by Kat Mizera
“Mmm.” I shifted, my eyes still closed as I breathed in the faint scent of his aftershave. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, beautiful.” He kissed the top of my head.
“What did I do to deserve such a wonderful wake-up?”
“Nothing. I’ve just been neglecting you of late, so I thought I’d make up for it.”
“I can’t complain,” I admitted.
We lay there in companionable silence for a while, his body wrapped around mine, one of his big, beautiful hands running through my hair.
As we lay there, I had a thought and I tipped up my head to look at him. “We’ve been doing the sex thing for a while now and—”
“Is that what this is?” he asked, palming one of my breasts with his hand, his thumb lazily stroking my nipple until I almost forgot what I was going to say.
“Well, we haven’t really said what it is.” Damn him, I was already squirming with the need for him to touch me more.
“Mm-hmm. We may not have used any specific words, but there’s more to this than sex unless I’m way off the mark.”
I paused. He always did shit like this, playing games with my heart even though that probably wasn’t his intention. “We’re friends who have an incredibly active and pleasurable sex life,” I said, leaning into his hand. I loved his fucking hands. They were huge, like the rest of him, but he was so gentle with them.
“Uh-huh.” His other hand had travelled down to skim the light patch of hair at the apex of my thighs.
“Could I finish my thought please?” I asked, chuckling.
“Of course.”
“Anyway, we’ve been together for a while now and you still haven’t told me your fantasy.”
“You think there’s just one?” he drawled, his eyes darkening slightly.
“I, er, well, you haven’t told me any.”
“I’m kidding. There’s just one. I’ve done everything else I’ve wanted to do in the bedroom.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
Something I’d never seen before flickered in his eyes and he turned away. It wasn’t possible Sandor was embarrassed, was it? I wouldn’t have thought so but I knew what I’d seen and it had been there, albeit only for a second.
“You can’t laugh,” he said at last, stilling the movements of his hands.
“Of course not.” I paused. “Well, I mean, if you fantasize about wearing a pink tutu and high heels and having me spank you with a red feather, I might giggle a little, but I’ll still do it.”
He chuckled. “Done all that. So to speak.”
“I’d pay good money to see that.”
He pinched my nipple hard enough to make me gasp but I wasn’t giving up. His trying to distract me made me want to know more than ever.
“Let me preface this by saying I’ve never, ever had unprotected sex.”
“Not even once?”
He shook his head. “Not as a stupid, horny teenager, not during any of my drunken nights on tour with Casey and Pretty Harts, never. As a member of the royal family, it was drilled into us from a very young age that we were targets for gold diggers and women looking to trap us, so it was never an option. And as an adult, of course, my life was too complicated to risk it.”
“Okay.”
He met my gaze, his piercing blue eyes finding mine with what I could only describe as a sudden burst of confidence. The strongest, toughest man I knew was actually nervous about telling me his sexual fantasy? I couldn’t even fathom what that meant, although I could guess part of it after what he’d just said.
“I want to be bare inside a woman, a woman I care about,” he said, his deep voice a little edgy now. “Fucking her harder than I’ve ever fucked anyone, and ending with putting my baby inside of her.”
Oh sweet Jesus, my ovaries might have exploded with longing, and I had to rest my head on his chest to prevent him from seeing how badly I wanted that woman to be me.
“I know it’s not very sexy,” he said softly. “But—”
“It’s one of the most romantic things I’ve ever heard,” I whispered, keeping my face buried in his chest. “Which makes it sexy to me.”
“You think my Neanderthal fantasy about fucking a woman so hard I imprint my seed in her is romantic?” He actually sounded confused. Poor, sweet, clueless Sandor. How had he gone so many years without an ounce of romance in his life?
“You said it at the beginning—with the right woman. That makes it romantic. That makes it the kind of fantasy a woman who loves you might want to share.”
Our eyes finally met and we just stared at each other. It was right there, just beneath the surface, all that damn emotion we were both trying to hide. And we both knew it. The problem was that I was the only one who was cognizant of it.
“Are you sorry you asked?” he asked after a moment.
“Not even a little. It makes me appreciate the man you are even more.” I ran my fingers through his hair. The hair I loved so much. I didn’t know what I would do when this inevitably ended and I had to sleep with other men, men who weren’t my Sandor.
“What did you think about just now that made you look so sad?” he asked.
There he was, my borderline sensitive, intuitive man. Too bad he pretended all his better qualities were a result of his bodyguard training. “Just wondering how you go backwards once you’ve had the best sex of your life.”
“Backwards? What does that mean?”
“When we eventually move on and stop doing this… I’ve been with enough men to know this kind of sex isn’t the norm. So it makes me sad to think someday I’ll have to go back to mediocre sex and self-induced orgasms.”
Instead of responding, he kissed me, his lips taking mine almost fiercely. Almost as if the thought of me being with other men made him jealous. Something obviously irritated him because within seconds I was flat on my back, he’d sheathed himself with a condom and was pushing inside of me, taking me with a possessiveness I’d never felt from him before. But he was all over me, kissing, touching, pulling my hair, practically swallowing my tongue, until I was a panting, quivering mess of passion.
“Say my name.” He growled as he thrust in, this time staying firmly seated and forcing me out of my lust-filled haze.
“San-dor…” I licked my lips as he pulled out and pushed back in.
“Again.”
“Oh my god, what—”
“Again. My whole name.”
“Sandor.”
“The rest.” He was panting as hard as I was, but he didn’t let up. Out, in, stop. Out, in, stop.
“Harrison.”
“And?” This time he pulled out to the tip before stopping.
“Gustaff-son.” I gasped out his surname, arching my hips to pull him deep again, though he continued to torment me.
“Don’t ever forget it,” he whispered, burying his face in the crook of my neck as he started to move again.
We came together, the timing so frighteningly in sync it might have shocked me had I not been completely caught up in this beautiful man. I came so hard I practically blacked out for a moment, my entire body tingling from the intensity.
It wasn’t until he shifted slightly that I realized I’d dug my fingernails into his ass.
“Did I draw blood?” I asked when I finally let go.
“Nah.” He shrugged, still pinning me down with his much larger body. “And if you did, it’ll be worth every drop.”
“What was all that?” I asked, wrapping my arms around him. “You were on a mission.”
“Yeah—to make you come.”
“You were jealous,” I said, deciding to test the waters.
He stiffened but I wasn’t going to let him off so easily.
“We agreed on complete honesty,” I reminded him. “And the minute I started talking about fucking other guys, you threw me down and fucked me like a man with something to prove.”
He blew out a breath. “Contrary to popular belief, I do have
feelings. I’m not a complete boor. I have to keep a lot of things buried, it’s the nature of who I am and what I do, but not everything. And right now, you’re mine. I don’t know what the future holds, but for the foreseeable future, I don’t want to hear about, talk about, or think about you with anyone else.”
I hesitated. “Does that mean we’re exclusive?”
“You’re damn straight it does.”
I felt like a silly schoolgirl, but that made me stupidly happy. Sandor had become very important to me in a relatively short time and there was no way in hell I was going to sleep with anyone else, whether he said the words making it exclusive or not. However, hearing him say it, seeing his reaction to my mentioning being with someone else, was telling in so many ways. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but maybe this was a good omen.
“No comment?” he asked after a moment.
“I can’t think of exactly the right comment,” I replied, hiding my smile. “But it makes me happy because I can’t even fathom sleeping with anyone else now that I’m with you.”
“Ditto.” He wrapped his arms around me again. “I was thinking I’d like to take you out on a date. Or two or three. I feel a bit like a cad, ravishing your body every night but not treating you like a gentleman should.”
“We don’t have the kind of lifestyle that’s conducive to dating like other people, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a date now and then.”
“We head back to Vegas tomorrow, and the following day I’ll be interviewing a bunch of new guys that will potentially join our security team. However, after that, barring unforeseen circumstances, we could make some time. I was thinking we could go to dinner and a movie. I realize that’s very cliché, but I haven’t done it since college, there’s a new Star Wars thing I’d love to see, and based on one of the T-shirts I’ve seen you sleep in, you’re also a Star Wars fan.”
I paused. “Actually, that week is the first hockey game of the season and my friend on the team invited me to go. And before you bend me over a desk or something, Dax and I are just friends. I can get another ticket for you; he won’t mind. But I’d really like to see the season opener if you’re into it.”
He kissed me. “I love the Sidewinders. Sounds like a great date. Dinner before the game?”
“Perfect.”
23
Sandor
The next two days were a whirlwind between traveling to Vegas and interviewing the new candidates to come work with us, but I had to admit it was good to be back at the house in Las Vegas. For some reason, I felt safer here than in Limaj. In the U.S., we not only had our private security force, but the police and, in a pinch, the CIA since both Erik and I had ties to them. In Limaj, it was hard to tell who was loyal, the military was a mess, and the police force was small and overextended. I could relax a little here, and that was exactly what I planned to do. And I planned to make sure Lennox was right there with me.
We were going to the hockey game tonight and it turned out the whole family was going. Erik, Casey, and the kids had been invited to sit in the owner’s box, which made security a whole lot easier, and Chains had told me to enjoy date night—he had everything under control. The fact that I would be at the game was an added bonus in an emergency, but we didn’t foresee any issues.
Since the family would be using the SUV, I borrowed Casey’s Corvette and Lennox and I took off for dinner late in the afternoon. She wore jeans and a Sidewinders jersey, which I thought looked sexy as hell even though it was big on her. I had a Sidewinders hoodie that I would put on over my button-down shirt after dinner, but I figured I’d make an attempt to look at least a little different than my usual cargo pants, black T-shirt and boots. She wore much of the same for work, so it was kind of nice for both of us to wear something different.
We walked into a quaint steakhouse hand in hand, and for the first time in a very long time, I wasn’t thinking about Erik, Limaj, or work. I was a hundred percent focused on the woman with me and our date tonight. We settled into a booth, sitting next to each other because I wanted to be able to touch her, and she leaned into my side as we opened one menu and perused it together.
“They have crab-stuffed mushrooms,” she said. “Let’s get those.”
“Sounds good.”
After we ordered wine, an appetizer and our entrees, she glanced up at me. “I assume you know the story about Sasha and Anton Petrov?”
I knew the basics but not everything, so I nodded. “Yeah. They were hot and heavy last year. Apparently, he asked her to marry him and she panicked. I don’t know the details, but it was pretty emotional for Sasha. Is she going tonight?”
“It’s Anton’s first game as a pro, and even though they’re not together, she doesn’t want to miss it.”
“She did him a solid,” I told her. “The one detail I do know is that he wanted to leave school without graduating and go to the Sidewinders early, but the team didn’t think he was ready, so he probably would have been sent down to the minors, and she didn’t want that for him.”
“She did the right thing so he wouldn’t crash and burn with his career.” She nodded. “Poor kid. I bet that was hard.”
“Casey did a good job with her,” I said fondly. “The kids are all pretty great, but Sasha lost her biological mom, got adopted by Casey and Nick, then they got divorced and she had to adjust to another reality. Eventually, Casey married Jayson and had the twins, throwing more at her, and she just keeps on keeping on. Sasha’s pretty badass, a lot like her mom.”
“You and Casey must have gotten very close over the years,” Lennox said.
I paused. This was a touchy subject. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I also didn’t know how to explain the complexity of that relationship and the depth of my feelings, though they’d remained platonic. “For ten years, she and Luke were my life,” I said carefully. “Not the way that sounds, because there was never anything romantic or sexual between us, but Erik asked me to take care of them and I did. I gave up everything to protect them. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, but now that Erik is back, I’m trying to find myself again.” I leaned over and brushed my lips against hers. “And I’m happy to have found you along the way.”
She smiled back. “Me too.”
“So tell me something about you that I don’t know, that goes beyond what I can find on a background check.”
“Well, believe it or not, as much of a tomboy as I am, I love getting my hair done. Like going to a salon and having it cut and washed and dried… Washing my hair is a huge turn-on. Just FYI.”
I leaned over and nibbled her neck. “Why haven’t you told me this before?” I asked, gently sucking on her earlobe. “We’ve taken a lot of showers together.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had a guy wash my hair before.” She eyed me. “But with your big hands, I think it would be a treat.”
“I guess we’re going to have to find out.”
Our food arrived and we chatted as we ate. We’d both ordered big-ass T-bone steaks and she ate every bite, unlike many women I’d seen who picked at their meals or just ordered salad when out on a date.
“Prince Sandor, is that you?”
The voice made me turn and it was a damn good thing I’d been raised in the royal family because the woman coming toward me made me cringe.
Fuck.
She was a princess from some European country, I couldn’t remember which one, and Erik had made me dance with her at an event we’d had at the palace last winter. She’d done everything but blow me on the dance floor to get me to go home with her and I had no idea what the hell she was doing in a steakhouse in Las Vegas.
“Hello.” I inclined my head. “It’s good to see you.”
“Well, I bought my ticket to the charity ball as soon as I saw that King Erik was attending, since I knew you’d be there.” She sank into a seat across from us.
Christ. I needed to nip this in the bud but I smiled politely. “The money goes to a good cause.” I slid my arm around L
ennox’s shoulder. “By the way, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Lennox Briggs. Honey, this is Princess Veronique.”
Lennox nodded politely, though I noted she’d stiffened when I introduced her as my girlfriend. Crap. I was going to have to address that now too. This was a huge pain in my ass and I still didn’t know what the hell Veronique was doing at a place like this. I’d chosen it specifically because even though the steaks were fantastic, it wasn’t a high-end place where I would automatically be recognized.
“Girlfriend?” Veronique looked Lennox up and down carefully, a smile quirking her lips. “Well, I suppose it’s to be expected that you’d play the field a little before your cousin finds you a proper wife.”
I scowled. “That’s both impolite and inaccurate. I have no intention of finding a wife any time soon.”
The waiter appeared, asking if he should bring another wine glass and I abruptly told him no.
“Well, I’ll see you Saturday,” Veronique said with a coy smile, sliding out of the booth.
“What the fuck,” I muttered, shaking my head. I turned to Lennox. “Honey, I’m sorry. That was completely unexpected and I have no idea how she found me. I apologize.”
“For which thing?” she asked, catching me off guard.
“Excuse me?”
“For. Which. Thing.” She enunciated clearly.
Oh, hell, she was royally pissed and other than Veronique’s rudeness, which I had no control over, I had no idea why.
24
Lennox
I’d known there were women clamoring for him. Rich, titled, gorgeous debutantes and princesses from all over the world. You only had to check on the Instagram page of the Royal Family of Limaj or his personal one, but the women came out en force whenever possible. He stayed fairly sequestered, though, so this was my first time being faced with it in person. However, having him conveniently use me as his decoy to thwart her efforts while simultaneously announcing he had no intention of marrying me, well, that was bullshit.