ROYAL BRIDE (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (11 page)

Once she was nestled in the bed, the covers pulled up to her chin, he kissed her. His lips moved over hers, licking at her, nibbling at her. When he broke the kiss, their eyes met, his still dilated from their lovemaking. “I can’t get over how beautiful you are. How much you’ve grown in such a short time.” The compliment felt real, but Isabella guarded herself against it.

She hadn’t accomplished anything. Simply obeying him while having sex—extremely satisfying sex—wasn’t what he wanted or needed. She still had to prove herself.

“The spanking wasn’t so bad.” She gave a small smile.

He grinned back. “I could tell. You were sopping wet afterwards.” Her face flushed with his comment. He wasn’t wrong. Her body responded to the activity in exactly the opposite way she thought it should have.

“Are all wives in your country treated like that?” Again, her ignorance showed, and she felt the sinking feeling in her stomach.

“Not all. Just like in your country or here in America. It’s something that each couple decides for themselves.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Get some sleep, Isabella. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

“Will my clothes be brought back?” she whispered.

He laughed. “You behave so nicely when you are naked.” With another kiss to her temple, he left her and retreated to the bathroom. Was that a yes or a no?

ANTONIO

Antonio had her clothes brought back into the suite after he left for his morning meetings. His security team wanted to discuss what they had found out about Karen Vega. Having purposely kept the reason for the meeting from Isabella, he didn’t talk about either of their schedules over breakfast. She also remained a bit vague about her plans, only mentioning that she would be away from the suite for the morning and would be having lunch with Maria, Silver’s wife.

“Libertad has made contact with our government. Your father has requested that we consider a trade to get the girl back.” Julian, the lead on his current team, began the briefing.

“What? We don’t do that. He knows this.” Antonio clenched his fist under the table. His father ruled with his heart more often than his head.

“The council-member’s family is pleading for her to be spared. They fear that if we do not act and work with this group, their daughter will be killed.”

“Most likely, she will be,” another member of the team interjected. “We have found a location where this particular cell hides most of their captives. We can make an attempt to raid the area, but if she is not there, they will retaliate by killing her. I’m sure of it.”

Antonio thought about it for a moment. If Isabella had been seen that morning, had been taken along with the woman, this conversation would probably be going very differently. He would be demanding that every able-bodied man search for and return her safely to him. No matter how much trouble she caused him or how much attitude she threw at him, he couldn’t stop thinking of her. Even after he finished making love to her, it wasn’t enough. He wanted her again and again. Spending the entire day holding her would still not be satisfactory.

“How much intel do we have on this hideaway?”

“We have a confirmed location, but not much else. We’ll need to do some surveillance to find the flaws in their security.” Julian unrolled a map, pointing out the area in which he spoke. “If they are responsible for Karen’s kidnapping, I think it’s safe to bet they have a few other women there as well. So far, two other members of your father’s cabinet have voiced concerns for their daughters.”

“What do you mean, ‘voiced concerns?’ Do they know if their girls are gone or not?” Antonio asked with more than a little irritation. It was true that among his father’s generation, women were not as valued as they were among his own. Seen more as commodities and a way to gain status through marriages, they weren’t given the same opportunities as their male counterparts. He imagined what his wife would have to say on the matter and made a promise to himself not to bring the subject up while in the company of his father.

“They haven’t heard from their daughters in several weeks. Both girls were at the university together—roommates. We checked the school, and they haven’t been to classes in over a week.” Julian’s expression matched Antonio’s.

“The school didn’t alert their parents?”

“No. Until we asked the question, they didn’t seem overly concerned that the girls hadn’t been to classes.”

Antonio took a calming breath. “No one is to mention this around my wife. Is that clear?” He looked into the eyes of the five men staring back at him, some with confusion. “She will run off on a crusade to help these women or to find their fathers just to kick them in the asses.” He looked at the pictures of the two girls that Julian had placed on the table, a new fear bursting through his chest. “Once we have them home safely, I may just let her.” He looked at Julian. “Send out a surveillance team right away. I want this over with within the week.”

“There is one more matter we need to discuss.” Julian began placing the photographs into a folder. “Your sister is due to arrive next week. She would like to attend the gala at the Art Institute with you and your wife.”

“She mentioned something about that. Apparently, Father and Mother have been badgering her about a new marriage proposition. I told her it was fine. I don’t see the trouble.”

“No trouble.” Julian rolled the map back up and tucked it under his arm. “She is bringing only two of the six guards we have stationed with her.”

“What?” Would any woman in his life cooperate with safety procedures?

“She insists. She wants to remain as anonymous as possible while she’s here. She doesn’t want any sort of royal emblems on her cars, doesn’t want to take the royal plane—any of those things.”

Antonio closed his eyes and took yet another breath. “And my parents have left for their travels in Europe, no doubt, leaving me to deal with her?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Well, fuck.
Carmen had never given into fanciful thoughts of a normal life. She had been raised as a princess and knew very well the ramifications of having such a status. When she had been presented with an arranged marriage to Prince Raphael, Isabella’s brother, she had taken the news with grace and dignity, putting aside her own fears and misgivings about the union.

Although she worried about partnering with a man such as Raphael, she had never complained. Antonio knew of her concerns only because he knew Raphael on a more personal level, including his reputation for what he liked in the bedroom. His sister wouldn’t fit into his world very well, and they both knew it.

Meeting Isabella and presenting his own marriage instead of creating a union between his frightened sister and obligation-driven Raphael had worked out for everyone. His wife may still harbor some ill thoughts on the subject, but he never considered that his sister would begin acting against the family’s wishes. He would protect her from any bad arrangements his parents made for her, but he wouldn’t allow her to gallivant around Chicago unprotected.

“Until this threat with Libertad is resolved, my sister is not to be with any fewer guards than she currently has. Hell, I’m tempted to double the number when she travels, and like hell is she stepping foot on a commercial plane.”

Julian eyed him silently before giving him a nod. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“What is it? You look as though there is more.”

“She does not wish to stay here in your suites or in this hotel.”

“I’ll talk with her. Her rooms will be in this fucking hotel where I can keep an eye on her.” He hadn’t meant to let his temper show, but he was quickly beginning to lose his grip on all the women who mattered so much to him.

Isabella promised obedience, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think that would last long. As soon as he denied her something she truly wanted, she’d go for it anyway. Suddenly, he wished he had questioned her more at length about her day, and about the phone call he’d overheard the other afternoon.

“Who is with my wife today?” he asked.

“Jose and Saul.”

Antonio nodded. “I would like them to report in with her activities. I want to know where she is at all times. You can forward the information to my phone.” He checked his watch. He was supposed to meet up with Silver for lunch. “I’m late. We’ll meet tomorrow morning after breakfast. Have more information for me on that hideout.”

Each man nodded, giving him the respect of not only their prince but their leader as well. He left them to their work and headed to the car. Silver wanted to meet at a restaurant a few miles down Michigan Avenue. At the rate he saw the traffic moving when he stepped out of the hotel, he knew he’d be late.

ISABELLA

“What has you so occupied?” Elisabeth put her coffee on the small table that the two women shared outside a small café on Navy Pier.

“Nothing.” Isabella waved a hand through the air and straightened in her seat. She’d been thinking about Antonio. Again.

When he’d returned to their bedroom the night before, he had been set on punishing her, yet he had softened toward her. He obviously enjoyed a little rough play in the bedroom, and if she was going to be completely honest with herself, she had to admit she enjoyed it, too. The sting of his belt hadn’t overpowered her senses. In fact, it had electrified her entire body.

“Sure doesn’t look like nothing,” Elisabeth muttered, catching the eye of one Isabella’s security team sitting nearby. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to get used to these guys always listening to your conversations.” She took a sip of her coffee, wiping the trace of lipstick from the white plastic cup afterwards.

“I’m not used to it. My father never put so many men on my detail. At home, I could wander the estates and the nearby villages without any security hounding me or eavesdropping.” She gave a pointed look over her shoulder at the younger of the pair. He averted his eyes immediately and readjusted his seat so he was facing away from the two women.

“I don’t think I believe that. Rafe never would have let you wander around unprotected.” Elisabeth tried to hide the wistful way she spoke the prince’s name, but they both knew better. Elisabeth had a thing for strong-willed men, and Isabella’s brother was nothing if not completely in charge of any situation. “Maybe his security team was better at blending in.”

“Are you sure you won’t come back with me when I go home? You can do a lot of what you do from there. A month of pure heaven… well, as close to heaven you can get. I doubt Antonio would let me go back home for a whole month.” She could feel her lips pouting, but there was a tingling sensation inside her that told her she might just like that he was so insistent on keeping her close.

“Speaking of Antonio, where is he? You are supposed to be on your honeymoon. It’s bad enough he brought you here. Chicago in the middle of summer is not exactly a honeymoon destination. The humidity is enough to send anyone running.”

Isabella raised her eyebrows at her. “Have you forgotten the weather I live in? It’s humid, yes, but heat isn’t a problem for me. Not being able to go to the beach, that is the problem.” She pointed a well-manicured finger at her.

“Then let’s go. It’s been forever since I went swimming,” Elisabeth exclaimed, looking as excited as she had when they were children and their mothers finally gave in and agreed to take them to the lake.

Isabella looked over at her security team, who were already shaking their heads. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Too many people.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk with him tonight. Maybe he’ll see some semblance of reasoning.”

“There’s almost as many people on the pier as there would be at the beach,” Elisabeth pointed out. Looking around, Isabella agreed. Besides the families visiting the area on vacation, there were several day-camps attending events at the Children’s Museum or riding the amusement rides the pier had to offer. The beach would be just as crowded.

Antonio had been pretty firm when he told her about making sure she took her safety as seriously as he did. He wouldn’t give her any details, but she knew there had been progress on finding the missing woman. It had something to do with him adding the third man to her detail and needing to be informed of every damn move she made.

The men didn’t think she noticed them making a call or sending a text every time they arrived somewhere or just before leaving for the next stop. Antonio seemed to be dead-set against her having any freedom while he was locked up in his meetings.

She had barely managed to avoid the topic of meeting with the admissions counselor the afternoon before. When he met her for dinner, he had casually asked her about her day, and when she tried to remain completely vague, he asked pointedly about her visit to the university. Luckily for her, she had been half-naked when he asked the question, and she distracted him. He had mumbled something on the way to dinner that he knew exactly what she had done, but he didn’t approach the subject again.

How would she explain to him what she was planning? Eventually, he would need to know, but at the moment, she just needed to get through the application process. She’d given Elisabeth her essays for corrections, and once they were finished being edited, she could take them to JoAnna, the bright-eyed woman who was more than thrilled to have a royal princess applying to their university. Isabella had made her vow not to inform anyone that she was inquiring about the school, and she hoped her trust was not misplaced in the young woman.

In Antonio’s country, there was one university, but from what she’d seen of it when she looked up the information online, she wasn’t sure going there would be suitable. She would have to commute into the city to attend classes as they did not yet have online education available. She didn’t think Antonio would like that very much, and she didn’t find it appealing either.

Once she was accepted, she would sit Antonio down and explain her plans. He wouldn’t deny her. There would be no reason. And when she graduated and began to work towards higher accomplishments, he would see she held more value than just her body.