Leopold: Part Four (9 page)

Her entire upper body is now bright red. “Now you’re just teasing me.”

“I assure you, I’m doing nothing of the sort.” I grab her hand and pull her toward the washrooms. “As I said, I’m completely serious.”

She throws a glance back at the rest of the restaurant as we head toward the back of the room.

“Don’t worry about them,” I tell her, my voice low. “No one will notice us. Or care.”

We’ve reached the small corridor at the back of the room, and I pull her into the first open washroom.

Fortunately, the Ambrosia Room has only the finest of facilities. This private washroom is decorated as luxuriously as the restaurant itself—and it features a small decorative sofa against the far wall.

I click the lock shut behind us and grab her against me again.

If I thought we were hungry for each other last night, it’s nothing compared to the desire pulsing between us right now. Perhaps the lobster only whetted our appetite for all of the pleasures of life. Our mouths attack each other. I can’t get enough of the taste of her. Can’t get enough of the feel of her beneath my hands. Can’t get enough of
her
.

My hands slide to her ass again. I grab her and lift her up against me. Her legs wrap around me, and the skirt of her dress slides up her hips. My fingers dig into her as I start to walk her across the room to that little sofa.

And then she bites down on my lip, and I know there’s no way I’ll make it even that far.

I turn and push her back up against the wall. Her legs tighten around me, and I release her so I can reach down and undo the zipper on my pants.

Her mouth pulls away from mine.

“Do…you…” She can hardly get the words out between her labored breaths. “Condom…”

“In…my…pocket…” I rasp. I’m as breathless as she is. My fingers fumble at my pocket, and after a moment I manage to grab the foil wrapper.
Thank God I came prepared.
I knew I’d never be able to make it through the evening without having her again.

I push my pants down my legs and somehow manage to get the condom wrapper open without dropping Elle. She kisses my neck, her teeth nipping at my throat. A growl escapes me. I sound almost animal.

I can’t wait a moment longer. It probably hasn’t even been two minutes since we got up from the table, but somehow it feels a thousand times longer.

The moment the condom is on, I don’t even pause to take a breath before I plunge into her.

Elle cries out as I pull her down fully onto my length, her fingers digging into my back. Her teeth bite down on the skin of my neck again as I start to move, rocking into her again and again.

How did I survive without this for three whole months? How did I ever think I might be able to survive without this for the rest of my life?

We’re consumed by fire. Two bodies coming together in the pure power of desire.

I reach up and grab her hair, yanking her head back away from my throat. I want to kiss her again.

No—I
need
to kiss her.

As our lips meet again, my hips begin to move faster. She tightens her grip on my back, and with every thrust—every time I push myself as deep as I can go inside of her again—another one of those little cries vibrates in her throat. I swallow them all, drinking in the sounds of her pleasure.

I will never let her go. Never.

I won’t last long this time, not with the cries she’s making. Not with the way she’s holding onto me like she never wants to release me.

I pull my mouth away from hers, wanting to focus my entire energy on getting her to her peak, on pushing her over the edge before I reach my own release. I lean my head over her shoulder, letting my forehead rest against the wall behind her.

“Come for me,” I murmur huskily. “Come for me, Elle.”

She responds with a moan that seems to resonate through my body.

I want to give this woman the greatest pleasure she’s ever known.
More than that—I want to give her everything.

The words bubble up in my throat before I have the chance to stop them. Before I even realize what I’m saying.

“I love you. I love you, Elle.”

Her nails dig into me. When she speaks, her voice is so quiet I’m afraid to believe what I hear. “I…I love you, too.”

I thrust into her again—I swear it feels deeper than I’ve ever been inside her before—and suddenly she stiffens against me, her body contracting as her climax hits. She cries out and clings to me, and I groan as my own release rushes out of me.

As the moment of ecstasy pulses through me, I can only think of one thing:
I can’t believe I said that. I can’t believe I told her I love her.

And then:
I can’t believe I love her.

I’m in love with her.

I don’t know how I never realized it before now—but I love Eleanor Parker. I love her more than I ever imagined I could love a woman.

I love her.

I LOVE HER!

I’ve never told a woman I loved her before. And I’ve definitely never experienced the feelings that go along with it.

And she said she loved me, too.

Euphoria rushes through me—followed quickly by mind-numbing fear. What am I doing? I can’t love someone. That’s not what I do—I’m Prince Leopold of Montovia. I have a reputation to uphold, after all.

But God, with Elle…everything I thought I knew about myself just goes out the window.

Slowly, I lower her to the ground. She’s still clinging to me, but after a moment, she pulls her hands away.

“That was…” She still sounds like she’s fighting for breath.

“I know,” I murmur. I kiss her temple.

Now
she can’t deny that we belong together. Now there’s absolutely no chance she’ll want to go back for that job interview. Not after what we just experienced together.

“And we haven’t even gotten to the dessert course yet,” I say.

She lets out an exhausted, breathless laugh. “I think I might need a nap before then.”

“Mm, I agree.” I pull her back against me. Let my hands roam over her back. “Shall we return to my jet?”

She nods against my chest. “That sounds nice.”

Very nice indeed.
Perhaps by the time we return to the plane, we’ll both be ready for another round of pleasure.

I call for Matthias and the car before quickly settling our bill. I have the owner pack us some of his famous tiramisu for later.

A short while later, in the car on the way back to the jet, Elle’s head falls against my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her and hold her close, smiling to myself.

I guess I wore her out more than I thought.
I could stay like this forever, just holding her while she dozes. Who would have thought that such a small thing could be so beautiful? That it could make me so happy?

No, she’s never going back to her old life. She’ll never want to. Not if I can help it.

When we reach the jet, I shake her gently.

“We’re here,” I tell her. “Time to get on the plane.”

Groggily, she sits up. She gives me a lazy smile as I help her out of the car.

She perks up slightly as we head up the stairs to the cabin. Matthias has already prepared it for our flight. He’s acquired some things for Elle as I asked him to—nightclothes and toiletries, among other conveniences—and folded the sofa down into a bed. I had the sofa custom made for this plane, and when it’s made up with high thread count sheets, it’s as comfortable as any bed in any of the world’s finest resorts.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have had that second glass of wine,” she says. She smiles back at me.

“Don’t worry,” I tell her, motioning to the bed. “You can take a nap once we’re in the air.”

“I’ll probably end up sleeping the entire way back to Arizona.”

I freeze on the top step.
She wants to go back to Arizona?

“What if…” I trail off and start again as I follow her into the cabin. “I thought perhaps we might go somewhere else.”

She turns back toward me, frowning in confusion. “Where?”

“Anywhere we want,” I say, spreading my arms. “We have a plane. We can go wherever we like.” This is the part where I should tell her I have her passport, but something stops me.

For a moment, I swear I see something in her eyes—a spark. A gleam. A glimmer of excitement.

But then she shakes her head. “I told you—I have to get back in time for my interview.”

“Forget the interview,” I say flippantly. “We can get you another later. In the meantime, we have the whole world at our feet.”

But she gives another shake of her head, and this time, something has closed off in her expression.

“I need to go to this interview,” she says. “I need to do this. For me. My work is important to me, Leo. More important than I think you realize.”

“I realize it’s important,” I say, but inside, I’m trying to make sense of everything.

She’s still shaking her head as she closes the distance between us. Her hand comes up and rests lightly against my cheek.

“No,” she murmurs. “You don’t. My work is…everything. It’s what I was put on this earth to do. It’s why I wake up in the morning. I know you mean well, Leo, but please don’t ask me to give it up.” She attempts to smile. “This weekend was…wonderful. The perfect way to end what we had together. We both know this has to end, Leo.”

I open my mouth to protest, but she holds up a hand to stop me.

“No—don’t argue. We know it does. Let’s end it like this—on good terms. After spending an amazing couple of days together.”

I’m speechless. Did I just imagine the part where she said she loved me? Was I so delirious with pleasure that all of that was some sort of hallucination? But it makes no sense otherwise—if she loves me, then how can she even consider ending things now?

She must see something of my thoughts on my face, because something softens in her eyes.

“Leo, I…I mean it when I say I’ll never forget this. I’ll never forget you.” She blinks. “You’re right—there is something different between us. Something I’ve never felt before. But your life is in Montovia. And I…I belong where there’s work for me. Where people need me. I know a lot of people would happily trade in a life of work for one of fancy dresses and champagne, but I can’t. If I did, I think I’d lose a piece of my soul. I need to go to this interview. For myself.”

I know nothing I can say will make her change her mind. I can see it in her eyes. And frankly, I’m not even sure
what
I could say in response to a speech like that.

“Your Highness?” comes Matthias’s voice behind me. “Are you ready to leave?”

“I’ll be right there,” I tell him. I reach up and place my hand over Elle’s on my cheek. Gently, I squeeze her fingers before releasing her and turning to follow Matthias toward the pilot’s cabin.

“Captain Smythe needs to know where we’ll be headed,” Matthias says when I reach him. “Did I overhear correctly that we’ll be returning to Arizona?”

I start to reply in the affirmative, but the words freeze on my tongue.

She said she loved me. I know she did. I didn’t imagine that.
But for some reason she still can’t bring herself to believe we should be together. Somehow she’s still afraid to take that next step.

I have to show her. I must make her see the truth.

And there’s only one way to do that.

“No, we won’t be returning to Arizona,” I say. “Tell Captain Smythe we’ll be leaving for Montovia. Immediately.”

I
can’t believe
I let myself say
those words
. The last time I told a man I loved him, it blew up in my face. Quite literally—especially when his wife found out about it. And I didn’t mean it when I said it to Leo in the bathroom at that fancy restaurant—I couldn’t have. I barely know Leo. And he barely knows me. I certainly don’t
love
him. It’s impossible to feel that way about someone after knowing him for so short a time.

And Leo hasn’t mentioned
those words
since we both said them. Thank God. I’m sure he’s as mortified by the inadvertent declaration as I am—maybe even more than I am.

He takes the seat next to mine, pulling my hand into his without a word as the plane takes off.

Once we’re in the air, I excuse myself to change into the pajamas he has for me and when I come out, Leo has changed into his pajamas, too. It’s a long enough flight for us both to sleep—and maybe to be able to pretend we never said
those words
. And perhaps if
I
don’t bring it up, neither will Leo. And we can both go back to our normal lives as soon as this flight is over.

I don’t get into the bed, though. Instead, I take a seat and close my eyes, trying to ignore how I can
feel
Leo’s eyes on me, even though he hasn’t said a thing and hasn’t touched me since we got on the plane. I need to sleep off the alcohol I’ve had tonight so I’ll be okay to drive in the morning. And I still need to pack when I get back and load my car. And I’ll need to get gas before I leave—

Leo’s fingers trailing over the skin of my upper arm snaps me to attention. He’s giving me
that
look—the one that is unquestionably his desire to have sex again.

I grab him by the wrist. “Leo, I think we can both agree we’ve worked each other out of our systems.”
God, I’m a terrible liar
. I could let him take me again right now and it still wouldn’t be enough. I’m not sure it will
ever
be enough, which is why it’s better to call it good now. Any more of this—any more accidental declarations of love—and my heart is sure to get involved. And I’m not about to let him break my heart again.

“Elle…” His fingers trail across my cheek and into my hair. “I will
never
have you out of my system. I love you.
”
He pulls my hand into his, and his voice drops to a whisper. “I love you. I will never tire of saying those words to you.”

My heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest and I’m pretty sure my eyes have gone as wide as saucers.

He loves me?
We’re not in the throes of having sex against a wall right now. We’re not in the throes of
anything
. And he…
loves me
?

No. It isn’t possible.

“Leo…” I take his hand in mine and force a smile. “What we said—”

“You said you love me.” He grins. “And I love you. And I’m looking forward to saying it many times to you each day for the rest of my life. Because I’ve never been so sure of anything, Elle. I love you. And you love me—you said so yourself.”

“Um, I said that in the heat of passion. So did you. I think we’re both mature enough to know neither of us meant it—”

“On the contrary. I
did
mean it.” His brow furrows. “And so did you.”

“I…”
Fuck. How the hell do I get out of this one?
“I’m sure you’ve said it before during sex, Leo. It’s… I’m really okay. It didn’t mean anything. I know it didn’t—”

“It did mean something, though. I’m not sure why you’re so resistant to believing I’m capable of loving you.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Leo…” Another lie. I
don’t
really believe it. “I’m just worried—”

“But I never worry, Elle. Even when things are at their bleakest, I refuse to concern myself with events that have yet to happen. It is far better to allow yourself to imagine the future will hold wonderful things instead of always assuming the worst will happen. You might find your anxiety about what
might
happen would lessen if you were to adopt a similar attitude.”

My eyebrows rise. “That is
not
how I operate, though. I get paid to worry about outcomes, Leo. It’s in my blood.”

His hand tightens over mine. “But even as a physician, you have no way of predicting the future. No way to know the certainty of an outcome for anything. Why worry about something that
might
happen? It seems a waste of energy to me.”

“I wish I could…not worry so much.” What he’s saying makes sense—he’s said similar things to me before. It’s just hard not to run through all the different scenarios in my mind. To try to think of all the possible outcomes—the most likely results.

“Then
don’t
.” He shrugs, giving me another of his smiles. “You can make the choice to be with me, can you not? Spend the rest of the weekend with me, Elle. Can you not allow me the pleasure of your company for a few more days? So you might make an informed decision about our future?”

“Our…future?” A wave of heat takes over my body and it’s suddenly difficult to breathe.

He sees a future together
. It’s not something I’ve ever heard from a man. I’ve privately planned my future with plenty of guys I’ve dated, but none of them have ever reciprocated. Certainly, none of them have ever
initiated
.

His expression softens and he smiles at me again. He traces circles on the back of my hand, but his gaze never leaves mine.

“Yes, Elle. Our
future
. You didn’t think I told you I love you for any reason other than that, did you?”

“I…I don’t know.” My voice is ragged, stammering. “I suppose I thought there was an ulterior motive—”

“What sort of other motive would I have for telling you…?” His voice trails off and the smile falls from his face. “Elle, you can’t possibly believe I would say that to you—that I would say those words to
anyone
—for the purposes of having sex. We were
already
having sex
…
” He shakes his head. “It was
not
an accidental utterance, Elle.”

My cheeks begin to burn again. “In my experience…” My words are slow—I don’t want to hurt him with anything I say. I’m feeling extremely exposed and vulnerable myself.

I let out a long breath. “In my
very limited
experience, Leo, men say those words when they want something. But like I said, I have very little experience—”

He interrupts with a shake of his head. “Elle, I’ve already told you that I’ve told no other woman I love her. I might be reckless and impulsive on occasion, but I assure—I promise you—I am not being either of those things in this case. I mean every word I say—and what I’ve said to you tonight is the only explanation for what I’m feeling.
I love you
. And you may not believe it, but you should believe this…”

He squeezes my hand again and his gaze bores into mine. “I don’t know what the future holds. But I know I want to hold
you
for the rest of my future.”

Tears form in my eyes at his words and I force myself to blink them back—I’m still not sure how any of this is real. It almost seems too good to be true—and I know all too well about things that
seem
too good to be true.

“Leo…” I’m feeling so many different things, I’m not really sure what any of them are. Some mix of desperation and hope and uncertainty and something else that’s making my heart beat too hard and making my insides both warm and cold at the same time. “It’s too much—too soon. I’m not going to deny we have chemistry. We’ve
always
had chemistry—”

“Elle, you’re afraid. And I understand that better than anyone, as it’s only been recently I’ve come to accept my own feelings on this matter. The truth is, I ran from you at first because I was also afraid. I was fearful that you were with me for the wrong reasons, yes, but I was also terrified by the depth of my emotions.” He frowns. “These are not things that are easy for me to say out loud, I hope you realize.”

I nod. I
do
know that it’s difficult to talk about this stuff. That these are the kinds of things that make most men run for the hills. And he
did
run—I don’t really want to let myself forget about that. I handled that whole California situation badly, but the sad truth is that he
did
run. But fear… Fear is something I’m all too familiar with. It’s something that has defined me in too many ways. And I don’t want to run from this, even though I know it’s going to kill me when he ends it this time.

“Leo—”

“I can’t promise any certain future, Elle.” He seems to be reading my thoughts. “I can only tell you how I feel right now—how I’ve felt since the moment I met you. The only certainty I can share is that I cannot imagine my life without you in it.”

I want to tell him I feel the same, but I’ve spent the past three months trying to get
over
him, not fantasizing about our future together.

I try to choose my words carefully again—I know he’s being very open with his feelings, and I can’t imagine how much of a risk this is for someone like him. “Leo, you say you don’t worry about the future, but you must have some idea of how you wanted me to respond to this—”

“On the contrary, Elle.” He gives me a small smile. “
This
was not a conversation I envisioned us having at all. I merely imagined telling you how much I care for you at some point during this weekend. I’d had no intention of revealing this much so soon. And I understand this is a lot for you to accept right now—that I’ve reappeared in your life very suddenly and am now professing my love for you. But I see no other way at this juncture than to be honest with you. I hope you can do the same for me.”

He looks at me expectantly, but I don’t know what to say. I’m still not entirely sure what it is I’m feeling right now other than complete overwhelm.

I stare down at our clasped hands, trying to think of the right words to say to him. And I realize only a moment later that I need to be as honest with him as he’s being with me.

I finally look up at him after a long moment. “Leo, you hurt me—”

The look in his eyes softens and he tilts his head. “I know, and you have no idea—”

“Let me finish.” I draw in a long breath. “You hurt me, but I know I hurt you, too. And I can’t deny that I have feelings for you and have since I met you.”

The smile finally returns to his face, and he looks almost relieved. “That is much more than I expected, Elle. And more than enough for this moment.”

I’m silent, allowing myself to think about a possible future for the briefest moment. But then I remember how his brother treated me, which seems to be the most likely way the rest of his family will. “Your family, though, Leo. They—”

His cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. “Why would you be bringing up my family, Elle? What point—?”

“Andrew hated me when he met me in Rio de Campo. If you really see a future for us—”

A line appears between his brows and he frowns. “I would hope you wouldn’t judge me based on the actions of my family, Elle. I would never judge
you
based on the actions of your brother.”

I lift a brow and look at him for a long moment. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Leo?”

“Nothing.” He shakes his head and turns to the table next to him, picking up a bottle of amber liquid before pouring himself a glass. He tips it to his lips to cover up whatever it was he was trying to say.

I pull my hand away from his. “You said your investigators weren’t able to find anything—”

“I said they were unable to find anything about
you
, Elle.”

My heart speeds up a little. “That’s…good. I guess.” My words are slow. Careful. What he’s insinuating is impossible, of course. If he found nothing about me, then he would find nothing about Owen—this has to be a trap.

He says nothing, just gazes at me with that same expectant look.

“You know, Leo, if you want to know something, you could ask me. You don’t have to go around hiring private investigators and you
definitely
don’t need to try to get me to say something accidentally. I know I have a bad habit of running off at the mouth when I get worked up about stuff—”

He holds up both hands, almost like he’s surrendering. “I meant nothing by my remark, Elle. Only that I hope you don’t judge me by my family’s actions. Just as you would not want to be judged by what your brother does.”

I stare at him for another moment, trying to read what he has going on behind his eyes, but he’s doing a damn good job of covering it up.

“Leo…” I let out a long breath. “You need to know—”

“I’ve
prayed
you would tell me, Elle. That I would hear the truth from you and not from some investigator—”

“Let me finish, please.” I frown. “What I was
going
to say is that the difference between me now and me three months ago is that I am
not
going to sleep with you to keep you from asking questions.”

He lifts a brow. “I see.”

“I’m simply going to
ask
you to stop asking questions I don’t want to answer. Okay?”

He nods. “Fair enough. We have the rest of our lives for you to reveal your secrets to me, Elle.”

I frown again. “You already know my secrets, Leo. And the one you’re so curious about isn’t mine to tell. If you really do love me the way you say you do—”

“I do.” He grins again. “I absolutely do.”

I nod. “And if you really have never said those words before—”

“Elle, I can assure you I have
never
told any woman I loved her before tonight.” He looks at me for a long moment. “No woman outside my family. And certainly not while I was making love to a woman.”

Making. Love
. He said it again, just like he did last night.

“I don’t regret saying those words, Elle. And I’m ecstatic you returned them as you did. Even if you did say them in the
throes of passion
.” The sly grin returns to his lips. “Because I intend to have you in the throes of passion many more times before this night is over—”

“Pardon me, Your Highness,” Matthias interrupts. “But you asked to be notified when we were over international waters, and Captain Smythe advises me—”