Claiming My Duchess

by Jessica Blake

  “Hello,” she said, giving me a little wave before her eyes darted to my pants.

  “Father…” she began, this time pointing at the blood, and I felt the color drain from my face. The little shit was going to out me, and I was going to cause some sort of international incident by bleeding on a sovereign ruler of an ally country.

  But little Penelope only frowned when it was clear that her father’s attention was focused elsewhere, and I wondered if I was about to witness my first royal tantrum.

  “Come over, Sebastianos,” the king was saying to someone I couldn’t see. “Say hello to Thierry and meet the newest member of his staff. There’s a newcomer from America this year.”

  The king appeared to be almost giddy. Was he a fan of hot dogs and baseball? An Americana buff of some sort?

  I was trying to inch back behind Marta, but I felt a hand shoot out at my back, locking me in place. From my peripheral vision, I could see it was Thierry himself making me stand still.

  “Miss Iliana Costas, this is my nephew,” the king was saying as I was still looking over my shoulder at Thierry, who was imploring me with incredibly expressive eyebrows and eye movement to look back toward the king. “Prince Sebastianos Xenakis, Duke of Becktonas.”

  Taking a deep breath, I faced the king again, repeating over and over in my head what I knew. Dukes weren’t highnesses. They were your graces. But wait, didn’t he also call him a prince? Which prince? Was there a prince?

  Ack. I was so confused.

  Fixing a smile in place, I faced the man beside the king, keeping my eyes on the marble floor. I dipped, managed to rise, then lifted my eyes to the tall man’s face as I said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your… oh my god.”

  It was him.

  Seb.

  The man who’d rocked my world. The man who’d claimed my thoughts.

  My divergence from protocol earned me a few murmurs and a fair number of sharp intakes of breath. I tried to recover but ended up making it all worse.

  “Grace!” I practically yelled. “Your Grace. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

  I closed my eyes and locked my knees, hoping that would keep me from sinking to the floor.

  By some miracle, did the stranger I’d gotten naked with the first night I met him have some doppelganger out in the world? A twin who hadn’t put my legs over his shoulders so he could drive into me harder? A mirror image who hadn’t plowed into me from behind in a fantastic sex move that had me nearly howling like the sex position name proclaimed?

  I swallowed hard at the memories as I struggled to pull myself together.

  “Ana… I mean, Iliana.” Seb cleared his throat, clearly as stunned by this surprise meeting as me. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  The entire room was silent, everyone taking in the conversation like it was primetime television and not real life.

  I managed a weak smile. “Imagine that, Your Grace,” I said in a voice that was barely louder than a breath. “It’s a small world after all.”

  I wanted to jump off a cliff. I wanted to swallow a fork. I wanted to be anywhere but right there, right then inadvertently quoting the most annoying song known to man from the Disney theme parks.

  “Is that…” Seb frowned and stepped toward me, pulling my hand between us. “You’re bleeding.” His eyes flew back to my face, concern in his expression. “Miss Costas, are you hurt?”

  I was surprised at the intensity of his questioning and more so by the fact that he hadn’t let go of my hand. Blood and all, he hadn’t released me.

  “I was trying to tell Father that this whole time,” Penelope said from behind Sebastianos. “But he wouldn’t listen to me.”

  Seb looked to the king and motioned toward the door. “I’ll take her to the medical office if that’s okay with you, sir.”

  The king looked at my injuries and nodded. “Yes, by all means, Sebastianos. Get her looked at.”

  Prince Sebastianos Xenakis, Duke of Becktonas, and owner of the greatest butt known to mankind dragged me out of the throne room before I could get a word in edgewise.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Sebastianos

  How was this possible?

  I could scarcely believe the intern in front of me was the very same girl I’d been thinking constantly about for weeks. It was like the heavens opened their gates and floated her down to me. And if it was even possible, she was even more beautiful now. Her big eyes practically glowed while the rays of light shining in through the stained-glass windows above us reflected off her glossy hair.

  She was a vision.

  And she was injured. Maybe on the verge of passing out.

  To save her further embarrassment, the moment my uncle excused us, I took her injured hand by the wrist and hauled her toward the door, her heels clacking on the marble as I fled with her.

  The moment we cleared the doors, I glanced back at her, making sure she hadn’t disappeared like she had that morning. When her eyes met mine, she pulled against me, digging in her heels to slow our forward movement.

  “What’s happening?”

  I just shook my head. I couldn’t explain it either. What were the chances of us ending up in the same place?

  Lifting her hand to her forehead, she swayed a little, and I didn’t hesitate to scoop her up in my arms. “I don’t know, but we’ll discuss it after we get you cleaned up.”

  She struggled against me. “Don’t. I can walk. I’ll get blood on you.”

  I gripped her tighter and strode to the infirmary. “We’ve shared every other possible bodily fluid, blood is nothing.”

  That shut her up and turned her face that pretty pink I so adored.

  With every step I took, my army instincts kicked in. Why was she in Cassia? Was this a setup? Had she been sent to seduce and distract me?

  “What’s wrong? Please put me down if I’m too heavy.”

  I realized I was frowning and relaxed my face, forcing a chuckle I didn’t feel. “You weigh less than my dog, Iliana.”

  It was her turn to frown. “Are you calling me a dog?”

  A memory flashed of her on her hands and knees, doggy style. I could remember vividly watching my cock slide in and out of her body while my thumb slid into her anus, causing her to jerk in surprise before pushing back for more.

  My cock filled with blood. Damn.

  Slowing, I turned down a hallway, needing a moment before taking her to the nurse. We needed a moment to talk. I needed a moment to recover. I needed…

  Dammit. I needed her.

  But not yet. Maybe not ever again, but I needed to be careful right now.

  Stepping into a shallow alcove, I put her on her feet but kept my hands on her slight shoulders. The heels she wore made her at least four inches taller, but she was still more than a foot shorter than me.

  She tilted her head up, and it took all my willpower not to take her lips with mine. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

  “What brings you to Cassia, Ana?” I searched her face. “Or do you prefer Iliana?”

  She licked her lips. “Iliana normally, and I’m here for school. You?” She laughed, shaking her head, pressing a bloody hand to her forehead, leaving a streak of red. “Sorry. You’re here because you live here, right? Duke or Prince Sebast—”

  “I’m both, but I prefer the title of duke.”

  She made a soft snorting sound. “Why? Is prince too Disney for you?”

  I laughed softly, glad to see her rallying. Her face was at least no longer a deathly pale, and two circles of pink were spreading across her cheeks. I wondered if she was remembering our night together as well.

  “Tell me more about how you came to be here in Cassia.”

  But I already knew.

  Not that I’d known that Iliana Costas was my Ana, but I’d reviewed the interns file just that morning.

  The information was still fresh in my mind.

  Iliana had a Cassian father of minor nobility and an American mother. She was a photography gr
aduate student whose visa was filled with trips around the world. Even as I’d read the dossier, I remembered reading about a trip the intern had made to Peru… which made me think of llamas… made me think of my Ana.

  But intern Iliana, I learned in the few moments I had to review the information, would be graduating at the end of the fall semester on an exchange program she’d applied to months ago. I knew where she was staying. Hell, I even knew her blood type. A-positive.

  But before I could dig deeper and move to the section with her photograph, there had been a security alarm. It turned out to be a maid stealing an expensive watch, but it had been enough to take me away from learning more about Iliana Costas.

  Of course, I knew much more about Iliana Costas than I could have ever realized at the time. I knew her scent. Her taste. The little noises she made when she was about to come. The noises she made when an orgasm left her a trembling mess. Damn… she was so fucking responsive.

  And here she was, and it was nearly impossible for me to keep my hands to myself.

  “How have you been these past weeks?” I asked when she told me most everything I already knew.

  “Good, thank you, your…” Those huge green eyes looked up at me. “I’m not sure how to address you. I’m sorry.”

  Unable to stop myself, I ran my thumb over the streak of blood on her forehead, which reminded me that she was bleeding, so I jerked a handkerchief from my pocket and began to bind her hand. Something I should have done much sooner.

  “Relax, Iliana,” I said, keeping her small hand in mine. “I promise not to throw you in my dungeon and lock you away if you get it wrong.”

  Her pale eyes grew larger. “You have a dungeon?”

  I laughed. “Actually, yes. This is a very old castle, and there are many secrets it houses that aren’t very pleasant.”

  She shifted from one foot to the other, making me look down at her feet. Fuck. Her wounds.

  “Let’s get you cared for and then we can talk some more.”

  She nodded, looking relieved. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

  I wanted to scoop her into my arms again, carry her the rest of the way, but I knew the gesture wouldn’t be welcome. I took her unwounded hand instead. “Let’s go.”

  When we reached the small clinic, the nurse on duty rushed around the reception area and motioned us into a small exam room. She dipped into a quick curtesy before turning her attention to Iliana. “Τι συνέβη?” she asked, but Iliana just frowned and looked over at me before seating herself atop the exam table.

  “What happened?” I repeated, and the nurse nodded her understanding that she would need to speak English from then on.

  “I was trying to pick up some broken glass from the floor.” Her cheeks pinkened again. “What can I say, I’m a klutz.”

  “What is this klutz?” the nurse asked, clearly confused.

  “Clumsy,” I explained before turning back to Iliana. “Why didn’t you have housekeeping assist you?”

  She looked at me like I was crazy, then hissed as the nurse unwrapped her hand. “It was my mess. My cleanup. I’m a peasant, remember?”

  The nurse laughed and covered it quickly with a cough. “This appears to be deep. Let me inspect the other injury.”

  Iliana frowned at her hand. “Thank you, nurse, um… I’m sorry I don’t know your name.”

  “Adelpha,” the nurse supplied.

  Iliana snorted. “One of the few names that doesn’t end in a “os” or “is” or “as” sound.”

  My lips twitched. God, even bloody, she was adorable.

  Adelpha rolled up the leg of the capri pants to inspect her knee. “No stitches here. I think some butterfly bandages will do the trick. Give me a moment, and I’ll get you cleaned up.”

  She worked quickly and had the knee taken care of inside two minutes.

  The hand, we discovered, was trickier. Iliana might need stitches, Adelpha thought. At the very least, she needed to have the doctor take a look, and that would take a bit as the doctor was out on a call.

  “He’ll be back within an hour, though,” the nurse said after bringing Iliana a drink and helping her get comfortable on the table.

  Iliana was quiet when the nurse left and stared at her hand.

  “You’ll be okay,” I said, hoping to relax her a little.

  She inspected her knee. “I know.” When I settled into a chair, she shot me a look. “You don’t have to stay, Your Grace.”

  “Don’t call me that.” The words came out more harshly than I’d intended, and I swore she paled a little.

  “But—”

  “I’ve seen you naked.” Her eyes grew big as she glanced at the door. I stood up and shut it, which I should have already done. “You don’t have to call me anything but Seb when we’re alone together.”

  She didn’t exactly deny me, but she didn’t acquiesce either.

  “You still seem scared,” I pressed. “What’s wrong?”

  Her pretty green eyes flashed to mine, and I saw a flicker of annoyance. Good. Anger was always better than fear, in my opinion.

  “This is insane,” she whispered, gesturing to me and back to her. “We weren’t supposed to see each other again, and you really weren’t supposed to be a member of the royal family for crying out loud.”

  I laughed. “Funny, right?”

  She glared at me. “Not at all.”

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Come on, just a little? A smidge funny?”

  Iliana narrowed her eyes and was quiet for a second. “Fine,” she said quickly. “Just a tiny dust mote speck-sized funny.”

  Then it happened. She smiled.

  It wasn’t big, but it was there, and it reminded me of how she looked when she’d just lost the first round of the drinking game we played at the Green Dragon.

  I found myself enjoying her smile.

  “It’s not just ha-ha funny,” she said. “It’s really weird funny too, that the two of us ended up here. What do you think the chances are on that?”

  “I have no idea. I don’t think the statistical probabilities go that high.”

  In front of my eyes, she relaxed. “I know, right? And you’re royalty, for heaven’s sake. How in the world did you end up at the Jolly Green Dragon in the first place?”

  You. I went there to meet you.

  What the hell?

  I shook my head and focused on what she’d said. “Jolly Green Dragon?”

  She was laughing by the time she explained the name, leaning forward too. We were just inches apart, the pull between us strong again.

  I needed to taste her again. I needed to see if she was as sweet as before.

  As if she sensed my train of thought, her gaze fell to my lips.

  I stood and pushed my hands through her hair. “Η Άνα Μου.”

  I hadn’t meant to say, “My Ana,” and was glad that she couldn’t understand what had slipped from between my lips.

  “Seb.”

  The word was so soft I barely heard the sound. My lips were so close to hers now. So very close.

  And the doorknob rattled.

  I sprang back just as the door opened and Dr. Galanis walked in.

  She gave us both curious looks but said nothing as she introduced herself to Iliana and began to inspect the wound.

  She poked and prodded at the skin on Iliana’s hand enough to make Iliana wince, but just when I was sure we’d get bad news and need stitches, she took a step back and got a medical kit from the top shelf of the cabinets.

  “I think medical glue should be just fine,” she said as the nurse wiped a disinfectant across Iliana’s hand, causing her to wince. I felt myself wanting to comfort her but stayed where I was.

  In a few minutes, it was all done, and Iliana was handed a bottle of spray to use when she changed her bandages each day.

  “Don’t get it wet for at least twelve hours,” the nurse said as we made our way out. “Come back if you think it may be gettin
g infected or isn’t healing well. You should be back to normal in a couple weeks.”

  Iliana thanked them and turned to leave, but I gripped her elbow before she could scurry away and steered her toward my office.

  “I need to get back,” she said under her breath as we passed a group of people who didn’t miss the fact that I was leading this woman in a rather intimate embrace, especially for me, through the halls.

  “You’re off for the rest of the day,” I said. “I messaged Thierry, and he said they’ve already wrapped up. I had your things sent to my office, and I’ll get you a car home.”

  As I promised, when I opened the door to my office, her belongings were neatly placed on my desk.

  “Now,” I said, as she gathered her things, “let me get you a car to take you home.”

  She shook her head, finding her voice. “No, thank you. I need to learn the bus system better. I can find my way.”

  I didn’t have a logical argument to that, but I also wasn’t ready to say goodbye for reasons I wasn’t prepared to investigate.

  “Fine,” I said, blowing out a frustrated breath. “But I’m walking you to the bus station outside the gates at least.”

  She sighed and headed toward the door, leaving me to join her or not. In one long stride, I reached around her to open the door. “Does Thierry have you working every day around here?”

  “Three or four days a week at most,” she said as we headed down the hall. “Some weekend events, from what I gather.”

  “Are you enjoying Cassia so far?”

  Her dimples appeared for the first time since we’d entered my office. “From what I’ve seen, it’s beautiful. I’m excited to learn more. There’s so much history to explore.”

  “Our coastal villages are breathtaking.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t reach for her. “I’m sure Thierry will have the team going out there at least once for some photos for the Ministry of Tourism.”

  “I’d like that,” she said. “I’m not very well-versed in portraits. I’m kinda bummed I missed it today. I was hoping I’d pick up some pointers from Mr. Masters.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to learn under his tutelage.”

  Sooner than I’d hoped, we arrived at the bus stop just outside the pedestrian gate. At my appearance, people stopped on the sidewalks, pointing in our direction. Unsure of what was happening, Iliana took a step back and looked down at the ground.