Royal's Untouched Love (11 page)

She could see the moment when Jaque realized what she meant. He shook his head, pulling her into a sweet hug. "Oh, sweetheart, no. These are yours. You get to have these."

Over her weak protests, he carried the books to the counter where he paid for all of them on his card. The proprietor was delighted to make such a good sale, and she gave them three cloth bags that they could use to haul out Heidi's new books.

Back on the much quieter street, Heidi hugged her bag of books to her chest, fighting sudden tears. Jaque looked down at her anxiously, reaching out to touch her face with a gentle finger.

"Heidi? Are you all right?"

She nodded, swallowing hard. "I am," she said, looking up. "I'm just … so very, very happy I know you."

He smiled, relieved. When they deposited her new library in the trunk of his car, he turned to wrap her in his arms.

"You know, you are one of those people who should always get precisely what it is they want."

She grinned up at him. "Truly?"

"Truly."

At this point, however, there was only one more thing she wanted, but first she had to be brave enough to bring it up with him.

They hadn't made love since that first night on the barge. Neither of them had mentioned it, but it hung in the air between them. They kissed, they touched, and when things started to get steamy, Heidi pulled back. Jaque had been the picture of understanding, which somehow had made Heidi feel even worse.

She didn't know what she was waiting for, or at least, she didn't know until he hugged her at his car that night, her new books snug in his trunk. She had been waiting to feel as if she really knew him, and after that, she felt as if she did. He was a kind man who wanted to give her the things that made her happy, and that was when she had started to plan.

*

The next Friday, she had texted him early on, asking if they could spend the evening at her apartment. He had told her that of course they could, and he even offered to bring her favorite takeout from the Ethiopian place that she liked so much.

Heidi grinned to think that he thought that this would be like so many of the nights that they had spent together. Her own surprise for the evening was currently in a glittery little bag under her bed. It had been a daring purchase for her to say the least.

As the day went on, however, she was growing increasingly nervous. Perhaps she was rushing into things. Perhaps she had misread the situation entirely. They had had a wonderful thing going for weeks now, and with all of the work for the fully green yacht finally getting underway, they were both working so hard. Could she really say that they were ready for this?

What she could say, however, was that she was slowly going crazy without it. Before Jaque had made love to her, she had never thought that she would be quite so consumed with something as simple as the shape of a man in his clothes, or the graceful curve of his fingers wrapped around a pint glass. She had never known until she had felt that body pressed against hers or those fingers touching her so sweetly. Now she did, and sometimes, she thought she would go out of her mind with longing.

Heidi decided that she might not be so experienced with love, but she knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was Jaque.

When he rang her bell, she buzzed him up. She clutched her robe closed, taking a deep breath and waiting with her heart beating fast for his quick knock on the door.

Silently, she opened it for him, as he had his hands full of bags of Ethiopian food, and she stepped back.

"Sorry I'm a little late, I hit some nasty traffic coming up … Heidi, are you feeling all right?"

She realized that she was trembling, and in her robe, she might look slightly waifish. Apparently, she couldn't even plan a seduction right, and the urge to call it all off mingled with a hysterical laughter that was bubbling up in her throat. Fortunately, she did not give in to either desire.

Jaque put the food down on her table, approaching her with concern. "Are you sick? Do you need to go to bed? I can put the food away, and I can get you something milder …"

"I'm not sick," she managed to say, her voice shaking a little. "I'm not sick, but … maybe I wouldn't mind going to bed."

When she uttered the last word, she took a deep breath and allowed the robe to flutter to the ground.

Underneath, she wore a sheer babydoll lingerie top, with bra cups that lifted her soft breasts and a fall of sheer green fabric that fell down to the tops of her hips. The transparent fabric told the world that she was wearing precisely nothing underneath, and with her eyes lowered, she heard Jaque catch his breath.

"Heidi …" he said, and in that word, she could hear that he had been as frustrated and as needy as she had been, though perhaps he had been better at hiding it. He shook his head as if he needed to come out of a daze, looking at her with eyes darkened with desire.

"I'm only going to ask you once," he said. "Are you sure?"

"With all my heart and my body," she whispered.

With a nearly savage sound, he lifted her up in his arms. He dropped her onto her bed, coming to lie over her like a wolf ready to devour its prey. By all rights she should have been terrified by his passion. Instead, she was ready for him to devour her.

He kissed her with almost bruising force, sucking on her tongue and then thrusting his own between her lips. She could feel the clothed bulge of his manhood against her thigh, and she knew that soon, they would give each other the same pleasure that had haunted her.

She wrapped her arms tight around his neck, clinging to him as best she could. Heidi twined her legs around his, desperate for more of him pressed against her.

"You're so beautiful," he growled. "I have not thought of anyone else since we lay together. I couldn't …"

While she was digesting that shocking piece of news, he renewed his assault, nipping at her sensitive earlobe before making his way down her neck. He measured her pulse with his tongue before bringing his teeth together in a sensual love bite that made her moan in pleasure.

He's marking me,
she thought wildly.
As if I belong to him.

The thought was shockingly sexy, and that was before his hands ventured down to her underthings. She heard a slight tearing sound as he wrestled them off of her, but right then, clothes were the last thing that she cared about. Now she lay naked in front of him, and Jaque took a moment simply to drink in the sight of her before, coming down to her again.

Heidi whimpered as she felt his hot mouth on her belly before it dipped down even lower. His hands spread her legs apart, leaving her feeling like she was more exposed than she had ever been in her life.

"Oh, god," she whimpered, right before he leaned in to run his hot wet tongue along her slit.

There was something almost brutally devoted about the way he pleasured her. The shocks of fire and desire he sent through her body were a thing that he needed. He needed to hear her cries of pleasure, and he needed to feel her body shake with need.

His tongue dragged along her slit until even she could smell how wet she was getting, and then Heidi cried out even louder as he nuzzled his lips against her clit. That center of pleasure wept for him, and when she felt him take it between his gentle lips, she felt that fire tear through her.

Heidi's hands were in Jaque's hair, pulling hard, pulling him even tighter to her body, but he didn't care at all. Instead, he lashed her sensitive flesh with his tongue, spreading her with his fingers so he could lap at all of her.

The pleasure she felt roared up on her like a juggernaut. There was nothing she could do to stop it. When it tore through her, she covered her face with her hands and screamed raggedly, her entire body arched like a bow.

She was only distantly aware that he had pulled away, and when she finally had the will to look up, she could see that he was crouched over her like a wild animal ready to be let off the leash.

Though Heidi was already limp with her own climax, she needed his too. Almost drunkenly, she made a beckoning gesture with her hand.

"Come, take me," she murmured, and that was all he needed.

He tore at his own clothes until he was naked, and then he took her by the hips. With barely a grunt of effort, he turned her on her stomach before raising them up again. Heidi shivered at this position, feeling as wild as the west wind, waiting for her lover to take her.

She heard him rustle with the condom, and then he was behind her again.

He entered her with one sure thrust, pushing his full length into her wet depths. He paused, and then he started thrusting into her, his hands on her hips, his body rocking her with every movement.

To Heidi's disbelief the power of his thrusts kindled that same pleasure in her again. Almost against her will, another orgasm started low in her body, rising so high and so fast she was almost afraid.

"Oh … oh, Jaque, please, please!"

As if her words had opened something inside herself, she felt that red heat come over her again. She was shaking, she was burying her face in the covers, she was pushing herself back against him, and she tipped over the edge, her body on fire.

She could still hear the echo of her pleasure when Jaque thrust into her a final time, with a triumphant roar. For a bare insane moment, she resented the condom, wanting him to spill hot and deep inside her.

For a long moment, they were still, and then they dropped bonelessly to the bed.

Heidi relished his weight on top of her, murmuring petulantly as he pulled away.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" he murmured, brushing her hair back from her face. "I didn't hurt you?"

"No," she whispered, turning to face him fully. "You didn't … I feel as if I fell through the sun and came out among the stars."

If he thought her words were strange, he didn't laugh. Instead, he only leaned in to kiss her sweetly on her swollen mouth.

"I'll take you to swim in the stars, darling …"

She nestled into his arms, and with a smile, she knew that this was only the beginning.

*

The next morning, Heidi was the one who rose first, tiptoeing to the bathroom to wash up before winding up standing next to the bed, staring down at her lover.

Her lover.

That was what he was, she realized. This whole long, strange dance, their entire relationship from beginning to end—he was her lover, and there was something wonderful about that.

He stretched out like a sleeping panther on her bed, head turned to one side and hair inky black on her white pillows. As she watched, his eyelids fluttered, and he grinned up at her.

"Little sneak, were you watching me?" he asked.

She shrugged, feeling a little shy, but more impish. "Maybe. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he said, rising up to pull her into a kiss. For a moment, it looked like he was going to pull her right back into bed for more of the pleasure they had shared the night before, but with a reluctant sigh, he pulled back.

"I need a shower, and I need some food. How about if I run under the water, and then we can grab some breakfast?"

"Sounds delightful," she said, planting a kiss on his shoulder.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, his phone went off.

"Oh, Jaque, your phone!"

"Passcode is two-zero-three-four-four-zero. Check to see if it's Paul from accounting. He has something I've been waiting to see."

Without thinking about it, she did as he asked. It turned out that it wasn't from Paul in accounting at all, but instead from his mother, Queen Greta herself. She would have closed it without looking at the message, but then she glimpsed the attached photo.

It was one snapped the day Jaque had bought her her books, a sweet picture of them standing together, bags in hand. Jaque was leaning over to kiss her head, and she looked up, tremulous and happier than she had ever been. It was a perfect moment, one that she intended to cherish forever, and here it was for anyone to see.

Numbly, she read the message, unsure of what it would reveal.

Well done. Keep this up, and the parliament will be sure to welcome you back with open arms. I knew you could be a good man if you just tried hard enough.

The meaning of the words crashed through her. She felt as if someone had punched her in the chest. Heidi gasped, finally sitting down in shock.

It seemed like it took Jaque hours to come out of the bathroom. When he did, he looked at her quizzically.

"Darling, are you …?"

She silently handed him the phone. She saw him go pale when he read the message, and by the time he turned to her, the rage that had been hidden by the first onslaught of surprise was rising up.

"Heidi, this isn't what you think it is," he said. "You have it all wrong …"

"Do I?" she spat. "Do I really? Tell me what I could possibly have mistaken here, Jaque! Tell me what I am misunderstanding."

"My mother has wanted me to reform my image for years," he said. "I'm too wild, too untrustworthy for the Swedish people. She was threatening to disinherit me …"

Heidi shot him a disdainful look. "And that would have bankrupted you? That would have utterly destroyed you?"

From the flinch, she could tell that that wasn't the case at all.

"I would have lost my birthright," he said. "I would have lost a part of myself, and I couldn't let that happen."

"So what did you do?" she demanded, her voice low and venomous.

"I swear to you, this was not deliberate or planned. The night after the dance club, I got an ultimatum. This was my last chance. Fly straight or sail away. And there you were …"

"And there I was," Heidi spat, "There, perfect for your campaign to reform yourself, ideal for you to regain your place, and all it took was turning me into your little puppet."

"You were never my puppet, Heidi," Jaque snapped. "You are the woman I love, the one I care about …"

"The one who so conveniently showed up to clean up your reputation. I guess the virgin from the Midwest turned out to be good for something after all!"

He paled at her vicious words. When Jaque reached out to touch her, she pulled away hard. "No. No, don't believe that, never believe that … Heidi, I lo—"