Her Secret Prince (9 page)

Surprised jolted inside
Dee. It pooled as pleasure, low in her belly. Jed’s knuckles grazed her cheek on
the way down from her hat. Seemingly by reflex, her hand rose to grip his wrist. “If you’re screwing around—”

“Never about this.”

She swallowed hope. “But you’ve been so neutral.”

Neutral no longer. His stare was as black as a sultry, summer night; heavy as the lust weighing between her thighs. He was close, an embodiment of heat rippling right above flame. Her heart fluttered, drawn and desperate
to get closer. She hadn’t let go of his wrist.

“I didn’t want to mess you up,” he said. “I came here for your memories.”

“Then what’s this about?”

“I gave up thinking you’d still want me years ago.” He grinned, small and wicked. “Now I can’t think about anything else.”

His stare fixed on her mouth and Dee’s breath grew shallow.

“I lied this morning,” he said, deep voice taking the words slow.
“I didn’t sleep well.”

She managed to raise a brow in question.

“More thoughts of you.” And his hands came to rest on her hips.

“What kind of thoughts?”

His gaze answered for him. He took the whole thing painfully slow. Not skimming any stretch of visible skin, any fabric pulled taut over curves. His head dipped lower, the warmth of his skin close to her cheek. Her breath hitched as his hands
adjusted on her hips, wider, firmer.

“Okay, I get it,” she said, breathless. “Now show me.”

Jed obeyed and she angled her chin, mouth meeting his squarely and parting in the same moment. No time to play coy, not with the lavish heat of his lips taking hers. Not with lust rearing high, desperate to race to the finish. Definitely not with his hands clasping her butt and jamming her body against
his. She tilted her head, taking the kiss deeper, and moaned as flares of reaction lit her core.

Their first kiss had been clumsy. A new experience for them both. This time, freed of innocence and fumbling, they knew what their bodies wanted and how to get it.

He pushed, she dragged, and her back hit the door. Implausible to think she remembered his taste, but the hot touch of his tongue shook
her. It felt right. She splayed a hand on his cheek, hungry for this man, desperate to know how he’d grown to please a woman.

A pencil hit the floor as her hands found his hair.

Her fedora followed a moment later.

Jed’s palm slid along her jaw, cupping her face as he kissed harder. Tangled in sensation, Dee battled for release. She raised a bent leg, tucking it up against his side. Made him
hold it, no arguments there, and shifted until his erection pressed solid against the juncture of her thighs. Jed groaned, tongue still deep in her mouth, as she rolled her hips and slid firmly along him.

Painfully aroused, Dee burned for him. Burned for his touch, his thrusts. Burned for him to call her name as he shuddered inside her. Her dress was bunched at her waist; her neckline wrenched
down, bra along with it, as Jed exposed her breast. A moment’s pause as he admired, then a glorious pressure as his lips closed over her nipple.

“Do you want this?” His voice was strained, muffled, as the motion of their hips grew. A sensual roll of hers and a hard shove of his.

“Yes,” she whispered, eyes closing as her head thudded back against the door.
Yes.
All she wanted was to feel. Every
tingling burst, every hard lash of pleasure. With one hand in his hair, she pushed the other under his shirt, finding the skin of his stomach and searching for the erection beneath his waistband. She found it. Instinctively his hips pulled back, and at her grasp, he surrendered her nipple to turn his face into her hand.

Heat jumped hard between her thighs as his grip on her leg shifted, gliding
down to her inner thigh. Her fist moved over his length as his hand cupped her, a firm clutch that had her breath catching and her body aching to open, right here, and let the thrills engulf her. She’d never stopped wanting him, even the shadows, the dark corners he’d always pushed back to make room for her. She’d be seeking access to those corners in time, but for now, she’d take this bursting
light.

She’d been waiting all her life for Jed.

At that thought, hurt seized her throat. Jed was all she wanted. And here she was, rushing in, like always. God, would she never learn?

“I’ve forgotten something,” she gasped suddenly. A moment to disentangle, and she was stumbling free of him. “I’ll be back.” She ignored Jed’s heavy breathing, his startled silence, as she crossed the room swiftly
and closed the bedroom door behind her.

Shaking, she sat on the edge of the bed and commanded herself to think past the desire spiraling in her veins.

Moving too fast was her downfall. Aside from holding out for Jed at sixteen, she’d always rushed into sex. Now that she knew her all-in approach gave the impression of insignificance, she had to be careful.

It didn’t matter that lovers and partners
were one and the same to Jed. Perhaps he’d never rushed with women. She might be his first brush with urgency, and therefore the first woman he assumed only wanted a fling.

It didn’t mean nothing could happen. Just not yet.

Too many lovers had passed on her. She had to hold back. It was a respectable plan that could save her the heartbreak of being loved and left by her perfect man. Yes, an
adulthood of failing to be important to her lovers had thickened her skin. She’d bounced back time and time again. But this was different.

It’d ruin her to mean nothing to Jed.

*

Jed had finished
kicking himself by the time Dee emerged. Didn’t take a genius to figure out he’d moved too fast. That was what he got for losing himself in
the only woman who’d ever made him feel alive. She triggered the beat of his heart, the swell of his lungs. Her touch awakened a primal ache, the powerful force to make her his own. Judging by the way she’d commanded his touch, the same force had overtaken her.

But the body could move much faster than the heart.

She stopped outside her bedroom door, running her hands over her thighs. Dress back
in place and hair combed.

“Sorry, Dee,” he said quietly. He stood by the kitchen bench, giving her space to reach her luggage without him looming large and expectant beside her.

“Oh, no.” She smiled brightly, not looking at him. “But do you mind if we stop there?”

“You don’t have to ask.”

“I’d hate to miss our flight, that’s all.”

Jed nodded, though he knew they’d have time. With a mutual
desire that reckless, they’d always have time.

Her gaze flicked to his as she crossed the room. Then it dropped to his form, a slow drag down his chest, stomach, before halting at his groin, calling back the bulge he’d only just fought down. Jed shifted, inflamed by her look of unashamed desire.

The direction of her gaze said she was okay moving fast. There was something else.

“I thought you
wanted to stop,” he murmured.

She looked up, a bold snap of her eyes. “I do. But discipline has never been my strong suit.”

“Don’t look at me for help.”

“You’re right.”

He smiled, loving her bluntness as she tugged her eyes away and grabbed her luggage.

Pulling open the front door, she said, “It’ll work if I just don’t look at you at all.”

*

“Okay, this isn’t
working. You need to tell me not to sleep with Jed.”

Dee stood in line for the women’s bathroom at New York airport, on the phone to Alexia. The flight from LA had been excruciating. No touching, no teasing, and with Jed’s minimalist approach to talking, no distractions from her body’s ache to have him inside her. The onward flight to France didn’t bear thinking about.

Nor
did her resistance once they landed.

“Don’t sleep with Jed,” her friend answered dutifully.

“No. You need to actually convince me.”

“Give me the reasons why not, because you’ve left me in the dark on this one.”

Dee leaned against the tiles. The blonde woman next in line had shifted to stand side-on, all the better to eavesdrop.

She said, “Backstory: he’s still dazzling. He smiles at me—smiles
at things that have made so many other men frown. He’s artistic, and compassionate, and has the sexiest man bun I’ve ever seen.”

The blonde darted a glance at her, frowning.

“His hair,” she specified, lowering the mouthpiece slightly.

The woman blushed, caught out, but nodded. On the other end of the line, Alexia said, “Not sure if you noticed, but none of that’s negative.”

“Exactly why I’ve
called you, my friend.”

“Right. How do you think it could go wrong?”

“He’s been back in my life for just over twenty-four hours. Too soon, and he might think we’re friends with benefits. He might think it doesn’t mean anything. He might be happy to pack up and leave me again without a backward glance.”

“Got it. Continue.”

The line inched forward. “Then there’s his track record. He’s already
left me once, right after I told him I loved him. Sure, he’s promised not to leave without warning. But he promised that last time, too.”

“Not a man of his word,” Alexia stated, as the blonde shook her head, disapproving.

“He’s never felt settled in one place. He’s a traveler. He can stay still, but he doesn’t like it. Even if something became of us, I could never trust he wouldn’t get itchy
feet.”

“To be avoided at all costs. Dee. You can’t sleep with this guy.”

She appreciated her friend’s effort. As the line moved forward again, she said, “And I’ve never been in a long-term relationship. This is the end of flings for me. I want to feel important and for someone to tell me that they love me and not leave afterwards.” To her annoyance, her voice thickened on those last words.

“Oh.” Alexia’s breath sounded sad. The blonde looked sympathetic and gave her arm a quick pat. “I’m so sorry you’ve—”

“Don’t make it worse. Bounce me back up.”

“Um.” Her friend hesitated. “Do you think he’d make a good lover?”

“Lord, Alexia, how’s that question supposed to help?”

“It’s not. I kind of just want to know.”

Unhelpful as it was, Dee fought a smile. “I swear the imagery in my head
just undid the good work of this entire conversation. He’d be like no one else. Those lips, God, and I felt him when we kissed, hard as an iron bar.” Heat welled between her thighs just remembering. “Add the fact that he’s creative…well, thanks for not helping, Alexia.”

“Okay, I know. Check your gallery for that photo I sent you.”

Obliging, Dee lowered the phone and brought the image up. She
snorted, amused, and flipped it to show the woman. “I was stupefied,” she explained with a chuckle, and raised the phone back to her ear. “I look like I haven’t got a thought in my head.”

“Except that you did. Bad, depressing thoughts. Remember how you were feeling?” Alexia’s tone was persuasive. “If you sleep with him and it goes badly, you’ll feel worse. You want to look like that bad again?”

She sighed. “Not particularly.”

Dee heard Alexia inhale to respond. Then she paused. “Dee—did I hear a toilet flush?”

“Yeah, I’m in line.”

“You’ve been having this conversation in public?”

“We’re all women, honey. It’s like a slumber party in here.”

Alexia gave the laugh that always came with an eye roll. “All right, what do the girls think?”

Dee lowered the phone and spoke to the woman
in front of her. “My friend wants to know what you think. Should I sleep with him?”

Surprised, she answered, “Not until you’re over those hang-ups.”

“There,” Dee said, phone back to her ear. “A sensible answer. Why couldn’t you just say that?”

Alexia sighed. “Fine. Don’t do it if he’s not willing to make sacrifices for you. And don’t do it if you’re not willing to do the same. Don’t do it if
you’ll regret it. And from what you’ve said, you’ll regret it unless you’re both in love.”

“Guess I asked for that.” Dee frowned, each point a stab in her libido. The queue moved again, and the blonde headed for a cubicle. “By the way, I’m in New York on my way to Paris with him, and from there we’re going to meet his dad, a guy he’s never met, likely so dangerous he’s forced his mom to live
on the run her whole life. I’ll call you when we land, okay?”