by Katie Dowe
“Where will the wedding be?” Delia asked, looking at her daughter sitting on this rich man’s lap as if she belonged. She even looked like a princess.
“We want it to be held in Costa Land. The castle sits on top of a small rise and has a spectacular view of the rest of the land. We are hoping for Christmas Day,” he told them.
“Which is very ambitious of Alexander,” Debbie said firmly. “It will be impossible to plan a wedding for that time.”
“She is right,” Alexander said with a smile as he pulled Debbie closer to him. “We are still in the debating stage.”
Suddenly, they heard a baby cried and Deloris got up to go and get her daughter. To their surprise, Alexander asked to hold her and the child went to him without fuss, staring up into his handsome face, her large dark brown eyes fixed on him. Debbie had gotten up when he reached for the baby and the expression on his face as he looked down at the baby in his arms had her breath catching in her throat!
They stayed a few minutes longer and then left reassuring the family that they would let them know what was happening. He had won over her mother and had the grudging respect of her brother. Both Deloris and Darcy had fallen in love with him.
“You are quiet?” he said as they made their way back to the manor. It was approaching evening and the dark had descended.
“You want children,” she murmured as she looked at him.
“You don’t?”
She looked out the window and took a deep breath. “I am scared.”
“Of having children?”
“Of everything.” He had come to the electronic gate which swung open and he drove in and slid it into park before turning to her. “You are a prince and you have a country named after you.”
“Actually it was named after my great great grandfather. We-”
”Stop, Alexander, or so help me!” She took another breath. “I am serious! What do I know about being a princess?”
“You will learn.” He pulled her over to his side and onto his lap. “I will be by your side and I will teach you.”
“You were very good with Darcy,” she whispered shakily as she clasped his face between her hands.
“I think she is adorable. We are going to make beautiful children.”
She laughed shakily. “I suspect so. You are quite the pretty boy.”
“I love you,” he murmured suddenly.
“What?” She stared at him.
“I love you, Debbie Ann Williams soon to be Costa. I have been trying to identify the twisty feeling inside me whenever I think of you. I love you so much that I do not want to spend another moment away from you.”
“You love me?” she asked him stupidly.
“I do.”
“Oh, Alex!” she cried softly as she pulled his head down to hers. He wrapped his arms around her tight as he took her mouth with his.
*****
“Prince Alexander Costa to wed!” the headline screamed. The press release had gone out Monday morning after Debbie had finally agreed to go public.
“What about my work?” she had asked Amelia as they sat around the dining room table on Friday afternoon.
Amelia looked at her son swiftly. “I spoke to her about it and she nearly snapped my head off,” he said with an eloquent shrug as he grinned at his fiancée.
“I am not staying in this place and twiddle my thumbs as breathtaking as it is,” Debbie warned them. Alexander had taken her a partial tour and she had been taken aback by the opulence of it.
“You can still be my assistant, but, my dear, you are going to be bombarded by the press and there will be different functions you will have to attend,” Amelia told her.
“You do it then so can I,” she had told them.
*****
Amelia was right. The minute their engagement was announced she was rushed by the press and her clothes questioned. “Who are you wearing, Debbie?”
Leesa, Monique, and Kelly came to her rescue and clothes from Romano’s were delivered to her at the manor where she was now living. The staff started her differently and she realized that they were practically bowing to her.
“I hate that I am not treated like before,” she complained to Alexander as he rubbed water down her back. They were wading naked in the pool and she felt sated and contented as she leaned back against him.
“What do you expect? You are engaged to a prince.” He bit down on the softness of her neck and she shivered.
“Your ego is showing,” she told him softly. He turned her around.
“It’s not ego.” He tilted her chin. “You are going to have to start wearing clothes for one time only. I could hire someone to catalogue them for you.”
“You will do no such thing!” she said with a laugh as she used her hands to splash water onto him. He followed suit and splashed her back.
“Alexander, my hair!” she screeched. With a mischievous smile on his face, he advanced to her. “Don’t you dare-” Before she could finish he had dunked her beneath the surface and had her spluttering as the water got into her mouth.
“You are going to pay for that,” she warned him as she came towards him. He caught her up into his arms and headed for the edge. He put her onto the ledge and heaved himself up, water running off his magnificent body as he came over to her. He lifted her up again and they headed for the bathroom where he took a towel and wiped her off gently.
“Alex-”
“Shh.” He reached between her legs and parting the folds of her vagina he used the towel to massage her there.
“Please,” she gasped as he put a part of the towel over his finger and entered her easing into her slowly. Her fingers gripped his taut shoulders as the sensation trembled through her. His head descended and he took a wet nipple inside his mouth. Debbie called out his name feverishly as she gripped him. He pulled out and lifting her in his arms he took her to the bed where he continued to torture her with his expertise!
Chapter 9
“It’s done,” Alexandra Costa, spinster sister to the King of Costa Land, told them quietly as she took her sat on one of the silken sofas strewn around the huge living room in the manor. It had been two weeks since the engagement of Prince Alexander Costa had been announced and the press was having a feeding frenzy!
“What do you mean exactly?” Prince Alexander asked her tightly. She had called last night to say that she was coming over and she was on a flight and she would explain everything when she get here. The woman was tall and stately and had the regal bearing that both Alexander and Amelia carried. She bore a strong resemblance to her nephew with his dark hair and intense dark eyes. She had been travelling since last night and now it was almost eight the nest night and she still looked regal and impressive in her smart light blue silk skirt suit.
“It means that your uncle and his rag tag army of rebels are in custody and your father is free.” She looked at her nephew and then at the woman she had been introduced to as his fiancée for a moment. She had never had children of her own and loved Alexander like her own and wondered if the woman caught in his arms was good enough for him. Her brother would decide.
“Where is he?” Alexander demanded, his arms tightening around Debbie. “Why is he not here?”
“He is shaken up and dehydrated, darling. He is getting the care he needs. He has lost a lot of weight but apart from a few cuts and bruises he will get well.”
“I am going to kill that bastard,” Alexander threatened.
“Language, darling,” Amelia said absently. “I would like to speak to my husband.”
“Of course, my dear.” Alexandra nodded and reached into her leather pouch for a phone. “We are limiting the amount of calls he receives.” She glanced at her exquisite diamond watch and calculated the time before she made the call. “Dominic, how is he?”
She listened for a spell and then answered, “His family would like to speak with him.” She handed the phone to Amelia who moved across the room to the fireplace for privacy.
> “So when is the wedding?” she asked her nephew lightly, drawing his attention from his mother.
“As soon as Father is well enough.” He eyed his aunt warily. “I am in love with her, Aunt Alex, and I don’t want to hear anything.”
“I was not going to say anything.”
“I can speak for myself,” Debbie spoke up, looking sideways at him. “I am not royalty and I have tried to tell Alexander that but he refuses to listen. He is growing on me so I think I will stick around.” She met the woman’s gaze levelly and Alexandra smiled grudgingly.
“She is no pushover,” she said to her nephew.
“Tell me about it,” Alexander grumbled. He looked up as his mother came over with the phone, a sheen of tears in her eyes.
“Your father wants to speak with you.”
He took the phone and when Debbie made as if to get up he held her firmly. “Father.” She looked at him in surprise at the wealth of respect in his deep voice.
He listened and then smiled. “I am so happy that you came out of this. It has been too long.” He listened again. “Yes, her name is Debbie.” He glanced at his fiancée. “Okay, sir.” He handed the phone to her. “He wants to speak to you.”
She gave him a fulminating stare before taking the phone from him. “Your Majesty.”
“I understand that I am getting a daughter.” His voice sounded a little faint no doubt from his ordeals but it had authority written all over it.
“And I understand I am getting a king for a father,” she said with a faint smile in her voice.
“I cannot wait to meet you, my dear.”
“Neither can I.” She looked up at his son. “Alexander misses you a lot.”
“And I missed them so much. When is the wedding?”
“As soon as you are well enough.”
“I will be well enough at the end of January. We will be having a reinstating ceremony and it so happens it will also be my birthday. It will be an excellent time for a wedding. Costa Land needs the celebration after what my brother has put it through in the past eighteen years.”
“I think it can be arranged.”
“Okay, my dear, let me speak back to my son.”
*****
The excitement in the air could not be quelled. It had been leaked that King Alexander Leonardo the third had reclaimed the throne from his brother and was now recuperating.
“He likes you, darling!” Amelia told her with a glow in her beautiful dark eyes. “He is getting stronger every day and making plans from his bed. I am leaving to go to him in two days after I tie things up here.”
“What about the company you built?” Amelia asked her. They were in her office after a particular hectic day of phone calls and media rush.
“I can run it from there. I will be between Costa Land and here, darling, and I suspect it will be the same for you.” She smiled and reached out to take Debbie’s hand. “You have made a difference in my son’s life and for that I am so grateful.”
“You are most welcome,” Debbie said with a smile.
“Now, darling, let’s talk wedding.”
*****
“I would like you to come with us,” Alexander urged. They were in his suite in the bedroom sitting before the fire. He had just made love to her thoroughly and when he had finished he had done so again having her weeping against his chest as she gave in to the powerful orgasm that claimed her. She had on one of his t-shirts and nothing else and her feet were propped onto his naked lap as he massaged her insteps.
“No,” she told him decisively. “I have things to do for your mother here and Leesa and the others are planning the wedding. I have fittings for my dress that will be sent over from Romano’s. Apparently, when you are marrying a prince, the dress has to be custom made and of the highest quality. So I have to look at the fabric and texture and the finished product. I would have chosen any old dress to put on.”
“I don’t want to sleep without you,” he grumbled as he pulled her over and into his arms.
“You need time to re bond with your dad, Alexander.” Her hands framed his handsome face. “Lord, you are beautiful,” she muttered as she bent to kiss his lips. He held her firm as he pushed his tongue inside her mouth and deepened the kiss. She pulled back forcibly, her heart racing and her body trembling. She wanted him again! How could that be?
“I am going to miss you,” she said achingly as she rested her forehead against his.
“So come with me,” he whispered.
“I can’t,” she said shakily. “I am going to have to get rid of my apartment and the things there. Maia and Derek are planning to take it off my hands.” Her brother and best friend had gotten married two weeks ago in private ceremony. She had asked Maia if she was happy and the girl had told her yes. “He is really trying, Deb,” she had said with a gentle smile. “How long are you staying?”
“Two days max. Father wants to get things running as quickly as possible. He is still a little weak but he is back on the throne and wants to show a united front to our people. I also need to redecorate our bedroom suite. I left there when I was twelve, baby, so I am sure you are not going to want to spend the rest of your time in something so juvenile.”
“What do you have in there? Football posters and action figures?” she teased.
“Posters of big busted women in tiny bikinis,” he told her with a straight face.
“Is that so?” she asked softly as she grabbed a handful of hair and twisted causing him to wince. “All of that better be gone when I get there.”
“Every last one of them,” he promised with a laugh. “The only big busted woman I need to see is you.”
“My busts are not big,” she protested as she looked down at them.
“You are right. They are perfect,” he whispered as he pulled the shirt over her head and cupped them in his palms. “They are just right,” he murmured before bending his head to take a nipple into his mouth.
*****
The woman was nervous. Her reputation depended on her making the perfect dress. Debbie was soon to be a princess and even though she was a veteran at Romano’s she found herself getting edgy. The material was of the softest white silk and design had been thought over and discarded too many times to count. She was going to be a princess so not too much cleavage. It had to be Princess Diana tasteful but not too old fashioned. Monique Romano was also in the room as well as Leesa Wellington and Kelly Takahashi. Talk about pressure!
Debbie stepped down from the pedestal with the help of Marjorie and stood before the women who had become her friends. “Okay, before I go to take a look in the mirror I want to know what you think.” She put her hands on her hips and stood before them. She had two weeks left for the wedding and two weeks left to say goodbye to her home and she was a little scared. The wedding was the thirtieth of January but she was going a week ahead of time to get to know the place and the people including Alexander’s father.
“Princessy,” Leesa told her with a grin.
“What does that even mean?” Debbie demanded as she made her way over to the mirror. She stopped and stared at her reflection in amazement. The dress was classy without being boring. It had a sweetheart neckline with tiny pearls along the edges. It had a fitted bodice and tiny puffed sleeves. The skirt drifted down gently and went several inches away from her ankles. It had lace overlaid and was magnificent! She had never seen anything like it! “It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she brushed her hands along the hips.
“Thank goodness!” the woman said behind her.
“Fit for a princess,” Kelly told her with a shake of her head.
“You will be wearing a crown so we are traveling with a stylist to do hair and makeup,” Monique told her.
“We are going to need several planes to get everyone there.”
“That we have,” Leesa told her.
*****
Debbie grabbed his hand as the plane started its descent. It had snowed earlier and the ground below looked
like a very large white blanket. It was finally here. Next week Saturday she would be married and become Princess Debbie Costa. Alexander had come back after the allotted two days and had hugged her tight and told her he was not leaving her again. “I cannot wait to show you everything.” His face looked intense with joy as he held her hand. “I cannot wait to share my life with you.”
“I am nervous. I am not usually nervous.”
“No need to be,” he reassured her.
They were met at the airstrip by a man who bowed as soon as he came to them. “Prince Alexander.” He beamed revealing very white teeth in his dark face.
“Baby, this is Renaldo. He was my chauffeur and friend for all of the childhood I spent here. Renaldo, this is my fiancée Debbie.”
“Miss Debbie, a pleasure.” He bent over her hand. “Your parents are eagerly waiting.”
He drove slowly so she could see the quaint little town. It was like a fairytale with the small houses and the neat yards. There were several large houses with palm trees and Alexander told her they belonged to several people who served his father. “We don’t have a lot of crime here because wrongdoers are swiftly brought to justice.”
The palace had white flags and red white and blue banners flying from it. It was maybe a little bigger than the manor and was magnificent! “It’s lovely,” she whispered. He took her hand and led her outside as soon as the door opened for them. His parents as well as the staff were lined up in the lovely portico waiting for them.
King Alexei along with his wife, Queen Amelia, stood and waited for them. Amelia looked different from the woman she had sat and had dinner and breakfast with so many times. She was wearing a delicate blue dress and had white gloves on. Her husband was dressed in full regalia and looked every inch the king of his country. He was tall and looked confident as if he knew every minute what he was about.