” I drawled in a poor attempt at an Aussie accent.

  Hannah laughed as she pulled me to the next exhibit.

  Our lighthearted mood continued as we toured the rest of the furniture section and the Fifty Shades of Grey BDSM display. I hadn’t been around anyone who was so in the moment, and just free. It was intoxicating. Exhilarating. For an entire hour I forgot I was Prince Lucien of Monaco. I was just a guy in a kinky museum with a gorgeous girl.

  And then I caught sight of the disapproving scowl on Nicolas’s face. I’d forgotten he was in every room with us, probably listening to our conversation. Judging Hannah. Annoyed at the little obstacle course I’d set up for his security group tonight. And I remembered just who I was. What was expected of me. How much of a fit my brother would cause when he found out what we did today.

  Camera flashes went off left and right as we entered the main hall. The cast of some show was signing posters and books near the gift shop.

  Knowing one errant picture could be the difference between my continuing to have a good time here and being chased through the parking lot by dozens of paparazzi, I grabbed Hannah’s hand and tugged her toward an enclosed picture booth. “We haven’t been in here yet.”

  “That’s because—eep!” Hannah gasped as a movie screen lit up immediately after I tugged the curtains closed.

  “Ooooooh. Yeah. Right there. Harder. Fuck me. Harder!”

  The change from light to dark to bright screen was so quick it took me a second to figure out exactly what was going on. Really, once the words pierced my brain, I knew, but I hadn’t been expecting such vibrant detail. A thin bottle blonde from the eighties—judging by her teased-out hair—was being pounded by a hugely muscular man. Every detail of their fucking was right there on the screen less than a meter away from us.

  The booth was so small I had to hug Hannah with her back to my front in order for both of us to fit. I could hear the soft gasp she made as the guy in the film started to talk dirty.

  “Your pussy is so tight, baby.” The guy groaned. “Oh, fuck. You’re gonna make me come. Oh, fuck, baby.”

  Hannah’s breathing became ragged, and despite the slapping of flesh filling the booth, the faint little noises Hannah made became my sole focus.

  I pulled her tighter to me so she could feel my straining dick against the soft curve of her ass. “Sorry. But it’s kinda tight quarters in here.”

  “Th-that’s okay. I think this booth is only made for a one-person audience, for obvious reasons.”

  The screen flickered as the scene changed to a clip with a teacher and a naughty student. This time the sound of slapping flesh was for an entirely different reason.

  Hannah muffled a little groan and shifted in front of me.

  As illuminating as this little session was, unfortunately we were in the worst location possible. Despite the desperate urging of my rock-hard dick, I couldn’t do shit to Hannah when the entire world was being held back by one tiny, thin curtain. There was no way I was starting anything with her when we could be caught at any moment. No matter how erotic that sounded.

  Or the sexy little sighs Hannah was making.

  I groaned and rested my head on the top of her head. “Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed tonight?”

  “Who said tonight is over?” Hannah’s head fell back onto my shoulder.

  “Dear God, please tell me the next location is a little more…private? Because this is killing me, mon chou.”

  “Really? So you don’t enjoy watching porn in public where you can’t do anything about it? Because someone in here with us would disagree.” She teasingly rubbed her ass against my hard dick.

  “He has a mind of his own. And right now he’s not the one in control.”

  Hannah laughed softly as she turned in my arms. “No, that would be me.”

  Chapter 6

  She stared up at me with her sparkling hazel eyes, and I just couldn’t resist. I kissed her hard, devouring her like the world wasn’t just a curtain away. Her groan was muffled by my mouth as she swayed into me, resting her arms on my shoulders. I took the kiss deeper, and her fingers threaded through my hair. In moments we were both panting as fake orgasmic moans from the film vibrated around us.

  “Please tell me that the next place we’re going is less public?” I groaned. “I’ve got to get you alone, mon chou.”

  Hannah bit her bottom lip as she slowly shook her head. “Nope. Sorry.”

  “Merde, you are gonna be the death of me.”

  A shadow of pain and something else I couldn’t name passed over Hannah’s face. I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong, but her expression smoothed before I could. And I was left to wonder if I’d actually seen it after all.

  Hannah took a small step back, still holding my hand. “Do you need a minute, or can you leave without causing a scene?”

  Maybe it was the language translation, or the lack of blood supply to my brain, but it took me a second to understand what she meant. I laughed softly when I pieced it together. “Non, ma chére. If you’ll just turn around a second, I can adjust a few things, and I’ll be presentable.”

  Hannah gave me a bemused smirk as she slowly surveyed my body, her eyes lingering below my belt before she turned around and faced the porno still playing in the booth.

  I rolled my eyes as I tried to stuff my aching dick into a more comfortable—and publicly appropriate—position. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so worked up over a woman. I felt like I was fourteen, back at Eton and secretly lusting over one of the village girls, aching and hoping that she felt the same way. At least I didn’t have to wonder about Hannah. I knew she felt the same way. Hell, a few minutes ago I was inches from feeling just how much Hannah reciprocated my feelings. Damn this tiny, curtained booth.

  I took a few deep breaths to calm my raging blood, then shook my leg to make sure my cock wasn’t rising up to wave bonjour. Finally, once I felt somewhat calm, I tapped Hannah on the shoulder. “Where to next, mon chou?”

  Hannah gave me a mischievous smile. “Wouldn
’t you like to know?”

  “Don’t I need to know so we can get there?” I ushered us out of the booth and goggled at the line that had formed. People were waiting to cram into the tiny porno booth. We got a few snickers and knowing looks from the people standing in line. I tossed some narrow-eyed glares here and there. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me, but I didn’t want them thinking like that about Hannah.

  “Why would you need to know? I’m driving.” Hannah didn’t seem to notice the leering looks we were getting, or maybe she didn’t care. Her entire attention was centered on me and our path to the exit.

  “Quoi?”

  “Why would you need to know where we’re going next? I thought tonight was about me showing you the sights. So I’m driving. You can be in charge on our next date.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” I pushed open the exit doors, and it felt just as temperate outside as it had in the air-conditioned museum. “I will concede that you are in control of our evening tonight. I just thought it would be best if we take my car. That way we don’t have to worry about navigating through traffic while we get to know each other.” It was weak, but I had to come up with some reason for my shadow detail. I was enjoying being a regular guy way too much to give up the illusion just yet. And there was no way Étienne would let me get inside Hannah’s car alone.

  “Is that the polite European way to say you want to neck in the back of your car?”

  “Perhaps. We can drop you back here at the end of the night.” I clasped my hands over my heart in an exaggerated gesture. “You have my solemn vow that you are in control of anything that happens between us.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Laying it on a little thick there, aren’t you, Luc?”

  I nodded slightly, conceding her point, but didn’t back off. I needed her to acquiesce; otherwise, tonight would be difficult to navigate with my not-so-hidden security detail.

  “Fine,” she huffed. “But if my car gets towed you are totally paying the bill.”

  I smiled in triumph and tried not to act like a smug fool as I pulled my phone out to text Étienne. “I thought Las Vegas was the land of free parking.”