Reluctantly Royal (15 page)

“Yes,” I whispered as he picked up the pace. “Yes, please. Yes.”

His eyes clouded and I could tell that he wasn’t far from the end. Reaching around him, I grabbed his ass and urged him on. Faster. Harder.

I looked up into his eyes just as I fell over the edge. It was blinding; far more intense than I remembered it ever being before. Triumph filled his gaze as he stared down at me as he finished.

He pressed his face to the crook of my neck, breathing heavily, and murmured sweet nothings as he pressed his lips to my shoulder.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “Perfect.”

I closed my eyes, enjoying the weight of his body pressing into me. Enjoying the sense of contentment we had created.

Enjoying Max.

I had warned him that this would be dangerous. And I’d been right.

I was losing my heart to this prince.

A prince who would hate everything about the career I was trying to build for myself.

TWELVE

H
ER ARMS WERE
still wrapped around me, one hand cupping my ass as we lay on the tiny sofa in my studio. Her breathing had slowed and I shifted so that I wasn’t crushing her. Carefully, I rolled so that we were facing one another, her soft body tucked against mine.

I wasn’t sure what to say. There were too many emotions rattling around in my head. But the dominant one was victory. Quickly followed by a sense of possessiveness that surprised me.

“I’d like to paint you like this.” My eyes ran over her face, enjoying the way it was highlighted by the sun.

“Nude?” She laughed, and her perfect breasts moved against me.

“The look on your face right now.” I touched her nose. “You look satisfied.”

“Feeling proud of yourself, Your Highness?” She wrinkled her perfect nose and rolled her eyes.

“Absolutely.” I grinned down at her.

“You’re something else.”

“So are you.” I let my hand slide down her back and over the curve of her hip. She had such perfect lines.

“I bet you tell all the girls that.” Her eyes looked down between us.

“No, I don’t.” It was truth. No one had compared to Meredith.

She hummed under her breath. “And is there anyone that I should worry about making jealous?”

Her guarded eyes looked up into mine and I let out a chuckle and then realized maybe I had something to worry about. Way to get the information backward, Max.

“No.” I tilted her chin up. “Is there someone in your life?”

“There hasn’t been anyone since Marty’s father.” She shrugged, but shock filled my body.

“No one?”

“No.” She sat up and pulled away from me. “Did you believe my dad when he called me a whore?”

“Of course not.” How could I explain that I was surprised no one else had taken the time to get close to her? “Thank you.”

“For what?” She looked at me, surprised.

“For trusting me with something so important.”

Something soft filled her eyes as she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my mouth. “You’re welcome.”

“I suppose we need to get up and join the world?” My eyes ran over her body and back to her breasts. I really hadn’t spent enough time playing with those.

“Stop staring at my chest.” She laughed.

“I’m not sure I can help it.” I moved so that I was a little closer to them. “They’re begging for more attention.”

“I don’t hear anything.” She pushed at my shoulder and started to stand up but I penned her with my arm.

“At least let me tell them good-bye before you leave.” I captured one peak with my mouth and enjoyed her gasp of surprise.

Her skin was perfect. Soft and creamy, made for being kissed. Letting go of that peak I grabbed the other, flicking it with my tongue.

When she moaned gently, I pulled away.

“That was a hell of a way to say good-bye.” Her voice was raspy.

“Imagine saying hello.” I raised one eyebrow. There were a lot of things I wanted to do to Meredith and we’d only touched the tip of the iceberg.

She smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead, she stood up and looked around the studio. I tucked my arms under my head and watched as she walked around retrieving her clothing.

“Are you going to stay there all day?” She looked at me as she put her bra back on.

“I could.” I stretched, enjoying the way her eyes ran over my body.

“Don’t you have things to do?” She stepped into her jeans and zipped them back up.

“Didn’t anyone tell you? I’m the slacker prince.” I raised one eyebrow. “I lie about and paint things when I feel like it.”

“Slacker.” She snorted. “You organized an entire art event in England, came to my rescue, and then fought a dragon.”

“My dragon-slaying skills were getting a little rusty.” I sat up on one elbow. “I needed a refresher.”

“I think you poked him with a stick.” She shook her head and looked away from me. Her shoulders drooped a little and I tensed.

“I forgot my sword at home.” I sat up and grabbed my pants from the floor. Things had been going so well. What had happened?

“I need to check on Marty.” She bit her lip, but still didn’t look up at me. “I shouldn’t have left him alone like that.”

“You didn’t leave him alone.” I pulled my shirt on and turned her to face me. “He’s in the very capable hands of my sister and sister-in-law. I told you I wouldn’t leave him if he wasn’t safe.”

As I looked at her face I watched as she pulled on a mask, changing into someone else. Before my eyes, she became aloof and distant, the opposite of the woman I had just been holding in my arms.

“Don’t do that.” I lifted her chin with my fingers. “You don’t have to play a part with me.”

Her eyes widened a bit, but she managed to keep her face intact. “What do you mean?”

“This.” I narrowed my eyes. “Just a minute ago you were alive, open and real. Now you’ve shut it all down. Tighter than a prison cell.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t do this, Meredith.” I sighed in frustration. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but you don’t have to shut me out.”

“It’s for your own good.” The words tumbled out of her mouth.

“What is?” I felt my eyebrows arch.

“We did something amazing together.” She touched my chest. “But we can’t do it again.”

“What? Why?” That blew my plans out of the water. I’d planned on doing it a lot more.

“I have too much going on.” She shrugged. “I can’t handle the complications that come with any kind of relationship. And you don’t want what comes along with me.”

I stared at her, picking my words carefully. “It’s too late for that.”

“Complications?”

“A relationship.” I let go of her chin. “There’s something between us. Whatever you want to call it. Friendship, a relationship, attraction. It’s there already.” Shit, things had gotten out of hand fast. When was the last time I was in a relationship? I avoided them like the plague, but here I was arguing that we were in the middle of one.

“What about when I go home?” Her mask cracked and I could see the worry swirling beneath. “When I go back to singing and have to make public appearances? What then? That’s not the life you want.”

“Let’s take it one day at a time, okay?” I took a deep breath. Again the thought of her leaving twisted my gut, but she was right. I hated being in the public eye. Hated the press that would go along with having a famous girlfriend. “No expectations.”

Her face froze and I watched as she worked through something. “I’m everything you want to avoid, Max.”

“Not everything.” I shrugged. Oh shit. Was I changing my mind? No. Not about the press. That would never happen. But maybe . . . maybe it didn’t matter if she was in the spotlight as long as I wasn’t. “I don’t know. All I know is that I want to spend time with you. And with Marty.”

Her eyes closed for a minute. “Okay.”

“Then let’s go downstairs and see if we can teach Marty something about football.” I sat down and pulled my shoes on.

She nodded her head, but didn’t say anything. Whatever was bothering her was still there, nagging at her mind. Until she worked through it or decided to tell me what it was, there was nothing I could do.

Taking her hand in mine, I led her downstairs and through the back door. I wanted to touch her, needed to cement what had passed between us.

“You’re cheating!” Marty yelled as Cathy picked up the ball and ran away from him with it.

Cathy laughed loudly as she ran back and forth, keeping the ball out of Marty’s reach.

“Cheater!” Sam yelled from her shaded spot under a tree.

“I’ve got to!” Cathy yelled back. “The kid is good!”

“Should we go help Marty?” I squeezed Meredith’s fingers gently.

“I think I’d be more of a hindrance than a help.” She flashed a brief smile. “I’m terrible.”

“It’s all for fun.” I pulled her toward the field. “Get some sunshine. It’ll do you good.”

“You’re as persistent as Marty.” She shook her head. “You’re going to regret this.”

“No I’m not.” I laughed. “You’re on Cathy’s team.”

She looked at me and started laughing. “That’s cruel.”

“She’s making Marty chase her all over the place. This way it’ll be fair.”

“Fine.” She pulled her hair back away from her face. “If I break a leg, it’s on you.”

“I can live with that.” I ran ahead, catching Cathy from behind so that Marty could grab the ball.

“Penalty!” Cathy shouted.

“It’s an all for all.” Marty took the ball and started dribbling it toward the large tree.

Meredith chased after him, desperately trying to kick the ball away from him while the boy laughed loudly.

Letting Cathy go, I chased after Marty and Meredith. “Pass!”

Marty kicked me the ball and I dribbled it a ways while Cathy gained ground on me.

“I’m open!” Marty called, Meredith still doggedly pursuing him.

“Here.” I kicked the ball to him and hollered in triumph when he scored a goal between two trees.

Samantha cheered from the sidelines, her hands in the air.

“Good job.” Meredith held her hand out for a high-five.

“You too.” Marty hopped up and smacked her hand.

We spent hours playing in the sun, chasing the ball back and forth. Meredith scored a goal, which was cause for celebration, even if it looked like it wasn’t on purpose. I picked her up and she laughed as I spun her in a circle. Marty giggled at his mom as she tried to get me to put her down.

“It was an accident.” She smacked at my shoulder.

“Don’t admit it.” I set her back down. “And that’s a hell of an improvement.”

“Gee, thanks.” She playfully punched my shoulder. When she turned to go back toward the ball I smacked her ass.

“Fair’s fair.” I winked at her shocked expression.

By the time dinner rolled around I had almost forgotten how the day had started out. Meredith and Marty fit into my family’s routine smoothly. In some ways it felt like they’d always been a part of it. In fact it was a little scary how easily they got along with my sister and sister-in-law.

“Alex should be home soon.” Samantha was sitting on the floor, putting together a puzzle with Marty. We had all taken up spots around the room after eating. Cathy was working on her computer and I was idly sketching the room.

“He’s coming back tonight?” It was a long drive to D’Lynsal from the palace.

“You know how he is.” She shrugged, but I could see her smile. Alex barely let her out of his sight now that she was pregnant. For some reason that didn’t seem as annoying to me today as it normally did.

“Are you coming tomorrow?”

“Of course. We all are.” Sam shot me a pointed look before tilting her head in Marty’s direction.

“Right.” Clue understood. I wasn’t to speak about the funeral in front of Marty. No reason to upset him.

Looking back at my sketch pad, I frowned. I needed to pick out an appropriate suit before the morning. We’d have to leave early to make it back to the Thysmer township in time.

“All right, buddy. Time for a bath.” Meredith came down the stairs, her hair still wet from her own shower.

“We’re not done yet!” He looked up at her with worried eyes.

“It’s a six-hundred piece puzzle. You’re not going to be able to finish it tonight.” She leveled a stare at him.

“Can we work on it tomorrow?” Marty looked at Sam with big eyes.

“We’ll leave it here until we can, okay?”

“Okay.” He hopped up and ran toward his mom.

She chased him up the stairs, telling him to not make a mess.

“Spill.” Sam looked at me with serious eyes.

Cathy shut her computer and moved closer to me. I sighed and shut my sketchbook. There was no escaping this. They needed to know, especially with the funeral tomorrow.

“It was bad.” I leveled my gaze on them.

“What happened?” Cathy shook her head at me. “You can’t just say it was bad. What was bad?”

“Her father.” I had to walk a careful line here. I didn’t want to tell them all of Meredith’s dirty laundry. “He drinks.”

“You mean he’s an alcoholic.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” I frowned. “I’m guessing that Mother knew or had a heads-up, because she sent someone to help out.”

“Sounds like something she would do.” Cathy nodded her head. “But why did you bring them here today?”

“Turns out that the old man left a will. Meredith’s father thought everything would just pass to him. Needless to say, he was not happy.”

“How so?” Sam climbed up off the floor and sat down in a chair.

“He’s an angry drunk.” I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees. “I couldn’t leave them there.”

“You think he would hurt them?” Cathy lowered her voice. “Was it that bad?”

I nodded my head.

“Surely he wouldn’t hurt his daughter or grandson.” Cathy shook her head. “What did he do? Yell at them?”

I debated before answering and decided that they deserved to know the truth. “The first day I went over there, Arthur tried to hit Meredith.”

Cathy covered her mouth, but Sam sat up straighter.

“What did you do?”

“I pulled her out of his path and penned him until he calmed down.” I shrugged. “I wanted them to leave that night, but she wasn’t having any of it.”