ALEX

by Kate Tilney

  My breath is short and labored as my heart slows. Cradling me in his arms, making me feel cared for and protected for the first time in my life, Alex kisses my hair.

  “Stay with me?”

  I nod, because really, where else can I go when my body is already crying out for him again?

  Alex

  I wake to an empty bed the next morning. Even after spending several hours lingering over each other’s bodies, it seems Nikki is forever a baker who wakes with the sun. Growing up, I was always the earliest riser of my family. That habit suits me well in the military. It seems, I have competition.

  Stretching, I grin at that thought and slide out of the bed. I pull on a fresh pair of briefs and dig out some clothes. Now that the wedding is over, and the social obligations are done, I tug on a pair of jeans and a button up shirt—just to appease my father in case I run into him today.

  There is only one person I want to run into—and around with—today. I have a pretty good idea where she is right now.

  Nikki and her crew have nearly finished cleaning the kitchen when I arrive. I stand at the doorway, unnoticed, watching the way she moves about. In total command of the room and everyone in it, she is somehow everywhere at once. Helping to wash the last of the dishes, freezing the top layer of the wedding cake, showing an assistant the best way to arrange a plate of pastries. She does it all so effortlessly, yet methodically.

  It reminds me of the way she was in bed last night.

  The memory of those hands on me—of her taste—makes me hard.

  Almost as if she senses me and my thoughts, Nikki’s gaze meets mine. Her cheeks flush an appealing shade of pink.

  “Hey, everyone,” she calls out, bringing the room to a standstill. “You can take a fifteen minute break.”

  I arch my eyebrow.

  “Make that twenty minutes.”

  I smirk, and her cheeks darken even more. “Let’s just call it a solid thirty.”

  If anyone wonders why they’re being given a break when they’re so close to finishing, they don’t say it. They’re all either too polite, or too well trained, to question their boss.

  Once we’re alone, I stride toward her, where she’s still gripping a dish towel between her hands.

  “Good morning,” I say, placing my hands on either side of her on the counter.

  She swallows. “Good morning.”

  “I missed you when I woke up.”

  “I had work to do.”

  “So I see.”

  “It still needs finishing.”

  “It can wait until I’ve kissed you good morning.”

  She drops the towel and pulls me toward her as my hands grab hold of her hips. Our mouths collide, and then our tongues as our hands rove over each other’s bodies.

  My mouth moves to her neck, sucking and nibbling as my fingers move to unbutton her white chef’s coat. My lips follow where my fingers have been. Stroking, urging, teasing. When I’ve reached the last button, I push the coat off of her shoulders and reach for the back of her bra. Once her large, full breasts are freed, my mouth covers one of her nipples.

  She gasps out, her hands gripping my neck. Urging me on. My fingers slip to the button of her jeans, pushing them to the floor along with her panties.

  I continue to suckle on her as I reach for the back of her thighs, lifting her so her bare ass sits on the counter.

  “This is hardly sanitary,” she murmurs.

  I pull back a fraction. “Clearly I am not doing my job properly if you can think about kitchen sanitation.”

  I give her nipple a flick and she cries out in pleasure as I drop to my knees, pulling her toward me. My thumbs part her fold, and I bring her pussy to my mouth. Her breathing quickens, and my fingers dig into her smooth hips as my lips and tongue suck on the very sweetness of her core. Her hand flies out to grip the counter, knocking a bowl to the ground.

  I spare a glance to the bowl and smirk. Perfect. Reaching over, I swipe a dollop of frosting on my finger and trail it up the inside of her thigh to her clit. She wriggles at the stickiness.

  “Hold still, baby.” My tongue and my follow the path painfully slow, lapping up the vanilla frosting and Nikki. Two of my favorite flavors. Every inch I move, the more frantic she becomes. The harder my cock gets.

  I can never get enough of her.

  I’ll never have enough of her.

  She has wedged herself permanently into my heart and soul.

  “Alex!” she calls out as her thighs press against my face and she tumbles over the edge into sweet ecstasy.

  She falls back against the island, her breasts rising up and down with her breath. I rise to my feet, my hands sliding up her hips. Tugging my T-shirt over my head, I unbutton my jeans and pull my cock out. She eyes me hungrily as I pump myself once and line up at her entrance.

  Pushing up to her elbows, she licks her lips as I thrust into her.

  She calls my name once more, and then I lose all sense of everything but the way she feels as I become one with her. And as I lead us both to completion, my heart pounds in my chest for her. Only for her.

  Nikki

  Alex was right. We needed the full thirty minutes.

  After he made me come three times, we barely had time to re-dress and clean-up the bowl of buttercream I accidentally sent flying in a fit of passion.

  Once the crew and I have the kitchen back in pristine condition, I eye the room with some remorse. In the past year, I’ve worked in some of the best restaurants in the United States and Europe. None of them hold a candle to the palace. And even though I’ll finally have enough to set up my own shop once this check clears, I wonder if it will live up to this.

  I wonder if anything can after the way Alex and I just christened this place.

  Taking my hand, Alex leads me to a waiting motorcycle. Handing me a helmet, he straddles it. “Hop on.”

  My belly flutters as I follow his orders. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I hold on as the bike comes to life and we take off through the streets of Rhodon. We drive around for some time, historical buildings flying by along with the modern odds and ends that make a city exciting. Restaurants. Galleries. Bakeries.

  As we travel the streets, my heart soars taking in every sight, sound, and scent I can.

  We come rounding back through the town center and Alex brings his motorcycle to a stop. Throwing down the kick stand, he climbs off and offers me his hand. I grin at him like a fool as he helps me off. Leaving our helmets on the motorcycle, he holds my hand and walks with me to an empty storefront.

  “What do you think?” he asks.

  Looking it over, I can see that while the building itself is probably hundreds of years old, someone has recently done major renovations. With the large windows papered over, I can imagine just how much natural light must come in through them. The cobblestone road around it and the unobstructed view of the castle make it perfectly charming.

  “It’s great. What’s it going to be?”

  His eyes brighten. “I want to buy it for you.”

  I shake my head. “Wait, what?”

  “This store. I want to buy it for you, so you can start your bakery.”

  My heart jolts. “So I can start my bakery. In Rhodon.”

  He nods. He holds both of my hands up to his lips and kisses them.

  “You will be a hit. I know it.” His face shines with excitement. “We can get an apartment—or maybe a townhouse nearby—so you can get to work early every morning. I will find work of my own here. I have served king and country long enough.”

  He continues on, telling me all about the places we can go together. With every word, the panic inside of me grows. Memories of my childhood. Of moving for men. Of broken hearts. Of starting over. It all swirls around with the panic, becoming bigger and bigger until it bursts.

  “I can’t move here.”

  His face falls. “Okay. You want a bakery in the states. We can make that work. I am not the heir, after all. I can live wherev
er I want.”

  I shake my head, pulling my hands away from his.

  “I can’t be with you. Not here. Not anywhere.”

  His jaw tightens. “May I ask why not?”

  I shake my head, which is still spinning from everything he’s said.

  “This has been fun, but I have to go.” And before he can say anything that changes my mind, I run down an alley. I keep running until I’m out of breath. Then, and only then, do I get control of my fears. And as I do, the tears fall down my cheeks.

  Alex

  I am at least three or four fingers into a bottle of some of our father’s finest Scotch when James finds me brooding in an empty dayroom.

  “Woah,” he says. “Who died?”

  Just my hopes and dreams for the future. “I’m not in the mood.”

  “So I see.” James drops into the seat next to me. He places a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll repeat the question. Who died?”

  Not wanting to answer, I shrug his hand away. “I’m heading out tomorrow.”

  “Is this about the baker?”

  “How do you know about Nikki?”

  “Anyone with eyes can see the way you’ve been hanging around her the past few days.” He smirks. “And those of us with good eyes noticed the two of you leave the wedding reception last night without coming back.”

  “It was just a bit of fun.”

  Wasn’t that what Nikki said? That we were just having fun. But that she couldn’t be with me.

  “Doesn’t look like you’re having much fun now.”

  “Go to hell.”

  James chuckles at that and reaches for the bottle. He sniffs, grimaces, and then pours himself a small snifter of it. He tosses back a swig and fills the glass again.

  I glare at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting on your level so we can talk about this.”

  “You don’t have to get on my level,” I grumble. But I hold out my glass and wait for him to give me a refill. We sit in silence, nursing our drinks, for a few more minutes.

  Eventually, I sigh. There’s no point avoiding the conversation. He will just stay until I tell him.

  Filling him in on the details, I leave out some of the parts that happened behind closed doors. But as my twin, there is no one in the world I trust more with knowing everything else. He listens in silence until I reach the end.

  “I fell in love with her. I asked her to stay here with me.”

  “As in you would be staying here, too?” After I nod, he releases a low whistle. “Giving up your military career for a woman. I never thought I would live to see the day.”

  She’s worth it. At least I thought so.

  “Love gives you crazy ideas. Makes you do stupid things.”

  “You can say that again.” James takes another drink then sets his glass down. “Do you think it’s possible love might be making her do stupid things too?”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Like maybe falling for a prince in a couple of days is scary for her.” He shrugs. “A lot of women are fine spending a night or two with a prince, but settling down with one is not for the faint of heart.”

  Anger rises fast and hot inside of me. “Are you saying she’s one of those women looking for a quick fumble with a prince?”

  “Not in the least. But this life is still a lot to take on.” He lifts a shoulder. “Maybe you should find her. Ask her what’s going on. And really listen.”

  Everything he says makes sense. “I could do that.”

  Her plane isn’t scheduled to leave for a couple more days, which gives me time.

  “If you love her as much as you say, you owe it to yourself and her.” James pats me on the back. “But wait till you sober up. Right now you smell like a cheap—”

  “It’s an expensive bottle.”

  James wrinkles his nose. “You still smell like shit.”

  Nikki

  When the crowned princess of Rhodon invites me for a meeting a few hours after I left Alex, I know it can’t be good.

  It’s my own damn fault for crossing the professional line and getting excessively personal with my client’s brother. Who, as if I need reminding, is a prince. A prince I rejected without giving a reason.

  I’ll be lucky if I get out of this country without a bounty on my head.

  After waiting in the pale blue sitting room for what feels like forever, the door swings open. A footman steps inside followed immediately by the princess. She slides into the seat next to mine and meets my gaze.

  Okay. I can’t take it anymore.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break your brother’s heart.” I hold up my hand to keep her from speaking, which is probably breaking some sort of royal protocol. But at this point, who cares? I’ve broken all kinds of rules—both royal and my own—since getting here. “In my defense, if you knew what my childhood was like, you would understand why I had to end it.”

  Sarah’s brows remain frozen in their upright and lock position. “Your childhood?”

  Sighing, I ball my hands into fists on my knee. “My dad left when I was baby. After that, my mom was always convinced her real Prince Charming was just around the corner.”

  She fed me so many lies and stories pulled straight from storybooks. “Every time she met a man who she thought was ‘the one,’ we’d move in with him. I’d get pulled into another school. Sometimes another town. Within a year, they’d call it quits. We’d be out on our own, and she’d be brokenhearted.”

  “That must have been difficult.” Princess Sarah gives me a tight-lipped grin. “That would put a lot of people off love.”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Now that the floodgates are open—and she seems so sympathetic—I can’t seem to stop. “By the time I was four or five, I knew how to make dinner. Nothing much, but at least enough to keep us fed. When my mother should’ve been nursing my scraped elbows and knees, I was getting her up off the floor every time a man broke her heart.”

  I shake my head. “I never felt like I belonged anywhere or to anyone. Not until I found baking.”

  A single tear slips down my cheek. I wipe it away furiously. I’m not a crier. I won’t do it again for a second time today. “I promised myself that if I ever had the means to set up my own bakery, I would do it. On my own. And I would never, ever, under any circumstances let myself think there are such things as happily ever afters where men are concerned.”

  I let out a shaky breath. “I know you’re a princess and all, but I don’t believe in fairy tales.”

  Princess Sarah lets out a little laugh. “You know, I didn’t believe in fairy tales either. Not until I met Ryan. Loving him, having him love me, changed that. It makes me stronger.”

  Panic slices through me. “But aren’t you afraid it could all go away?”

  “If I was it wouldn’t matter.” She lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know your mother or what you’ve been through. But when you find love—real love—you have to get past the fear of it going away. Otherwise you miss out on something magical.”

  What she’s saying makes sense. I can see that rationally. But erasing a lifetime of watching my mother’s heartache isn’t easy to do.

  “I care about your brother. Deeply.” I shake my head. “I don’t know how it happened. And so fast. I’m usually so smart about men.”

  “You can be smart and in love.” The princess reaches out and covers my hand. “For what it’s worth, I love all of my brothers dearly. They are some of my best friends. I do not know how I could have gotten through this life without them.”

  My gaze lifts to hers. She gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “But while I know I can count on and depend upon all of my brothers, there is no one I would trust more than Alex.”

  “Because he’s a soldier?”

  “He is a great soldier. But he is a better man. The kind who will not let you down.”

  I choke on a sob. “Are you saying I should give a relationship with him a chance? Is that why you brou
ght me here?”

  “Honestly? I wanted to thank you for giving me the most beautiful wedding cake. And I was hoping you would sign this for me.” She opens her purse and pulls out a copy of my season of Bake Your Sweets Off. “But if you’re asking my opinion, I think you need to get your heart and head together and listen to what both have to say.”

  And as my cheeks flush red, the crowned princess of Rhodon throws her arms around me and pulls me into a hug. “On a personal note, I have always wanted a sister. Now more than ever.”

  Alex

  My feet hit the pavement as I think about what Alex has said. When Nikki pushed me away—ran away—it was not anger or disgust in her tone. It was fear. I was just too busy feeling sorry for myself to see that.

  Once it is a reasonable hour, I will find her—wherever she is—and ask her what is going on and listen. If it turns out she is afraid of a life tied to a royal, I will help her see that she does not have to be afraid of a future with me. And, I will leave the royal family if I must. All that matters is her.

  Apparently better at holding my liquor than James, I’m up the next morning with the sun and out the door for a run. I’ve never been one to sit and wait, and the run will give me time to burn

  I am also apparently a glutton for pain. Because when I reach the corner that leads me to where Nikki left me yesterday, or another route, I head toward the bakery. As I do, I notice someone seated on a bench outside of it. As I draw closer, my breath catches as my pace slows to walk.

  I would recognize that person anywhere. Because she is the person who has stolen my heart. And it is hers to keep no matter what.

  Catching sight of me for herself, Nikki stands. In her hands she holds a small box.

  “I was hoping I’d find you here.” She swallows hard. “Your sister told me you run this way when you’re in town.”

  So she’s been talking to my sister, has she? We will come back to that later.