To Catch a Princess (11 page)

The little white ball did another few loops around the wheel before plunking loudly into the slot for twenty-seven.

“You won!” she cried, her voice filled with excited glee as she playfully nudged his arm.

“You
are
my lucky charm.” He grinned. A second croupier paid out his win and then cleaned the table of all losing bets.

He placed another round of bets and won on one of the splits, accumulating another stack of chips. He was laying out his third set of bets when a waitress came over with flutes of champagne and said, “Compliments of the management.”

Tatiana took a swig of the champagne, giggled, and said, “I feel like I’m on a busman’s holiday.”

“Holidays are always good, busman’s or not.” He sipped his champagne a little more carefully, not wanting to lose his head—and his money. Together they placed an assortment of wagers and the pile in front of him grew steadily, earning a jealous glance from one man who said,
“Heureux au jeu, malheureux en amour, monsieur.”

Tatiana tensed beside him at the man’s assertion that his luck didn’t extend to love, but Peter merely grinned and glanced at her as he replied, “
Au contraire, je suis très chanceux en amour.
”

Tatiana smiled, but narrowed her eyes to examine him. “So you speak French?”

“I told you there were a great many things you don’t know about me.”

“
Je vois. Je suis impatient de découvrir plus
,” she replied, and skimmed her fingers through his hair.

“I’m looking forward to the discovery as well, Tatochka.”

They played for another hour, winning more times than not. His stacks of chips grew ever higher, creating a wall of deep blue before them.

“It looks like your lucky streak might last all night,” said an American who’d slipped into the last empty spot about half an hour before. The man had been copying Peter’s moves, reaping his own rewards from Peter’s luck.

He smiled at the guy as he hit on twenty-seven again and the croupier moved another stack of chips in his direction. “Definitely looks that way.”

But then Tatiana leaned close enough that the heat of her breath spilled against the side of his face. She whispered in his ear, “Unless you’d rather get lucky somewhere else.”

He met her gaze, and there was no denying what she wanted.

What he wanted as well, despite every well-intentioned bone in his body that said he should wait until he’d told her everything about who he was and why he had chosen a life in hiding. He’d tell her when the time was right.

Which wasn’t now.

He crooked his finger at the croupier. “I’m cashing out.”

Chapter 13

Tatiana couldn’t contain the smile as Peter fumbled with the brass key trying to open the door to the suite.

She laid her hand on his and said, “Let me.”

With a quick twist of the heavy key in the lock, the door opened, and he held it for her as she walked in.

He locked it behind them and stuffed his hands in his pockets, as if not trusting himself. He rocked back and forth on his heels, obviously unsure. “Were you serious about what you said at the table?”

“Have you ever known me not to be serious?” she asked, and put a sexy little roll in her hips. She tossed off her wrap and walked toward him.

He gulped and his gaze drifted down to the diamond nestled between her breasts.

“That’s a dangerous bauble, but I guess you know that, don’t you?”

She grinned and lifted the pendant, letting it swing between her breasts. “This little thing?” she teased.

He growled and closed the distance between them in two steps. “You’re playing with fire, Tatochka,” he said, and grabbed hold of the pendant. He applied gentle pressure on it to draw her near, but even as he did so, he slipped his free hand beneath the dress to cradle her breast.

“You are so lovely,
solnyshko moyo
,” he said, his voice husky with desire.

She was as needy, but despite her earlier teasing, she realized she wanted more from him than she ever had from any other man. “Please tell me this isn’t just about sex, Peter.”

“It isn’t just sex, Tatiana. It could never be just about that with you,” he said earnestly.

“Will you make love to me, Peter?” she asked shyly, as her earlier bravado fled in the face of the commitment they were about to make to one another.

Peter swept her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom, where he gently lowered her to her feet by the bed. He undid the clasp on her top and the silk fluttered downward, exposing her full breasts with tightly puckered tips. Reverently he cupped them and swiped his thumbs across the sensitive tips.

“You can’t imagine how beautiful you are to me. How perfect,” he said. A bright stain of color erupted across her breasts and heat flooded her face.

She covered herself, hiding from his gaze, but he tenderly eased her hands away. “You never have to be embarrassed with me, Tatochka.”

“I want to see you, too,” she said and brushed off his suit jacket, but hesitated. She had revealed the shoulder harness beneath with his deadly weapon. He quickly shucked it off and laid it on the nightstand, but she couldn’t help recalling her concerns that in his profession he risked his life on a regular basis. That he might be risking his life now for her and her family.

“Don’t think about that,” he urged, seeming to read her thoughts.

She heeded his request and yanked off his tie before she worked on the buttons of his shirt. As soon as the last one was undone, he jerked off the shirt and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close until the tips of her breasts brushed the hairs on his chest.

“Are you protected?” he murmured. “If not, I have—”

“Yes. We’re good,” she whispered, reached between them and skimmed her hand across his flesh, exploring the dips and valleys of his muscles. He bent his head and licked the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder as she fingered his nipple, circling it until it pebbled beneath her caress.

“That feels amazing.” She cradled his head with her other hand and he sucked her neck a little harder, experiencing the primal need to mark her, but pulling back from that edge. With a gentler lick, he urged her toward the bed and as her knees hit the mattress, they tumbled down onto the surface, laughing as they did so.

They rolled on the bed playfully, clothes flying off in their haste until they were lying there naked, tangled together. And then there was no holding back.

With kiss after kiss, desire grew as they explored each other with their hands and mouths. Sought out those places that made each of them cry out or shiver with need.

Tatiana was shaking, on the edge, as Peter suckled at her breasts and caressed her core with sure, insistent strokes.

“Please, Peter,” she said, urging him ever closer and he shifted to cover her. He guided himself to her center, where with one smooth move, he surged into her, then held still when she tensed beneath him. “You’re so tight, so warm and wet,” he murmured. “But I don’t want to hurt you.” Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he gazed into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes.” She dragged in a rough breath and even that small movement had her insides clenching around him, she was so close to release. But she wanted him to fly with her, so she reached down to tweak his nipple. She brought her mouth to his and whispered, “I want you to come with me, Peter. I want to come together.”

His big body shuddered over hers and he groaned. “Together,” he said, and kissed her. Finally he moved his hips, retreating from her before plunging back in. His movements were steady at first, but grew more erratic as their climax rose in perfect unison until, with one final stroke, he took them over the edge.

…

Tatiana nestled against the warmth of Peter’s body. Her thigh was tossed over his legs and there was a pleasant soreness at her center when they awoke the next morning.

She couldn’t remember how many times they had made love the night before.

All she knew was that he had kept his promise time and time again, leaving her breathless and wanting more each and every time.

Even now, just thinking about it was making her wet, and she squirmed, eliciting a chuckle from him.

“
Solnyshko moyo
, you’re insatiable,” he said, but despite that he was rolling over to trap her beneath his body. Against her thigh, his erection came to life.

“I am,” she confessed with an almost strangled laugh, but then added, “Only, I’m a little…um, tender.”

His wicked grin held the promise of satisfaction. “I guess I’ll just have to kiss it and make it better.”

She shivered and he moved down her body, trailing a line of kisses down her front until he was at her navel. He paused there to give it some extra attention, dipping his tongue into the slight indentation before shifting another few inches lower. He paused at the edge of her dark, soft curls.

Wet drenched her in anticipation, but the moment was shattered by the shrill chirp and beeps of their cell phones along with the hotel phone.

“What the—” Peter jumped out of bed and checked his caller ID while answering the house phone.

“Princess Tatiana, it’s Tony. I suggest you go to the door and collect the envelope that’s being delivered.”

Peter glanced at Tatiana who mouthed, “It’s my parents.” Their angry voices carried loudly from the speaker on her cell phone.

His own phone still hadn’t stopped chirping, and a quick look at the caller ID warned that Alexander was on the line. His stomach churned since the sudden plethora of calls could not be about anything good.

“Alexander, what’s wrong?” he asked even as he rushed to the front door of the suite, threw it open, and snatched the envelope from the surprised guard.

“What the fuck is going on, Peter? Have you seen this morning’s Daily Gamble?” Alexander bit into the phone.

“Who even reads that rag?” Peter said, although the sick feeling in his stomach only intensified when he opened the envelope. Inside was a copy of the tabloid with front page photos of Tatiana and him on the balcony. There had been nothing going on, but with the photos of them close together and then walking into her bedroom, it seemed as if they had been caught in a compromising position. The story had more pictures of the two of them at dinner, accompanied by an assortment of lurid captions about what was happening between them.

“It’s not what you think, Sasha.” Or at least it hadn’t been before last night.

“Please tell me you didn’t violate my trust, Peter.”

The slam of the door pulled his attention to where Tatiana stood in her robe, her arms wrapped around herself as if they were the only things holding her together. Her face was devoid of color.

“I can’t talk now, Alexander. I’ll call you later,” he said, and ended the call.

“My parents are insisting we marry immediately to avoid any more scandal. They want to know why we weren’t more cautious about being caught together in such a private moment.”

Hands outstretched in pleading, he approached her. “Nothing was going on. Besides, we couldn’t have known that someone would be snapping photos, Tatochka.”

She slashed her hand through the air angrily. “We should have been more careful. We knew someone was watching us the other night. We knew that!”

“We’re entitled to our private lives. It’s why I decided to lose Grand Prince Pyotr and become who I am.”

She glared at him. “That’s not the only reason. There’s more to it than just privacy. But oh, yeah. You won’t tell me. Won’t even give me a clue as to why you hide who you are.”

How the hell had she changed the subject so quickly? Peter held up the tabloid. “Isn’t this reason enough?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, it isn’t, Peter. It’s bad enough you made me care about a man who doesn’t really exist. I need to know what else you’re hiding and why you can’t trust me even though you expect me to trust you.”

She cared for him?

He took hope from that and once again tried to explain. “I
do
exist. This is the real me standing right here. All I’m asking is for you to believe that I’d never keep something from you that would hurt you.”

“I can’t believe, Peter. My trust has been stretched too thin by you and by others.”

“I’m not your old roommate. Or anyone else who has ever lied to you to get close.”

“But even now, after what we shared together, you still won’t tell me, so what am I to think? And now these photos are making our parents believe— God, what a mess. No, I can’t do this.
We
can’t do this.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, worried that she was withdrawing from him.

“I mean I’d appreciate it if you packed your things. I’ll arrange for a different room in the hotel for you,” she said, her cold tones filled with pain.

But he had no intention of going anywhere.

“Not a chance. I promised Alexander I’d keep you safe. So I am going to stay here whether you like it or not.”

His words unleashed her fury. She balled her fists and stalked toward him, but pulled up short. “I don’t like it one bit. You have no right—”

“I have
every
right. I’m the man your parents arranged for you to marry, and I care for you, goddamn it,” he shot back, frustrated that everything had fallen apart before he’d had a chance to explain everything to her.

To tell her the terrible truth about his family and the pain in his past.

Damn
those photos.

Before his eyes, her anger deflated like a balloon with a pinhole. In its place was a veil of misery. “And I thought I cared for you, but that means nothing without trust and respect. I’m sorry. I can’t deal with this right now. It’s too painful.”

She whirled, ran back to her room, and slammed the door shut with a very un-princess-like curse.

They said love wasn’t truly over until indifference set in. The fact that she was angry right now was possibly the only good thing he’d have to face today.

Heading out onto the balcony to clear his head, it was impossible to miss the horde of paparazzi lined along the edges of the Jewel of Russia property and the slew of security staff that had been diverted to keep order.
Goddamn paparazzi
. If it weren’t for them, he and Tatiana might still be—

Suddenly it hit him.
Security staff had been diverted
.

He glanced down again at the chaos that reigned below, being controlled by at least half of the casino security team.
Outside.
Instead of inside where they belonged.

And who’d benefit the most from
that
situation?

Not the paparazzi.

But someone connected to the heist.

Someone who thought the circus going on down below would be a perfect distraction for whatever they were planning. Peter had unwittingly played right into their hands by being with Tatiana on the balcony yesterday morning, and providing tabloid fodder for their plan. What an idiot he’d been.

Mumbling an expletive, he headed back inside before providing additional photo ops for the damn tabloids, and braced himself for a call he really didn’t want to make.

With a deep breath, he hit the speed dial and phoned Alexander.

…

Tatiana sat on the edge of the bed, her arms wrapped around herself, her stomach clenching. She bent over and finally released the emotions she had barely kept in check.

She’d thought she could handle Peter lying to her for years about who he was. Believing that in time he’d be fully honest with her about whatever else he was hiding.

But not even after he had made love to her was he willing to bare his heart the way she had opened her heart to him.

And now, because of those intimate photos, her parents expected them to marry. But how could she possibly even think about marrying a man who freely admitted he was keeping secrets from her?

Tears spilled from her eyes, and she sobbed with the pain and confusion swirling inside of her. Because deep in her heart she knew she’d fallen in love with him even without knowing the entire truth, not that she had totally embarrassed herself by admitting that to him.

The almost constant tweeting of her cell phone finally registered.

She swiped away her tears and snatched the phone from the nightstand.

An assortment of missed calls, voicemails, and a string of texts from Alexander and Vanessa.

Call me. Sasha.

OMG r u ok? Vanessa.

I NEED TO TALK TO YOU. Sasha.

plz call. Vanessa

She didn’t want Sasha’s brotherly concern over the tabloids any more than she wanted Peter’s excuses for not trusting her enough with his secrets.

The phone tweeted again and another message came through.

i m here if u need me. Vanessa.