Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1) (14 page)

Alex nodded, with a smile on his face. “I even asked him if that meant Cat was going to be the queen and he laughed. Then he explained to me, as well as he could, how relationships worked. That the woman I married would be queen one day when I was king.”

“Were you ever upset by it all? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wish to,” she added quickly.

“No secrets between us, Rebecca, and I meant it. Ask me anything and I’ll answer honestly or not at all. I will answer you now, because you deserve to know.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do,” he said as he took her hand across the table. “If we’re to have a future together, we need to share our pasts.” He gave her hand a squeeze before letting go. “I can’t deny I was upset for a time. It’s difficult to learn that any number of your future choices are no longer choices but demands. Even Cat and I had arguments about it when we were little.” He took a sip of the chilled wine.

“Did you?”

“Yes. I was upset that she was saved from it all by only thirty minutes. I was born thirty minutes before her, did you know that?” Rebecca nodded and Alex continued. “It was always different for Cat. She knew she’d have to work in the palace, at least for a time, but for the most part her life was her own. Well, as much her own as a royal life can be. She certainly wasn’t hounded as much as me, or chased by the press.”

Rebecca leaned across and gave his hand a squeeze this time. “I’m sorry things were difficult for you.”

He kissed her hand again and left it on his. He’d never known how a simple touch could comfort him so much. “It was a phase, and I grew out of it. My father was always honest with me. He told me that a lot of the time I would be faced with boring and tedious tasks, but that I would hold the future of the country in my hands, and that doing so was a great responsibility. It was his strength and confidence in me that helped me to see the good in being king. It helped when I saw firsthand how Papa changed the lives of our fellow countrymen and women.”

“It can still be difficult, though, can’t it, like with what was going on today? I understand if you can’t tell me.”

“There is something,” he said then took another drink. “I don’t want to frighten you but I won’t keep it from you, either. Shall we head to the couch?”

“Of course, if you like,” she said as she gathered their empty plates and headed for the kitchen.

“I asked what you’d like,” he said as he leaned against the doorjamb, watching her.

“Well, I have a small dessert, just strawberry cake that we could have with espresso or some Vallerian liquor, if you like.”

“I’d like to have you for dessert,” he said with a gleam in his eye and she blushed. “However, I’d love to share a plate of strawberry cake with you.”

“I’ll bring it out in a minute.”

“I’d love some espresso with it. It’ll help us stay up a bit longer, won’t it?” he said with a wink and walked away.

Oh, my
, she thought as she put a hand to her chest and took a deep breath.

A few minutes later she walked out with a tray of drinks, plates, silverware, and the strawberry cake topped with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. Alex, who had been relaxing against her couch, deftly stood up and took the tray from her hands.

“You should have asked for my help, Rebecca. This tray was quite heavy.”

“It wasn’t so bad. Thank you,” she said as they settled on the couch and she began to slice up the confection in front of her. Not everyone ate dessert after bouillabaisse, but she’d wanted to be prepared just in case.

“Did you bake the cake?”

Rebecca shook her head as she licked off a drop of whipped cream from her thumb and handed the plate to Alex with the other hand. His eyes had grown stormy again. “I, uh, I didn’t have time, so I just picked it up from the bakery around the corner.”

“I’m sure it tastes wonderful,” he said, his gaze still holding hers. She broke the link a moment later to serve herself.

“Why don’t we share a slice?” he asked as she picked up the knife again. “I don’t know about you, but that dinner was as filling as it was delicious.”

“Of course. I probably couldn’t eat a whole slice anyway.” She didn’t add that she’d been known to eat the entire cake on her own, though not after a filling dinner.

In typical male fashion, he loaded a forkful of food rather than a more demure portion. So, she was left opening her mouth wider than she’d have liked. Her lips closed over the fork and Alex slid it out slowly. Sensing some whipped cream on her lips, her tongue darted out to lick it away and she saw his eyes cloud over again.

When she’d finished chewing, he said, “You missed a spot.”

Her hand lifted to her face, but Alex stayed its movement. Instead, he leaned forward and licked the corner of her mouth. When she gasped, he took the opportunity to taste her again. The plate landed on the coffee table with a rattle and a clunk, and she was pulled into his arms.

His hands welded her against his body, one holding tight in her hair, the other cupping the curvy globes of her ass. Her hands were flat against his chest, feeling every delicious muscle through his shirt. His kisses were hard and insistent. She was almost sure her lips would be bruised the next day, but right now she could not care. Who would care when they were being kissed so thoroughly and possessively by the man they’d never thought they could have?

She felt her head spinning and a moment later she was lying flat on the couch, with Alex pressing her into the soft cushions. How did their bodies fit so well together? They shouldn’t have, but they did.

With a groan, Alex pulled back and rested his forehead against her neck. Rebecca’s hands roamed idly through his hair. After a moment, when their breathing returned to normal, Alex spoke.

“I never answered your earlier question,” he said softly.

“Which one?”

“About the security.” He shifted their bodies so they lay side by side, with Rebecca pressed into the back of the couch; it was the same position he’d maneuvered her into last night at the office.

He looked so serious, so concerned that she caressed his face. “What’s wrong?”

His arms wrapped around her and his forehead dropped to hers. “There’s been a death threat.”

She stiffened in his arms and he held on tighter until she relaxed a few moments later. “That’s nothing new, though, is it? I know there have been some against the royal family in the past.”

“This one was specifically against me, and it’s a credible one.”

“Oh, Alex,” she said as fear gripped her. “Do you know who it is? Are you safe?” Another part of being royal: being in fear for your life. Could she live a life worrying about Alex every day, worrying about herself or their children? She just didn’t know. “Why is this one credible?”

“We don’t know who’s behind it yet; Marcello’s working on that angle. It’s credible because they managed to infiltrate the palace.”

“What do you mean?”

“They sent pictures along with the threat. Pictures of me in my personal apartments in the palace.”

She gasped. “Who has access to that? Are you safe there? And your family?”

One of his hands wrapped around hers and he kissed it before holding it near his heart. “We’ve swept everyone’s apartments and we believe they’re all safe. Well, as safe as a royal can be.” His thumb caressed their joined hands. “There was something new this morning.”

“What?” she whispered.

“They sent us some fresh photographs, only a few hours after they were taken. Photos of us, in your office.”

Instinct had her pulling away from him, but her position on the couch left her little room for escape. Was that why security has asked her to leave while they swept her office earlier that day? They never told her about the camera.

“They didn’t catch anything,” Alex said quickly. “The photos were only of us by your desk. They didn’t see us together.”

“They might have it, though,” she said, her voice growing frantic. She wasn’t sure what she was more afraid of: being a target or having their relationship - if that’s what you could call it - revealed.

“They don’t, Rebecca. Please, trust me. The camera was stationary, and couldn’t move once it was secured.”

She gasped. “What about the other chiefs of staff? Were they targeted? Is my apartment safe? What about my parents? Oh, God.”

He pulled her closer, and she buried her head against his neck. Her hands were fisted with tension in his shirt. “No one else has been targeted, and the agent confirmed that your apartment and the surrounding area were clear when they swept them before you got home. There’s also no indication that your parents are risk. I would have put protection on them already if I thought that was true.”

“Alex.”

“I know exactly how you feel, Rebecca. I felt the same way when I saw the pictures of me.” He lifted her chin and she gazed into his eyes. They flashed fierce and protective and his mouth was set in grim determination.

“Listen to me, Rebecca Campo. I will not let anything happen to you, not while I have a breath left in my body.” He gave her a weakening kiss, and his fierceness made her feel safe. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happen to you, Rebecca.”

When the kiss broke, she lifted her hand to caress his face. Within a day, it seemed that her life had become completely surreal. A dream long buried of being with him, even just speaking to him, had come true. Even more than that, he cared for her. She was almost ready to believe it.

“Kiss me again,” she asked, wanting to be near him. Wanting to feel his arms safe around her. She knew she couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him, either.

With a smile, he readily complied. They stayed on the couch for minutes or hours, she couldn’t be sure, simply lost in each other. Hands roamed over clothes and teased the soft skin buried underneath. His hand flirted with the edge of her skirt and she shifted closer to him in encouragement.

His touch sizzled as he caressed her thigh and moved slowly upward. His lips had fallen to her neck and her head was thrown back to give him more access. Her breath was coming in short pants, her hands cradled his head against skin, and her leg caressed the lines of his expensive suit.

She held her breath as his hand grazed the line of her practical panties. She was definitely investing in something sexier to wear underneath, and soon.

Just as his fingers slipped underneath the band on her hip, a knock at the door had her gasping and Alex growling.

Rebecca scrambled upright and pushed Alex away. As she stood, she tripped from the head rush of sitting up too quickly after almost being seduced. After checking herself quickly in a mirror hung near the door, she chanced a glance at Alex. He was now sitting up, a disgruntled pout on his face that should have been fearful but was instead adorable. Rebecca held back a laugh as he adjusted his pants and straightened his hair.

She was a little too happy to see proof of how he reacted to her.

She took a deep breath and checked the peephole, seeing the security agent outside. She swung the door open and said, “Yes?”

“We have a message for His Highness.”

Rebecca stepped back to let him enter and Alex stepped forward, his mask of royalty and position firmly in place once again. “What is it?” he asked.

“Sir, Prince Marcello has been trying to reach you. He asks you contact him as soon as possible.”

“I see. Thank you. Let my driver know I’ll be leaving momentarily.”

“Yes, sir,” he said before leaving and closing the door behind him.