A Royal Entanglement: The Young Royals Book 2 (25 page)

I smiled at her and took a step towards her.
 
I put my hands on her waist and pulled her into my body.
 
Her face tilted up to mine, a question in her eyes and then I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her deeply.
 
She was stiff in my arms to begin with and then melted into my embrace.
 
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close as I plundered her mouth.
 
She tasted like wine and sweetness and I was lost in her.

When I finally let her up for air, she looked up at me a little dazed.

“You’re the one I want a real relationship with, Alex,” I murmured, “I want to turn what we have into something real.”

She searched my eyes and I could see she struggled with disbelief.
 
I dropped a tender kiss on her swollen lips and then one on her cheek and then she buried her head in my chest.
 
I held her close and she wrapped her arms around my waist and held on tight.

“I really care about you Alex,” I said, my voice rough, “I want to see where this thing between us is going.”

She pulled back and looked up at me.
 
“Me too,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
 
“Me too.”

I kissed her again and this time when I pulled back, she smiled up at me.
 
“Would you like a glass of wine?” she asked.

I followed her over to the couch and we sat side by side, her snuggled up under my arm and poured a glass of wine for both of us.
 
It felt right and for the first time I could ever remember I felt content.
 
We talked well into the night and then Alex fell asleep in my arms.
 
I watched her sleep, her face soft and devoid of the worry lines that had been there when I arrived.
 
She looked so delicate and vulnerable in her sleep and a fierce need to protect her rose up in me.
 
It was true what Meredith had said, Alex looked after everyone else, but who looked after her?

I rearranged her so that she was laying on the couch with her head in my lap and leant my head back against the seat back.
 
I closed my eyes as I let my hands slide through the silky strands of her hair.
 
I wanted to freeze frame this moment of absolute bliss and remember it for always.
 
I had never been in love, but I knew in that moment that I was in danger of falling and I wasn’t the least bit afraid.

“Freddie.”

The furious whisper woke me from a sound sleep.
 
It had been a while since I had slept so well and for a moment I thought I was dreaming until I heard the whisper again and the pillow beneath me shifted.
 
I opened my eyes to see Meredith bent over me while I lay on the couch in my sitting room and then I realised that I wasn’t lying on a pillow but on a pair of thighs.
 
I sat up quickly, the sleep fog clearing instantaneously as I took in a dazed and confused Freddie who looked to be just waking up himself.

“What the hell Freddie?” Meredith cursed, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips.

“What time is it?” he asked groggily as he rubbed his eyes.

“It’s five o’clock in the morning.
 
Why are you still here?”

“I would think that would be obvious,” he said with a raised eyebrow, “I fell asleep.”

I looked around the room trying to work out what was going on.
 
I couldn’t remember much of what happened last night after Freddie confessed that he wanted a real relationship with me.
 
Wait.
 
I felt my frown soften into a shy smile.
 
Freddie wanted a real relationship with me.
 
I turned to look at him and felt my cheeks redden as he returned my gaze, a half smile tilting the corner of his mouth, a mouth I wanted to kiss.

“Should I bring in your breakfast tray Miss?” Margot asked, interrupting my inappropriate thoughts.

“Yes please,” I said, “And make sure there is coffee for Lord Bingham.”
 
She dipped a curtsy and hurried out of the room.

“Alex,” he said, his voice soft as he turned to me and cupped my face with his hands, “I can’t stay.”

“Nonsense,” I said, standing and smoothing out my rumbled clothes.
 
“You can stay long enough for coffee.”

“But the press—“ Meredith began, but I cut her off.

“If he slinks out of here at the crack of dawn, then it will look like we are trying to hide something,” I said.

“The press will still know I spent the night,” he said gently.

“That may well be,” I said, “But there was nothing tawdry about it and if you scurry out of here, it will look all the more lascivious.
 
If you stroll out of here at a reasonable time, without slinking, then we can pass it off as an all night meeting.”

“So no slinking?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Definitely no slinking,” I replied.

I watched Freddie and Meredith share a look and then she shrugged.

“She’s right,” Meredith conceded, “Let me just let Alyssa know.”
 
She turned and left the room leaving us alone.

“Come here,” he said, drawing me close and wrapping his arms around me.

I melted into his embrace and took a deep breath of his unique scent, closing my eyes and relishing this feeling of contentedness.
 
Being with Freddie seemed right, not that I wasn’t scared.
 
I knew the he hadn’t given me any guarantees and I knew his reputation.
 
This was like an experiment for him, he was testing the waters of being in a committed relationship and it was all still tenuous.
 
He could decide that it wasn’t for him or his head could be turned by another woman at any time.
 
But for now, he was mine.

I stepped back and looked up at him.
 
“No regrets?” I asked and his eyebrows pinched together for a second before he broke into a smile.

“About us being together for real?”
 
He shook his head.
 
“No regrets.”

“Good,” I said, going up on my tiptoes to kiss his whisker roughened cheek.
 
“I’m going to go and get changed while we wait for breakfast.
 
Did you want to call Dayne to send over some fresh clothes for yourself?”

He nodded, “That sounds like a good idea.
 
I can go straight to the office from here.”

I stepped back to head into my bedroom when he caught my hand and drew me back into his arms.
 
He lowered his head and kissed me, taking his time.
 
His whiskers rasped against my skin and sent a thrill through me.
 
I could get used to this.
 
It almost seemed too easy.

He lifted his head and gazed down at me with a strange look on his face like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening between us and I was glad that I was not the only one feeling the shift.
 
There had always been an undercurrent between Freddie and I, but after last night it had become something different.
 
It was exciting and scary at the same time.

I cleared my throat and stepped away.
 
“I’ll just go—“ I indicated the door to my bedroom, unable to finish the sentence.

He nodded and I escaped from him before we were caught in a compromising position.
 
It was bad enough that he had spent the night and several of the Palace staff knew—it wouldn’t take long for it to spread through the entire staff, being caught in his arms would only add fuel to the fire.

When I was safely behind the closed doors of my bedroom, I let the self indulgent smile I had been restraining break across my face.
 
I was dating Freddie Bingham.
 
It was such a surreal moment of realisation.
 
In my heart of hearts I had wanted this from that very first meeting when Alyssa had introduced us.
 
I felt almost giddy with happiness, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in far too many years, not since Daniel had plucked me out of that nightclub.

In the intervening years I had worked hard to suppress any and all over-abundant emotions.
 
Being poised and graceful and conservative enough to serve in Daniel’s office had defined me for so many years and it was the reason I now held such a good position in the Palace.
 
It had helped my keep my family’s antics under the radar, well as much as I had been able to anyway, and it was what had attracted Bradley to me.

But being with Freddie was different.
 
He respected that side of me, the serious, straight-laced woman who ran the Queen’s office with military precision, but he also liked to bring out the other side of me, the side that had been hidden for so long.
 
I would have to be careful around him or the mask I wore would slip and there was no way I could let that happen.
 
Having a little bit of fun was a good thing, but I would have to keep diligent control over the wilder side that had suddenly awoken within me.
 
Being around him stoked the fires of the wild within me and if I let it get too out of control, it would burn both of us.

For the life of me I couldn’t understand why the press had taken such an interest in me and my relationship with Freddie.
 
I knew he was somewhat of a media darling, but I was a nobody and I was boring.
 
Surely they would get sick of me soon?
 
I could only hope.
 
Unfortunately it wouldn’t be quick enough for me if today’s paper was anything to go by.
 
Despite our attempts to disguise Freddie’s unscheduled sleep-over yesterday, the papers had run it this morning as some sort of clandestine affair and the Queen’s office had been inundated with requests for comments.
 
It was completely out of hand.
 
Jeanette was being caught up in it all trying to manage the media when she should be working on the announcement of the Prime Minister.

My desk phone rang and I picked up the receiver, distracted by the work on my to-do list.

“Alex Fornette,” I said into the receiver.

“Alex, it’s Brad.”

I paused as everything in me stilled.
 
Why was Brad calling me?

“What can I do for your Bradley,” I asked, my tone tinged with frost.