“Yes! Right there!” she moaned, feeling his full lips against her hard, swollen clit. Luca took it in his mouth, savoring her moisture, the sensation of her tender flesh in his palms sending him one step closer to heaven. Grace’s thigh muscles flexed as he flicked his tongue across her, sending waves of pure, hot pleasure up and down her body. With her lustful moans ringing in his ears, Luca licked her clit in circular motion, squeezing her ass at the same time. He stuck his tongue out and ran it down her pussy, tasting her as her loud, lustful groans filled the room.
“Oh, my God!” she moaned as he pushed the tip of his tongue into her. Determined to give her a powerful climax, Luca pushed it all the way in, her body beginning to quiver. Grace pressed against his face, reaching her hand down. She pulled his hair, her hips moving quicker, grinding into his mouth. Her loud, powerful orgasm ripped through her. Luca loved the taste of her in his mouth.
Slowly, he pulled his tongue out of her and laid a tender kiss on her entrance as her climax subsided. He took his hands off of her and reached up. Grace set her leg back down on the floor, and he grabbed her by the wrists. Luca stayed on his knees, leaned back and opened his eyes, overflowing with a sense of pride while he looked up at her.
“You made me come so hard…” she said with a voice filled with unbridled lust. Grace circled her arms around his neck as they touched the floor. He let go of her wrists and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. Tilting her head down, she pressed her lips against his mouth. Luca pulled her body upwards, savoring one more of her long, fervent kisses. A more pleasurable moan escaped her, and she sensed his large, throbbing cock rubbing against her clit. Lifting her legs off the floor, she entwined them around his hips and lowered herself onto his manhood.
“God, it’s so big…” she moaned in his mouth, her pussy engulfing his cock. A deep, guttural grunt left his lips as his massive shaft pushed into her depths. A crackling streak of lightning blazed and flashed in the distance Without wasting any time, Grace began to bounce up and down on his cock, moaning louder and louder. His right hand traveled down her body, and he pulled her right breast into his mouth. Licking the area around her hard nipple, he filled his hand with the delectable flesh of her ass.
“That’s it, baby,” Luca grunted, squeezing her ass. “Take it deep.”
His words forced an even louder moan out of her. As much as he enjoyed it though, he could not allow her to control the action anymore. He ran his left hand up her back and held her close. Leaning forward, she slowed down, and he nipped his way up her neck. Slapping her ass to the point of pleasure, he started pounding into her, their lips locked in a long, fiery kiss. Her muffled moans in his mouth added to his immense arousal. Taken over by lust, Luca felt his cock pulsing in her; she slipped her left hand up and into his hair. Grace threaded her fingers through it, their moans audible over the sound of their lovemaking.
“God, I’m going to come again,” she groaned, gripping the back of his neck, as her juices streamed down his swollen shaft. He flexed his arm muscles around her back and squeezed her ass, ecstasy sweeping over him. Overwhelmed by the sensation, Grace tilted her head all the way back, the first waves of her orgasm rolling through her. Her screams of pleasure echoed back within the walls of his room and the hallway outside. Luca held her close, as a few, harder thrusts brought him closer to his fulfillment. He pulled out just before he came, his loud grunts filling the room. She leaned forward and rewarded him with a kiss before resting her head on his chest.
“God…” Grace gasped, caressing Luca’s hair as he embraced her. “This day just got even crazier…”
“…I’ve had worse,” he teased, savoring the closeness. “Honestly, I still can’t believe this has happened.”
“We might as well enjoy it until tomorrow when we both regret it immensely.”
Luca sat upright with his eyebrow raised. “We’re going to what now?”
Grace laughed. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I don’t know what came over me, honestly. I never do things like this.”
“You mean seduce kings?”
Grace gave Luca a gentle shove as she smiled. “Seduce anyone. But I’m glad it was you.”
“I’m glad it was me too,” Luca said as he took Grace’s hand and kissed it. “Whatever happens tomorrow.”
“Whatever happens tomorrow,” Grace responded with more sadness than she intended. Because at any moment, the secrets she was carrying could ruin what was happening between her and Luca…
Whatever it was.
Chapter Nine
Luca felt tension tighten in the back of his neck. He could tell Grace was trying to hide a mounting issue from him, but she was doing a terrible job, and the idea that something was wrong was making him a little queasy. But they were still laying on the floor and he didn’t really feel like having any kind of serious conversation while freezing on the hardwood.
“Why don’t you get into bed?” he suggested, giving her a quick kiss. “I’ll go get us some water.”
Luca shut the bedroom curtains, then hurried to the kitchen to get two glasses of cold water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. As he walked back to the bedroom, he couldn’t help but wonder what it was that Grace was so anxious to talk to him about. When he got back to the room, she was splayed out across the bed, staring at the ceiling, looking totally panicked.
“Okay… give it to me,” Luca said as he slid under the covers next to her.
“Here it goes.” Grace took a deep long breath.
Luca’s cell phone rang. He rolled his eyes and fished his cell out of pants pocket with a grumble. “I’m so sorry. Just give me one moment.” Then he disappeared out of the bedroom, leaving Grace by herself again to ponder everything terrible she had done. Every second he was gone offered her another opportunity to consider all of the awful decisions she had made since arriving in Moreno and she felt like it was driving her insane.
How could I have done this? Grace thought as she pulled one of the huge pillows down over her head and screamed into it. She had no idea what to do. She was in far too deep now to back out. I can’t tell him the truth… I just can’t.
Grace didn’t have any more time to consider her fate; Luca came back into the room with an apologetic smile.
“I’m so sorry about that. The work of a king is never done. Now, what did we need to talk about that was so important?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. Forget it. I think I was stressing myself out over nothing. Is everything okay? Was something wrong?”
“I don’t know, honestly,” Luca shrugged. “But it seems I have to fly to Italy tomorrow to deal with some politics. Which is actually perfect, because then you and Elle can go to Paris without feeling guilty.”
“But…” It wasn’t that Grace didn’t want to go to Paris. She was afraid that the more time she spent with Elle, the more it was likely…
“No but’s,” Luca interjected. “You’ve never been, have you?”
“No,” Grace hesitated.
“Then you’re going,” he said with a grin. “Spend the day, or the night if you feel inspired. Besides, there is no way you could accompany me to Italy, anyway, so it would just be a lost day for you. At least in Paris, you can have some fun.”
“Oh, were we not having fun?” Grace asked, her eyebrow raised.
Luca laughed and swept Grace up in to his arms. “I’m going to show you fun!”
Chapter Ten
At the crack of dawn the next morning, Elle came over and picked up Grace so they could start the drive to Paris. Elle seemed completely elated and started jabbering the second she got out of the car, but Grace seemed apprehensive to leave the castle. Luca gave her a wink and hoped she’d perk up once they were on the road; he figured she was just tired. Once he waved goodbye, and saw they were on their way, he headed back inside to grab his bags. His own car was leaving right after them, since he had to make a stop at Bax’s office before he left.
The business in Italy wasn’t any
thing important; just the usual, run-of-the-mill border dispute nonsense that comes up from time to time when you share space. But he thought he might give him a chance to speak to Bax alone, that was if he could convince his friend to go with him. Getting Elle and Grace off to Paris would go a long way to ensuring the company.
The half-hour drive to Bax’s office on the other side of town gave him some time to reflect on what had happened with Grace. It was unexpected, but it was still wonderful. He knew, logically, that it had been a bad decision; she was doing an article on him and, at the end of the day, there was nothing that would stop her from writing about their night together. It would be unethical, but it wouldn’t have been the first time a journalist had done something immoral to get near him.
He didn’t believe Grace was like that, though. He was sure, however, that she was hiding something from him. Maybe Bax could do something about finding out what it was. Luca didn’t relish spying on Grace, but if she wasn’t going to be honest with him… maybe it was his only option.
As usual, Luca found Bax in his office on the top floor of a building owned by the government. Bax was an attorney for the country of Moreno, but the focus of most of his work was Luca and the affairs of the Tanner family. Luca kept him busy, probably more than he would have liked to be.
In fact, Bax looked annoyed when Luca walked through the door, as if he had bigger things to worry about.
“I’m a little too busy to hear about your latest romantic mess, Luca,” he groaned, rising from his seat.
“Good morning to you, too,” Luca said sarcastically. “I drove all the way here hours before I’m normally awake. The least you could do is act happy to see me.”
“Do I ever look happy to see you?” Bax asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“Sometimes… I am not sure why I keep you around.”
Bax shook his head. “Because I’m the only person in your life who doesn’t let you get away with your bullshit.”
“Ahh,” Luca said with a smile. “I knew there was a reason. Anyway, I’m not here to talk about my love life. Do you want to go to Italy? I’ve agreed to a meeting there that shouldn’t take long. Security is meeting me at the airport in a couple of hours.”
“First off, I still think it’s ridiculous you won’t accept security within the city limits and I’m not going to let that slide much longer. As far as the trip, it depends,” Bax said with a shrug. “Are you going to make me listen to you babble about Grace the entire time we are gone?”
“Would that be a deal breaker?”
“This is about your love life, Luca,” Bax snapped. “Alright, man. Let’s just get it out of the way in the office and then not another word once we leave. Because I can’t deal with this for twenty-four hours.”
“I just think… I know it might be crazy but…”
“I think she is the one, Bax,” Bax said, mocking Luca. “I’ve never met anyone like her in my entire life and I could even love her one day. Isn’t she just the most beautiful? Except she chews her food too loudly. Oh, and she has a weird laugh. Actually, Bax, can you buy her a plane ticket back to where ever she is from and make sure she signs that NDA before she goes? Maybe give her a necklace from the vault, one of the smaller ones.”
Based on Bax’s tone, Luca could tell it was supposed to be a joke but he didn’t find it funny. “What are you saying? You think I’m bad at commitment?”
“Precisely,” Bax gave an emphatic nod. “That is precisely what I am saying, Luca.” It was Bax’s turn to pose a question. “You hardly know that girl. Do you think that maybe you are rushing into things? Again?”
“Maybe I am,” he admitted. “It just feels different this time.”
“It always feels different, Luca.”
They were distracted by a knock on the door. When it opened, Bax’s assistant, Ruby Collins, was standing there waiting for him. Luca saw a flash of her raven hair and was instantly brought back to their ill-advised affair from a few years ago. What he had thought was only a fling, she had taken much more seriously. It was only when Bax gave her a choice between Luca and her job that she cooled off. But Luca wasn’t entirely convinced she had moved on.
“Good morning,” she spoke in a clear, British accent. “My king, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No, Ruby,” Bax interjected. “Come in. I need to clear my calendar until tomorrow night. Please make sure to reschedule everything ASAP.” Bax looked at his watch and groaned. “Shit. My 8am is already in the conference room. Just give me an hour, okay, Luca? Ruby… please get to work.”
Bax shot Ruby a withering glare as he walked by, but she didn’t move an inch even once he was gone, leaving Luca trapped in Bax’s office.
“Well, good to see you, Ruby. I should get to the airfield,” Luca said by way of trying to escape without having a conversation.
“What brings you into town, your highness? We haven’t seen you here in some time,” she purred. Luca shivered uncomfortably.
“Please, stop calling me that, Ruby,” he grumbled, furrowing his brow. “And you’re Bax’s assistant. You’d know better than anyone how busy I am.”
“I thought I wasn’t allowed to refer to you by your name, as it was too informal. But then again, there was nothing formal about our relationship, was there?”
Luca rolled his eyes. “Alright, Ruby. I really do need to get out of here.” He tried to walk past her for the door, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him before he could get away. Luca felt a surge of anger, but it abated when he saw the look in her eyes.
“I just want you to know… Luca… I’m sorry for the way I behaved. I’ve been working through some of my problems, and I’ve realized that I was properly terrible to you. But worst of all, I never apologized. I hope I didn’t upset you too much, and that one day, maybe you can forgive me.”
Luca softened in spite of himself. He wasn’t much at holding a grudge and if she truly felt bad for the way she had behaved, the least he could do was forgive her. “It’s fine, Ruby. Forget it. We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of.”
Ruby nodded with a smile he wasn’t used to seeing from her. But then her face turned serious. “And because I care about you, Luca, please… why are you doing this interview?”
Luca’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“As you said, I still know about most of your business. Is this really a good idea? Doesn’t it seem likely to cause you more harm than good?”
“I’m just sick and tired of all the rumors,” he said sadly, remembering a time not too long ago when Ruby was one of the ones they got right. “At least now, I control the narrative. Anyway… thank you for the apology. I’ll see you around, Ruby.”
And then he walked out of Bax’s office, hoping that Ruby was sincere; the last thing he needed right now was an ex giving an interview to Grace. It would ruin everything…
In more ways than one.
Chapter Eleven
Luca wasn’t thrilled that Ruby knew about his interview with Grace, but he also knew that as Bax’s assistant, there wasn’t a lot his friend could do to keep it from her. Still, it seemed like Ruby had truly moved on from their relationship, and given the way things had gone in Italy, it was the least of his worries. The meeting with the Italian prime minister hadn’t been the issue; it was the paparazzi that had been waiting for him as soon as he landed.
Interest in Luca and his private life had a tendency to vary from year to year. He could often go a year or more without anyone outside of Moreno even remembering he existed. But then, a journalist in France or England or Italy would need a story and they would decide to make Luca it. Apparently, it was his time again, and now the photographers were after him yet again. His time in Italy with Bax had been brief, but his picture was on the cover of every website and newspaper by the time they got back to Moreno that night.
Upon his return to his castle, Luca tried to take his mind off things by painting for a while, but even that didn’t wor
k. Every time he picked up one of his brushes, he remembered the flash of the cameras and the fact that for months to come, he was going to be back on the media’s radar, and they wouldn’t leave him alone. That meant anything did, alone or with Grace, would analyzed to hell, and privacy was a thing of the past. Luca ruined more than a dozen canvases, unable to keep his hand steady. Even some time spent touching up Grace’s portrait was disaster, because all did was remind him that there was no chance they could enjoy their remaining time together with any measure of peace.
In spite of his emotional exhaustion and outright fatigue, Luca couldn’t sleep that night either. Lying in his bed, he kept staring up at the ceiling, frustrated and unable to even force his eyes to close. At some point during the night, he wandered into Grace’s bedroom, hoping the reminders of her might lull him to sleep. While he found her scent on the pillow soothing, it wasn’t enough to subdue his fear at the idea of her being scared away by the notoriety that came from being the girlfriend of a king.
And then… he realized that he was considering the possibility of Grace becoming his girlfriend, which caused him to spiral even further out of control. Bax was right; he was rushing into things. He didn’t know what Grace wanted, or what she was capable of. And there was still possibility she was hiding something from him. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he had no idea what to do.
He was just about to give up trying to sleep and go watch a movie in his media room when his cell phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but it was from the US.
“Hello?” he asked hesitantly.
“Bonsoir, mon roi,” Grace said in a forced French accent that made Luca burst out laughing. “Well… don’t hold back on my account. Tell me how you really feel.”
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