THEIR_VIRGIN_PRINCESS (12 page)

“So? You guys need to pay more attention to palace gossip.
Their assistant is that little brunette who’s been fucking the hell out of
Tal’s valet, who told me tonight that he was very happy because she isn’t
leaving tomorrow after all. This is a small craft. The weight on the plane is delicate
and has to be fairly precise. So when they changed the flight plans, in
addition to the flight crew, they listed a single female passenger, weighing
approximately one hundred forty pounds.”

“But that chick might weigh ninety pounds when she’s soaking
wet.” As far as Lan was concerned, that assistant needed to eat a cheeseburger.

“Yes. She would likely hyperventilate if her scale said
that, yet she’s the one who filled out the change-of-flight form,” Dane
finished.

“Son of a bitch, she’s running,” Cooper cursed.

“I don’t think she can run in those heels. Yas’s assistant
seems really puny and unhealthy.” Lan was pretty sure she wasn’t a runner.

Dane laughed. “He’s talking about Alea, buddy. She’s the one
who’s the right weight. They’re trying to pass it off as the other girl.
They’re giving her the means to leave on her own and away from all these
people, including us.”

Damn, he should have caught on. That sounded like the kind
of play Alea would pull. “I saw that Thurston Hugs-a-Lot fucker listening in on
you and Tal. The slimy bastard told Alea that we’re taking over, and she’s
running.”

“You have a way with words, Lan,” Coop said, then he turned
to Dane. “So what are we going to do? Stop the plane?”

Lan didn’t think that was a good idea. Alea was going
somewhere private. They wanted to be really damn private with her. “I think we
should get on that plane.”

“I’m ahead of you,” Dane said. “I’ve already revised the
flight plan to include the three of us. I met the woman who’s going to be
serving on the plane and I talked to her. She’s willing to help us out. We’ll
sneak on and be in the air before Alea can do a damn thing about it. Pack up,
boys. We’re headed for Australia. We’re going to spend some time all alone with
our girl.”

It could go crazy well. It could be the apocalypse. Either
way, he was ready.

Lan smiled. “I’m in.”

Alea cast a cautious glance behind her as she stepped onto
the airstairs that would take her up to Oliver’s private Boeing. She half
expected to see Dane, Coop, and Landon running across the darkened tarmac to
stop her, but the world was quiet now. And she hadn’t seen them at all this
morning.

Of course it was five thirty a.m., and they were likely
sleeping. Even knowing that, a little kernel of completely perverse
disappointment weighed down her stomach. She took a deep breath and ascended
the steps.

“Good morning, Princess,” the flight attendant Oliver had
hired said in her crisp British accent, a jaunty blue and yellow scarf tied at
her neck that matched her smile and the navy blazer she wore. “It’s a pleasure
to have you here. I hope you find everything to your liking.”

“I’m sure it’s lovely. Thank you.” Alea handed the young
woman her suitcase, then looked around the cozy cabin.

But what the small, yet well-appointed interior looked like
to her was lonely. She was the only passenger. The pilot was in the cockpit,
and a door between them was closed. Another door separated her from the rear of
the plane, which included the kitchen and the hostess’s quarters. Once again,
Alea was separated from everyone else.

The flight attendant also offered to take her rolling
carry-on, but Alea demurred since it held most of her entertainment for the
long flight.

As she made her way deeper into the cabin, she felt vaguely
guilty for running off when Tal had hired investigators to dig into her
kidnapping. But last night had proven that she was near a breaking point,
lashing out at everyone. She felt more than vaguely ashamed by the things she’d
said to Dane, Lan, and Coop. So Yas and Oliver’s offer had come at the perfect
time. This holiday alone would help her think, clear her head. No one would
know where she was, especially the asshole behind her abduction. She didn’t
want to worry her family, so she’d text Piper and tell her cousins’ wife to
assure everyone that she was perfectly safe.

Two weeks. She was giving herself fourteen days to decide
what she wanted to do next in life. She had the investigators’ report in her
bag. She was going to read up on her case and decide on a course of action.
Maybe she would just take her trust fund and disappear. Then no one would have
to deal with her anymore. But the thought of never seeing her family again, of
never seeing her men…

“Princess? If you’ll take your seat, we’ll be taxiing in
just a moment.” The hostess gestured to one of the eight executive-style seats.
“The pilot has brought you a bottle of wine from his homeland. He is so very
proud to be flying for you today.”

Alea sighed inwardly. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but she
would have to try the wine to be polite. It was expected as part of the
Bezakistani royal family. Then once she hit Sydney, she could just blend in, be
anyone, while she thought things through.

She picked a seat near the window and glanced out. She could
see the palace from here. It looked like home, and something inside told her
not to leave. But if she went back, she would be forced to deal with
them
—and she wasn’t thinking about her
cousins. She just couldn’t face her gorgeous guards again so soon after making
a complete ass of herself.

“Thank you and I would love to thank the pilot personally.”

A little jolt told her the aircraft was moving. She would
have to thank the pilot later.

“I’m sure he’d like that after we’re in flight. I’ll serve
the wine with lunch, if that’s to your liking, Your Highness.” At Alea’s nod,
she smiled. “I had to scramble, but I think I have enough food for everyone.
This is a very long flight. We’ll be in the air for almost fifteen hours. Those
men look like they’ll eat a lot, but I’ll ensure you have all you need.” The
hostess patted her arm. “I will serve coffee and tea as soon as we’re level.
Please don’t hesitate to ask for me if you need anything. Gentlemen, you really
must take your seats now.”

As the flight attendant found her own jump seat in the back,
a chill iced Alea’s body. Gentlemen? Large men who needed a lot of food? Oliver
better have found a small rugby team to send to Sydney because it couldn’t be
who she feared. They couldn’t know about this trip. She’d been careful and kept
her mouth completely shut. She’d gotten up at an unholy hour and packed fairly
light.
No.
She closed her eyes and
drew in a long breath. She was supposed to be alone. Please let these be a few
hangers-on who wouldn’t be anything like…

“Do you think she’s going to keep her eyes closed the whole
trip, Dane?” Cooper asked from the back of the plane.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
She shook her head, praying that she was just having a dream. No, a nightmare.

“I think eventually she’ll come to the conclusion that this
is reality, and she’ll open those gorgeous brown eyes. Then she’ll probably
start spewing more bile at us. Or at the very least objecting that we’re
crashing her clandestine solo holiday. Either way, she’s going to be pissed
off. So just sit back, relax, and wait for it. After the pointless argument is
over, we’ll have hours to hash out how everything between us is going to work
from now on.” Dane’s voice reeked of self-satisfied authority. And sex. After
last night and coming so close to discovering firsthand the whole big deal
about consensual sex for pleasure, she really didn’t know how to cope with how
hot he sounded.

Alea gritted her teeth. It didn’t matter. In theory, she was
the princess, and they were paid employees. She’d be well served to remind them
of that and establish firm boundaries.

The seats beside, behind, and in front of her all jostled.
She opened her eyes, and sure enough, she was surrounded by miles of gorgeous
man flesh. Sure, all three of them were wearing clothes, but she could guess
what sort of hard muscle was under those T-shirts. Still, that didn’t mean a
thing because they weren’t welcome on her vacation.

“Get off this plane.”

Landon’s clear blue eyes widened innocently. “How—jump?
Gosh, Lea. It’s moving. I don’t think now is a good time to do that.”

“Here comes the bile-spewing portion of the day, my
brothers,” Dane said with a smirk that really should have crawled under her
skin. But his almost obnoxious confidence was somehow sexy. “Watch. She’s going
to go through a bunch of steps of the grieving process. She’s already been
through denial.”

Two weeks of this—of them—and she’d be no closer to finding
peace than she had been last night.

“You have to get off this plane,” Alea said, her voice
tight. “Please. I need time alone to think, so you can’t go with me. After last
night, you shouldn’t want to be with me. Just tell Tal I skipped out on you. I
promise I’ll come back safely if you’ll just give me some space.”

“I think she’s a little bit afraid, Dane,” Cooper suggested.

Dane shrugged. “She’s bargaining now. Only because she
doesn’t understand yet and doesn’t trust that we mean business. She will soon
enough.”

“Lea, we’re not going to hurt you,” Lan vowed. “We’re here
to protect you.”

“Among other things.” Dane smiled smugly. “Just wait, man.
This is the pain and fear talking. She’ll calm down soon.” He settled back into
his chair like he was enjoying the show and waiting to see the next act.

Oh, she was so done with him. Dane thought he understood
her? That he could read her mind and guess how she was going to react?
Bullshit.

Despite the plane still rolling along the runway, Alea
yanked her seat belt off and stood, then grabbed Dane’s hand in hers. She would
throw his ass off the plane herself if she had to. She could do it. She’d read
about women who got great bursts of strength when they really needed it during
a panic. Surely this qualified.

“How far out are we, Coop?” Dane asked as she pulled
fruitlessly on his arm.

He glanced out the window. “Looks like there’s another plane
ahead of us. I think that’s the prime minister heading home. She’s got
three-to-five minutes to try to haul you out of here.”

If that concerned Coop, he didn’t show it. Instead, he
leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes like he didn’t have a
care in the world.

“Damn you, get off this plane!” She tugged even harder,
putting her weight into the effort. Instead of staring at her like he was bored,
this time Dane stood. His massive frame towered over her. He wasn’t smiling.

“Sit down, Alea. We’re going to cut through the rest of this
crap and get straight to acceptance. We’re going wherever you’re going. If you
would like to stay in Bezakistan, we can do that. As it happens, I think a
little time away would be good for all of us.”

“No,” she nearly shouted. “I need time away from everything
that distracts and confuses me. That definitely includes you three.”

“Does it now?” he asked, his voice going dangerously low.

He didn’t touch her, but she could feel the heat of his body
reaching her, wrapping around her. He was so close. Like Cooper had been close
the night before. Alea took a long breath, trying to calm herself, but what she
got was a nose full of the delicious, masculine scent of soap and something
else uniquely Dane.

“Answer me, Alea. Do you really want to be away from us?
Because I think you’re lying. I can see your nipples. They’re hard.”

Damn it, she should have worn a sweater. She crossed her
arms over her chest. “It’s because I’m mad. They’re not aroused nipples.
They’re angry nipples.”

“I’m going to teach you not to lie, Alea. Those are lonely
nipples. Those are aching nipples. Do you want to know what I’ve got planned
for them?” His voice had gone husky.

A hot denial sprung up inside her, settling between her
legs, and she wondered if she was fending him off or just baiting the bear.
“You’re my guards. You’re supposed to keep my body safe, not touch me. No,
wait. You aren’t my guards. I’m firing you right now. You can’t talk to me like
that.”

“We are your guards, according to Tal. He signs our
paychecks. And I’m going to talk to you this way a lot from now on. We’re not
going to let you dismiss us anymore. There’s something between all of us.
Chemistry like this doesn’t happen often, and I’ll be damned if I let you keep
shoving that aside just because you’re too scared to see where it leads,
Princess.” Dane’s voice sizzled over her skin, an unavoidable reminder of the
heat scorching through her.

“He’s right. I’ve never felt anything like this.” Landon was
suddenly behind her, his voice a hot whisper on the nape of her neck. “I can’t
just walk away from it. I want to be around you. With you. Inside you. I want
you to work with us to make this whole thing good.”

Alea stifled a moan bubbling in her throat at the feel of
them so close. “There’s no ‘thing.’”

She’d meant for that statement to come out in a firm voice,
but it just sounded breathy and sensual. They weren’t touching her, but for the
first time, she wanted them to. She’d lost it last night when Coop had grabbed
her just before… But what if he hadn’t? What if she’d kept her head? What if
they took everything really slowly? Maybe she wasn’t totally broken and her
body could actually respond if they told her what they planned to do, prepared
her mentally first. Maybe.

“There’s more than a little something between us, baby,”
Coop said, sitting up now, his previous laziness shoved aside. “It’s real, and
we’ve all been dodging it. I’m done with that.”

“I am, too.” Dane’s words sounded like a vow. “So now I’m
going to tell you exactly what I want to do.”